The issue was hers to deal with how she saw fit. If Adam thought for one second she—
“Ah…nope. He didn’t mention it.”
Her gaze snapped to his in disbelief. “He didn’t mention it?”
He grinned and shook his head. “No, he’s worried the nightmares are related to the recent trauma you experienced and possibly interfering with your sleep, but that’s it.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks burned, and she shrugged. “They’re no big deal.”
“I can give you some melatonin if you’d like some help sleeping.”
“No, thanks. I’m—melatonin?”
“Yeah, I figured you’d prefer something natural over a prescription.”
“Oh. Well, sure. I mean—I would prefer something natural. But I’m good for now.”
“Okay, if you change your mind though, or you need anything, you’ll let me know?”
About to tell him she wouldn’t be around long enough to need anything else from him, she held her tongue when a phone rang somewhere in his general vicinity. He fished it out of his back pocket to answer. “What’s up?” He listened, sat up straighter, and then glanced her way. “Yeah, we’re done here.” Another pause. “Roger that. We’re on our way.”
Adam’sprotective instincts fired up another notch when Eve stopped short after walking into the conference room. He couldn’t blame her. They were an intimidating bunch. Around the table, the members of the JTT sat or stood, all of them wearing similar expressions of concern mixed with rage for what she’d soon discover.
“Adam?”
“It’s okay, Eve. Come here.” He held out his hand and she came straight to him, slipping her palm into his and holding on tight. “This is my team. You already know Grant, Davis, and Doc.” He introduced the others, pointing at each of them in turn. “Cody Babbitt, Zander Cavanaugh, and Jay Mann.”
“Hi.” She lifted her hand in a little wave before turning wide eyes to his, and he hated what he had to do next.
“Before we start, I want you to know, you’re safe here, and we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”
Her grip tightened, and she glanced around once more before settling her gaze back on him. “What’s happened?”
“Jay.” With a couple of taps on his keyboard, Jay connected with O’Reilly in Mexico and projected the videoconference onto the big screen. “Eve, this is Dax O’Reilly, he works for Petrova Personal Protection, a private security company out of New York.”
“Ms. Langley,” he said, inclining his head.
“Hello.”
Fuck, her voice sounded small, the note of fear it carried an echo heard around the room. He squeezed her fingers gently, a reminder she was safe with him. “I told you how I discovered your identity.”
“Yes. You said you sent a couple of your men to A-Bloom Landscape in LA. They made the connection to me through Carlos Aguiar and Yolande Seguin.”
“Correct. What I didn’t tell you was I sent Dax to Culiacán to locate them.”
Beside him, Eve jerked and pulled her hand free. “Why? Why would you do that?” she cried. “They’re not safe! If the judge finds—” She stopped abruptly, her mind processing the situation faster than the flow of verbal communication. “Oh God!” Her face sheeted white, and she stepped closer to the screen.
“Eve.” Adam reached for her.
“No!” She brushed his hand away with trembling fingers, her false hope focused on O’Reilly. “Tell me you found them first. Tell me they’re still alive.”
He shook his head, regret plain on his face. “I’m sorry, Ms. Langley. The bodies of both Ms. Seguin and Mr. Aguiar were found earlier this morning.”
“No!” Her knees buckled, and Adam caught her, his arms going around her from behind, holding her up. “No. No. No! They can’t be dead. There must be a mistake.” Her tears came hard and fast. “Somebody made a mistake!”
“There’s no mistake,” Adam said, wishing like fuck there had been. “Dax personally confirmed their identities for the local authorities.”
“No!” she cried, bucking against him. Her chest shuddering with the strength of her sobs. “This is my fault. I killed them!”
