We drive to the airport in silence. It’s not that I don’t have anything to say to Cameron, it’s more that I don’t know what to say or how to say it. Things between us have been more than strained these last few weeks. Hell, these last couple of months. And it’s been my fault.
“You missed the turn.” Cameron’s voice breaks through my head, but I shake it with a no.
“We’re going to the private hangars. I’ve got a plane waiting for us there.
“We’ve got a chartered plane? How did you manage one so fast?”
“You’ll see,” I feel the smirk on my face but give nothing away. As soon as we get closer to the private parking, Cameron speaks with a hint of a chuckle behind his words.
“That mother fucker. Of course, he has something to do with this.”
We pull into Grayson’s private hangar, and I park the car in one of the parking spaces. Cameron reaches for his seatbelt, but I grab his arm before he can pull it over himself.
“Can we talk before we head to the plane? There’s still –” I look down at my watch, then back up to Cam. “– at least fifteen minutes before they’re expecting us.”
He lets the seatbelt wind up into its place. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”
He looks uneasy. Confused. A little queasy.
“I, um. I want to apologize –”
“I don’t need your apologies, Logan. I need my best friend back.” Cameron looks at me, not mad or upset, although I deserve those reactions from him, but with longing. Nothing sexual, but one akin to missing a vital part of himself. And it guts me. Absolutely kills me that it’s taken me this long to figure things out.
“I know I don’t have to, but you’ve got to realize that we’re about to spend a hell of a lot of time together. I want to make things right between us as soon as possible because we don’t know how long this is going to take and I can’t – won’t – risk losing you even more. I need to have a clear head, and I need to have a clear conscious. I know that sounds callous and harsh, but it’s my truth. And that truth includes missing being able to call my best friend about my shitty day or when something like my sister shows up out of the blue engaged and pregnant.” I keep babbling until I hear him snickering. I roll my head toward him and with a cracked smile, I ask, “What?”
“You’re a mess, Logan. A hot ass mess. But you should know that no matter what, you’re always forgiven. I can’t help but forgive you, though half the time you don’t deserve it.” I give him a playful shove, and his laughter dies down. “Really, Logan. I do forgive you. I might not forget, but that’s me. I hang onto things and let them fester even though I know I shouldn’t. Let’s just put everything behind us, please, and get to Denver. Let’s catch this bastard and move on with our lives, okay?”
“Okay.” I nod my head, trying to suppress a smile.
It’s only with Cameron that I’ve really given in to my feelings. I can be me around him. Levi and Lindsay tried their hardest, and I plastered a fake smile on my face for their sake, but it’s Cam that I can really be myself.
“And hey, with Suzie’s help, I got a copy of the firm’s evidence and reports.”
“God, I love that woman.”
“She comes through in a pinch, that’s for sure.” I let the air settle between us in companionable silence. My whispering confession breaks the last of the quiet. “She’s the only one who knows my plan. Our plan. Encouraged me, really. She wants this as much as we do, Cam.”
“She has every right. She survived that night and lost her brother and Josh who were only trying to protect her.”
“I know. We’re doing this for the three of us, Cam. Do you realize that while we’ve been holing up in our houses, she’s gone to work every day, she’s had to watch as evidence and reports cross through the doorway and into her lap, and that she’s not been sleeping? She got so scared a couple of weeks ago and when she couldn’t get ahold of either of us, she called Jo.” I watch his face fall as it sinks in.
“Fuck, Logan.” He wiped his hand down his face and looks at me.
“We’ve been so caught up in our own lives that we forgot about the most important person who not only lived that nightmare but has had to carry the burden alone. We’re doing this to make up for being assholes, Cam. We’re doing this for her as much as we are for us.”
I repeat my earlier sentiments and then unbuckle my own seatbelt without another word. Our fifteen minutes have more than passed and as we finally cross the tarmac and get to the steps of the plane with our equipment, I can’t help but catch the two words that carry in the wind.
“Oh, Fuck.”
I knew I recognized those numbers.
I knew my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me.
The stress since this started has been so overwhelming, so completely life altering and overpowering, that I failed to realize even the most basic of clues staring back at me in the face. I’d almost feel foolish but even after talking to Dr. Locke this morning – a session that already feels like it occurred weeks ago instead of hours – I’ve quickly learned that in times like this, the brain does what it wants and it’s no one’s fault how it reacts. Still, it bugs me that it took going on my own to realize what that torn piece of paper meant.
“What is it?” I turn to Logan who is looking around and trying to find what catches my eye.
“I’ll tell you on the plane. But have those files ready, specifically the Houston ones, and I’ll tell you what I figured out.”
He turns back around, rather skeptically, and I follow him into the GAM Tech plane Grayson so generously donated to us. What used to be a hundred-passenger plane is now a renovated jet that seats thirty in a luxury liner with a full bar, bath, and bedroom.
The second we take our seats, Logan pulls out a stack of folders. “These are the Houston files. What are we looking for?”
“A small piece of paper that has a few numbers and letters on it. I’ve been off my game lately but something just clicked and I want to see if I’m right.”
“You’re in luck because here it is.” He hands me a piece of paper and my suspicions are right when he keeps talking. “The information on the back says it’s part of a private sector of hangars…and at this airport.”
His head snaps up as his eyes meet mine. “We can’t leave yet. I remember Jo saying they were sending someone out here tonight after they got things with Denver figured out.”
I get up and head to the cockpit. The door we walked through moments ago is still open as I walk to the front of the plane.
“Guys, can we hold off for an hour?”
“Not a problem. We were just about to tell you that there’s a storm forming in the panhandle so we have to sit for a bit.”
“Great. We’ll be back soon.”
I rush back to Logan, jerking my head toward the door. “Let’s go. I’ll call JoJo on the way.”
“What for?” he breathes out as we race down the steps.
“We need quick access to the office and a warrant. Our temporary FBI badges won’t work in our favor, Lo. We need him to fax over the one they probably got access to.”
I turn my phone on and dial up the familiar number and a gruff voice answers the phone. “Where the hell are you, Cameron? I’ve tried calling you for the last hour.”
“No time to talk, Jo. Do you have a warrant for the hangar number?” I make my way into the hangar offices where Logan sped into as I made my phone call.
“How the hell do you know about that?”
“We’re at the airport, Jo. Their fax number is…” Logan starts repeating the number the blonde clerk behind the desk rattles off.
“Cameron, is that Logan I hear? You need to tell me what the fuck is going on before I send this over there.”
I bite my tongue. I’m not in the mood for yelling. The adrenaline pumping in my veins is reserved for the information we’re hoping to get and the asshole we plan on taking it out on. Not JoJo’s stupid questions.
“JoJo, I’m begging you. I realized where I knew that logo on the piece of paper was from and put two and two together. Logan just happened to be with me and we raced over here to see what we could do. My phone was off because I spent three hours in Locke’s office this morning, per your request, and I swear, so help me god, if you don’t send that damn warrant over, you’re going to be losing more than just a few hours of critical information.”
“Is that a threat, Cameron?”
“It’s a fact, Jo.” It amazes me how steady I’m keeping my voice, and I know I’ll feel like shit later for treating Jo like this, but right now I can’t dwell on how I sound.
I hear him growl followed by a resigned sigh expelled from his mouth before he answers more calmly. “Cam, I don’t want to get into this with you. I have an investigation to run. I have teams to prepare and shifts to cover while half our men are in Denver. Just promise me that whatever you find, you call me right away.”
I open my mouth but as soon as I start talking, Jo murmurs the words I’ve been waiting to hear. “Suz faxed it over two minutes ago, but please –”
I hit the end button before he finishes speaking, then I turn my phone off again. Logan cocks an eyebrow at me and I give him a weak smile. “He had Suzie send it.”
Our heads follow the woman’s gaze and sure enough, on the machine at the far side of the room is a white piece of paper.