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"The tests didn't tell the whole story."

"In your opinion," he repeated.

"Well, my opinion was the one that mattered…until you went over my head."

"I had no choice. You were standing in the way of an important mission. You were keeping a soldier out of battle for no good reason. And your boss understood that better than you did. It worked out. We were successful. Evan was fine."

"You were lucky," she said. "That doesn't mean you were right. Or that I was wrong." She took a breath. "But what bothered me the most was not that you went over my head; it was realizing that the two dates we had were just attempts to charm me and get me on your side. You were using me. I should have realized it sooner than I did."

A shadow darkened his gaze. "The first night we met, I didn't even know who you were until the end of the night, until after I'd asked for a second date."

"But when we were on that second date, you weren't thinking about us on a personal level; it was all about how you could get me to release Evan. You could have just asked me. You didn't need to kiss me. You didn't need to make me think you cared." She paused, wishing the bitter anger and hurt weren't so evident in her voice. "But I guess that was part of the plan. You needed to get me on your side, and you thought convincing me that we were starting something was the best way to do that."

Tyler stared back at her, an uncomfortable gleam in his gaze. "It wasn't that cold-blooded, Rachel."

She tilted her head to the right. "Wasn't it? You never called after your plan failed. You knew where I worked. You had my phone number."

"You're right. And I'm sorry for that. But I also knew you were seriously pissed at me. I didn't believe you wanted to hear from me again." His frown deepened as he gathered his thoughts. "Back then, I lived for the mission. My unit was everything. We were making a difference. And Evan was the reason why. He was a tremendous leader."

"He was also a man who was lying to himself and the people around him. He was suffering more than he wanted to admit, and he knew what telling the truth would mean—the end of his career."

"It didn't end for over a year. And he was fine until another explosion created problems for him. Then he got out."

"Because he chose to? Or because someone told him it was the end of the line?"

"It was his choice. I know you want to be proven right, but that's not the way it was, Rachel."

"I never wanted to be proven right, Tyler. I didn't want anything to happen to Evan or to his team members. Believe it or not, I actually care about my patients." She blew out a breath. "I also never wanted to get into this again. Let's focus on Jack and what's going on now. I spoke to a police detective. He said he'll investigate, but he doesn't have much to go on. You're FBI. Can you pull any strings?"

A small smile crossed his lips. "Now you want me to pull strings?"

She sent him a hard look. "I'm not asking you to kiss anyone and pretend you like them."

"I did like you, Rachel. I also liked the kiss."

"That's not the point. What are you going to do about Jack? You said you came here to talk to me about him, so what's the plan?"

"I want to see what I can find out about Jack's current life, dig into his friends, family, and people he's seen more recently than me or you. While the police are investigating the bombing, I'll focus on Jack's life."

"Do you know anything about his life?"

"I went to visit another member from my old unit. He talked to Jack a few weeks ago, thought Jack wanted to tell him something, but he never did. He suggested some other people to try."

"I've been thinking about the bar next to Jack's building. If Jack liked to drink, he might have spent time there. Maybe we should talk to the bartender."

"Jack definitely liked to drink, but I can't believe you want to keep going after you almost got blown up today."

"Well, I do."

"Why, Rachel?" His puzzled gaze met hers. "You saw Jack a handful of times a few months ago. You don't know him. He's not your friend. Why do you care so much about what's going on with him?"

"When Jack looked at me last night and said he couldn't trust me, that he couldn't trust anyone at the hospital, it felt terrible. Why would my patient feel like he couldn't trust me? Did I let him down in some way?"

"It sounds like he was out of it."

"He was confused, but he was very clear about the trust issue. I know drugs can cause paranoia, but it was more than his words; it was also the way he looked at me with desperation and fear. Despite his stated unwillingness to trust me, I felt like he wanted to, like he needed someone to hear him, to help him, and I want to do that."

"Is this really about Jack or about you being afraid you made a mistake?"