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“Nothing yet,” Tehya answered. “We’re still working on the encryption on some of the files, but other than that, we’ve not been able to track any information through it.”
“John, I want you and Micah in town tomorrow.” Jordan cut through the comment hovering on Noah’s tongue. “John, stay on Miss James. See if you can get her to talk. Micah, make certain you report to your job at the local police station a bit early. See what you can hear.” He turned to Travis Caine. “Set up in the hills above the Patrick ranch. See what you can see. Make certain to stay out of sight.”
Travis nodded sharply, his aristocratic features cool and composed.
“Nik, you’re with Noah at the garage. We know the gossip that flows through there. You two keep your ears open, and be ready for any fallout.”
Nik nodded while Noah watched his uncle carefully.
“Are you expecting fallout?” Noah asked then.
“I always expect fallout,” Jordan informed him. “Go through your file. Gossip attained throughout the county points to the BCM’s interest in acquiring that garage. Belle was considered an easy mark to take out, but they couldn’t kill her. That would have roused too much interest from me personally. I would have investigated the murder of my nephew’s wife and they knew it. After her little venture into the night life tonight, I’d expect to see a few interested parties coming around though. Let’s see who takes up that interest.”
Noah froze. He stared at his uncle, feeling a tight ball of carefully controlled fury beginning to slip its leash.
“Now, let’s move on to the rest of our suspected hunting parties. If you’ll turn to page—”
“What did you just say?” Noah asked carefully, aware of the edge to his voice and the tension that filled the room as Jordan paused and looked back at him in surprise.
“I said, turn to page—”
“What venture into what night life?” His teeth clenched, he swore he felt something explode in his head.
Jordan arched his brow coolly. “Does it matter? Our only interest in her at this point is the location of her business and the militia’s interest in it.”
Noah rose slowly to his feet, his fingertips pressing into the wood with enough force to turn the tips white.
“What venture? What night life?”
“Agent Blake, are you forgetting something? The mission is our objective here, not the bar where one lone citizen is having a girls’ night out. Agreed?”
Something exploded. Detonated. Noah felt the implosion in his brain.
Friday night. In Alpine. In a bar.
Girls’ night out, his ass. Sabella had known better than that shit even six years before. She knew what the weekends were like in those bars. She knew being a single woman out on the town on a Friday night was like throwing fresh meat to wolves.
“Like fucking hell.” The guttural force of the curse cut through the room before he jerked back from the table, slamming his chair and the wall and striding from the meeting room.
He ignored the sharp command in Jordan’s voice as he called him back.
He’d signed on for the mission. He’d accepted his death and let his wife go. That was what he had told himself since walking back into her life. He was doing her a favor. He was teaching her to live again, not to love again. He was going to walk out of her life the same way he had walked into it. With no fanfare, no heartbreak. Simple. To the point.
God. Loving her was killing him. Destroying him. And the thought, the knowledge, that she had taken him at his word, no strings, no commitment, was burning inside his head like a supernova as he tore down the metal steps leading to the cement parking area. He hit the security button, releasing the lock on the heavy doors, and listened to them slide open as he straddled the Harley and twisted the key in the ignition.
With no more than an inch to spare on the door, he was speeding out, lights off, his gaze narrowed against the darkness as he shot through the canyon and hit the dirt road beyond.
As he hit the main road, he flipped the lights on and laid the gas to the Harley.
A venture into the night life on a Friday night in Alpine? Like hell.
He jerked his cell phone from his belt as he rode out of the blackout surrounding the bunker. The message indicator was flashing. Hitting the button, he held it to his ear and listened to Rory’s threats.
Tell Grandpop, would he? He was going to strangle that little bastard. What the hell was he thinking, letting Sabella go out like that? Dammit to hell, all shit was about to hit the fan and Sabella was out partying? A girls’ night out with Kira Richards and Sienna Grayson.
God help them all.
God help him. Because he knew what he was doing. What he was going to do. He was going to drag her ass out of that bar, stake his ownership on her, and destroy them both when he was forced to leave.
