Page 64 of Finding Fate

Nash

Today

I stomp through theback door first, keeping her hidden at my back as we shuffle through the small mudroom to the kitchen, which opens up into the living room where everyone waits. And stares.

He's a little grayer than the last time I saw him, which was only a month or so ago. Soon enough, Fate will learn how her mentor and I collaborated when we both discovered she was MIA. Fuck, it’s more than that now. Besides my sisters, he's the one who helped me keep my shit together somehow the past few months.

"Nash," he says with a nod, which I return. "Wh-where is she?"

I swallow and step aside, revealing her to the room. His face drops but recovers before anyone else can notice. There's no shame or attempt to hide the dam of tears causing his eyes to shimmer beneath the living room lights. To my right, a faint whimper draws my attention to find tears streaming down her crumpled face.

She shakes her hand free to bolt across the kitchen. He steps away from the couch just as she launches toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His arms encircle her back, holding her tight against his chest.

Mimicking my earlier move, I nod to each man in the room, requesting a few minutes of privacy for the two. The pounding footsteps and protests from one of the FBI douchebags I don't know keep me from hearing what Mac’s murmuring into Pops’s ear. Maybe I should leave too, but pent-up rage erupts at the thought of leaving her, keeping my feet planted where they are.

A wave of bitterness rises in my gut as they continue to hold on to one another. Unlike with me, there was no hesitation from her before lunging for Mac’s open arms. Guess I figured with what we went through together, she would’ve reacted that way to me too. But she didn't. Hell, twice she shifted out of my reach.

The thick plaster of the living room wall supports my back as I observe them still hugging, still whispering. Those tears Mac held back with the other men in the room now fall uninhibited onto her matted, blonde hair.

That blonde hair snags my attention, detouring my jealous thoughts. Earlier, outside, she came alive when I took off the damn covering. Maybe....

Keeping an eye on the pair, I tug the phone from my front pocket and flip to a previous text string with Liza to ask for help. Knowing her, I'll probably have to beg and agree to a free night of babysitting to get a yes. Like I care; I'll give it all just to see that happy look on Pops’s face again.

Their movement has me tucking the phone away and shifting toward the couch, where they now sit facing one another. Feeling like a bit of an outsider, I perch on the coffee table between them, not saying a word.

"Where have you been?" Mac says, shaking his head in disbelief while smiling.

Eager to hear her response, I lean forward, placing my elbows on my thighs. Her eyes flick to me and focus on my elbows, of all things.

"Have they... have they found the general's body?"

Mac looks to me and I shrug.

"Not that we've heard. Did you... kill him?"

"What about his second-in-command? Where is he?"

"No one knows. We thought"—again he looks to me for help, but I keep silent—"you were with him."

"What kind of chatter is going on over there?" She looks to me with alarm, and I see something darker lurking behind those blue eyes. The second I narrow mine, she turns her attention back to Mac. A slight tremor starts in her fingers before spreading up her hand and arm. I watch as her body screams the answers she won't.

Something else is going on or she wouldn't be this terrified. But what?

"Nothing. Nothing is coming from over there. We tracked everything we could and still nothing. The only thing that's come out of that area recently is you. Which," Mac says with a smirk, "how in the hell did you plant that alert on my computer? Two days ago, I thought my system had been breached when your prints and location popped up on my screen. Why didn't you tell me?"

The blank expression that settles over her beautiful face has my nails pricking my palms in my clenched fists. "I wanted someone to be alerted if I ended up in some African morgue or....” With a shake of her head, she turns back to him. “I'm taking it as a compliment that you never found it. I’d hoped I hid it well enough." A small smile creeps up her lips and something like pride shines behind her eyes, pushing the earlier fear out. "There should’ve been another file attached. Did it come through?"

I’m eager to punch him through the wall if he makes a move closer to her. Closing my eyes, I breathe through my nose and count to ten.

Get your shit under control, Nash. It's just a damn broad.

The same damn broad I've been dreaming about. And not all being PG. Hell, most weren't fucking PG. And those were my favorite. Dreaming of waking up beside her naked body. Skimming my fingers up and down her fair skin, making her familiar blush wash in their wake. Exploring the dips and curves over her beautiful body. Sucking on that full lower lip.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Shifting uncomfortably on the hard wood, I turn my focus back to their conversation.

"I did but can't crack it. It seems you've learned a lot over the past year."

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