Rowan’s chin quivered, tears burning her eyes as she ripped his photo off the folder, held it out to Bodie. “I’m sure that’ll be a comfort to him. That I tried but failed.”
“Rowan.” Dalton’s voice rang through the room. Low. Haunted.
She looked over at Dalton, inhaling at the firm press of his mouth. The deep shadows in his eyes. Like a man who’d lived the nightmares playing in her head.
Dalton moved closer. “Take it from someone who’s been there. Who’s lived it and walked out the other side. Scarred but alive. It’s never too late. And knowing that you risked everything, regardless of how long it took, will mean more to your father than you can imagine.” He crossed his arms over his massive chest. “We’ll get him back, and it’ll be because you never lost faith. Kept searching for the truth.”
His words hit home, and she closed her eyes against the rush of tears. The pain that bubbled up through her chest. Bodie mumbled something in the background, then pulled her tight to his chest, one hand fisted in her hair, the other wrapped around her waist. He didn’t talk, just held her, his warmth lifting the chill from her bones. His strength slowly building her back up.
She took a few shuddering breaths, stared up at him when he eased back, brushed his thumb across her cheek. He smiled, and her damn breath caught, heart beating too fast, too hard.
Bodie stayed close, hand still resting on her hip. “Dalton’s right. We’ll get Alister back. And you saved us in the process, so… Cut yourself some slack.”
She leaned into his touch for a moment, then drew herself up. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came. Instead, she nodded, turned back to the file.
The room fell into a hushed silence, the odd rustle of paper and the whirl of the computer occasionally breaking it. A reminder of all the work they still needed to do. All the unanswered questions standing between success and more failure.
The minutes bled into hours until Bodie’s hand landed on her shoulder. He stared down at the pages. “Any luck?”
She sighed, leaned against the edge. “It’s mostly medical information. Height. Weight. Cognitive function. I honestly don’t even understand half of it. But nothing about where this hospital’s located. What they actually did to him — to other test subjects — that isn’t written in some kind of code, though, if I’m interpreting any of it correctly, it sounds like they considered the experiment a success, which doesn’t bode well. There’s a set of initials all over the medical orders — M. W. Not exactly earth shattering, but with Nick’s help, it might narrow down our list of possible suspects.” She nodded at the hard drive. “Did you have better luck?”
He shook his head. “The unencrypted files are basically a duplicate of the paper ones. Neuravive comes up a lot. I think it’s our miracle drug, along with an agent called Lethe or LETH-1 toxin. Definitely sounds like the alter ego you thought might be in play and could be that L liquid we saw in the cooler. There’re also a couple of videos, but it’ll take a few more hours for my program to unscramble them. They should be ready sometime tomorrow. If you think you’re okay watching them.”
“I need to know what they did. If he’s still…” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Whether it hurts or not, I need to know.”
Bodie nodded, glanced over at Dalton and Buck. “It’s late, and I’m at the point I’m just staring at the same words without even reading them. We need to get some rest. Come back strong in the morning. With any luck, Nick’ll have some intel, too.”
She started to protest, to insist she could keep going, until she took a moment to really look at Bodie and his buddies. Fatigue lined their brows, grime from the facility still caked on their skin. “You’re right. It’s late. And thanks. For everything. What you all did for me tonight…”
“We’re a team. That’s what partners do.”
Buck cleared his throat, a smug smile tilting his lips. As if he’d been vindicated somehow. “Dalton’s hanging with me tonight. I parked my RV behind the building. We’ll do some patrols, keep watch. I’ve set up some charges, too, in case anyone comes looking. And before you ask, no, they won’t hurt anyone. Just a warning system. We’ll see you two in the morning.”
“We can all take turns…” Rowan let her words fade as Buck and Dalton waved her off, disappeared through the door, the exterior exit opening and closing in the distance. She sighed. “Is there something in the water here? Because I swear, you’re all nuts.”
Bodie chuckled. “Maybe that’s why you fit in so well. C’mon.”
She followed Bodie as he checked his security, then headed upstairs to his loft. Soft warm lighting brightened the space, a subtle vanilla aroma drifting through the air. She kicked off her boots as he rearmed his security system, then made her way over to the kitchen.
Bodie moved in behind her, tsking when she grabbed the coffee pot. “You’re supposed to be going to bed, to rest, remember?”
She tamped down the rush of images — some from the files, others she’d created in her head. What she knew would lead to more nightmares. “I’ll go, I just…”
“Just what?”
She turned, nearly bumping into his chest as he crowded closer, making the room seem small, overly hot. “I need a moment.”
He leaned in, his mouth a breath from hers. “You’ve done everything you could. I know it doesn’t feel like enough, but we wouldn’t be here — hell, be alive — if you hadn’t kept digging. If you hadn’t been out there that day.”
“So, why does it still feel like I failed?”
He brushed his thumb across her jaw. “Because it involves someone you love.”
His words lingered between them, and she wondered if she’d ever loved anyone other than her father? If all the time she’d spent alone, basically raising herself while he was deployed or overseas, had closed her off. Left her unable to let anyone else in.
She lifted her hand, palmed his jaw. “Bodie…”
His smile kicked up another notch, made the rest of the room seem dim. “Rowan.”
