Page 10 of Caught
“We had to take care of something.”
“No. You had to get your butts back to the campsite. Omar said he was very clear about that. So why I am I sitting here holding my—”
“You’re on speaker,” Leilah cut in. “And believe me, I don’t want to know what you’re holding.”
He growled back. “You’re as bad as he is. Did you two forget that you’re civilians? I’ll ask you one more time. Where. Are. You?”
Ryan said, “We’re in DC”
“But we’re headed to Frederick,” Leilah volunteered.
He shot her a disbelieving look.
She shrugged. “Backup probably wouldn’t hurt.”
“Backup?” Trent roared on the phone. “Backup for what?”
“We need to talk to a soldier at Fort Detrick,” Ryan explained, apparently in agreement that backup was advisable.
“Well, I’m at least three hours away, thanks to you two. And do you think you’re just going to walk onto an Army base and ask around until you find this soldier?”
When he put it like that, their plan did sound flawed, Leilah thought. Ryan must have thought so, too, because he frowned but didn’t answer.
After a moment, Trent made a frustrated snorting sound. “Sit tight. I’ll call you right back.” He ended the call without further niceties.
Ryan and Leilah sat in silence for a moment. Then she started to giggle. He cast her a curious sidelong look.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m just imagining how furious Trent must’ve been when he rolled up to the campsite and found the car and our note.”
His shoulders started to shake, and then he chuckled. The chuckle grew into a belly laugh. “I wish we’d had a way to record his reaction.”
She pictured Trent stomping around the campsite, cursing them, and laughed harder, too.
Their laughter died quickly.
“Do you think this Cowley guy set Natsuo up?” She hated to say it—she hated to even think it—but what were the odds that Ryan’s friend just happened to be dating someone who worked at the very place responsible for tracking the ketamine missing from the military’s inventory?
“I hope not. For his sake, as well as ours. Juno’s a pretty good judge of character, though. If she said he was genuinely broken up over Nat’s death, then I believe her.”
They fell silent again.
“Maybe he inadvertently said something to someone that got Nat killed,” she suggested.
“It’s a possibility. Whatever happened, you’re right. We can’t go rushing in headlong without a plan and backup.” He turned to study her with those worried hazel eyes. “I wish you’d go back home and let me handle this.”
She smiled gently and covered his hand with hers. “Ryan, I hear you. And I’m going to tell you what Olivia told Trent and Chelsea told Jake. If there’s any chance for us to have a relationship, you have to back off. I’m not looking for a protector or an alpha male. That’s not what I want.”
“What do you want?” His voice was low and husky, and his thumb traced a pattern on her palm.
“A partner,” she told him as her pulse fluttered.
He leaned closer. She wet her lips and moved to meet him. As his mouth crushed against hers, his cell phone chirped, loud and shrill, between them.
He heaved an agitated sigh and grabbed the device from the center console. “You’re on speaker,” he announced by way of greeting.
“Hayes, it’s West.” Jake West’s voice was brisk and businesslike. But to Leilah’s relief, he didn’t seem inclined to lecture them for not following instructions.
