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“Yes, it quickly became clear he was looking for a more permanent solution to my refusal to mind my own business.”
“Where is he now?” She hoped locked up somewhere and feeling the weight of his guilt.
“Prison.”
Finally some good news after swimming through a sea of bad. “Military, or did he come back and get in trouble?”
“Sort of both but it’s military.”
“No wonder you don’t trust anyone.” All the pieces clicked together in her head. The anti-commitment thing. He connected with certain people, likely people he knew before the incident in Afghanistan, but not others.
But now he’d closed his feelings off and buried them down deep. Locked emotions away. Or he claimed to have done so until he’d made love with her. She hadn’t seen any signs of him wanting to be somewhere other than her bed that night.
“Do you talk to him?” She couldn’t imagine that. Facing down the person who tried to take your life. She didn’t even get what the conversation could be unless it included an apology.
“Never. He blames me.”
Of course he did. That type would.
“That’s ridiculous.” Kind of made her want to punch the guy on Holt’s behalf.
He gave her eye contact. The type that made it feel as if there was no one else in the state. “And for the record, I trust you.”
The words echoed in her brain and she rushed to say the one thing she might not be able to say once Todd got through with them. “Did you get my text?”
“Yes. Very smart.”
Yeah, she was not talking strategy here. “I meant—”
“You’re awake.”
At the sound of Todd’s voice, she jumped to her feet. Tried to put her body in front of Holt’s, but he held her against his side.
Some of the haze had cleared from his eyes. He still moved half a beat slower than usual and seemed to be holding his head so it did not move much, but the big fierce protector was not far under the surface. She felt him hovering right there, ready to fight.
Todd gestured with his gun for them both to move toward the door. “That’s good, since we have a surprise for you.”
“What?” Holt asked.
“Apparently it’s time to prove yourself.” Todd’s gaze traveled over both of them. “The boss is ready to see you guys now.”
Chapter Seventeen
With each step, some of the fuzz muddling Holt’s brain cleared. It still hurt to move too fast or even keep his eyes open for long periods of time, but he was snapping out of it. A few more minutes of rebooting and he would be ready to go.
The point was, he needed to protect Lindsey. Yes, she could handle most situations. But this one was too horrible for her to face, and he didn’t want it rolling out in front of her the way he feared it would.
Simon Falls was a psychopath. He’d destroyed people and killed to get to his position. He hid his identity under false names and documents. Lindsey used a cover for safety and to help others. Not this guy. And now he wanted Lindsey. Holt didn’t know exactly why, but he guessed it centered on some sick mix of revenge and reunion .
As they walked out of their cell and into the larger building that contained it, they stayed next to each other into the main room of the old rec center, her fingers brushing his. Knowing it was unwise to hold her hand but desperate to show her how much she meant to him, he touched the back of his against hers. He knew she noticed when she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
He spent the rest of the time getting to know his surroundings. He’d been all over the campground. Even got close to the weapons storage. The inside of this place was new. Made him wonder what else he’d missed.
They stopped in the middle of the long rectangular room. Junk and old supplies littered the floor. There was an odd musty smell that suggested the place hadn’t been opened in years. The high-tech cell suggested Simon had lots of contacts with the outside world. He clearly did not limit himself to the camp and refuse all worldly possessions, hypocrite that he was.
Todd stood behind them with his gun trained on Lindsey. Smart move. With her in the firing line Holt would not lunge. If it was a matter of him catching a bullet during a fight, fine. But he wouldn’t risk her life that way.
So they stood. They waited in silence for what Holt guessed was the big entrance scene from Simon. Holt wanted to lean over and whisper the man’s secret to take some sting out of his entry. Holt hadn’t gotten the chance to warn her earlier and was about to do so now, but the megalomaniac in question walked in.
