Sapphire

Chapter 36

Shay awoke the next morning to the light penetrating her curtains, little slivers of sun reflecting onto her grey carpet and illuminating her whole room. She stretched her arms over her head and looked at the clock beside her bed. Seven. Right on time for her morning run.

Wearing just her cotton shorts and loose t-shirt, she padded over to the bathroom with a yawn. She didn't notice Noah's presence until she stepped onto the tile. He was already dressed in black soccer pants and a long sleeve white shirt, on his way to the toilet when Shay had stepped in. Both of them stopped when they laid eyes on each other, and Shay watched as Noah's eyes flitted from her bare legs to her braless top before landing on her eyes. A blush creeped up in her face as she self-consciously crossed her arms in front of her boobs to cover up.

"Hi." She said.

"Hey."

Another moment of unmoving silence. "You came home early last night." Shay commented, remembering the sound of his door shutting at just ten thirty, minutes after she had decided to go to bed.

Noah shrugged. "No reason to stay." Then he closed himself off in the bathroom, leaving Shay to interpret his words. When he came back out, she was back in her room in order to avoid him. She didn't want to read into it, like she knew she was doing. Noah never liked a girl for more than a night, that's just how he was built. He wouldn't ever make himself vulnerable enough for real feelings cause that would just lead to pain. Not to mention she'd already hurt him once before.

With a sigh, Shay changed into her workout clothes and started her day. Running, lifting weights, boxing, she did all of it. It wasn't until a couple of hours later that Shay found herself on the front steps of Alec's apartment. A couple of text exchanges had brought her here, filing him in with minor details to hold him over until their next meeting. With nothing but dread in her, she knocked on the door and was greeted by Alec himself.

"You're here."

"Yes. I am." Shay replied as she stepped inside. She was still wearing her workout clothes and claimed that this was her cover, that she told her housemates she was going on a hike when she really just drove to meet with her handler.

"You've got a lot to fill us in on." Alec commented.

"We've also got to initiate some sort of plan. This whole waiting thing isn't working out for us." Cristina chimed in from the desk.

"We'll get to that later." Alec muttered, leaving Shay to wonder about their differing investigative styles. It seemed Cristina was much more outspoken and direct while Alec was patient and exact. She could only guess how many arguments this had caused.

Alec led Shay to the couch, where they both sat. "Now tell me about the McAuley's."

"Well I'm assuming you know already." Shay said, looking between both of them expectantly. "You've been tracking me and you know Greg got arrested. Surely you've put it together that I'm responsible for that."

Alec frowned at her tone. "Well yes, but why?"

Shay bit her lip to stop herself from defending them. That wouldn't help her. "They wanted to start me off with something small first. Something that will help prove that their 'good'." She said, putting quote marks around the word 'good'.

"They're playing you, aren't they?" Cristina probed. "They don't trust you."

"They do. I'm going to get another mission soon, one that's more significant." Shay offered.

"You hope." Cristina said with one eyebrow raised.

"Cristina and I have been talking, and we want to set them up somehow." Alec's eyes were intensely looking at Shay's in order to prepare her for what was to come. "We need you to dig."