9. Eva #2
“That’s not what I’m doing. There’s nothing wrong with accepting help.
And as I said, everyone’s doing this. Do you think you’re the only one feeling stressed?
Scottie’s wife is out of town half the time, and during those weeks, he’s responsible for his kids while also trying to hold down a job.
Every time Zoe has to go out to California, Red’s on his own while also keeping an eye on Cotton, who is also participating in this now.
And when Jane is busy working on her novels, IRIS picks up the slack. ”
His words struck a chord inside me, reminding me of how much I had only thought of myself since Cash disappeared. I wasn’t the only one doing this on my own.
“Like I said, this isn’t just about you. These guys are here to help, and they’re damn good at what they do. Let them do their jobs.”
I blew out a harsh breath and nodded. This was a good thing. “What time do I pick them up?”
With no kids in tow, I headed up to the IT room to check in with everyone. For way too long, everyone else was keeping my husband’s company running. Now that I was free to do more, I wanted to see how I could help.
But when I knocked on the door, not a single person responded as they stared at the screens on the wall. Dozens of news channels played what looked to be the same story. Stepping closer, I read the headline scrolling across the bottom of the screen.
President Codi assassinated at Middle East peace conference.
Holy shit. I was out of touch with a lot, but not so far removed that I didn’t understand just how bad this was.
I watched the replay of the moment he was shot, shaking my head in disbelief.
If anyone was going to be assassinated, I thought for sure it would be Al-ahmad.
This could only mean bad things for the state of foreign affairs, but this wouldn’t affect us, right?
“It’s unbelievable,” Lock said as he came to stand beside me.
“When did this happen?”
“About eight hours ago.”
Eight hours ago, I was sleeping peacefully in my bed, completely unaware of what was happening.
“How will this affect us?”
Lock shrugged. “It shouldn’t. Unless this starts a war, which it very well could. But even then, none of us will re-up.”
“I can’t believe this.” A sinking feeling in my gut twisted something inside me. I knew Cash wasn’t involved, but he also wasn’t here. I wanted to voice my concerns, but to who? Knight was the only one I could really talk to about anything, but I had no idea where he was right now.
“How are things going right now?”
“Good. Listen, I’d love to go over things with you, but I’m just about to have a meeting. Can we talk in an hour?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
He smiled, squeezing my hand before walking away.
I was shaken, but I didn’t know why. I just had this horrible feeling that this meant something for me, but I didn’t know in what way. I needed to see Knight and talk things through with him.
I slipped out, quickly looking down both halls before heading for the elevator. Pressing the button, I tried to shake out the anxiety building inside me. Something didn’t feel right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
The doors to the elevator opened and Knight appeared, his face stern and cold. “Get in.”
I did as he commanded without thinking about it. Only when the doors closed did I turn to him. “What’s going on?”
“Not here.”
The elevator quickly rose until we reached the top level. As soon as the doors opened, we were out, exiting the building and ignoring the looks of anyone we passed.
“I need to see that tracker.”
That sinking feeling turned to a sour feeling instantly. “He’s involved, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know yet. Let’s get to the house.”
I nodded and followed him to his truck, getting in the passenger seat.
We pulled up to the house moments later, getting out and rushing for the front door.
I hurried through the house to my room and flung the closet door open, pulling the trunk out.
Knight stood behind me, his presence thickening the air around us.
In no time, I had the tracking device out and was shoving it into his hands. As soon as he opened it and cursed under his breath, I knew the answer. Cash was there.
Pressing my hand to my mouth, I walked backward until my knees hit the bed, and then I fell back onto it. “Oh God. Did Cash do this?”
His lips thinned as he looked up from the tracker. “I don’t know. It’s too soon to say.”
“Knight, what do you know about what he’s doing?”
He slammed the tracker shut, shaking his head. “It’s best if you don’t know.”
“That’s what you keep saying, but I think we’re past the point of keeping me in the fucking dark!” I snapped, getting to my feet. “He’s my husband. I deserve to know what’s going on!”
“He wouldn’t want you to know,” Knight snapped.
“Yeah, well, there’s a lot he wouldn’t want for me, including having me go out of my mind while I wait here for the smallest scrap of news about what the fuck is going on!”
“Eva—”
Anger surged inside me as he took that placating tone with me. Suddenly, I was no longer a mom or a wife. I was back in those days of being on the run, fighting my own corner because no one would do it for me. Only, I was no longer weak. I was trained and ready to take on anyone who pissed me off.
Including the man who was supposed to be family.
My knives were in my hand before I could think about it, and one was pressed to Knight’s throat.
“Don’t fucking tell me to stay out of this.
I will not sit on the sidelines anymore while Cash is out there doing God knows what in the name of fucking protecting his family. This is no longer his decision.”
I knew Knight could disarm me in a flash, but he didn’t. He studied my eyes, and he seemed to find whatever he was looking for. Ever so slowly, Knight wrapped his hand around my wrist holding the knife, and lowered it to my side.
“Alright. No more secrets.”
“No more secrets,” I repeated, making sure he understood just how pissed I was. “Start at the beginning.”