Chapter 6

CHAPTER

SIX

When Tori finished, Kai's thoughts continued to race.

She hadn't changed any details—a good indicator she was telling the truth.

But if this was the truth, then he and Gage were in trouble.

Kai thanked her for sharing. Then he glanced at Gage. "Can you and I talk outside?"

"Sure."

Before they exited the room, Kai turned back to Tori. "Deadbolt the door behind us, and don't answer for anyone but me or Gage. Understand?"

Her eyes widened with a flash of fear before she nodded. "I understand."

He and Gage stepped out of the room and walked to the end of the hallway, where they would have a little more privacy.

Then Kai crossed his arms and turned to his colleague. "What do you think?"

Gage rubbed his chin, looking just as unsettled as Kai felt. "I don't know. She sounds legit."

"But if she's telling the truth, then who is this Nathan guy? I've never heard of him before. He didn't come through the program with us."

"I have no idea, and I helped train everyone who's come through Project Elevate."

"Could there be another secret program?" Kai asked. "Another set of recruits?"

Gage twisted his neck skeptically. "I find that hard to believe. Then again, I shouldn't find it hard to believe. There are so many secrets and so much classified information involved with what we do . . . I'm sure there's a lot we're in the dark about."

"Larchmont would know."

"But he won't tell us."

Kai paused, unsure if he should say this next part. But he had to. Skirting around the truth would do no one any good. "What if Larchmont sent these guys after Tori?"

He and Gage stared at each other.

Neither of them wanted to admit that Kai's words could be a reality. But they both knew the scenario was worth considering. Larchmont was slippery. Kai still wasn't sure he could truly trust the man.

Larchmont claimed to be looking out for the best interests of his men, but Kai often wondered if his boss was only looking out for his own interests.

The man was controlling, and oftentimes he had a good reason for it. But that didn't mean he was always right or that his intentions were always pure.

"If what you said is correct," Gage started, his words coming slowly, thoughtfully, "and if Larchmont sent these guys after Tori because she found out too much information, then he'll also know you're with her. Maybe even that I'm with her."

Kai's gut tightened.

He knew what Larchmont was capable of. The man got things done—and he didn't bat an eye at who was affected by his missions. People weren't important to him. Getting what he wanted was.

Kai crossed his arms. Usually, he knew exactly what to do in these situations. But when it came to possibly betraying the organization and/or man who'd made Kai into who he was, he needed to be sure his actions were wise and not a knee-jerk reaction.

Emotions didn't usually cloud his judgment, but right now his sense of betrayal had kicked in. Feelings about his past were surfacing. Memories of being given up by his family. Of having no one he could depend on.

A pang of emptiness echoed inside him at the thoughts.

"What should we do?" he asked Gage.

"I don't think we have any choice but to find out exactly what's going on here. Not only for Tori's sake, but for our sakes as well."

Kai couldn't help but agree.

Tori tried to drink the rest of her water, but nausea roiled inside her.

Every sip of liquid that went into her stomach ended up churning until she felt as if she might throw up. That was the last thing she wanted. She already had enough problems.

Kai and his colleague talked somewhere down the hallway. She knew that the outcome of that conversation would dictate what happened next.

Even though Kai had helped her this far, it was still possible for him to change his mind and walk away.

Maybe being amenable to her was just a flash-in-the-pan reaction, and he was done.

Questions continued to stir inside her, leaving her lightheaded.

Finally, a knock sounded at the door. "Tori, it's me. Kai. Open up."

She peered through the peephole first to make sure it was him—just as she'd been directed. Sure enough, Kai stood on the other side.

Quickly, she unlocked the deadbolt and let both Kai and Gage inside.

They all gravitated back toward the table and sat around it, Gage and Tori in the two chairs and Kai on the corner of the bed across from them.

Her stomach continued to churn as she waited to hear their decision.

What if they said no? What would she do then?

Could she even find answers on her own? Or would those men track her down first? What would they do then? Kill her?

She hadn't considered these questions when she'd left her home in Florida this morning. She figured she'd simply have a conversation with Kai. Get some answers.

That she'd go from there.

Things had escalated so quickly.

She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans as she waited, the seconds ticking by slower than a broken IV drip.

"We're going to help you," Kai finally announced.

Relief swept through her. "Thank you."

"But we have some questions for you first." Gage's gaze looked intense as he studied her. "How close were you and your brother?"

"Even though he was eight years older, we were pretty close." Tori leaned back in her seat, trying to ease the tension between her shoulders. "However, we didn't reconnect until later in life."

Kai tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Our parents were killed in a motorcycle accident when we were younger," she explained. "We didn't have any other relatives, so Nathan and I were placed into two different foster care families when we were young. We lost touch for a long time. But when I turned twenty-one, I decided I wanted to look for him. I was able to trace him back to his foster parents from high school, who told me Nathan had joined the military. So then I went through the process of tracking him down there. Once we reconnected, it was like we'd never been apart. We talked all the time."

Kai and Gage exchanged a look that made her uncomfortable—one full of unspoken conversations she wasn't privy to.

What did they know that she didn't?

They exchanged another look before Kai shifted. "The program we were part of . . ."

Her breath caught. He'd just admitted they were part of a program.

At least she'd gotten that answer.

"We were chosen because we were unconnected," Kai continued. "That fact made it easier for us to give our entire lives to the program. None of us had anyone holding us back."

Tori let those words wash over her. She supposed they made sense.

Nathan would have fit that profile—at surface level, at least. The two of them met up once or twice a year, but otherwise they both did their own thing. On paper . . . it wouldn't appear they were close.

However, there had been a couple of occasions when odd things had arisen that had prevented them from seeing each other. Last minute canceled flights. Vague texts that didn't clarify details. Mysteriously canceled reservations on trips.

Could that have been because someone hadn't wanted them to see each other—someone with the power to manipulate those things?

She couldn't be sure.

"Did Nathan try to find you when he turned eighteen?" Kai asked. "He could have adopted you."

Tori shook her head. "No. He told me once that he came to visit me. When he got to the house, he saw me playing in the backyard. He said I looked happy, and that he knew if he took me away, my life would only be more complicated. He thought he was doing me a favor when he walked away."

The memory still caused a lump to form in her throat. How she wished things had been different. That Nathan had talked to her that day.

Because things weren't as happy as they'd looked. She would have much rather been with Nathan.

"Where did Nathan live?" Gage asked.

"Georgia," she told them. "Near Athens."

Kai nodded slowly. "Tomorrow, we're going to head down there. For now, we'll grab some pizza for dinner, gather whatever clothing or toiletries we might need, and prepare for the trip. Meanwhile, we keep our heads down. We need to stay off these guys' radar. If they find us again, all they're going to do is slow us up."

Tori could think of much worse things those men might do.

But either way, she hoped they'd lost the men for good. Yet she didn't dare let herself believe that.