It's Always Been You (17 page)

His mother broke into a sob, hugging Caitlin tighter. Travis encircled them both in his arms. His life was definitely looking up.

The men observed the women who were busy chatting in the living room. The only other awkward moment was when his mom bluntly inquired about Caitlin’s scar and bruising. His mother was admittedly nosy and sometimes was short on tact, but there was no one who had a bigger capacity for love than one Lillian Blake.

“There’s something you want to tell me without your mother finding out?” Daniel asked his son.

“Someone is still after Caitlin,” Travis admitted to his dad. “The attack we told you about, which is the reason for her current injuries, is not quite over. It’s under control right now, but I’m trying to be careful. I’ll be assigning extra security for you both, unless you want to take Mom on a vacation for a while.”

“How long?”

“I don’t know, Dad.”

His dad nodded. “I understand. I prefer to take your mom away, but a part of me doesn’t want to leave you both alone in this. If something happens to either of you, we want to be close in case you need help.”

“Dad—”

“Your mom is not obtuse, Travis. Leaving for another vacation so soon after coming back from Lisa’s is going to make her suspicious. I’ll break it to her gently.”

“I’ll arrange for security as soon as possible. I had a contract that ended yesterday, and I’ve already recalled my crew from that one.”

“We’re all set then.”

“You’re all set,” Travis assured his dad.

*****

It would be a couple of hours before Travis’s parents left. Caitlin caught an earful of his mother’s anecdotes of her life before, thinking it would spark her memory. Sadly, amnesia didn’t work that way. None of the stories sounded familiar, and it was as if Lillian was recounting someone else’s life—not her life with Travis. Though she knew Lillian didn’t mean it, the older woman’s eyes drifted to Caitlin’s scar more frequently than was comfortable. Eventually his mother said, “I know of a good plastic surgeon that can fix your scar, Caitlin.”

Caitlin knew she meant well, because there was no malice in her tone, and clearly she was just trying to be helpful. Unfortunately, the men had walked back to the living room by then, and Travis overheard his mother. He was furious.

“What the fuck, Mom!” Travis snapped. “Caitlin is perfect the way she is. I would not change a fucking thing.”

“Travis, calm down.” His father’s voice boomed behind them.

There was a tense line along Travis’s jaw. “I think this visit is over.”

“Travis, your mom—” Caitlin began.

“No. He’s right, my dear,” Lillian said in a quiet voice. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just that—”

“It’s okay, really,” Caitlin assured her. “The scar is a part of me now. I’d feel naked without it.”
 

His mother looked at her with such regret. “Oh, Caitlin.”
 

Damn, she must have looked really good with a flawless face, Caitlin thought miserably.

“Sweetheart,” Daniel addressed Lillian. “I think it’s time we get moving. We haven’t quite settled back to routine, and the kids need time for themselves. Three weeks is not enough to make up for three years.”

“Damn straight,” Travis muttered. His mother wrinkled her nose at her son, miffed at his cursing. Caitlin wanted to laugh. There was such a sense of family between them that even when they were at odds, she found it so endearing.

“Thank you,” Caitlin told Travis after his parents had left.

“For what, sunshine?”

“For giving me a family.”

“Babe, they’ve always been yours,” Travis said softly. “Since the day I decided you were mine, they belonged to you.”

He eyed her carefully. “So, my mom didn’t overwhelm you?”

Caitlin grinned. “Travis, you know your mom. What do you think?”

He groaned and hugged her to him as they strode to the TV room. “Sorry for leaving you alone with her. I had something to discuss with my dad.”

“No problem. She wasn’t bad at all. I have a feeling I’ll be getting used to her in no time.”

“You did get along well.”

“What did you have to discuss with your dad? Does it have anything to do with the danger from Komarov?”

Travis exhaled heavily. “Yes. I can’t risk them being a target.”

Before Caitlin could digest this tidbit, react, or say anything, Travis squeezed her tighter against him. “And I don’t want to hear you say it’s your fault. I’ll handle this, Caitlin. We’re in this together. I protect what’s mine. You concentrate on getting Komarov his money, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

Caitlin shrugged. It seemed easier now that she had gotten the first set of files open.

“I forgot to add,” Travis whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “You concentrate on making sure that body is available to me any way I want it, and I’ll take care of everything else.”

*****

It wasn’t as easy as Caitlin thought it would be, but it would be three days later when she eventually cracked the encryption on all the files. All 100 million dollars of Komarov’s money plus change—the interest garnered from three years sitting in the bank was quite substantial.

The breakthrough happened one afternoon when she was in Travis’s office. She was squirming with excitement in her chair as she stared at all the money that would finally liberate her and Travis to live their life together.
 

Together.

 
Caitlin’s skin tingled with the memory of the past three days. Sex, sex and more sex. They couldn’t get enough of each other. She couldn’t remember why she had resisted him so firmly in the first place. She was feeling so lucky now—to be falling in love with a man who fiercely loved her. Although he had not said the words again since the day in the kitchen, she could feel it in each caress and in the way he looked at her—tenderness, passion, yearning. She hoped her eyes reflected the same.

“Someone’s daydreaming,” a sultry amused voice spoke from the doorway.

Beatrice.

The redhead had come in every day to discuss security contracts with Travis and his team. She also made it a point to stop by at the conference room where Travis had her set up to work on the files.

“Hey, Beatrice!” Caitlin smiled at the newcomer. She hadn’t quite made up her mind whether she liked the redhead or not. Her familiarity with Travis made Caitlin a bit jealous, and the last thing she wanted was to act petty. So she tried to squash those feelings and told herself that if Travis wanted Beatrice, he would have gone after her a long time ago instead of carrying a torch for Caitlin for so long. Feeling a bit better with her quick self-reflection, Caitlin widened her smile.

“You seem to be happy about something,” Beatrice said as she glided into the room. How she could do this gracefully in three-inch spiked heels was beyond her.
 

“Getting some of my skills back.”

“Travis has a stupid grin plastered on his face nowadays,” Beatrice informed her dryly. “It’s nauseating.”

“Oh, stop complaining. You’re happy for him, aren’t you?”

The redhead grinned, her green eyes softening. “Yes, I’m happy for him. He’s been through so much. You have no idea.”

“So you met him through your dad?”

The redhead shrugged off her blazer, and sat beside Caitlin. Looked like Beatrice was down for some girl chat instead of her customary brief “hello.”

“Yes. A little over two-years ago, just when Travis was starting BSI, Dad introduced him to me at a security conference,” Beatrice said. “We got along well and decided to be business partners of some sort. You know the work I do?”

Caitlin nodded. As a security consultant, Beatrice was the first line of contact for most BSI clients. She made top-level recommendations and then fielded the contract to her partners. BSI wasn’t the only security company that Beatrice worked with, but according to Travis, they got most of her clients.

“The time I met him, I could tell he was a man who hadn’t let go of his grief,” Beatrice continued. “He looked okay physically, but his eyes were haunted. Like he was just existing with no joy in his life.”

Caitlin’s heart ached at Beatrice words. “I’m sorry.” Although, she wasn’t sure why she was apologizing.

“I’m not really sure why I’m telling you this,” Beatrice hedged.

“Let’s not mince words here,” Caitlin replied. “You don’t seem to be the type, and you’re not even subtle about it.” She paused for a beat before pushing forward. “You don’t want me to hurt him.”

“He’s not going to get over losing you a second time.”

“Everyone seems to be telling me this.” Caitlin was starting to get aggravated. She didn’t want her burgeoning relationship with Travis to be scrutinized and put under undue pressure. She wanted their feelings to develop naturally and not be tainted by all these expectations. “He survived the first time. If it ever happens that we’re not compatible after all, he’ll get through it. He just didn’t have closure last time.”

“I think you’re wrong there,” Beatrice said. “You don’t get it. That man can’t even appreciate another woman and believe me, girl, many have tried to get their claws into him. Supermodels, socialites, you name it. That’s why Travis and I go to functions together. He’s too polite to tell bitches to fuck off.”

“His momma raised him well,” Caitlin drawled in her best attempt at a Southern accent.

Beatrice gazed intently at her. “I see how he looks at you. It makes me nervous.”

“What?”

“The way he looks at you, Caitlin. You’re his whole world.”

“Beatrice, please don’t put too much pressure on me. Travis and I are getting along so well right now, we don’t need you butting into our business.”
 

The redhead looked sheepish. “You’re right. I did charge in here like some mama hen.”

“Yes, you did.”

They both giggled. Caitlin decided to turn the tables on the other woman.

“So, what’s your story?”

“Why I don’t have a man of my own?” Beatrice wasn’t one to play coy.

“Yup.”

“I wasn’t enough for him. He broke my heart, and we parted ways. End of story. It’s actually quite boring.”

“A friend of Travis?”

“Gabriel Sullivan.” Half-regret, half-vitriol rolled off her tongue as she said his name.
 

“He worked for BSI?”

“No. All I know is he used to be in Travis’s SEAL unit and left to do something else.” There was a sharp edge that laced Beatrice’s words.
 

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not. It was a quick affair, flared up and fizzled in a few months,” Beatrice said airily. Somehow, Caitlin didn’t believe her. Beatrice had this facade of strength, but there was a vulnerability about her just hovering under the surface. And therein lay the appeal with Beatrice Porter. She was a challenge to any man. To finally win her heart, a man had to break through her hardness. Then he might gain the promise of that sweet surrender.

The redhead narrowed her eyes at Caitlin. “That’s all I’m telling you. I don’t really talk about it, but since I’ve hounded you about not hurting Travis, I feel like I owe you.”

“Don’t say that, I don’t wanna pry. If you’re not comfortable revealing such personal stuff, just tell me.”

“Hmm . . . same goes for you . . . unless you hurt Travis.”

Caitlin sighed. “Are you turning this back on me again?”

“Counter-attack, girl.”

Caitlin laughed. “In some ways, you’re exactly like your father.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult?”

“A compliment,” Caitlin stated primly.

“I think I like you,” Beatrice said.

Caitlin just smiled. She was beginning to like Beatrice. It took this whole conversation, but knowing someone who was as protective of Travis as she was, definitely was someone worth having on your side.

*****

“It’s all there.”

“My bookkeeper is checking the account right now.”

This was the first time Caitlin had a face to face with the man who had been hunting her and Jase down for the past three years. Admiral Porter was doing all the talking. That was what he advised her when all three of them, including Travis, gathered at the conference room to transfer the money to Komarov’s banks.

After a few minutes, Komarov received his confirmation. “My man has verified the funds. I’m sending you the information on my agent inside the Zorin Bratva. I’m not sure if he’s the person giving you the problem dealing with Grigori Zorin—”

“We’ll determine that for ourselves,” Porter cut him off.

Komarov transferred his gaze to Caitlin and then to Travis. “So, are we even? Or do I need to worry about you, Mr. Blake?”

Travis was silent, but Caitlin could feel the rage simmering under his skin. Porter was about to say something when Travis finally spoke. And when he did, his voice was low and harsh. “I could kill you for sending your thugs after my wife. But I want this whole affair over. Just stay away from us.”

“You have my word,” Komarov said. “John Cooper didn’t only steal from me but from you as well.” His eyes lingered on Caitlin. “Someone precious. I wish you a good life, Caitlin Kincaid. Mr. Blake.” His gaze slid to Porter. “Goodbye, Admiral.”

The feed disconnected.

The two men stared at each other. Caitlin could feel the tension pinging between them and decided to cut through it. “Well, that was anti-climactic.”

Travis looked at her, his eyes warming up. “We could do with less excitement and more normalcy.”

“So what do you plan to do now, Caitlin?” Porter asked. “You’re a free woman.”

“Did I miss the memo? Was I a prisoner?” Caitlin quipped. She knew figuratively she had been until Komarov was placated. And now the Russian mob boss seemed satisfied. Finally, after three years on the run, she could slow down and find herself again.

“I could continue giving you some work,” Porter offered.
 

Caitlin’s eyes lit up.

“Damn it, Admiral!” Travis snapped.
 

“Cool it, Lieutenant—”

“Travis—”

“I’m not having her work for the CIA and have another mob boss after her again,” Travis said. “She doesn’t have to work. I can take care of her.”