“Please, let her be okay,” Brantley muttered, getting out of the truck, prepared to follow.
“She’s here.”
“If you’re lyin’ to me, Kieran…” Travis figured his cousin could fill in the blanks.As it was, he wanted to beat the man bloody.According to him, he’d known Kylie was alive for a few months now, but Kieran didn’t bother to fucking tell him?Didn’t think it was necessary to share that information?To give his children a chance to stop grieving?
Travis’s heart was beating like a bass drum in his chest.The roaring in his ears could’ve been the river, but he had a feeling it was his blood rushing through his veins.The farther they’d gone, the more anxious he’d gotten.
He had no idea whether Kieran was fucking with them, although he couldn’t figure out why he would.He was family.Sure, he worked for the FBI, and yeah, he had kidnapped Kylie, but not the way Travis had initially thought.Or so Kieran had tried to explain.If the man was to be believed, he and Allison had actually kidnapped Kylie from her kidnappers.At least that was what he claimed.
According to the tale his cousin had weaved on the drive down, Kieran had been sent in to infiltrate Censorious and get Allison out.It was a deep-cover, off-the-books operation that only a couple of people knew about because the FBI was investigating one of their own: Martin Calloway.
That was when he learned that Kylie was being held hostage.Unable to do anything that would blow his cover, Kieran had managed to position himself so that he could keep an eye on Kylie, ensure she was safe.Then, when Kieran learned that Martin was going to dispose of Kylie because he no longer had any use for her, he made the decision to get her out of there.His partner, Allison, had insisted on helping, although crossing Martin Calloway was a likely death sentence.They had bided their time, waiting until the last second in an effort not to tip off Calloway.They’d managed to get her out safely, but then had no choice but to hide her to keep her that way.
“There are biometric locks,” Kieran informed him as they approached the front door.“I installed them, as well as a high-tech security system, two days ago.At Kylie’s insistence.”
The thought of his wife living down here, settling in as though this was her new home, did not sit well with him.
Kieran unlocked the front door, then stepped inside to key in the code for the security system.
Travis looked at Gage, preparing himself for the worst.
“Kylie?”Kieran called out.“It’s me.You in here?”
Silence.
Travis frowned at his cousin.Was he fucking with them?“Where the fuck else would she be?”
“During the day, she likes to sit down by the river,” he said, clearly sensing Travis’s fury.
“Outside?What’s the point in all the security?”he demanded.
“Where is she?”Gage insisted, rounding on Kieran.
“I swear to you, she’s here.”
Swallowing hard, Travis glanced back to see Brantley, Reese, the dog, Atticus, and Archer walking through the door.Brantley tipped his head in the direction of the hallway.The four of them were armed, weapons out, as they began moving through the space.
“Clear,” Atticus called from the kitchen.
“Clear,” Archer called from somewhere off to the left.
“Clear here, too,” Reese said, returning with Tesha leashed and walking beside him.
“The alarm was set,” Gage said harshly.“She’d have to be inside.”
“There’s a bypass on the door in the bedroom,” Kieran explained.“She has a hard time bein’ confined to the house.”
Travis headed to the back door, unlocked it, and stepped outside.The back patio was covered with leaves that had fallen from the trees.There was a stone path that led from the house to the river, also hidden by falling leaves.
He stared out, looking for her, but didn’t see her.He fought the urge to clutch his chest.The pain was intense, the fear.He’d gotten his hopes up and—
“There she is,” Gage whispered, grabbing his arm.“Fuck.There she is.”
Travis followed the direction Gage was pointing, and he was lucky his knees didn’t give out.
“Oh, Jesus, Travis.”Gage’s voice broke.“It’s her.”
“Kylie,” he rasped, the word drifting softly into the air.He cleared his throat, then shouted her name.
Her head turned, and he saw the surprise register.Her cornflower blue eyes widened, and then there were tears.Hers.His.Gage’s.
Travis headed for her at a run, Gage at his side.He didn’t stop until he was standing in front of her, praying to God this wasn’t a dream, that his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, or he wasn’t in some drug-induced hallucination.
“Travis,” she whispered, tears streaming down her beautiful face.“Gage.You’re here.”
When she ran into his arms, Travis caught her, holding tight as Gage moved in behind her.They stood like that, the three of them sobbing as the world righted itself on its axis after one year, eight months, and twenty-six days.
