“No, I don’t,” Everest agrees, setting his jaw, “but you do. Laura is suffering that same fate now. Are you going to be the tenacious captain I know you to be, standing up for your girls and stopping at nothing to keep them safe? Or are you going to hide away in your private dorm on your fancy new computer?”
I swallow, using everything in me to not drop his gaze. He’s goading me, but he’s also right. I fucking hate that he’s right. Laura doesn’t get to hide. She doesn’t get to drown herself in distractions or pretend none of this is happening. She’s out there, with him, and every second that passes is another second she has to endure the nightmare I barely escaped from.
My breathing stutters unevenly as I press my palms flat against the table. Everything narrows down to that single thought. That single, horrifying image of Laura, scared, trapped, and calling for help that isn’t coming. The echoes of mynightmares slam into me all at once, her voice overlapping with my own memories. The shouting, the helplessness, the suffocating fear I still slip into at random intervals. My chair scrapes back harshly against the floor as I push to my feet, pacing beside the table while my hands fist at my sides.
To my surprise, the chest I bump into isn’t Thiago’s. Everest’s arms band around me, his biceps crushing but I don’t shove him off. I use the cage to steady my racing thoughts and pounding heart. His chin settles on top of my head, a rumble transferring through his chest and into my cheek.
“You won’t be alone,” he says quietly. “Not for a second.” Bracing my hands on his sides gingerly at first, I shudder and without much thought, my nails bite into his jersey. Everest stands tall and strong, his cologne invading my senses, his heart beating against my ear. He waits until I’m not leaning on him so heavily before he speaks again. “Pack a bag, we’re leaving at nightfall.”
Peeling away carefully, as if I’m a wild animal preparing to bolt, Everest pauses long enough to capture my eyes and give a nod. I mimic it, my head dipping and sealing my fate. Stepping away, Everest grabs his phone and disappears through the bookshelves without looking back. That leaves me with Thiago, my shaky hands reaching for him. He pulls me closer with just enough force to tip me into his lap.
“We-we should go to yours to pack first. You have most of my overnight stuff anyway,” I grind out, anchored by my own stubbornness. My jaw aches as I resist the urge to cry, too many emotions to name starting to overflow. We’re actually doing this. We’re going to confront Harrison. We’re going to save Laura.
“Oh, Amorzinha. I’m not coming,” Thiago breathes into my hair. I physically flinch, a sharp inhale slipping between my lips. Taking my hand in his larger one, Thi rubs small circles against my skin. “I need to stay here to cover for you both, but I’ll bewatching the entire time. If Harrison moves, I’ll be able to track his every movement. If the police get a heads up, I’ll hear it on the encrypted systems first and I can warn you guys to get out of dodge.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. Agreeing to do this was a feat in itself, but to go without Thiago? That’s an added challenge I wasn’t prepared for. Tipping my mind into override, a voice screams between my ears. It takes me a moment to realize it’s my own, dragging me back to a place that broke me. I can already feel the ghost of his hands, the suffocating dark, the helplessness that swallowed me whole.
“Thi, I…I can’t do this,” I whimper, not having the same desire to mask my emotions from him. He would see through it all anyway. Cupping my face in his hands, Thi pulls my forehead down until it meets his.
“I think you’ll surprise yourself. And deep down, you know I’m of more use here.”
I do. I just don’t want to admit it. A thousand questions are at the tip of my tongue. What if I freeze up? What if I see Harrison and I fall apart all over again? How in the hell can I trust Everest to see me through this?
Thiago’s thumb brushes my cheek, his lips a whisper away from mine. Tilting my head, I close the last scrap of space between us. Warmth spreads through me, the soft press threatening to shatter the rest of my resolve. I melt into him, my fingers curling into the front of his hoodie, holding on as if he’s the only solid thing left in my world. Just like he always has been. When I was at my lowest, he was there. Now I’m on the precipice of diving back in, he’ll still be there. Just virtually.
Shifting his hand, Thi tugs my jaw to open wider, permitting his tongue full access to sweep inside. Caffeine taints our kiss, his taste consuming my senses. He’s everywhere, his touch seeping through my skin, his lips a soft reminder of my ownstrength. Thi believes in me. My breath catches as I pull back, letting the noise in my head go quiet until all that’s left is him.
“I’ll bring her home,” I promise in a quiet, defiant voice.
“And I’ll be here waiting when you do,” he replies instantly. Clasping his hand that is still cupped around my jaw, I press a kiss to his palm. Thi doesn’t rush me from his lap, simply waiting until I’m ready to move. And when I am ready, he is by my side every step of the way back to my dorm, his fingers interlocked with mine. My strides grow in confidence, my spine straightening as the reality sets in. Laura is out there, and I won’t fail her a second time.
Chapter Forty
Rolling my neck, I stare at the endless road through half-lidded eyes. The engine rumbles beneath my grip on the steering wheel, my legs becoming restless. I’d been anxious to cover as much ground as possible, hence I’ve driven through the night while the back-seat princess switched between snoozing and scowling at me in the rearview mirror.
“You know, most girls would kill for a ride in my Lexus,” I comment, eager to break the stilted silence. Meg has barely spoken other than to tell me when she needs a restroom stop.
“Mostgirlsdon’t care for your little-dick-syndrome,” Meg shoots back. I bark a laugh.
“We both know that’s not true,” I chuckle, which soon comes a yawn. My stomach rumbles in unison, but I shake it all off.
Meg shifts in the back seat, the leather creaking as she stretches her legs out across the cushions like she owns the damn car. In the rearview mirror, her eyes flick up to meet mine, unimpressed and wide awake after her on and off slumber. I bite down on my tongue, withholding the sly remark I want to make about her goading me. Afterall, I did ambush her and drag her on a mission just to prove something I’m not sure of anymore.
The past several hours of driving has given me plenty of time to think. Meg’s reaction in the library has replayed in my mind’s eye on a loop. Naturally, she was beyond shaken at the prospect of seeing Harrison again, but I’d been curious about her mindset after I left, so I hung around.
The way she was with Thiago, curled up in his lap, tenderly kissing him. How gentle he is, able to soothe her with hardly any words, has me thinking I might have been wrong. The tenacious Meg might actually be gone for good, and without our back-and-forth rivalry, I’m not sure where that would leave me.
Although, right now, there’s still a stubborn set to her jaw and a glint of resentment in her eyes. Maybe I’m the one who needs to deal with my demons, but that fire within her stokes the one inside me.
The road stretches on, the asphalt becoming slightly blurred around the edges. Another yawn claws its way up my throat, wider this time and much harder to ignore. I glance toward the next exit sign in the distance, weighing up my options. Pushing through is tempting, covering more ground and getting to our destination faster, but I’m not stupid enough to ignore the warning signs my body’s throwing at me. Not with Meg in the car. Not with what’s at stake on the other side of this mission.
Shocked isn’t a strong enough word for how I felt when Thiago dragged Harrison’s location up in merely one afternoon.Uneasy might be a more apt description. I bought him his damn coffee as requested and headed back to the IT block, shadowing his every movement. However, as soon as his fingers touched the keyboard, I was lost. Numbers and windows flew across the monitor, firewalls that are supposed to keep entire teams out presenting him merely minutes of trouble before he cracked it.
Personally, when I approached him with the idea, I thought we had at least days, if not weeks, before he caught a glimpse of Harrison’s movements. Within a few hours, I had the location flashing on my phone and a lump permanently lodged in my throat. No wonder Meg is struggling to process the shift in dynamics. I developed a newfound respect for Thiago and, after Meg’s reaction to the news, a new burning hatred for Harrison. No one should have been able to break Meg’s tough exterior. Fuck knows I’ve tried for years.
Eventually, I stop battling with myself, easing my foot off the accelerator as I turn off the freeway. The sky ahead is bleak, a wash of gray-blue bleeding into the horizon. Rain is coming, and I’m already struggling to keep my eyes focused.
Adding to the state of my current problems, my phone buzzes in the cupholder. I ignore it, hunting for a place to rest that doesn’t look like I’ll catch some sort of disease. I’ll be the first to admit my childhood hasn’t prepared me for the lowkey lifestyle of a sleuth, but my body has activated shut-down mode. Finally, I pull into the parking lot of a motel consisting of merely grubby windows and concrete, just as my phone buzzes again.
