His jaw dropped, but he snapped it back into place. He wasn’t in command because he could sell nonsense. He knew what he was doing—especially where Cyrus was concerned. Her memory was skewed by her hatred. “In case you forgot—”
“I haven’t forgotten anything—not my sociopathic brother or his threats to kill me.”
Her brother, her predictable brother. He’d be enthralled with his new toy the moment Jasper could deliver Leonora, and he’d forget all about his plans to kill his sister. Jasper would make sure of that, but the other families would never forget if they discovered the truth. “What about the other families? Have you forgotten what they’ll do if they figure out you have blue eyes?”
Her features tightened. “Thanks to you and your hunt for Leonora, I’m not going to live long enough to worry about that.”
He stepped toward her, tension radiating from his muscles. “I can handle Cyrus. More importantly, I’m helping you by completing this mission.”
“Your help is going to get me murdered in my bed.” She slammed the door behind herself, and he gripped the railing. She was isolated and allowing her hatred for her brother to cloud her judgment. Her best chance at surviving this was for Cyrus to have a secure rule. Jasper had to be pragmatic about this even if she didn’t understand. He would protect her even if she never realized what he’d done for her.
He called Adrian on his implant. “Give me an update.”
Adrian sighed. “It's not much. In the last four hours, three hotel reservations have met the search parameters.”
“The names?”
“Monroe, Garzon, and Zuri.”
Jasper shut his eyes, thinking of the after-action reports. The library, the computer setup at the resort—they needed computer access to be mobile. “Have you determined how they gained access to the surveillance systems?”
“They were able to mimic an administrator and create new permissions for remote devices. It's weak, but we were able to isolate a pattern of anomalies. I’ve set up an alert, so we’ll know if the same pattern comes up again on any of the systems we monitor.”
Jasper nodded. Tobin’s weaknesses were few, but even successful habits could be used against him. “Take those three hotel reservations and monitor the activity coming from public Wi-Fi networks within a five-mile radius. I want to know if that pattern of anomalies shows up in those areas.”
Adrian sighed. “It's going to take time to set up a dragnet like that.”
“Your point?” Jasper bit out. He had shown some restraint with Annabel for obvious reasons, but Adrian wouldn't get the same courtesy.
“If it were easy, we'd have her already,” Jasper said with a growl.
“Understood,” Adrian said, backpedaling.
“Notify Brock and Aaron. When we detect the pattern, we’re sending everyone. They’d better be ready. We’re going full force. Discretion is preferred but not the priority. Surround the building. No one moves until I get there and confirm there's no escape route.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jasper ended the call. This time would be different. There wouldn't be another mistake. He'd finish the job fast and fix things with Annabel when he got back.
Chapter 19
Nora woke as the car turned into a parking lot. The lights from the hotel sign flashed across the car. She pulled herself up, stretching. In the distance, the sky had begun to lighten.
Tobin shifted the car into park but stared straight ahead with a grim frown. Dark circles had formed under his eyes.
“How far did you drive?” she asked.
He sighed. “We’re close to Omaha.”
She nodded uneasily.
“It’ll take a little while for them to find us here. You should be safe for now.” He leaned forward in a stretch over the wheel, rubbing his eyes.
He was exhausted and once again, he’d done all this for her: the escape, the night of driving, all of it.
From the backseat, Henry stirred.
“I need an update, Henry,” Tobin said. “What have you heard?”
After a pause, Henry replied, “Charlotte’s out of surgery, but it’ll be a while before she’ll be released from the hospital. She’s awake though and she arranged the hotel reservation for us. It’s under Zuri. I can go check us in.”
He got out of the car and shuffled to the hotel entrance.
Tobin yawned, and Nora slid her hand over his.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
His dull eyes met hers. Something kindled there, bringing back their brightness, but they clouded just as quickly, shrouding his thoughts and ending the moment. He pulled his hand away.
“I’m fine.” He cleared his throat. “But I do need to talk with you about something. Just a minute.”
He jumped from the car and caught Henry. Even though he’d left the car door open, the words were muffled. Shutting her eyes to concentrate, she made out the last two words: adjoining rooms.
They were splitting up. Her mind raced to catch up. What was his plan? Part of her craved to be alone with him, but what was he expecting?
What if he wasn’t expecting anything at all?
Henry nodded before he disappeared into the hotel, and Tobin scanned the parking lot as he returned to the car. The act would have seemed normal—routine, even—were it not for the fact that his face seemed to have lost all color.
She studied him carefully, desperate for clues. The muscles in his forearm protruded as he pressed his hands into his thighs. A faint sheen of sweat shone on his forehead.
And then she saw it—the twist of his back, faint but undeniably leaning away from her. This was not a man looking to be alone with her; this was a man who wanted space.
Her cheeks blazed. She had let her emotions get the better of her, and now the only person in the world she fully trusted, who kept her safe when no one else could, needed space. Why had she grabbed his hand? Why had she pushed the questions?
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Even as she crafted her response, her chest throbbed. The pain went far beyond the embarrassment of an awkward situation. How had she allowed herself to care so deeply? This wasn’t like her at all. She was rational, pragmatic.
In her eyes, they’d just met. While she clung to the clues that suggested he cared for her, she was forced to admit there was an equal amount of evidence to the contrary. How had she not seen that? She shut her eyes while her head buzzed. This was going to hurt.
By the time Henry returned, she was feeling the full effects of rejection. Everything felt heavier. Each step was a burden. She barely lifted her eyes as Tobin led them upstairs. In the hall, he handed Henry a key and continued on to the next room.
“This way,” he said, his face green.
Her shoulders sank, but she followed him. Hopefully she could get this over with quickly. Henry grimaced at her from the safety of his door as she passed.
Tobin opened the next door and quickly swept the room while she sat on the bed studying her hands in her lap. The silence was unbearable.
“Nora, I need to talk with you about something.”
“I know.” Her muscles were so rigid she stood and paced the room. Now that the moment was here, she couldn’t hear him say it. “I’m sorry about the car. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I—”
“The car?” He frowned. “What about the car?”
“No, not the car. I mean…” She sighed and searched the floor as if she’d find some semblance of the thought there.
His lips twitched upward.
“I’m so grateful for your help.” She pasted a smile on her face. “I mean it, and I’m really sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
“What?” he asked, holding back a laugh.
Her lip quivered. What on earth did he find so funny? She was trying to be the gracious loser, but he wasn’t making it easy. She turned for the door. “Can this wait? I think I’m just really tired and hungry—”
He grabbed her wrist and spun h
er around. He was close, not more than a couple of inches from her. His eyes were serious, but somehow softer than before.
Though he was gentle, he didn’t let go of her wrist. It tingled underneath his touch. His gaze darted back and forth over her eyes. “Sometimes, when I look at you, I swear you remember me.”
The magnetic pull to him was back and growing with every second. Her fingertips ached to touch him.
“Sometimes, I think I do,” she whispered.
He narrowed his eyes. His breathing had become just as ragged as her own, but he stayed quiet.
Twisting in his grasp, she intertwined her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand tightly, sending a thrill through her whole body.
“I can’t remember what you and I were. I’m not sure what I did to hurt you,” she whispered as her chest grew tighter. “But I know I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”
Ask him.
She took a deep breath as her heart raced. “Is what we had over?”
Something flickered deep in his chestnut eyes then ruptured like a dam breaking. He collided with her with enough force to knock her backward, but his arms closed in behind her and held her in place.
His lips met hers, matching all the feelings for him she’d struggled to hold back.
She couldn’t isolate a single memory of him from before a week ago, but in that moment, she remembered him: his tea-tree smell, the pressure of his fingertips as they traveled over her, all of it was familiar and very welcome. Keeping her lips firmly planted, she slipped her arms up and around his neck.
He tightened his hold around the small of her back, pulling her up and more in line with his own massive frame. One of his hands descended down her back, sending shivers of exhilaration in its wake until it froze at her waistline.
His hands dropped, and he took a step back with ragged breaths. “I need to tell you about our past. I wouldn’t feel right about this if you didn’t know.”
She took an uneasy breath. It took everything she had to subdue her body’s protest, but she was able to muster an uneven, “Okay.”
He led her to a corner of the bed and pulled a chair in front of her for himself. Running a hand through his hair, he bounced his knee. “You know about the Niotian eugenics program, right?”
She nodded, wondering where this was going.
“You’re a Seer. I was bred to be a guard.”
“Uh-huh…”
“We weren’t exactly supposed to be together, but by the time we were old enough for them to care, they weren’t going to mess with us. We were too valuable to them.” His words were forced and rushed. “Until the tribunal.”
“About a month before you were supposed to testify, one of the undersecretaries approached me. He made it known that the council had to keep the interests of Nios in mind, and that if a Seer—you—continued to remain defiant, Nios would move on without you. It was a warning.” His eyes searched hers, but she stayed quiet, listening. “I don’t handle threats like that well, so I told him what I thought, but the next day, someone leaked a memo with some genetic matching plans, and I was on the list.”
They had matched him to have a child. “I’m guessing it wasn’t with me.”
He slowly shook his head. “They wouldn’t pair a Seer and a guard.”
“They can match you without your consent?” she asked in an uneven tone.
Inhumane, unethical, disgusting.
“No, typically the application process is quite lengthy, actually, but this was more than a matching.” Hues of pink flourished in his cheeks. “They paired me with another guard, Josephine, who—uh, who had let it be known she’d like to be paired with me for more than the genetic benefits. She’s an excellent guard, and we worked together in the field a lot, but I never felt the same way about her.”
Nora glared, speechless.
“They wanted to make it uncomfortable. I was Head of the Guard. I was supposed to settle down and have guard children. They were trying to separate us.”
She bit her lip, trying to control her anger. “What did you do?”
He sighed with a distant look. His fingers slowly curled into a fist. “When you heard the news, it destroyed you. I had a contact from an operation I had run outside of Pittsburgh, a Franciscan priest. He got mixed up with a Tavian once—long story—but the point is he became familiar with the Niotians and the Tavians, and he had made it a point to be there for us like a military chaplain or something. We had developed a friendship over the years, and I went to him to sort this out.”
She glanced at her own knee, which was bouncing now. “And what did he say?”
His eyes flickered as he drew a breath. “He told me that one of the cornerstones of marriage is the institution of it, which formalizes and solidifies the bond.”
Her knee stopped bouncing. Was he saying what she thought he was saying?
“He told me a lot about marriage, actually. Niotians typically don’t get married, it’s seen as too messy: feelings and life situations change. They prefer more casual relationships with parenting partnerships. Sometimes parents turn romantic, but not always.” He wrapped his hands around hers. “But as I listened to the priest, I knew that’s what I wanted, and needed, with you. I came home that night with a ring and proposed to you.”
Her gaze traveled from their hands to his warm eyes and back again. “So we were…”
He nodded. “Technically, we still are.”
She slipped a hand from his grasp and rubbed her forehead. Marriage was serious. She searched his face, trying to make sense of the thoughts and emotions spinning in her head.
Impossible.
How could she make sense of any of this? She’d been in love—probably a deeper love than most people ever felt, and Nios had tried to end it. He’d loved her so much, he’d married her to stay together.
Tobin stayed silent, watching her closely, but words failed her. She couldn’t remember the wedding itself, but she was sure she’d meant the vows.
She had strung together a few logical thoughts when her eyes widened. If they were married, another pretty prominent memory was missing.
“So we’ve definitely…” Why was it so hard to force the words out? She was an adult. He was an adult. “We’ve had sex.”
The corners of his mouth twitched upward. “Yeah.”
She rose and grabbed at her throat. She didn’t remember any of this. He knew all of her. Even if the thought of being with him crossed her mind, what if she wasn’t the same as she was before? How could she measure up to the person she used to be?
Tobin stood and reached for her hand. “Talk to me.”
She plopped down on the bed but sprang up from it just as quickly. Having this conversation on a bed suddenly seemed very wrong.
“I don’t remember,” she whispered.
“I know.” He stepped closer.
She laid her head on his chest. “I wish I did.”
He took her hand, their fingers intertwining so naturally and perfectly. “I’m not asking you to remember. And I understand things are different. But I can’t forget.”
He led her back to the chair and sat in front of her. His eyes seemed to hold a mix of brokenness and vulnerability.
“I need you to know. Because if we try again, I need you to understand. For as long as I can remember, it’s always been you and me. I don’t even know how to restart things. You asked me if what we had was over. For my part, it’s not. But I need to ask you the same question. I’ll protect you regardless of your answer, but I need to know. Can we rebuild this?”
She met his eyes. They were soft but twisted in anticipation.
She leaned forward. “For someone who claims he doesn’t know how to restart things, I’d say you did a pretty good job.”
He grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. Foreheads resting together, she shivered as his hands trailed up her shoulders and cradled her face.
“I’ve missed you.” He kissed her with every bit of passion she had ever
seen in him. She swung her leg across the other side of his lap to face him more fully.
“I have to go,” he mumbled.
“What?” Her voice was shrill and incredulous.
His fingers traced along her stomach, driving her crazy. “I’ve waited a long time for this, and I don’t want to rush it. But I need to make sure you’re safe. I have to get Henry to a coffee shop so we can start to investigate the Tavian system. Then…” He paused with a smirk. Starting at her collarbone, his lips brushed against her neck up to her ear. “I’ll be yours for the rest of the day.”
She sucked in a ragged breath. It wasn’t fair. He knew exactly where to go and how to touch, but she wasn’t about to complain. She cupped his face, bringing it to her own and kissed him until he drew a sharp breath. She didn’t have the same weapons, but turnabout was fair play. “Hurry back.”
He flashed a brilliant smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter 20
Tobin gritted his teeth as he strolled over to the showcase window in the front of the coffee shop. Parked cars, pedestrians, and antique shops as far as the eye could see—a security nightmare.
The quaint main street did have some appeal. Maybe Nora would like it—he’d have to figure out what she liked now. But it certainly didn’t suit his purposes at the moment. He didn’t have a line of sight beyond fifty feet outside the shop in any direction. The foot traffic made spotting suspicious people harder. Most importantly, the hotel where Nora was hiding was completely out of view.
He scanned the roof of the building across the street. If he had known Henry would take this long, he would have found a way up there for a better vantage point.
Tobin strolled back to the oversized blue couch where Henry sat. “We need to hurry up. We’ve been gone too long.”
Henry never took his eyes from the screen. “This isn’t like flipping a switch. There are firewalls, and don’t get me started about the encryptions. I not only have to gain access, I’ve got to cover my tracks.”
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