Page 68 of Critical Doubt

"I understand. I just want you to know how serious this is."

"I'll see what I can do. I'll try."

It wasn't a promise, but it was as much as he was going to get. "All right," he said. "Do you see Hank much? You're not too far apart."

"Not really. He's busy with his life, and sometimes I don’t think he can stand looking at me in this wheelchair. He gets uncomfortable and awkward, and I don't need that shit. It was easier for him to be around me when I had my prosthesis on, when I looked normal, but I've had some problems with it, so I'm back in the chair until after my surgery."

Mason's words were pragmatic, but Ryker knew there was deep-buried pain beneath those words. He wasn't completely surprised that Hank was awkward around Mason now. Hank had always had trouble with people who showed a weakness. Even now, he surrounded himself with bodybuilders and gym rats. He was always about building up his physical body, but his mental strength had never been as strong, nor his emotional strength.

"You shouldn't be doing this surgery alone," he said.

"I've been alone for nine months."

"Maybe I should be there for this one."

"I don't need you to be there—not for the surgery anyway. If you want to be a friend again, I'm open to that. Or does seeing me make you feel guilty? I'm fairly certain that's why Hank can't spend more than five minutes with me. He sees me, and he sees failure. But I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was no one's fault."

"Someone put us in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"If they did, I don't believe it was deliberate. It was just bad intel."

He was surprised at Mason's words. "You're able to accept that?"

"What choice do we have? It happened. It's done. It's all about what we do next, right?"

"Right," he agreed, thinking ironically that Mason might be the healthiest one of them all.

"So, how did you hook up with Colonel Kane's daughter?" Mason asked.

"Savannah was at the funeral. She's friends with Abby."

"And she's an FBI agent?"

"Yes."

Mason smiled. "Not your usual kind of woman. Actually, that's not true. You were always a sucker for a hot blonde. But they didn't usually have serious jobs." He paused. "Are you sure you want to mess around with Kane's daughter?"

"I don't care what he thinks. I was never a fan of his. And if I want to mess around with her, that's between us."

"And you do want to," Mason said with a grin.

"I do," he admitted. "But I need to get my head on straight."

"I don't know about that. Sometimes women like a little crazy." Mason pulled out his phone as it began to vibrate.

"Do you need to get that?"

"I'll return the call after I take you and Savannah back to the lobby."

"I know you have a lot of security here at work, but we need to look at the situation at your home."

"My townhouse is very secure. What about you? Are you still living on your boat?"

"Yes, in Chesapeake Beach."

"I can't believe you became a fisherman."

"It's a living."

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