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“I work with them. One of them was Ronan, my boss. The others… the others are in charge of keeping you safe.”
To Sam’s credit, he kept his voice calm as he asked, “What are you talking about?”
“You googled my name.”
Sam shrugged his shoulders a bit. “Yeah, but I didn’t find anything. I was just—” He stopped suddenly. “Wait… how did you know I googled your name? Have you been spying on me?” he asked in disbelief.
“No,” I responded.
"Then how—"
"When you entered my name into the search engine, it triggered an alert."
Sam was clearly confused. And growing increasingly frustrated. I didn't blame him. Never before had I had so much trouble getting to a point.
"What kind of alert? Are the authorities looking for you or something?"
I shook my head. "They aren't, but someone else is."
"Matias—" Sam said in frustration.
"Fuck," I growled, cutting him off. But the anger was directed at myself. "Up until two years ago, Cruz and I were in the Army—we were in the same unit. One night after Cruz hung out with some of the other guys on our team at a bar, they jumped him. They nearly killed him. He wasn't their primary target, though."
"You were," Sam said softly.
I nodded. "War changes people. When you spend every minute of every day wondering if you're going to die, it changes you in ways you never thought possible. Most of the men on my team were good men, but they got caught up in something they couldn't come back from."
"I don't understand," Sam interjected in frustration.
"Cruz almost died because of a decision I made. All the men who hurt him are either dead or in prison. All but one."
Understanding dawned for Sam. I saw it in the moment his eyes widened just a little bit. "He's the one looking for you?"
I nodded. "He's looking for me just like I've been looking for him."
"The night you left my house without saying anything, was that why?"
"Yes. I thought I had a lead on him, on his location. But it didn't pan out."
"Oh God, Matias. My search… I didn't know. I didn't know," he said with a shake of his head. Sam was so distressed that I found myself hurrying around the couch so I could grab his arms.
"Listen to me, Sam. You did nothing wrong. Chances are, he never even saw your search. A woman who works for Ronan, that's my boss, has been monitoring various search engines for my name. When your search triggered that alert, she hacked into your computer thinking you were the guy looking for me. When she realized you weren’t, she deleted everything she could. She basically deleted your electronic footprint."
Sam let out a sigh of relief. "So it's okay. Everything is okay." His hands moved up and down my arms as if he were trying to make sure I was really there. He stopped just as quickly and stared at my chest before saying, "Why are there men protecting me, Matias?"
Despite the question, I could tell he already knew the answer. He dropped his hands and stepped back, putting more and more distance between us. It was all I could do not to grab him to keep him close.
"There's no guarantee she got everything, Sam. He could be using the same kind of alert. He could follow the same trail Daisy did."
Sam was quiet for the longest time. I could practically see the wheels in his head spinning as he tried to put everything together.
"Sam—" I began, but when I stepped forward, he threw up his hand and shook his head almost violently.
"You think he's coming after me," he breathed. He shook his head again and then he was on the move. I stepped into his path and grabbed his upper arms.
"Ryan! Elliot! I have to get to my children!" He frantically fought the hold I had on him.
"Sam," I tried again.
Sam lashed out at me, pulling free of me in the process. He took several steps back and then he was digging out his phone. His hands were shaking violently. Even as he tried to dial, he was attempting to move past me.
Once again, I grabbed his arms, but this time I was more prepared for his reaction.
"Let me go, Matias! Ryan! I need to get to Ryan!" he yelled.
The door behind me flew open, but I ignored the man that I knew would be standing there and focused only on Sam. "Ryan is safe!" I said firmly. "And Elliot is with Cruz. They’re all being watched."
Sam shook his head, clearly not satisfied with my response. Despite the hold I had on him, he continued to fumble with his phone. I covered his hand with mine. When he jerked it away, something inside of me broke. The idea that he no longer welcomed my touch was abhorrent to me. I didn't know how to react, so when I did, it was all wrong. I knew that. But I did it anyway.
