Chapter 30

Devolin

I watched as Dalton and his crew walked out of NSI’s front entrance. Once that door latched shut behind them, I turned the deadbolt to the locked position like Theo had instructed me.

I found myself sitting at my desk, my brain running at a hundred miles an hour. Guilt filled me for lying by omission about how Dalton came across this latest case. Worry filled me about the possible dangers that the men’s latest jaunt would hold for them. What was worse was that the panic that had caused me to lose my shit earlier was threatening to take hold of me again.

“There was never a right time,” I whispered to the room, as if it was a proper justification for having remained mum about my family connections.

I knew that Dalton wouldn’t see it that way though. Hell, I didn’t see it that way. I knew that I’d been given the opportunity to come clean just before he left. I could have told him right after I finished pouring my guts out about Gordon. If it were the other way around, I knew that I’d be pissed at the man if he withheld important information from me.

With that final thought, I resolved that next time we spoke, which would be when he landed in Houston, before connecting with their chartered helicopter, that I’d come clean.

Until then, I ran a check of my monitoring systems to assure myself that I was ready for when the boys needed me. I estimated another five hours or so before the men would reach their destination. Between now and then, because my gut told me something big was on the horizon, I’d make damn sure that I hadn’t missed a single thing.

Rex was a bear of a man. A very scary one at that.

When the man came calling at NSI’s door, I asked him for his ID, feeling slightly embarrassed when he produced it without hesitation, a look of complete boredom strewn across his face. The approval in his eyes, however, was sign enough that I’d done well.

It turns out that Rex wasn’t much of a talker either.

I tried to engage him in conversation, but his answers were short, mostly provided with shoulder shrugs and grunts.

In truth, the last three hours in his company had been pure torture.

When my phone rang, I jumped at the chance to make contact with the outside world. A person that wouldn’t mimic a fucking robot.

“Hello?”

“Devolin?”

“Who’s this?” I asked the woman on the other line.

“It’s Morgan. Theo gave me your number earlier, when he called to let me know that they were on their way out,” she explained. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” I said, watching as Rex set his motorcycle magazine to the side and got up to do his rounds over the office floor again. That meant another hour had passed since his last check. Yes, I could tell what time it was simply by when the man would move. Clearing my throat, I added, “Much better.”

“I’m so glad…” Her voice trailed off as if she meant to continue but didn’t.

“Is something the matter?” I asked.

“Uh, no. Not exactly,” she said. “I…uh…called because I wanted to know if you’d like to join me for dinner.”

“Uh—”

“It’s just that I know how it feels to have your man take off to parts unknown. Then again, they’re not unknown to you now, are they?” She giggled nervously. “I suppose it’s probably harder for you to know where they are, and what’s going on, and not being able to be there to help them.” She sighed. I didn’t voice how right the other woman was on that one. I figured I had enough to worry about. “What I’m saying is that, after all these years, I’ve forgotten how it felt when my brother was deployed. Theo taking off—”

I was nodding in agreement throughout Morgan’s rambling, then realized the woman wasn’t there to see me, so I said, “I get it. It’s only been a few hours and I’m sick with worry, even though I know they’re still up in the air.”

Sick with worry didn’t cover it. With everything lined up and ready to go, I was simply sitting there, watching my screens, then watching Rex watch me, and twiddling my thumbs. Hell, I’d even given up on playing Candy Crush on my phone. Every hour, when Rex went on his walks, I’d pick up the phone and have Dalton’s number half-dialed before I’d set the receiver back in its cradle. Maybe I could pick Morgan’s brain on how to come clean to Dalton?

Turning my attention back to the conversation, I said, “I’ll tell Rex. I’ll be over in half an hour, is that okay?”

“Your ass gets here when it gets here, lady,” she said, making me smile. “As for mine, it’ll be digging out weeds in the greenhouse until you get here.”

“You need me to bring anything?”

“Nah. We can order something when you get here, if you’re up for it,” she replied.

“Sounds good.”

“Now answer me this one thing before I let you go. Who’s Rex?”

“My new bodyguard,” I say dryly. Before Morgan could ask, I said, “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it when I get there.”

“What do you do, Rex?” Morgan asked, trying to engage the man, who’d yet to utter a single word since our arrival. We’d been there for a couple of hours now and it was after dinner.

“He doesn’t talk,” I supplied, as I rinsed the dishes we’d used for the pizza.

Morgan’s eyes rounded, then looked at the behemoth of male muscle standing by the back door, surveying the gardens and the rest of the surroundings.

I swore I saw his lips quirking up at the sides. Good Lord, it was a miracle!

“I talk,” he rasped. He sounded like a smoker with a two-pack-a-day habit, but I suspected that the scar etched into his skin across his neck might have something to do with it. Rex’s mild-humored expression faded as soon as he noticed my eyeing said scar.

“Then what do you do?” Morgan asked him again, while at the same time, my cell started ringing.

Drying my hands on the dishrag and setting it down, I reached into my back jeans pocket and pulled the device out, noticing the scrambled number that told me Dalton was calling from the satellite phone he’d brought with him. My heart started to race.

“Stay inside,” Rex warned.

Nodding, I took a deep breath, slid my finger across the screen, and answered with a breathy, “Hey!”

“Sweetheart.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Everything okay?”

“I feel like I should be asking you that.”

“We’re good. In Houston. We’re just waiting to board the bird.”

“Bird?”

“Helicopter,” he explained.

Suddenly, Rex burst out laughing in the kitchen. Then Morgan’s giggle followed. How the fuck had she managed that? I’d tried everything to engage the man, but he’d remained steadfast and removed the entire time since his arrival.

“What the fuck?” Dalton snapped.

“I’m at Morgan and Theo’s,” I explained. “She invited me over, and since this might be the only break I have until this operation is over, I figured I’d take her up on her offer.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“I really like her, Kip,” I whispered, my emotions getting the better of me. “And Theo, too. You’ve got some really great friends, baby.”

“Everything okay?”

I nodded yes as I gave him the truth. “No.”

It was time.

There was no turning back now.