Chapter 17
Owen gripped the steering wheel tightly. Every time he thought of the jackass who’d dared to hurt Natalie, he wanted to do physical damage to him.
Then he recalled that he’d also hurt her.
“I’m sorry, Nat.”
She forced a slight laugh. “I was devastated at first. I couldn’t believe that he’d cheated on me multiple times, but then I realized that I wasn’t happy. I’d married him because it felt like the next step, not because I was madly in love with him. It’s as much my fault as it is his.”
Owen jerked his gaze to her, meeting her deep green eyes. “That’s bullshit. You didn’t make him cheat.”
“I know. Watch the road.”
He turned his attention back to driving. “Don’t you dare blame yourself.”
“I blame myself for the marriage. I could’ve called it off. I should have, but I really thought I could be happy with him.”
“If he hadn’t cheated, would you still be with him?” He quickly cut his eyes to her to see her reaction.
Natalie nodded slowly. “I’ve never believed in divorce.
You know that. You marry because of love and work to keep the marriage going.
So, yes, I would’ve stayed with him. But .
. . he broke my trust with the cheating.
It was only after I filed for divorce that I grasped how badly I wanted out of the marriage.
Perhaps I pushed him to have those affairs. ”
“No. No,” he repeated it more forcefully. “People get married for all kinds of reasons. It doesn’t matter what one spouse does or doesn’t do, none of it justifies an affair. None of it.”
She reached her hand out and laid it gently on his arm. “Thank you.”
“Just speaking the truth.” He really wanted to break both of the bastard’s arms. And possibly his legs.
“What about you?” she asked. “Were you married?”
“No.” No one could ever compare to the best thing that had ever come into his life—Natalie.
“Did you come close?”
He glanced her way. “Once. Fourteen years ago, to my high school sweetheart.”
She didn’t smile. Her green eyes were shrewd as they stared at him. “You wanted to marry me?”
“It’s why I left without talking to you. I knew if I saw you, I’d propose.”
“Huh.”
That’s all? He expected more from her. But if he wanted to see some kind of compassion or even—dare he say it?—love, he would be waiting a long time.
He’d really hurt her. And he hadn’t been the only one.
He couldn’t continue this conversation while driving. He pulled off the side of the road and put the truck in park. Then he turned to her.
“I knew what I was getting into, Nat. I knew the life ahead of me in the Navy. I also knew I was going to be a SEAL. I saw firsthand what kind of life my mother had as the wife of a SEAL. The worry, the waiting. I didn’t want to put you through that.”
Natalie’s green eyes looked at him as if he were from another planet. “That was my decision to make, not yours.”
“No,” he said firmly, with a shake of his head. “You would’ve made your decision based on your feelings. You would’ve never listened to the facts about military life.”
“It was still my decision.”
“And mine.” He ran a hand down his face. “A marriage takes two people. Do you think I wanted to come home to find you bitter that I’d been on yet another mission? Or demanding that I give up the life because I got wounded or was sent away after only just returning?”
She held up a hand to stop him from talking. “Did your mother ever demand your father quit?”
He paused as he sorted through memories. “Not that I recall.”
“But you fully expected me to be the kind of woman who would do that?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You certainly did.”
“It’s a hard life, Nat!”
“But we would’ve been together!”
That’s when it hit him square in the chest like a 50mm bullet. She was right. They would’ve been together. He wouldn’t have been alone all these years.
Yes, they might have fought, but they would’ve worked to keep their love alive and their marriage going.
“There’s no sense in rehashing this. We’ve both moved on,” Natalie said and faced forward.
He wasn’t so sure after that kiss. He looked out the windshield and felt as if he’d just lost her again. That wasn’t possible, though. He’d let her go the first time, and this time, she hadn’t even been his.
But he’d had hope.
A hope he hadn’t fathomed was growing within him until she snuffed it out so indisputably.
He put the truck in drive and pulled back onto the road. The rest of the ride was done in silence. Though their conversation continued to play over and over in his head.
By the time they were on the highway, he had noticed a beige car that stayed the same distance from him regardless whether he slowed or sped up. He’d suspected something like this might happen.
When he drove onto the Baylor campus, he was ready to get out of the truck and get on with their task. He found a parking place and checked his cell phone. Nothing.
It wasn’t as if he’d expected anything, but he’d hoped Callie and Wyatt had some news. Or even Cullen, who should’ve made it to Dover AFB last night.
Owen shot Cullen a quick text before his gaze went to the rearview mirror.
“What is it?” Natalie asked.
“Three rows back and to the right is a beige Ford Taurus.”
She turned and looked. “I see it.”
“I spotted them on the freeway quite some time ago.”
Natalie swung her head to him. “The Russians?”
“Possibly.”
“Should we leave?”
He shook his head. “No. This is important. I’ll get you in and out without incident.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Act normal. Put the container in your purse. Then we’ll head into the building.”
Her eyebrows rose. “That simple?”
“That simple. Look around. There are a lot of people. Those men will stand out.” As long as they didn’t have someone on campus blending in with the students, but he kept that worry to himself.
There was no need to put more anxiety on Natalie than there already was.
She unbuckled her seatbelt before turning and leaning between the seats. The sound of a zipper opening filled the truck. Then Natalie was facing forward, stuffing the container in her handbag. Owen was glad she carried a large purse.
“Ready,” she said with a nod.
“We’re going to get out and unhurriedly make our way to the science building.”
She took a deep breath. “Sounds easy enough.”
“It is. Ready to find out what this is all about?”
“Yes,” she said emphatically.
“Don’t look at the car,” he cautioned her as his hand rested on the handle.
He opened the door, and she followed a second later. They exited the truck and walked around to the front. Together, they then made the trek to the science building.
Several times, he looked in the windows and glass doors as they passed and spotted the two large men who got out of the Taurus in the reflection.
Only when they were in the stairwell making their way up to the second floor did he pull out his phone and send a text to Callie, Wyatt, and Cullen that the Russians had tracked them to Waco.
“They’re still following us, aren’t they?” Natalie asked in a whisper.
He tucked his phone into his back pocket and gave her a nod. “They’ll be looking for us, but they’re keeping their distance.”
“But they know we’re here for a reason and not a social visit.”
He grinned. “That’s true. Most likely, they’ll think we came to see if anyone has any information on the biochemical.”
“I thought they kept the making of it private.”
“They did. That means someone let the information leak to our government.”
Her eyes widened. She tucked a long strand of light brown hair behind her ear. “They don’t know who betrayed them, do they?”
“Probably not. They’ll look for anyone who seems suspicious. Usually, if they can’t discover the culprit quickly, house cleaning is done.”
“So innocents are killed.”
He nodded solemnly.
“That’s wrong.”
“That’s life.”
They walked down a long corridor and turned left. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Natalie’s posture change. Her smile was huge as she hurried to meet a petite woman with black eyes.
Emily Ashcroft was nothing like Owen had pictured. She wasn’t the typical professor one might encounter at a university. Emily had streaks of purple in her short, midnight hair that was spiked all over.
She wore an AC/DC shirt that was cut up and a red tank beneath. That was paired with a black leather mini skirt, black tights that had skull designs barely visible, and tall, black boots.
The hairstyle fit her narrow face and frame. With large black eyes, full lips, and a body that would have his younger brother on his knees, Emily was a pleasant surprise.
She pulled away from Natalie and looked to him. Her dark gaze ran up and down, taking in his black tee, jeans, and black boots.
“Military,” Emily said.
Owen smiled. “SEAL.”
“Of course.” A thin black brow lifted as she glanced at Emily. “Natalie, where have you been hiding him?”
“He’s the one who’s been hiding.”
He snapped his gaze to Natalie, but she was smiling down at Emily. So that’s what she thought? That he’d been hiding?
“Come on inside,” Emily said as she motioned him to follow.
He waited until the door to the lab closed behind Natalie, then he looked down the corridor, waiting for the men. After five minutes without a sign of them, he strode into the lab.