Chapter 14

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

Tori hardly slept all night. She halfway expected one of those men to show up at the house, guns blazing, determined to silence her—just like they'd silenced Nathan. Only they hadn't used guns to silence him. But the idea was the same: desperate men doing desperate things.

However, all had been quiet.

In the morning, she climbed out of bed and quietly crept into the bathroom to shower. The hot water felt good as it pounded her skin and relaxed her muscles. If only it could wash away all her worries.

Afterward, she dressed in some black leggings and a slouch gray top Gage had picked up. He'd run to the store last night to buy them clothes and food to hold them over.

These would work. Meanwhile, she'd washed the clothes she'd worn yesterday so she could wear them again.

When she left the bathroom, she found Gage and Kai sitting at the dining room table with a box of donuts in front of them.

Seeing Kai sitting at the table with his dark hair freshly washed and his face clean-shaven did something strange to her heart. It let out an involuntary pitter-patter.

Oh, no. She couldn't let herself go there.

Kai—and romance in general—were off-limits.

She cleared her throat. "Good morning."

"Morning." Gage pushed the box closer. "Help yourself."

The pastries weren't normally on her diet—they had no nutritional value whatsoever—but she grabbed a chocolate-covered one anyway.

Maybe some comfort food would cheer her up.

The first bite nearly melted in her mouth and gave her an instantaneous sugar rush.

Kai stood and poured some coffee for her—black just as she liked it. He set it on the table in front of her, and she thanked him.

"Any updates?" She put her donut on a napkin and wiped her hands, not wanting to look too eager to demolish the pastry.

Both Kai and Gage already looked wide awake, which indicated to her they'd been up for a while. Last night they'd traded shifts, so they'd each gotten a bit of sleep while the other stood guard.

"No updates on our end." Kai took a sip of his coffee. "Are you still good with going to visit Dr. Jean-Pierre today?"

Tori nodded, the bites of her donut suddenly turning into a brick in her stomach. She wanted to talk to Landon. Wanted to find out answers.

Yet another part of her feared those answers.

Those answers could change the course of her life.

She was hesitant to pull her friend into this. But he'd said Nathan's tests were clear. Had he missed something? That had to be it, right?

"We just going to show up at his office?" she clarified.

"Why don't you call him first?" Kai suggested. "See if we can swing by before he starts work."

"Sure."

"Use my phone. It's encrypted."

She punched in Landon's number, but the phone rang and rang until the voicemail picked up.

She didn't leave a message—just in case.

She lowered the device and turned back to Kai and Gage. "So I guess this leaves us with a walk-in office visit?"

"I guess that's the best place to start," Kai said. "Let's finish our breakfast, and then we'll hit the road. Sound good?"

She ate the last bite of her donut and chased it down with her coffee. Then she nodded. "We might as well get this over with."

Questions circled in Kai's brain as they made the hour-and-a-half drive from their rental house to the west side of Atlanta. They'd brought everything with them, just in case.

Always be prepared. It wasn't just a motto for boy scouts.

All night, Kai found himself constantly rubbing his chest. Was there a device inside him? Something that had the ability to kill him?

Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time he'd asked himself questions like that.

On more than one occasion Larchmont had located him, even though Kai hadn't told his boss where he was going. That had led Kai to wonder how Larchmont was tracking him.

Was it his phone? His vehicle?

Or was it something else? Maybe some kind of chip inside him?

Kai frowned at the thought.

If that was the case, then Larchmont could find Kai anywhere, anytime. There was no escaping. Freedom would never be an option.

And if Kai did have some type of chip inside him, how would he figure out where it was and how to get rid of it?

He usually didn't live in fear. But the whole idea of this had him shaken.

He sighed and glanced out the window.

As Gage drove, Kai kept his eyes peeled for signs of anyone following them.

He didn't see any suspicious vehicles.

They pulled up to the doctor's office, a building with only one medical practice inside.

Gage put the SUV in Park and turned toward them. "I think you two should go in. I'll wait out here and keep my eyes open for trouble. I don't see how anyone could have followed us, but . . ."

"It's only smart," Kai agreed.

He glanced at his friend, wondering for a moment if Gage ever questioned if he had a chip inside him also. The words sounded too paranoid for Kai to ask aloud. Not right now, at least.

Instead, he climbed from the vehicle and escorted Tori inside.

He'd been thinking about how he would ask Dr. Jean-Pierre these questions. If he would find this guy trustworthy or not.

As far as he knew, this man had no connection with Project Elevate. The doctor was Tori's friend. He'd even done a background check on the man, but he'd seen nothing suspicious. He was thirty-two. Single. Involved with several charities.

"Did you say you dropped out of medical school?" Kai asked as he walked with Tori toward the building.

He wondered briefly if they had a romantic history as well. But he didn't ask. Figured it wasn't any of his business.

Tori nodded. "That's right. I ran out of money and couldn't get approved for the loans—not without any parents in the picture. I knew it was a longshot when I enrolled, but I thought . . . I don't know. I thought God would provide. And He did. Just in a different way than I envisioned."

"Sounds like you had a good attitude about it, at least." It was impressive, really.

"A bad attitude would only serve to make me miserable. Why do that to myself?"

"Well said."

They approached the receptionist at the front desk of Edgerton Family Practice, and Tori plastered on a smile. She was much more approachable than he was.

"Good morning. I'm not here for an appointment, but I'm an old friend of Dr. Jean-Pierre's. Since I'm in the area, I wondered if he might be able to pop his head out so I could say hi?" Tori shrugged sweetly. "I know it's a little unconventional, but I thought it might be worth a shot."

The receptionist smiled before the edges of her lips dipped down. "Ordinarily, I'd find out for you. But Dr. Jean-Pierre isn't in yet."

"I understand. Do you know what time he's supposed to start work?"

"He was supposed to be here an hour ago."

Tori twisted her neck as if confused. "That doesn't seem like him to be late."

"It's not." The receptionist lowered her voice. "I've tried calling his phone, but he's not answering."

He wasn't answering for his office staff either? Kai mused. That didn't sound good.

Was something going on?

It sounded as if they might need to give the man a visit at his house . . . because Kai didn't like the timing of any of this.