Chapter 27

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SEVEN

Tori stared at Kai a moment after Gage left. What was he thinking about right now?

She'd seen something in his gaze earlier, almost as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. What was that about?

Maybe it was about how he would be better off right now if the two of them hadn't met. She knew he said he wanted answers. But did anyone really want their life to be turned upside down like this?

Kai seemed to realize Tori was staring at him, and he tilted his head, a curious look in his gaze.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" His voice sounded surprisingly lighthearted.

"I feel like you and Gage are real-life Jack Reachers or something."

A half smile curled his lips. "Jack Reacher isn't real, and we are. Reality can be stranger—or just as strange—as fiction."

"I can't even imagine what it must be like to live like you do." She pulled her knees to her chest as she continued to observe him.

His gaze drifted to the distance. "Sometimes, I don't think I know who I am. Even more so now that I'm learning more about things that were done to me without my permission."

"It's got to be a lot."

Kai leaned back on the couch, a new heaviness in his gaze.

Tori was glad he wasn't hiding how he felt but being real with her. The easy route to go would be to pretend like he was unbothered.

After a couple of moments of silence passed, she asked, "What are you thinking about?"

His expression remained stony as he said, "Those guys who came after us at the clinic . . . something about them is bothering me."

Tori shifted toward Kai, propping her elbow on the couch and leaning her head against her hand. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. It's one of those things I can't pinpoint. It's more of a gut feeling."

"What is that gut feeling telling you?"

"I'm going to sound crazy." He paused, his jaw tightening. "But I almost feel like . . . they're like me."

Her breath hitched. "Like you as in former military?"

He shook his head. "No, you said your brother went through the same training I did. Only I never knew about him. In fact, I thought my colleagues and I were the only ones who'd gone through the program. That's what we were told. But what if there was a second generation of recruits that we were never told about? Or what if my colleagues and I were the second generation and others came before us?"

The thought was daunting . . . but not necessarily surprising. "I suppose that could be a possibility. Maybe the people in charge realized things they did wrong, and they decided to start over . . . more than once."

"But why wouldn't they tell us?" Kai swung his head back and forth as if perplexed.

She let out a long breath. "Either they thought it wasn't important for you to know or they were trying to hide something."

"Bingo. There's way more to this."

"What if you talk to your boss? Larchmont, right?" Tori asked. "Do you think he would tell you the truth?"

"Right now, I wouldn't believe anything he might tell me. I don't trust him."

She rubbed her arms, chilled by the words she was about to say. But she couldn't stay quiet. "The other thing is . . . those guys who attacked us . . . they weren't good guys."

"Or maybe they are good guys, good guys who were led to believe that we're the bad guys."

Tori's head spun with the thought.

But she couldn't deny what Kai was saying.

There was a good chance he was absolutely right.

And that thought was terrifying.

It had felt good to talk to Tori.

Throughout Kai's life, he hadn't found many people he could open up to like this. Something about Tori made her easy to talk to.

However, he worried about keeping her safe. More than anything, he wished she wasn't involved in this. That she was tucked out of harm's way.

But safety was an illusion right now. There was no turning back time. They'd started this mission and needed to complete it.

He stared at Tori a moment, words wanting to form on his lips. Words he hadn't considered saying in a long time.

I'm starting to care about you.

You're different from anyone else I've ever met.

Your tenacity and bravery are admirable.

He licked his lips. Maybe he should take the plunge and tell her. Take a chance. Forget about his hesitancies.

Opening up about his feelings wasn't something he'd ever really thought he would do.

"Kai?"

He snapped from his thoughts, and Tori's face came into view. Her beautiful face. Her concerned eyes.

This was the perfect opportunity to talk to her.

"Yes?" he answered.

"What are you thinking about now?"

He shifted in his seat, about to take the plunge. "Tori, I?—"

Before he could finish, the door rattled then opened. Gage strode inside, several plastic bags in hand. "I got everything we need."

He set the bags on a nearby table—totally oblivious to the conversation that had almost taken place.

Maybe it was better this way. Keeping this impersonal would be the wisest thing to do. Developing feelings while working protective detail was a bad idea.

If Kai kept his thoughts to himself instead of voicing them aloud, maybe he could ignore them. He knew his logic was flawed, but he clung to it at the moment.

Still, he couldn't deny that he was disappointed.

Kai gave Tori an apologetic look before walking toward his colleague. Gage had gotten clothes and toiletries just as requested. And he'd found the suturing kit Tori had asked him to pick up.

He tossed it to her. "You ready for this?"

She stared at the kit before shrugging. "The question is: Are you ready for this?"

"Let's just get it over with."

"Start with Kai," Gage said. "I'm going to hop in the shower. By the time I get out, maybe it'll be my turn."

Kai stripped his shirt off, feeling unusually self-conscious about it. Not about the way he looked but about being in such close proximity to Tori.

He really was developing feelings for her, wasn't he?

The realization was strange. He wasn't normally the type who was interested in any type of relationship.

But something about Tori was different. She somehow made him feel . . . like a better person. The future somehow seemed more fulfilling when he thought about having her in it.

As she threaded a needle, he sat in front of her, all too aware of her presence behind him. When she touched his shoulder a moment later, his skin turned to fire.

All his doubts were gone.

He was in trouble.

Big, big trouble.