Page 45 of Reid

“What did you do then?”

“I called Gunner, and he came straight away. When he got here, I knew it was bad. He looked awful, so full of pain. He asked me to trust him, and I have. My boy is capable, and he is good to his core. He would never let anyone hurt Milla, so I trust him to do what he needs to keep her safe.”

Elvira looked at them with defiance as if daring them to say differently.

“Can you tell us what the men looked like? What their nationality was?”

“Three white British men. They were all tall and had muscles like you two.”

Blake twisted to look at him and lifted his chin. They had all they could get for now. Blake and Waggs rose, and so did Elvira. Blake offered her a card with just a telephone number on it that would go straight through to Lopez. “If you hear from Gunner, will you call us? He may not think he needs help, but he does, and we want to help him get his sister back.”

Elvira hesitated before she nodded. “I will do this.”

She walked them to the door, and Waggs realised the sun had started to set while they’d been inside the house. His instincts told him nobody was watching, but he remained cautious as they approached the car. Once inside, he waited for Blake to get them back on the road towards real civilisation before he spoke.

“You mean what you said about us helping him?”

Blake glanced across the car to him, and Waggs caught the uncertainty in his friend. “I hope I do, but honestly, I don’t know how to feel. This entire thing has fucked me up a little.”

Waggs nodded in agreement. “I think it’s shaken us all more than we want to admit. But he put Pax at risk and she got hurt, so I can understand you not feeling very forgiving.”

“It isn’t just about forgiving him, if that’s even an option. It’s about trust. He broke the bonds we share by doing what he did.” Blake sighed audibly, and Waggs watched as the sky darkened further and hoped they’d get a flight back to the UK tonight. “But, and it’s a very big but, would I have done whatever it took to protect my sisters?” Blake shrugged. “The answer is yes, I’d do whatever it took. So how can I sit in judgement on that?”

“Except we can’t forget the huge question of why he never came to us with this. We’re brothers, he knows damn well we would’ve had his back and helped him.”

Blake shook his head. “That I don’t know, but as soon as we find him, I’ll be asking.”

“Me too, brother, me too.”

Waggs lifted his phone and found he had a signal, and called Jack, updating him on the situation.

“I’ll have Lopez look into it now and see if we can get CCTV from the facility and anything from the airports.” Jack sounded like he was in a hurry.

“It wouldn’t be easy to move someone with complex needs like that so she’d probably have needed a nurse or carer.” Waggs thought it over in his head. “We should also see if we can access her medical records and find out exactly what her needs are. We might be able to use that to trace any equipment required for her care.”

“You think they’re looking after her then?” Jack was silent as he waited for Waggs to answer.

“Yes. She’s no use to them if she dies. If they’re using her to control Gunner, he’ll want regular updates to ensure her safety and wellbeing. He’s no fool.”

“Agreed. I’ll have Lopez do all that. You just get back here.”

“Copy that.”

Waggs hung up and glanced at Blake. “Let’s get back to Hereford.”

It had been an adjustment moving from the US for this job, but he’d needed a fresh start, and it came at a time when he’d needed it more than he’d known. Eidolon had saved his life in more ways than one, and he would die for these men. It made it that much harder to swallow Gunner’s betrayal. Although with what they had uncovered today, he wondered if perhaps redemption would one day be possible for Gunner. That is, if they all survived to tell the tale.

Chapter Nineteen

Callie cuddled into Reid’s side as they lay in bed after making love for the second time that morning. He was stroking circles into the skin of her shoulder in a lazy caress.

“What’s the plan for today?”

It had been a week since they’d arrived in Hereford and she liked it here, she felt safe. She’d spent time with her new friends at the gallery, gotten to know a few more of the Zenobi girls and even met another of Reid’s friends, Drew and his fiancée Mara, as well as Will Granger who was not the nerd she’d been expecting.

Reid rolled suddenly, pinning her beneath his hard, sexy body and she laughed as she gazed up at him. She felt some of his weight on her and loved how protected she felt. Since they’d decided to make a go of this, he’d been the perfect boyfriend. Attentive, sweet, caring, and so damn sexy he made her mouth water with just a look.

His eyes focused on her lips, and she swiped the bottom one teasingly with her tongue. His body responded with a growing hardness at her belly.