None of those guys that took Sophia came back with any kind of match. Whoever they were, the computers of the world do not know them."
I let out a long sigh. Everything we'd run so far on Sophia's kidnappers had come back negative. Nobody should have been that hard to track. We had access to every database that mattered.
"Thanks," I said to him. "Keep at it. Something has to give eventually."
"Will do." He hesitated, like he was afraid to ask what came next. "How's Sophia doing?"
I gave a weary shrug. "I don't know. It's hard to tell. I think she might still be in shock, to be honest."
"Yeah, I can imagine all of this is pretty difficult for a civilian to process."
"That's one way to put it," I said heavily. I had no idea how she was going to react to everything I'd just told her once she had some time to digest it. It could go a thousand different ways. "Anyway, I should go. Meeting in a few minutes."
"No worries."
I turned to go, but then a thought occurred to me.
"How do you do it, Trey?"
He cocked his head to one side. "Do what?"
"Keep your private life and your professional life separate?" A few years ago, Trey had been just like me. One empty fling after another. But then he'd had his own Sophia moment. He'd met a girl who made him give all that up, but unlike me, he managed to keep her in the dark. I didn't think I'd even met her. He kept her totally separate from anything group related. I always wondered how he pulled that off.
He flashed me a half smile. "I just have a girl who understands me, I guess."
He made it sound so damn easy.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sebastian
I'd always known there were protocols in place for if a situation ever got really bad, but I'd never experienced them first hand until now. All of our key personnel were currently gathered here in lock down. It was part strategy meeting, part protection detail. We couldn't afford to leave ourselves exposed, not when we were completely on the back foot. Whoever was behind the attacks was clearly well connected. So far, they'd been like ghosts.
After a quick shower, I headed to the back of the house. We'd set up a makeshift board room in the study, and the bulk of the inner council was already there when I arrived. Thomas, and one or two others, nodded greetings, but the rest either ignored me or scowled pointedly before turning away. I hadn't done myself any favours rescuing Sophia the way I had. It went against several key group rules, and a good chunk of the room wasn't in a hurry to let me forget it. If the situation had been any less dire, I'd probably have faced disciplinary action; but, for now, they had to settle for dirty looks and snide comments. We had bigger things on our plate.
"How you holding up?" asked Thomas, coming over to join me.
I shrugged. "How do you think?" I tried to keep the frustration from my voice, but I didn't do a very good job.
He studied me for several seconds. "You got her out, man. That's what matters."
"Is it? Then why do I still feel like shit?"
"Hey, I don't blame you. I'd be angry too. But try to go a little easier on yourself. You couldn't have known."
I felt my hands contract into fists. "Of course I could have. You know, I really thought I was smart enough not to put anyone else in this position again, but apparently I'm a slower learner than I thought."
He flinched a little at my tone, but his voice remained calm. "I thought we were past this. You know as well as I do that the situations are completely different. What happened to Liv was a tragedy, but there's nothing tying it to any of this. It was a freak accident, that's all. You have to let it go. Stop blaming yourself."
I gave a bitter little laugh. It wasn't like I hadn't tried. Objectively, I knew he was right. Our investigation had never found anything to indicate that Liv's death was more than a standard break and enter gone wrong. But no matter how much evidence there was to the contrary, the heavy sensation I'd carried in my stomach
I let out a long sigh. Everything we'd run so far on Sophia's kidnappers had come back negative. Nobody should have been that hard to track. We had access to every database that mattered.
"Thanks," I said to him. "Keep at it. Something has to give eventually."
"Will do." He hesitated, like he was afraid to ask what came next. "How's Sophia doing?"
I gave a weary shrug. "I don't know. It's hard to tell. I think she might still be in shock, to be honest."
"Yeah, I can imagine all of this is pretty difficult for a civilian to process."
"That's one way to put it," I said heavily. I had no idea how she was going to react to everything I'd just told her once she had some time to digest it. It could go a thousand different ways. "Anyway, I should go. Meeting in a few minutes."
"No worries."
I turned to go, but then a thought occurred to me.
"How do you do it, Trey?"
He cocked his head to one side. "Do what?"
"Keep your private life and your professional life separate?" A few years ago, Trey had been just like me. One empty fling after another. But then he'd had his own Sophia moment. He'd met a girl who made him give all that up, but unlike me, he managed to keep her in the dark. I didn't think I'd even met her. He kept her totally separate from anything group related. I always wondered how he pulled that off.
He flashed me a half smile. "I just have a girl who understands me, I guess."
He made it sound so damn easy.
CHAPTER FOUR
Sebastian
I'd always known there were protocols in place for if a situation ever got really bad, but I'd never experienced them first hand until now. All of our key personnel were currently gathered here in lock down. It was part strategy meeting, part protection detail. We couldn't afford to leave ourselves exposed, not when we were completely on the back foot. Whoever was behind the attacks was clearly well connected. So far, they'd been like ghosts.
After a quick shower, I headed to the back of the house. We'd set up a makeshift board room in the study, and the bulk of the inner council was already there when I arrived. Thomas, and one or two others, nodded greetings, but the rest either ignored me or scowled pointedly before turning away. I hadn't done myself any favours rescuing Sophia the way I had. It went against several key group rules, and a good chunk of the room wasn't in a hurry to let me forget it. If the situation had been any less dire, I'd probably have faced disciplinary action; but, for now, they had to settle for dirty looks and snide comments. We had bigger things on our plate.
"How you holding up?" asked Thomas, coming over to join me.
I shrugged. "How do you think?" I tried to keep the frustration from my voice, but I didn't do a very good job.
He studied me for several seconds. "You got her out, man. That's what matters."
"Is it? Then why do I still feel like shit?"
"Hey, I don't blame you. I'd be angry too. But try to go a little easier on yourself. You couldn't have known."
I felt my hands contract into fists. "Of course I could have. You know, I really thought I was smart enough not to put anyone else in this position again, but apparently I'm a slower learner than I thought."
He flinched a little at my tone, but his voice remained calm. "I thought we were past this. You know as well as I do that the situations are completely different. What happened to Liv was a tragedy, but there's nothing tying it to any of this. It was a freak accident, that's all. You have to let it go. Stop blaming yourself."
I gave a bitter little laugh. It wasn't like I hadn't tried. Objectively, I knew he was right. Our investigation had never found anything to indicate that Liv's death was more than a standard break and enter gone wrong. But no matter how much evidence there was to the contrary, the heavy sensation I'd carried in my stomach
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