Webb and Tripp were lounging in Webb’s office when I sauntered in later that day. The car ride back from Maine had been fraught with tension—sexual and otherwise. I’d told a woman I loved her. The only two people I’d ever said that to were Jo and my old man. Declaring it to a woman I’d only met three weeks before had my stomach in knots.
I’d been ready to puke several times and had almost pulled off the highway to do just that. But it wasn’t because I was in love with her. It was the fear of losing her. I was itching to find Rianne and Roman. I wanted to start building a life where I didn’t have to look over my shoulder every minute, especially with a kid on the way.
Tripp and Webb stared at me as though I had five heads and four hands. I probably did look like I needed to spend time with a punching bag.
“What happened to you?” Webb asked from his spot on the couch, wearing a grin as if he could read my mind. Maybe he could since he occasionally drank Jo’s blood.
“How was Maine?” Tripp, who was an empath like me, albeit a weaker one, also had a smile that said he knew my secret.
Secrets were hard to keep around vampires, particularly ones who had the ability to smell or read one’s feelings.
I dropped into a chair beside Tripp and focused on the picture of an aircraft carrier hanging on the wall behind Webb. “Peachy. Did we find Rianne? Roman? Where’s my father? How’s Ben? Shifters?” Anything to take my mind off Layla. I wasn’t upset that she hadn’t expressed her true feelings, though I knew she was holding back. But that nagging voice in my head was telling me she was so scared she might run. She might not face her true feelings, and that would break me into a million body parts.
Webb chuckled. “You’ve only been gone a day, dude. Chill.”
Tripp crossed one leg over the other. His sandy-blond hair was pulled into a low ponytail, his jaw clean-shaven, and his bronze eyes bright, looking as though he had good news. “Sawyer did some digging on Camden Industries. They specialize in developing weapons for the Department of Defense. That’s on the surface. He’s going deeper, though.”
My mind scrambled. “Interesting. Rumor is that Jack has a new weapon. Lester Worthington had a case in the back seat of his SUV with ‘Camden Industries’ on it. Lester wasn’t at the ranch to buy a horse.”
“We’ll see what else Sawyer finds,” Tripp said. “As for Rianne… we don’t have any leads on her or Roman. I’m sure Roman is covering his tracks.”
Webb typed something on the iPad in his lap. “Roman could’ve kidnapped Rianne.”
That was certainly possible. “Or Rianne teamed up with him.”
“That’s a stretch,” Webb said. “The Aberdeens have a vendetta against him.”
I shrugged. “So what? Rianne thought I was the cat’s meow for saving her life but look how that turned out.” I rested my right ankle on my left knee. “Or she could be lurking nearby and watching until she can get Layla alone.” The latter seemed more plausible to me.
Webb clasped his hands together. “Rianne is a concern, but we can handle her. Roman, on the other hand, is our priority. In the meantime, we’ve beefed up patrol around and outside the perimeter of the base. We have extra guards on both gates leading into the base. Sam, I need you to escort Wyman up to the infirmary. I just got word that he’s not feeling well. And I’m short a guard due to a family issue.”
I hadn’t thought of Wyman in a while. “Are we going to release him?” We could keep him locked up, but I didn’t see the point. “We can always have a scout trail him.”
“Alia’s father, Victor, has agreed to hire him so we can watch him. Victor has a need for a computer geek, and Wyman accepted the offer.”
The dude was smart in some ways but not so much in others. Still, he would fit in with us if he was serious about the job. Little did Wyman know that Victor Costner was one vampire not to piss off. The man could wield a sword like a Viking fighting off five opponents at once.
“You mean he jumped at the chance. Why?” I asked.
“He said something about watching over Layla,” Tripp said.
I didn’t know what to make of that, but I would take it if Wyman didn’t have any notions of running to his former employer, the CIA.
Tripp studied me with a curious glint in his eyes. “Speaking of Layla, how did it go? I take it you brought her up to speed.”
“Yep. At the moment, she’s with Jo, but she wants to stay in the women’s barracks. Will that be a problem?” I didn’t think it would be, but I had to clear it with Webb.
Web scratched his chin. “We have a team of women recruits coming in for some training. What’s wrong with your place?”
“She doesn’t want to stay with me,” I mumbled. “I’ll ask Harley.”
“Problems already?” Tripp said with a smirk.
I growled at him. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
Webb pushed to his feet. “Harley would be good for the short term. The chief of Viking II accepted orders to San Diego, and he and his family will be moving in two weeks. Layla can move into his house when it’s ready.”
I reared back. “For real?”
