Page 95 of Lost Truth
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Morning came and Cady tried to remain encouraged as she ate a breakfast of fluffy pancakes and tangy sausages in the kitchen with Hayden. Nolan had gone to meet Mina at the cave to get Sierra and her team started on the forensics. Everyone else wanted to get Ivers’s surveillance going, but Gabe checked the commissioner’s house, and he wasn’t home. He moved on to Ivers’s office. Another strikeout. It wasn’t open yet so they wouldn’t be able to locate him via phone for a few hours.
Gabe agreed to remain in place, keeping the commissioner’s office under surveillance. But not until after he warned the team members to save him some of his favorite breakfast. Reece had just laughed and promised to make more if there wasn’t anything left.
Cady loved how each group member had their own quirks. She’d been totally submerged in their lives for days, and it was like she’d known them for years, and they’d be friends forever.
Man, oh, man.She already knew how hard leaving Hayden would be after this was all over. But not just him. Saying goodbye to his teammates would sting too.
Hayden dropped his fork onto the plate and pushed back. “Reece, you’ve got to stop feeding us this way when we’re so involved in a job and have no time to work off the calories.”
She rested a hand on his shoulder. “I promise to tell you when you start getting that middle-aged spread, and I’ll personally drag you to the gym to work it off.”
Hayden chuckled.
“He has a point,” Cady said. “I’m sure I’ve gained five pounds since I’ve stayed here.”
“If so,” Hayden ran his gaze over her, “it’s looking good on you.”
Reece mocked gagging. “That’s my sign to leave the two of you alone.”
Hayden glanced at his watch. “That’s a good thing because it’s time for Betty Lou to call Ivers’s office.”
Reece’s laughter disappeared. “I’m on it. There’re pancakes and sausage warming in the oven and fresh squeezed juice and a fruit bowl in the refrigerator if you want more.”
He groaned and shook his head. “Didn’t I just say I need to stop eating?”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s what you’ll do.” She winked at him and left them.
“I love your teammates, and I’m going to miss them when I go,” Cady said before considering how her statement would bring the discussion into the personal realm, an area she wanted to avoid today.
He frowned. “I assume you inherited your father’s cottage. So have you decided what you’ll do with it yet?”
“I haven’t really thought about it.” She picked up her silverware and arranged it neatly on her empty plate, careful to miss the syrup so they didn’t get sticky. “I have to look into the cost of maintaining it before I can decide, but I don’t think I want to sell it. It would be nice for vacations, or maybe I could rent it out.”
“Or you could move here full-time and live at the beach.”
His hope-filled expression nearly was her undoing, but she dug deep to hide her angst. “I can’t work from here.”
“Yeah, I know, but I had to try.” He scooted his chair closer to her and took her hands. “I meant what I said last night. I’ll do my best to trust God and only look forward. I can’t promise how successful I’ll be, but I’d hoped you might consider dating.”
Oh, man, his touch made her want to let go and give in. “I’m sure my feelings for you have been obvious, but long distance dating isn’t a great way to begin a relationship. Most of them fail.”
“You’re probably right, but can you at least consider it?”
She opened her mouth to say yes, but his phone rang, taking his attention. “It’s Nick.”
His unease melted away, replaced by a burst of enthusiasm the moment he picked up. “Putting you on speaker with Cady.”
“I cracked the drive.” Nick sounded excited, sure—but the exhaustion in his voice was impossible to miss. “Sorry it took so long. It was worse than some of the military drives I’ve worked on.”
Hayden shot to his feet. “I’m just glad you could do it.”
“Oh, there was no question about that. Just about the time it would take to succeed.” He laughed. “I know you want the info it contains ASAP, so after I cloned the drive for legal purposes, I also put a clone on our network for you. As soon as we finish here, I’ll send you a link and login to access it.”
“Perfect.”
“That’s the good news, but now the bad.” His fatigue seemed to overwhelm his tone now. “I’ve struck out on the code names on the dark web, but don’t wig out. I have a few other tricks up my sleeve, and now that the drive is done, I can put my full attention to the search.”
