Chapter 65

chapter

sixty-five

Four hours later, Nia, Gage, and Austin were finally able to leave the police station. Sophia had been taken to the hospital to be checked out, but she would be fine. Doctors wanted to keep her overnight for observation, just in case.

Graham and his men were either being treated or were behind bars. All of them would live to see another day—and pay for what they’d done. Nia only hoped the police would be able to track down the potential buyer of the app, the people who wanted to use it for nefarious purposes.

“You guys, I’m going to go grab a coffee.” Austin nodded to a coffee shop on the corner. “I’ll meet you back at the hotel room in an hour or two.”

Gage nodded. “Sounds good. See you there.”

Gage and Nia strolled along the street, in no hurry to get anywhere. They had a lot to talk about—and a lot to process .

“Thank you for coming for me.” Nia stole a glance at Gage.

“Of course I came for you.”

“I got a glimpse of that app, and that must have been what did it. Suddenly, I couldn’t think for myself. My body felt like it was on autopilot.”

“Can you imagine what someone could do with that kind of power if it was in the wrong hands?” Gage shook his head as if disgusted by the idea.

“Thankfully, it won’t be.”

They paused on the corner and listened to a lone ukulele player strumming and singing “I’m Yours” on the other side of the street.

Nia’s thoughts whirled as she tried to find the words to say. Where did she even start? Before she could, Gage spoke up.

“Why were you acting strange this morning?” Gage studied her face, searching for answers. “Was it because of the kiss?”

“Yes.” She paused and shook her head, resignation pressing on her and tugging at her features. “I mean, no.”

“Well, which is it?” He continued to study her face, confusion in his gaze.

Nia let out a soft breath as she tried to explain. “The truth is someone sent me a photo. Of you.”

“Of me?” Confusion flashed in his eyes.

She licked her lips, which suddenly felt dry. “You had a gun, and you held it to a woman who looked terrified. The thing is, I thought I knew who Mario was, but I didn’t. It’s been my fear that will happen again. That I’ll be tricked and feel like a fool. So when I saw that photo . . .”

“I don’t know who sent that or where they got it.”

“Graham said the men who wanted to buy that app . . . that they somehow had access to it. That they seemed to know who you were.”

A shadow flickered across his gaze. “Is that right?”

“You know who might have sent it?”

He offered a stiff shrug. “There are several people it could have been. I’d need to narrow it down.”

She nodded slowly. “I see.”

There was so much she still didn’t know about him.

“Can I see the photo?” he asked.

Nia nodded and found it on her phone. She watched Gage’s face as he stared at it. She wanted to see surprise. To hear denial.

Instead, Gage looked off into the distance and frowned. “That’s a real photo.”

“What?” The word came out in a rush of breath.

Gage nodded toward a park in the distance. “I know you need to go visit your sister in a moment. But can we sit down and talk for a minute?”

“Of course.” Nia braced herself for whatever he had to say.

Gage felt butterflies in his stomach.

And he never felt butterflies. Everyone told him he had nerves of steel.

But not right now.

He led Nia to a bench facing the water, and they sat down.

It took him a moment to find the right words. There was so much he wanted to say. So much he couldn’t say.

“That photo was from a top-secret assignment I did,” he finally started. “I know the woman in the photo looked innocent, but she was actually married to a powerful terrorist leader.”

“She looked so scared.”

“She was scared. I didn’t shoot her. We turned her, actually, and she began to give us information on her husband and his exploits. Because of that, some major attacks were thwarted. Innocent lives were saved. The photo looks violent, but there was so much more to it than that.”

“I see.” Nia nodded slowly as if still trying to comprehend everything.

“The truth is, there are a lot of assignments I did that I can only half remember,” he continued. “As part of the experiments that were done on me, I was programmed to obey.”

“So I guess you understand what it was like for me when I fell under the spell of that app.”

Gage ran a hand through his hair, that familiar tug-of-war beginning inside him. The assignments he’d done had been important. Had helped keep people safe. But that was never as cut-and-dried as people would like to think.

Peace came at a price. Most people weren’t willing to accept what that price was.

“Unfortunately, I do understand what it’s like to be controlled,” he finally said. “I understand all too well. It’s unnerving, isn’t it?”

“Definitely.”

“I struggle with my job. I struggle with my time in the military. Most of my colleagues do.”

Nia turned toward him. “Then why don’t you get out of that type of work? Do something else?”

“Because the guys at The Shadow Agency . . . they understand me when no one else does. No one else can fully comprehend what we’ve been through. And I’ve had my doubts about if I can truly acclimate to civilian life.”

“I get how that would be hard.” Nia offered a soft smile. “But I also believe that all things are possible, especially when we have the right processes in place . . . and faith in God.”

A smile feathered across his lips. “I agree. But change can be hard.”

“Does this mean you’re going back to . . . Wichita?” Her question ended with a dubious lilt.

Gage smiled again. “The company is actually based in Michigan. And, yes, I will need to go back there for a while. But I’m hoping to come back to Miami to visit . . . often.”

Her breath caught. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

A grin stretched across her face. “I’d like that. ”

Their gazes locked. “I’m glad to hear that.”

As Nia studied his face, she pushed a curl behind her ear and swallowed hard. “Thank you for trusting me with everything you just said, Gage. It means a lot.”

“I’m not supposed to talk about these things.”

“But you shared them with me?” Questions danced in her eyes.

“Only because I care about you. I know it sounds crazy. We haven’t known each other that long. But it’s true.”

“It’s not crazy to me. I care about you too.”

Hope filled him, and Gage felt as if a weight had been lifted from his chest.

Maybe he could acclimate to regular life. Maybe he could have a normal future.

Maybe he would have the chance to find some happiness for himself after so many years of helping others.

Gage leaned toward Nia, and their lips met again in what he hoped would be one of many more kisses.