Page 27
She reached for the cup of water but she’d only wrapped her fingers around it before Wyatt held it to her lips. She drew a few sips into her mouth and nodded that she was finished.
“My parents are expats.” She started with that to show them just how alone she’d been. “They live in Thailand. I couldn’t have stayed with them even if they were in the country. Lance would have found me there just as easily, and then I would have brought all that trouble to people I loved.”
“So you took all the heat yourself,” Wyatt muttered to no one in particular, and a look passed between all four men—dark and furious on her behalf.
The part of her that hadn’t trusted a single soul in months softened slightly at the sight of it. Or maybe that was the illness taking over her system.
“I met him at a VA hospital when I was on a short-term contract. That was about a year ago. I was his nurse for his physical for medical clearance. He asked for my number.” A humorless laugh escaped her. “I’ve beat myself up over that so many times. I shouldn’t have given it to him. Nurses aren’t allowed to fraternize with patients, and I knew better. But he was charming…and he convinced me that I’d never see him again otherwise. So I did.”
She stared at her lap, at Wyatt’s hand still covering hers. Solid and capable in a moment when she was so far from either.
“He was charming at first,” she said. “So attentive and interesting. I told myself I’d gotten lucky, meeting a decent guy. I should have known better—decent men don’t usually come with that much polish.”
Carson’s lips compressed. “Did you have a falling out?”
“Not exactly.” Her body rioted, first going hot before going cold, and she shivered. Thank goodness Hitchcock had turned off the monitor sounds.
Wyatt pulled the blanket higher over her chest.
“I saw something.”
Every man in the room went still.
“I went to Lance’s office one night. He wasn’t expecting me. There were men there, and I heard them talking.”
“What about?” Carson asked.
“I didn’t understand all of it. But I knew it was bad.” Her mouth went dry. “So I left, but too late. I should have before…”
Wyatt’s fingers tightened slightly around hers.
“One of the men was wearing a jacket. It had letters across the back.” She swallowed. Even now, she could see them. “ATF.”
Carson’s expression sharpened. “You saw a federal agent?”
“I thought he was an agent.”
“Was Lance there?”
She nodded. “Maybe you should look into him. Lance Dillard. Former Marine.”
Carson pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. After a moment, he turned it toward her.
“Is this Lance?”
Her stomach clenched at the sight of the familiar face.
“Yes. That’s him.”
Carson swiped through several more photos before holding up another. “What about him?”
The instant she saw the man’s face, cold washed over her.
Her fingers clamped around Wyatt’s.
“Him.” Her voice came out thin. “That’s the man I saw.”
“The one wearing the ATF jacket?”
