Chapter 28

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

Tori didn't usually get nervous like this when stitching someone up.

She'd done it enough times to remain professional.

But her throat kept going dry as she stared at Kai's muscular back and biceps.

Why did part of her just want to wrap her arms around him in a big hug?

And not just a friendly hug to comfort him.

But a hug that would show how much she was beginning to care about him.

She couldn't stop thinking about their earlier conversation. About the possibility that those guys who'd come after them were a part of the same program. That maybe they thought that Kai and Gage were the bad guys.

If these soldiers had been put through the same rigorous training Nathan and Kai had told her about, then there could definitely be a lot of programming and brainwashing involved.

What exactly were these men capable of?

She still couldn't get over the audacity of someone putting a GPS chip in their shoulders.

That wasn't to mention the pacemaker-like device near their hearts . . . a device that had the ability to end their lives in a split second.

She couldn't stop thinking about the possibility. Was that truly what had happened to Nathan?

What if it also happened to Kai and Gage?

Tori shuddered and refocused on her task.

She couldn't go there. Not now.

"Hold tight. Here goes." She inserted the needle through Kai's skin.

He barely flinched.

This would take probably three stitches. If there was a way they could eliminate a few potential problems and obstacles, then that was exactly what they needed to do.

Even though Tori knew she was incapable of protecting Kai or Gage, that was all that she wanted to do—to protect them.

The idea seemed ludicrous, that someone like her could protect super-trained soldiers. But she knew she'd do everything in her power to keep her new friends safe.

In the short time since she'd come to know Kai and Gage, their experiences had bonded them.

Now they were all in this fight together.

And Tori wasn't about to give up.

Kai's thoughts continued to race as he tried to ignore the sting of the needle Tori used.

He knew they were just skimming the surface of everything involved with Project Elevate. He and his colleagues had only been told things on a need-to-know basis.

But this went much deeper. Somehow, he needed to find answers.

When Tori finished the last stitch and placed the bandage over Kai's wound, he turned to her.

As he did, their gazes caught. Something passed between them.

Tori felt the same way he did, didn't she?

The realization sent a thrill through him.

But nearly as quickly as he felt the thrill, the feeling disappeared like a shadow in bright light.

Kai knew he had no future with Tori, not with his past and everything he'd been through.

He wasn't even sure he could trust himself around her. What if there were things happening inside his body he didn't even know about? That X-ray hadn't scanned his brain. What if there was a chip there too that could make him act a certain way at someone's beck and call?

And what if that meant he could turn against Tori without even realizing it?

Those were all chances he couldn't take.

That wasn't to mention the fact that if someone wanted him dead, they could stop his heart at a moment's notice. That could leave Tori exposed and vulnerable.

No, Tori being with him was too risky.

He pulled away, raising an imaginary—and impenetrable—wall between them. "Thank you."

She straightened, seeming to read his body language. The disappointment in her gaze was almost too much for him.

"We'll find answers for your brother," he told her. "I promise."

That had been their objective from the start, and it was what Kai needed to focus on now also.

As Gage stepped out of the bathroom, Kai stood, thankful for the opening—the chance to get away.

"Am I good to get in the shower now?" he asked Tori. "With the stitches?"

"Yes, the bandage I put on your shoulder is waterproof, but be careful with it anyway. Your stitches need to stay dry for one or two days."

"Will do." Her concern tugged at his heart, but Kai couldn't let himself be drawn toward her any further. "We can talk more in the morning."

Before she could say anything else, he walked away.

He'd found himself letting down his guard . . . and that was never a good idea.