Anger surged through his veins. This was his life. His fucking choice to grieve.
He gave a mirthless laugh and threw his fork on his plate. “Is this some kind of intervention?”
“Take it however you want. I’m a mother concerned for her son.”
“This. Is. My. Life.”
“You’re my son.”
His mom couldn’t begin to understand how it was to lose the love of his life. Her telling him that Sarah was dead was making his conversation with Nate last night sound like a dream. And in the cold light of day, he panicked for a moment that it was. He lost his appetite, pushed the plate away, and stood up.
“I need to get to the office.”
“It’s Saturday.”
“I’m flying out of DC tomorrow.”
His mom sighed, knowing better than to ask him where he was heading. She rose from the chair, walked over to him, and hugged him tightly.
“I just want to see you happy.”
“I will be,” Travis said in what he hoped would be a prophetic statement.
Caitlin satin the special interest section of the American Embassy in Berlin. She still wasn’t sure why she had come here and was surprised she hadn’t been hauled away in handcuffs after she told the guard who she was—a fugitive wanted by the U.S. government. The guard had looked at her as though she had lost her mind. He barked into his shoulder radio and waited for instructions. It didn’t take long before she was promptly photographed and fingerprinted. Afterward, she was led into a small room without windows and told to wait. Half an hour later, she was taken to this section—someone from the Office of Consular affairs wanted a word with her.
Her first instinct before coming here was to head straight for Russia, where there were tenuous extradition laws with the U.S. However, some of the men who were after them had spoken Russian.
Jase explained that the CIA covert group gunning for them frequently used Russian mercenaries and ex-KGB agents. But her main reason for coming to the embassy was because she was tired. Tired of running. Tired of hiding and tired of getting shot at. She was ready to take the risk. She knew why they were after her, and if she could just get the right people to hear her case, she would be safe. It didn’t help that the sum of her memories was three years. And what she knew was only from what Jase had told her. Amnesia sucked.
Damn Jase for deserting her. She was pissed at him, as well as worried. His whole left side was drenched with blood in the short time he was shot. Jase. Stupid. Stupid. Jase. Didn’t he say they were stronger when they stuck together? She should have seen the signs. They hadn’t been intimate for over three months, but she had noticed him withdrawing from her six months ago. They had been living more as roommates than lovers. He was preparing to let her go.
And what the hell had he meant when he said he wasn’t the one she loved? Of course, she loved him. Even if friendshipwas all that was left between them that still counted as love, right?
She tapped her foot impatiently. There were ten people ahead of her, and she wondered what their stories were. She managed to buy some decent clothes at a shop in the village where she had holed up for two days. The backpack Jase had thrown out for her was packed with bare essentials, such as cash in different international currencies. She also had two other passports but left them at the hotel along with a sub-compact 9mm.
A lady, who looked to be in her forties, stepped out of one of the offices and walked up to the line of seats.
“Ms. Caitlin Kincaid?”
Startled that she was called ahead of the others, Caitlin stood up apologetically and raised her hand.
“Here.”
“Follow me, please.”
They walked further down the hallway and made a right toward a bank of elevators. A Marine joined them. Security.
“Um, are you going to detain me after all?” Caitlin asked in a resigned voice.
“No, dear, but we want to ask you a few questions.”
Right, Caitlin thought snidely.With armed security?
They got into the elevator and went down a floor. When the woman motioned her to enter a room, Caitlin noticed that her female escort also had a side arm.
“Ms. Lopez will be with you in a minute.” The woman smiled stiffly and closed the door.
Ms. Elena Lopezwas the assistant to the Consul General. She appeared to be of Spanish descent. Caitlin paused. How did she come up with that? She frequently had flashes of observation when her mind became vigilant of her surroundings. What usually followed wasn’t pleasant. Caitlin tookseveral deep breaths to calm down. She felt vulnerable without Jase.
