It's Always Been You (13 page)

“Travis . . .” Emily said, her voice cracking.

The look on Emily’s face, coupled with the grim expressions on the uniforms’ faces, sent a frisson of dread slicing through his chest. He could barely force words out his mouth. “What’s going on?”

“Sir, do you know a Caitlin Kincaid and Sam Harper?”

*****

Travis couldn’t get to Georgetown Medical fast enough. He summoned every nerve-centering technique he had learned as a SEAL so as not to lose his shit. Nate was with him. Though his friend’s calm kept him in check, it still didn’t take away the reality that he wouldn’t survive losing her a second time. Speed limits were broken, but luckily he wasn’t pulled over, because they would have to arrest him at the hospital. His priority was making sure Caitlin was okay. The officers who showed up at BSI couldn’t tell him about Caitlin’s condition, only that they had been called to a scene of what appeared to be an attempted abduction.

He burst into the ER, Nate at his heels.

“Caitlin Kincaid and Sam Harper?” Travis growled at the receptionist.
 

“You are?”

“Caitlin’s husband.”
 

She checked her screen and said, “Ms. Kincaid is in room 4.”

“How about Mr. Harper?” Nate asked

“Are you a relative, sir?”

“No. A co-worker.”
 

“I’m sorry, I can’t divulge such information.”

“Damn it,” Travis swore. “Nate, take care of Sam, and let me know immediately what you find out. I’m going to see Caitlin.”

He got buzzed through the double doors of the ER and immediately found the room. He slowly expelled the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Relief hit him. He leaned against the doorframe to calm his racing pulse. She was okay. Thank fuck, she was okay.

Caitlin was sitting up on a hospital bed; a doctor was checking her vitals. Rage warred with concern when he saw the doctor palpitate her abdomen, exposing the discolorations that were forming.

“Caitlin,” he whispered raggedly.

“Travis?” Her voice was groggy.

“Are you her husband?” the doctor asked as he double-checked the information on the clipboard.

“Yes. Travis Blake. How is she?”

“Her x-rays checked out okay. There are some bruising and abrasions.”

“Sam . . . Travis . . .” she whispered.

“Ms. Kincaid, you do realize it’s our belief that Mr. Harper drugged you?”

“What?” Travis asked.
 

“An injector was found close to her,” the doctor informed him. “And witnesses say Mr. Harper stabbed her with it.”

Holy Fuck! Sam administered the anti-serum.

“He was helping me . . .” Caitlin muttered.

“She’s still out of it,” the doctor told Travis quietly. “We’re still waiting for the toxicology report. I’ll go fast track that right now.”

When the doctor left the room, Travis raised his hand to touch Caitlin’s face. The overwhelming panic had receded, but another one was slowly gripping his heart in a vise. She was nearly taken from him, and with how things ended with them last night, regret churned in his gut. There was no place for bullshit pride or anger in their relationship.
 

“I’m so sorry, Cat.”

“For what?” Her eyes were struggling to stay open.

“For not being there to protect you.”

“Not your . . . fault.” Her lids slid shut, her breathing evened out. She had fallen into her deep slumber.

“Trav?” Nate whispered behind him.

Travis turned around and was surprised to see Sam, with his arm in a sling, standing beside Nate.

“Are you all right, Harper?” Travis asked.

“Yes, boss.” The younger man’s face was filled with remorse. “Sir, I am so sorry—”

“Not your fault,” Travis cut him off quickly.
It is mine
. “What the hell happened?”

“We can’t talk here,” Nate said. “There are two detectives in the reception area waiting to speak to Harper and Caitlin.”

“Not happening,” Travis growled.
 

“That’s what I told them.”

“Call Porter.”

“He called me actually,” Nate said. “When he couldn’t get a hold of you. You forgot your phone somewhere. He’s handling it.”

“Shit. I left it in the car,” Travis said. He looked at Caitlin. “I’m taking her home.”

“Shouldn’t you wait for the all clear from the doctor?”

“They’re just waiting for the toxicology report, and if Porter’s handling it . . .”
 

There wasn’t going to be one.

*****

It took a shit ton of paperwork to clear the hospital of any liability for taking Caitlin home against medical advice, especially in the absence of a toxicology report. But Travis got it done. Dealing with the detectives was a different matter.

They were having a standoff at the hospital entrance. Travis had deposited a sleeping Caitlin into his car, turned around, and glared at the two detectives who followed him outside.

The one who identified himself as Detective Moore spoke first. “I don’t care what my captain says; this reeks like a big stinking pile of cow dung. Two of the Russian thugs are in custody, and two got away. They’re after your wife. Why?”

“Take my advice, Detective,” Travis said. “Back off. You don’t want to get involved in this.”

“You’re some hotshot security expert, Mr. Blake, but you’re not above the law,” the second detective known as Smithers said. “We want to know how two people—one of them female—were able to fight off four Russian mob soldiers.”

“Watch it, Detective, you’re sounding like a chauvinist,” Nate interjected.
 

“Bullshit. Something’s going on in that facility. Some weird shit,” Moore said, watching their reactions intently. “Witnesses are tight-lipped except what one of them let slip about your man here”—he nodded to Sam—“stabbing your wife with an injector. What is it, some kind of drug? Is that what this is all about? Drugs?”

Travis was relieved that Sam had already mastered the poker face. “You’re overreaching,” Travis said. “Your captain already told you to drop it.”

“Your wife has drawn dangerous elements into my jurisdiction. It has now become my goddamned problem!” Moore fired back.
 

“I’m taking my wife home,” Travis said. “You delay me any further, I’ll be calling the MPD police chief.”

“The great Travis Blake,” Smithers sneered. “Think you’re so well-connected. Well, I find out your wife is in bed with the Russian drug cartel, no one—not even you—can save her. I can put her away for thirty years.”

He could take threats against him, but against Caitlin? These fuckers had gone too far. Travis clenched his fists and made a move toward the detectives, but Nate blocked him.

“Assaulting a police officer in DC is a felony, Mr. Blake,” Moore smirked. “I hear it seems to be a habit of yours.”

“Get the fuck out of my sight,” Travis growled.
 

“We’ll let you go for now,” Moore said. “But you’ll be hearing from us.”

When both detectives were out of earshot, Nate turned on him. “What the hell, Travis? Do you want to get thrown into jail? Leash your fucking temper, goddamnit!”

“He threatened my wife, Nate. He’s lucky I didn’t lay him out right here,” Travis snapped as he made his way to the driver’s side. “Harper, Audi’s still at the NEST?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll leave it there for now. We’re going home. I want to know every fucking detail that happened.”

*****

Travis settled Caitlin amidst the cushions of the comfy sofa in the living room. He couldn’t bear to let her out of his sight right now, so they were having the debriefing in the dining room where he could keep an eye on her. He was losing his fucking mind with his paranoia. Disappearing with her to a remote island somewhere was beginning to sound very appealing.

He took a six-pack of beer out of the fridge, pulled the tab on one and handed it to Sam. He offered another one to Nate before breaking one out for himself. Gesturing for them to take a seat, he said, “So, what the fuck happened, Sam? It just occurred to me that you all were leaving earlier than usual. Why is that?”

“I’ve been on that same tangent as well, Sir.” No matter how many times he had told Sam to call him Travis or Blake, he insisted on formalities. “I never asked Caitlin why we left early.”

“Anything from Porter?” Nate asked Travis.

“He hasn’t returned my call yet,” Travis said grimly. And it was bugging the hell out of him. Someone told Komarov’s men exactly when and where to nab Caitlin. She was not returning to the NEST. No way in hell. He jerked his chin to prod Sam to continue.

“Two came at me. The one that went after Caitlin said he was like her.”

“What?” Travis and Nate exclaimed in unison. Fuck. Caitlin fought off a specter agent?

“I’ve never seen anything like him,” Sam added. “Or Caitlin. Hot damn, both of them moved fast. But the man seemed to be more in control of his abilities and had been consciously trying not to hurt her. I guess they needed her alive. Caitlin was just feral. It was freaky to see.”

Yes. Travis had witnessed this first hand.

Sam huffed. “The other two were not hard to fight off. When the third—their leader joined in, it became more challenging. But I still managed.”

“You dislocated your shoulder, buddy,” Nate snorted.

“That was courtesy of Caitlin.”

For the second time during the debriefing, the two men were stunned.

“Caitlin went after you?”

“Yes. But she wasn’t herself, and I baited her,” Sam said. “Our assailants heard the police sirens. Caitlin had already knocked her attacker down, and I had one guy unconscious as well. The other two ran. Caitlin was going after them. The car was parked in front of the elevators, so I grabbed the injector. I called her attention.”

“She came at me.” Harper closed his eyes briefly. “I managed to evade her and come up behind her to dig the injector into her neck. She didn’t go down easily. She bent and threw me over her shoulder. I have no fucking idea how I ended up face planted on concrete, my right arm behind me. Well . . . here I am.”

“Fuck, man,” Nate whispered.

“Sir, I hope I did the right thing.” Sam looked at Travis. “I tried not to hurt her.”

“Hell, that’s probably how she managed to throw you,” Nate said.
 

Travis must have worn the scowl from hell because both men were looking at him warily.

“You did the right thing,” Travis gritted through his teeth. It wasn’t Harper’s fault. Still, he wasn’t thrilled about anyone laying a hand on his wife. “And I’m grateful for your quick thinking for remembering to use the anti-serum. The sooner we get BSK’s effect out of her system, the fewer variables we’ll have to contend with in the future.”

“I don’t understand,” Sam asked. “What exactly are we dealing with? Who could have done this to her? Is that what’s going on in the NEST?” Sam’s eyes were censuring as he stared at Travis.
 

“Shut it down, Harper,” Travis said icily. “I would
never
hurt my wife.” He was carrying enough guilt; he didn’t need someone else thinking that he had consciously put Caitlin in danger.

Sam averted his eyes, but his jaw was clenched.

Travis’s phone buzzed. Porter.

“Admiral.”

“The DNA markers indicate the Berserker serum has been flushed from her system,” Porter said.

Travis exhaled a sigh of relief. “Thank, God. Do you have any idea how Komarov’s men knew Caitlin’s schedule and location?”

“One of our technicians didn’t show up for work and has disappeared. We’re suspecting she’s the mole.”

“Fuck. You think she’s the one who tipped Komarov off?”

“Very likely.”

“How about Komarov’s men under MPD custody?”

Silence.

“Admiral?”

“The men are dead.”

“What?” A sense of foreboding gripped Travis. They better not charge Caitlin for manslaughter. It was fucking self-defense. He swallowed hard before asking, “How?”

“Cyanide capsules.”

“What the fuck? Weren’t they searched? Handcuffed?”

“The ball was dropped somewhere, Blake.”

“You fucking bet it was. So we have nothing?”

“Are you alone?”

Travis didn’t care for the admiral’s tone. “Hold on.” He nodded to Nate and Sam to watch over Caitlin and walked into his study.

“What’s going on, Sir?”

“Komarov wants a deal.”

Travis cursed. “Tell me you weren’t in contact with that asshole this entire time.” Another thought crashed into his head. “So help me, God, if you had anything to do—”

“Calm down, Blake—”

“Don’t tell me to fucking calm down, Porter!” Travis roared into his phone, dropping all proprieties. “My wife got hurt! They fucking tried to kidnap her! How the fuck did they know to take her the day after she decrypted the files? Who else knew?”

“The technician had access to some files at the NEST.”

“Tight ship you run over there, Admiral.”

“If you’re done hurling accusations at me, Lieutenant, maybe you’d like to hear what I have to say to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

He realized he was shaking with anger. Travis inhaled a deep calming breath.

“I’m listening.”

*****

Alexandr Komarov eyed his sister Olga from across his wide oak table. He didn’t have to explain his actions. He was the Pakhan—the leader of their Bratva. Not even his sister could question his decisions.

“It’s final, Olga. Caitlin Kincaid will not be touched. I’ve given the admiral my word.”

“She murdered my son, Alexandr. You got your revenge against John Cooper, why can’t I?”

“Because she holds a key to a hundred million dollars. That’s why.”

“You promised me the blood of Caitlin Kincaid.”

“That’s enough!”

“No!” Olga shouted. His sister was crying. He hated tears.
 

“It was your dealings with the CIA that got us into this mess in the first place.”

Alexandr cursed loudly and stood up from behind his desk. His sister backed away. Good. She knew he was ruthless and would only tolerate so much from her.

“Don’t ever question how I run the Bratva, dear sister. It was your husband who led this last mission and failed to acquire Ms. Kincaid and in the process, I lost one of my specter agents.”