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"It wasn't complicated for you. You had a single-minded desire, and that was getting Evan back to active duty. You're the kind of person, Tyler, who is so focused on what he wants that he never considers who's on the other side of the door before he smashes through it. You just need to get through the door."

"There's usually someone on the other side who needs my help," he defended.

"Maybe that's sometimes true, but not always. We should say goodnight. This conversation is going nowhere."

"I agree. Goodnight, Rachel," he said as he stepped through the door.

She closed it behind him, letting out a breath. She had no idea what the hell she'd been thinking inviting him to stay for dinner. The man had always rubbed her the wrong way, and apparently, she did the same for him.

Maybe she did need to be done, she thought, turning the deadbolt. Tyler could look for Jack, and she could go back to doing her job and staying within the lines because she didn't just like order; she needed it to feel in control, to feel safe. What she'd done today had been an aberration. She should have delivered the note to Tyler and left it at that.

Tomorrow, she would start over and get back to her usual routines. She'd done her best to connect Jack and Tyler. But as she went back into the kitchen to clean up, she had a feeling that trying to stop thinking of either one of them was going to be impossible. But she had to end her involvement…didn't she?

Chapter Six

Saturday morning, Tyler woke up in a bad mood. He'd been looking forward to a weekend off, and now he needed to find Jack, who was probably in a shitload of trouble of his own making. He was also irritated with Rachel for getting him involved, for looking so damned attractive, and also for being a little too close to the mark when it came to his single-minded focus.

Their conversation had run around in his head for hours last night. Clearly, he'd hurt her, and he was sorry for that, because when they'd collided in that doorway in Germany, he'd thought she was the most beautiful, interesting woman he'd met in a long time. She was smart and sharp, and she didn't seem like she was going to be easy in any way, which he'd found extremely appealing. Then he'd learned her name, and he'd realized she was the doctor standing between Evan and active duty. He'd had to try to get her to change her mind. And he'd rationalized that it was for the good of everyone, not just Evan, but also the team and the mission, which was bigger than all of them.

But Rachel had been collateral damage, and he'd regretted that, even though he'd never apologized for it until now.

Not that she'd really accepted his apology.

Not that it mattered, he told himself as he left home and drove to the police precinct handling the explosion at Jack's apartment. He and Rachel were done. She didn't need to be involved in Jack's problems, and while she hadn't exactly promised to stay out of it, there wasn't much more she could do.

As he stopped at a red light, his phone buzzed, and Shelby's name popped up on the screen. He pushed the button to connect. "Shelby?"

"Hi, Tyler. It's been a minute."

"No kidding. How are you?"

"Well, I just had an interesting conversation with Gary. He told me about Jack showing up at the ER, then disappearing, and the explosion at his apartment."

"Do you know what's going on with Jack?"

"I haven't talked to him since Christmas, when he decided to move to New York."

"Why did he come here?" Jack's roots were in South Carolina, and he'd never been one to love city living.

"Hell if I know. The last time we spoke, I told him I was engaged. Jack and I had finally hit the end of our road. I couldn't keep waiting for him to change, you know? I started seeing someone else, and it turned out to be a great decision."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Anyway, Jack didn't tell me why he was moving to New York. He just said it was where he needed to be now. And where he needed to get his head straight. I know he's been dealing with physical and emotional problems since he left the Army. He's gone on benders and lost a lot of money gambling. He said he did it to distract himself from the headaches and the insomnia. I begged him to get help. He said he would try to find someone in New York." She paused. "After talking to Gary, I'm really worried about him."

"I wish I could tell you that he's fine, but he's in the kind of trouble where someone wants to kill him."

"You can't let that happen. I know there was bad blood between you. And maybe you can't forgive him for things he did, the decisions he made, but I hope you can remember he saved your ass on more than one occasion. He wasn't all bad, and he wasn't all good. But isn't that true of all of us?"

He could hear the fear in her voice. "I am trying to find him, Shelby, but I don't know where to look. I was going to call you and see if you had any suggestions."

"What about his apartment? Is everything gone?"

"I think so. I'll take another look today, see if any clues survived the blast, but I don't know anything about his life here in the city."

"I really don't, either."