Page 37 of Borrowed Pain
"Dr. Tobias Rook worked for Healing Horizons," I said, keeping my voice low enough that neighboring tables couldn't overhear. "He was going to testify about what they were doing to patients, and then he disappeared."
Miles's eyes widened. "Disappeared how?"
"Final enough that federal agents assume it means dead." I gestured toward the exit, trying to project calm urgency instead of the panic clawing at my chest. "If he's alive, then him surfacing now means something big is happening."
Understanding dawned across Miles's face. He stood and followed me toward the exit.
The Georgetown evening air hit us as we stepped outside—diesel exhaust and industrial scents. I automatically scanned the street: parked cars, pedestrian traffic, and potential surveillance positions.
"Rowan." Miles reached out to grab my arm. "What aren't you telling me about this Rook guy?"
How much could I reveal without putting him in more danger than he was already facing? How much truth could he handle about federal investigations and disappearing witnesses?
"He was my best lead," I said finally. "The person who could have exposed everything. If he's alive, if he's been hiding all thistime, then he knows things that powerful people have killed to protect."
"And now he wants to meet with me."
"Now he wants to meet with you." I resumed walking toward home, pace quick but not quite running. "Which means you're either his lifeline or his target."
Miles fell into step beside me. "How can I tell the difference?"
"We try to figure it out together, but not here. Not in the open where anyone could be watching."
Miles kept pace beside me as we walked quickly back toward my warehouse. "This Rook guy—you said he was going to testify. About what, exactly?"
"Human experimentation disguised as trauma therapy. Memory manipulation through pharmaceutical enhancement. Techniques that could erase traumatic experiences but left patients unable to access positive memories, too."
We passed a cement plant, its concrete towers looming against the sky. Boeing transport trucks rumbled past on the arterial, carrying aircraft components toward assembly facilities hidden behind chain-link and razor wire.
"And you think he's been hiding all this time?"
"I think someone made him disappear because he knew too much. Question is whether he's surfacing now because he's finally safe, or because he's finally been found."
Miles grabbed my arm. "Rowan. Stop. You're spiraling."
"Am I?" I asked.
"You've gone full federal agent. Scanning rooftops, checking your six, treating every parked car like potential surveillance. Less than an hour ago, we shared tiramisu and talked about wanting each other to stay."
The reminder landed hard. Minutes ago, I'd been a man discovering that intimacy didn't have to mean vulnerability, and someone could see past my defensive layers withoutimmediately exploiting what they found. Now, I was calculating threat assessments and escape routes.
"I'm sorry. When I heard his name, everything else just—"
We resumed walking, passing a fabrication shop where welding sparks flickered behind grimy windows.
"Tell me about him," Miles said. "Not the federal agent version—the personal version. What did Tobias Rook mean to you?"
The question forced me to excavate memories I'd buried deeply. "He was supposed to be our smoking gun. Lucia and I spent weeks building rapport, convincing him to trust us. The people he worked for terrified him."
"And he disappeared before he could testify."
"The night before our scheduled interview. Vanished." My warehouse building appeared ahead, brick facade softened by late afternoon shadows. "We assumed they'd killed him to protect their operation."
The elevator carried us toward my floor in silence. "This changes everything, Miles. If Rook's alive..."
"Then maybe we finally have the proof we need to expose them."
"Or maybe we're about to become the next people who disappear in convenient accidents." I swiped my keycard, the locks disengaging with electronic precision. "I need you to understand something. If you meet with him, there's no going back."
