Page 44 of It's Always Been You

“Get the fuck out of my sight,” Travis growled.

“We’ll let you go for now,” Moore said. “But you’ll be hearing from us.”

When both detectives were out of earshot, Nate turned on him. “What the hell, Travis? Do you want to get thrown into jail? Leash your fucking temper, goddamnit!”

“He threatened my wife, Nate. He’s lucky I didn’t lay him out right here,” Travis snapped as he made his way to the driver’s side. “Harper, Audi’s still at the NEST?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll leave it there for now. We’re going home. I want to know every fucking detail that happened.”

Travis settledCaitlin amidst the cushions of the comfy sofain the living room. He couldn’t bear to let her out of his sight right now, so they were having the debriefing in the dining room where he could keep an eye on her. He was losing his fucking mind with his paranoia. Disappearing with her to a remote island somewhere was beginning to sound very appealing.

He took a six-pack of beer out of the fridge, pulled the tab on one and handed it to Sam. He offered another one to Nate before breaking one out for himself. Gesturing for them to take a seat, he said, “So, what the fuck happened, Sam? It just occurred to me that you all were leaving earlier than usual. Why is that?”

“I’ve been on that same tangent as well, Sir.” No matter how many times he had told Sam to call him Travis or Blake, he insisted on formalities. “I never asked Caitlin why we left early.”

“Anything from Porter?” Nate asked Travis.

“He hasn’t returned my call yet,” Travis said grimly. And it was bugging the hell out of him. Someone told Komarov’s men exactly when and where to nab Caitlin. She was not returning to the NEST. No way in hell. He jerked his chin to prod Sam to continue.

“Two came at me. The one that went after Caitlin said he was like her.”

“What?” Travis and Nate exclaimed in unison. Fuck. Caitlin fought off a specter agent?

“I’ve never seen anything like him,” Sam added. “Or Caitlin. Hot damn, both of them moved fast. But the man seemed to be more in control of his abilities and had been consciously trying not to hurt her. I guess they needed her alive. Caitlin was just feral. It was freaky to see.”

Yes. Travis had witnessed this first hand.

Sam huffed. “The other two were not hard to fight off. When the third—their leader joined in, it became more challenging. But I still managed.”

“You dislocated your shoulder, buddy,” Nate snorted.

“That was courtesy of Caitlin.”

For the second time during the debriefing, the two men were stunned.

“Caitlin went after you?”

“Yes. But she wasn’t herself, and I baited her,” Sam said. “Our assailants heard the police sirens. Caitlin had already knocked her attacker down, and I had one guy unconscious as well. The other two ran. Caitlin was going after them. The car was parked in front of the elevators, so I grabbed the injector. I called her attention.”

“She came at me.” Harper closed his eyes briefly. “I managed to evade her and come up behind her to dig the injector into her neck. She didn’t go down easily. She bent and threw me over her shoulder. I have no fucking idea how I ended up face planted on concrete, my right arm behind me. Well . . . here I am.”

“Fuck, man,” Nate whispered.

“Sir, I hope I did the right thing.” Sam looked at Travis. “I tried not to hurt her.”

“Hell, that’s probably how she managed to throw you,” Nate said.

Travis must have worn the scowl from hell because both men were looking at him warily.

“You did the right thing,” Travis gritted through his teeth. It wasn’t Harper’s fault. Still, he wasn’t thrilled about anyone laying a hand on his wife. “And I’m grateful for your quick thinking for remembering to use the anti-serum. The sooner we get BSK’s effect out of her system, the fewer variables we’ll have to contend with in the future.”

“I don’t understand,” Sam asked. “What exactly are we dealing with? Who could have done this to her? Is that what’s going on in the NEST?” Sam’s eyes were censuring as he stared at Travis.

“Shut it down, Harper,” Travis said icily. “I wouldneverhurt my wife.” He was carrying enough guilt; he didn’t need someone else thinking that he had consciously put Caitlin in danger.

Sam averted his eyes, but his jaw was clenched.

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