Chapter 7

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Kai, Gage, and Tori awoke before the sun rose to make the ten-hour drive to Georgia.

They'd grabbed some food—powdered donuts, a cinnamon roll, and some mini muffins—from the vending machines downstairs. They weren't the healthiest options, but Kai figured they would work for now.

Then they climbed into Gage's SUV and left.

Tori sat in the back seat. An hour into the trip, her head was against the door and her eyes closed.

Kai knew she'd tossed and turned last night. He'd taken first watch near the door while Gage had gotten some shut-eye in the adjoining room.

Her thoughts were clearly haunting her. He couldn't blame her. Who wouldn't feel like that in these circumstances? All things considered, Tori was handling the situation exceedingly well.

When Kai was certain Tori was asleep, he turned to Gage and quietly asked, "You heard from Larchmont?"

The man liked to check in. Going radio silent would only raise suspicions.

Gage rubbed his jaw and nodded. "He checked in with me last night. I had no choice but to answer his call since I'm supposed to be on assignment."

Kai figured as much.

He frowned. He had a love-hate relationship with the man. On one hand, Larchmont had made him into the person he was today. He'd given Kai opportunities. Had believed in him and become a father figure.

Father figures didn't always have a good connotation for Kai, though, especially given his past.

"Did Larchmont ask any questions or sound suspicious?" Kai asked.

"He asked for an update." Gage still gripped the wheel, his gaze fixated outside where the mid-September sun rose in the otherwise clear blue sky. "I told him I needed to go dark for a while but would be in touch soon."

"Did he ask why?"

"I told him it was something personal I needed to take care of."

"Did he buy it?" Kai asked.

"I think so." Gage stared at the road ahead. "It's hard to say with Larchmont."

"Knowing him, he's probably suspicious." Kai let out a sigh.

"He's always been a micromanager."

That would be an understatement.

Kai glanced behind him again to confirm Tori was still sleeping.

She looked so innocent as she rested. Her dark hair fell in soft waves around her face and shoulders. Her milky skin was smooth and unblemished and her lips full. When awake, her eyes were big and bright.

Tori was unlike most of the people he encountered. He usually thought the worst of strangers and people he met on assignment. But not Tori. She was just as much a victim as her brother might have been.

Kai thought about what she'd told him yesterday, about how she'd grown up in the foster care system. So had he, and he knew what a tough place it could be—especially for a female. They were so much more vulnerable.

He hated the thought of it—that anyone had to go through the system, really. But when adults couldn't act or behave like adults, that was what happened.

Despite that, her story left him feeling unsettled. No operative trained through Project Elevate would share that kind of information. They'd been taught to keep those details private—at all costs.

It wasn't just a matter of their own safety. It was a matter of the well-being of those around them also. If the wrong people discovered who they really were and some of the missions they'd been on, then their lives would be on the line.

So they stayed quiet. Said they were former military and current security agents that mostly did bodyguard work.

However, no other operative had close family members either. Maybe that was why Nathan had decided to share those details with his sister. And if he'd had a crisis of conscience or thought his life was in danger . . .

Kai frowned.

There was still a lot more he needed to figure out.

When Tori awoke, it was quiet in the SUV.

She straightened and glanced out the window. The sun had risen high in the sky.

Based on the rolling hills around them, they could be . . . anywhere. But if she had to guess, they were in the North Carolina foothills.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep, but the rest had been nice. She'd been tired lately. She hadn't slept well—not since her brother died, and she'd seen the autopsy report. When she'd begun questioning what happened, she'd really thrown herself into an emotional tailspin.

"Good afternoon," Kai said from the front seat.

"Afternoon?" Had she slept that long? She must have needed the rest.

"It's just barely past noon," Kai said. "We're going to stop in a minute for a bathroom break and to grab some lunch at a fast-food place. We'll run inside, pay with cash for our food, and then eat in the car. It's the smartest thing we can do."

Tori nodded in agreement and sat up a little straighter. She wiped her chin, hoping she hadn't drooled or done anything else embarrassing. "That sounds good."

Now that Kai mentioned it, she could use a quick break. Her body felt stiff.

A few minutes later, they pulled into a burger joint, and Gage parked. Kai walked beside her as she headed for the bathroom. Just as earlier, Tori noticed how he constantly looked around, as if checking to make sure they weren't being followed.

She deeply appreciated that quality about him. It made her feel safe.

Kind of like being around Nathan had made her feel safe. He, too, would keep a watchful eye out for any possible dangers. And when she'd been dating Michael, Nathan immediately hadn't liked the man. If Michael had ever talked down to her, Nathan had quickly put the man in his place.

Nathan had clearly seen the truth about Michael's character before Tori had. If only she'd listened to her brother, she could have saved herself a lot of heartbreak.

What kind of training program had these guys gone through that had made them so sharp? That had made their reflexes so quick and their instincts so refined?

Fifteen minutes later, Tori had a chicken sandwich, a side of fruit, and unsweetened tea. It was the healthiest thing she could find on the menu.

She settled in the back seat for the rest of the drive.

As she took the first bite of her sandwich, she realized her appetite wasn't as strong as she thought. In fact, every bite made her feel sick to her stomach—something she couldn't afford to feel during such a long trip.

She set the rest of her food aside, telling herself she'd eat it later once her stomach felt more settled.

Kai glanced back at her. "How did you say your brother died again?"

"Cardiac arrest." Her voice grew soft. "He'd just had a physical, and the doctor had said Nathan was healthy. It all seemed suspicious to me. But, as a nurse, I know sometimes these horrible things can happen, seemingly out of nowhere. I probably wouldn't have thought that much of it, except . . ."

"Except what?" Kai asked.

She hesitated a moment before responding. "There were things about Nathan that concerned me. He got bad headaches sometimes. Had some heart palpitations. He'd forget everyday things that he shouldn't have had trouble remembering like the name of the street where he lived."

"Is that right?" Kai's throat tightened.

"At first, I feared he might have a brain tumor, and I insisted he go see a friend of mine who's a doctor."

"When was that?" Kai asked.

"Six months ago. He always went to see military doctors before that."

"What did your friend say?"

"He looked at all the results and the bloodwork and the X-rays and said Nathan was fine, that all the test results were normal. He said maybe it was the tension of Nathan's job that was causing these ‘episodes.'"

"It sounds like you were being thorough," Gage said.

"After Nathan died, I requested to see the autopsy results." Tori paused and rubbed her throat. "Usually, it can take more than a month to get the results back. They got these results back to me in a week. I couldn't believe it, especially since I asked the detective for extra blood tests. All normal. Honestly . . . I think the coroner's findings were altered. They labeled his death as from natural causes. I just don't buy it."

"So you think someone messed with the autopsy results in order not to raise any red flags?" Kai turned his head toward her as if wanting to see her reaction.

Tori hesitated before nodding. "That's exactly what I think. Either the coroner fudged the report, or someone else altered the results after the fact."

Kai grunted.

"Did Nathan tell you much about the program?" Gage stole a glance at her in the rearview mirror before grabbing some french fries and taking a bite.

"Enough to make me uncomfortable. I begged him to get out. But he said it wasn't that easy."

Based on the silence of the two men in the front seat, she would guess they agreed with that statement.

"Why would someone want to kill him, and who could this person be?" Kai asked.

Those questions were something Tori had thought a lot about. She'd only come to one conclusion. "I think Nathan was asking too many questions and made someone nervous. I also think he lost his life in order to keep him quiet."

"What set these questions in motion?"

"He was really bummed a few months ago after his friend died in a car accident," she said. "I believe that led to him asking questions."

"What else do you know?"

She blew out a breath. "From what I understand, Vintage—that's the name his friend who died went by—had begun to experience some terrible headaches. He wasn't satisfied with the answers he was getting. He decided to look into things on his own."

"And?"

"He set the ball in motion, so to speak. He tracked down some names and addresses. But before he could truly discover anything, he died. My brother didn't like that."

Silence stretched.

Finally, Kai asked, "Did you go to anyone else with your concerns?"

"There was no one else I thought would believe me—or that I trusted with the information. I felt lost and confused, and I didn't know who to go to. Except you."

"So how do you think Nathan found my name and address?" Kai asked.

"I believe his friend tracked down your information, and Nathan went up to DC to check things out. I'm not sure why he didn't end up talking to you."

"I've been traveling some," he said.

"Then maybe that was why. But I know he listed your name. It even had a star beside it. Like I said, that's why I came to DC. To find you. I was trying to get a feel for you before I approached to ask for help. But then you saw me and . . ." Her voice trailed.

She didn't like that memory. Didn't like the flashback of her face being pressed into that brick wall. Of her hands being pinned behind her back. Of being worried that Kai might kill her.

Now that Tori had been around him longer, she'd seen a kinder side of him. She knew he'd just been reacting to her out of distrust. But if Kai had been through the same program Nathan had, then he was fully capable of killing her.

"I wasn't sure who you worked for," Kai explained again. "I'm sorry for being rough."

Her cheek still stung, and her wrists felt tender. But she kept that quiet. Those things were the least of her concerns right now.

"Which tells me you know all this secret military stuff is true, right?" Tori's throat burned as she asked the question.

Kai and Gage exchanged a glance with each other as she waited for an answer.

Would they continue to avoid her questions? Or would they finally confess to the truth?

Either way, Tori had no choice but to trust them right now. She was at their mercy, a choice she prayed she didn't regret.