Page 94 of It's Always Been You

Travis hated that Nate was right. He and Caitlin were pissed at each other the night of the bar fight. But this thing with the Colombian gang was baffling. He mentioned this to Nate.

“Are you square with their leader? Are they coming after you?’

“Yes. No,” Travis answered the questions in order. “Marko is the nephew of the gang leader, but he has fallen out of favor in recent years, especially after costing the alliance between the Iron Skulls and Fuego by fucking with Crane’s daughter. I bet he was cashing out with what he could get out of kidnapping Caitlin and going to disappear into Colombia where most of the gang members are originally from.”

“You know we may be in over our heads here,” Nate admitted. “Have you talked to Porter?”

“I’m too pissed to call him right now.”

“You think he’s involved with what’s happened today?”

“My gut tells me he is.”

“Fuck.”

“They’re keeping Caitlin alive for a reason. I just pieced it in my head. I bet they have Pavlo Milekhin in custody to prevent him from coming after Caitlin while she works on hacking through their files.”

“Why not just tell her what to look for?” Nate’s brow furrowed. “Get this over with.”

Travis rubbed his hand across his face. “I don’t understand the whole science behind it. But I think, with this kind of situation, it’s better for the person with amnesia to find things out on herown rather than have it suggested. I think it might cause confusion. There’s an order that the brain processes information.”

“You think Porter won’t give you a straight answer?” Nate asked. “It’s simpler just to ask him, don’t you think?”

“I’ve asked him about Milekhin. He straight up denied involvement in his disappearance. The thing is, Nate, he knows I’ve seen him lie through his teeth. I thought I admired the man then for playing people so well. Not so much now when I’m the target of his manipulation.”

“This is going to be awkward with Bee in the mix.”

“No shit.”

“You think Bee’s involved?” Nate asked.

“That woman is a terrible liar,” Travis said, grinning. “She tries to fib, but she’s in no way at the caliber of her old man. Besides, she’s too blunt to lie; no filter on that mouth.”

They stood in silence for a while, both lost in thought. Finally, Nate said, “Look, you may not agree, but I think you should let me and Sam handle Caitlin’s security. Stay out of it.”

Travis expelled a shuddering breath, rubbing his eyes in frustration. “Just so fucking tired. I can never seem to catch up on keeping her safe.”

“You’re not looking at this logically, Travis. You protecting your own wife wouldn’t even fly in our security protocols.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Travis snapped. “I can’t fucking trust her to anyone else, but after all these near fuck-ups, it’s killing me that I have no choice. Tell me, Nate.” His voice turned ragged. “Tell me I have no choice.”

“Fine,” Nate said firmly. “It’s out of your hands, Travis. I’ll take charge. But I’m warning you, if you question any of my orders or argue with me, I’m going to ask you to separate yourself from Caitlin.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m taking her to a safe house away from you.”

Travis glared at his friend. “The fuck you will.”

“The—fuck—I—will,” Nate fired back. “Caitlin has become a client. Her best interests are my concern now. And my friend, I hate to tell you this, but right now, you’re not in her best interest.”

“Fuck you, Nate,” Travis muttered, no heat in his curse.

“Good. Glad we’re on the same wavelength,” Nate said. “Let’s go inside. I’ll have Sam do a perimeter check. Suggest you and Caitlin catch some rest. She’ll be riding with me tomorrow. You ride with Sam.”

Travis was ready to protest, but catching Nate’s warning glare, he kept quiet.

He would let Nate play it his way. For now.

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