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Chapter 12

Sin awoke in the middle of the night to screaming. He had been dreaming of the art heist when it started, and for a moment thought it was the dream itself. He got out of bed and ran to the living room. Charlotte was curled in a ball, writhing on the couch.

"Charlotte," he whispered, trying to wake her. She lashed out at him with her fists.

"Make it go away. Please make it stop," she cried.

"Shh. It's me, Sinclair. You're safe, darling." He sat her up, but she continued to hit him in the chest.

"It hurts," she wept. "Find Sokolov. He can help me. He's the only one."

"Charlotte," he said more firmly. "You need to wake up, lass. You're dreaming." He pulled her onto his lap, holding her firmly to his chest. "Wake up, darling."

She began to settle in his arms, the terror which haunted her leaving. A terror he helped facilitate.

He carried her into the bedroom and tucked her under the covers. The shadows under her eyes, a physical reminder of the pain she endured. He went to the kitchen and retrieved the bottle of pills Forbes had given him and a glass of water. Then he gently tried to wake her. "Charlotte," he said softly. Her eyes opened halfway. "Take this, darling." He slipped the pill between her lips. "You were crying out in pain." He helped lift her head off the pillow and held the glass to her mouth until she swallowed, and the medication went down. "Good girl." This was his fault. He had sat in his car while she was tortured. The thoughts swirled in his head. He couldn't go back in time, but he vowed to himself he would do whatever was needed to protect her going forward.

* * *

It was noon by the time Charlie woke up. She heard voices coming from the other room. Shit. She was in Sinclair's bed. She wracked her brain trying to remember how she got there. Her fingers brushed her lips. She could still feel him over her, pinning her down as he kissed her in the cottage. 'I take what I want.' Damn, she hated the way her body responded to him, hated he had that control over her. She pushed the memory away. Her robe lay at the foot of the bed. She grabbed it and put it on before peeking her head around the partition. Sinclair, Gabriel and the agent from the bunker sat around the dining table looking at a blueprint.

She cleared her throat, stepping into the kitchen. "Sin, can I speak to you for a moment?"

All three of the men looked up quickly and stood. "You're awake," he said.

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks as the men continued to stare at her. "I, uhm, didn't mean to sleep so late."

"I'm sure it's what you needed," Gabriel said, giving her a smile. "I don't think you were properly introduced to Carmichael at the Tower."

The agent walked over to her. He was handsome in a Clark Kent sort of way, with his black hair, stunning blue eyes and glasses. "Carmichael MacGregor." He took her hand.

"Charlie," she offered.

"Charlie," he repeated, kissing her knuckles. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." She took her hand away and looked over at Sinclair. "Sin, a moment please." She motioned with her head toward the bedroom.

"Lover's quarrel already." Carmichael laughed. "I'm not surprised. Sin has always been a bit of a blackguard, moody and boorish. Alex should have let me marry you."

"Enough," Sin said over his shoulder as he followed her into the bedroom.

She turned on him. "Why was I in your bed?"

"You had a bad dream. I found you screaming on the couch. It was obvious you were in pain, so I thought you might be more comfortable in the bed," he explained. "Do you not remember?"

She looked down, feeling foolish for him having seen her that way. "No."

He took a step closer and cupped her chin with his hand, lifting her head. "Nothing happened. I was just concerned."

"I didn't think anything did. I just don't like not being able to remember." She pulled away from him, but he took her arm, bringing her back.

"You can't be so hard on yourself. Give yourself time. I told you, you're safe here."

She nodded.

"I'll order something to eat and we'll go over the plans for this evening."

Charlie sat down next to Gabriel, looking at the map of the Scottish National Gallery. "Carmichael and I will be there as back up. Carmichael will be in the gift shop and café located here," Gabriel said, pointing to a place on the map. "And I will be monitoring everything from a van over here." He continued to explain how everything would work. "You both will be wearing small earpieces and microphones, so, I can communicate with you. Dougie will track your location by your phones and disable security cameras as needed." He showed her where they were on the map. "Obviously, you will want to try to avoid them as much as possible."