Page 57 of Silver Secrets

“Like I said on the phone, there’s nothing to suggest that there has been any breach of information or any way that he has accessed your new identity.” Kimi patted Sloane’s leg. “I’m needed back in Virginia, but I’ve finagled a few days here to get your protection set up and to get the Montgomery Defense team caught up on the case. Why don’t we plan on getting together tomorrow to go over some things so that you can just have time to process and get settled in here tonight?”

Sloane breathed out slowly. Numbness started to settle back into her body. It was feeling harder and harder to hold herself together.

“Gage, I’m so sorry. Could I have a glass of water?” she asked. It wasn’t that she was particularly thirsty, it was the fact that she needed to plant a seed in Kimi’s mind before he could shoot down her idea.

“Of course. Agent Liu, can I get anything for you?”

“I’m fine. Thank you, though.”

They both watched as Gage turned and walked into his kitchen.

“Alright, what didn’t you want him to hear?” Kimi asked.

“I want you to use me. To lure him out. Gage and the team are going to freak out and say no, but I want you and whoever else is assigned to this case to figure it out. I’m the one that got away. I’m the one he ultimately wants. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt and I need to be the one that puts an end to this.”

“I can’t promise anything, Sloane. I want to catch this bastard just as much as you, but there are protocols in place and policies we have to follow.”

“Fine. But I want you to try. And I don’t want you telling Gage or the team any more about what I went through.”

“I understand. I’ll follow your lead tomorrow. But I also want you to know there are other options.”

“Options?”

“We can go the same route we did fourteen years ago. Relocation. A new name, a new place. You can start over. I still have my contact in play. You give me the word, I’ll put things into motion.”

Before she could process what Kimi had just offered, Gage walked back into the living room. He handed her a glass of water before sitting on the sofa beside her. Not touching, but close enough she could feel his concern pouring off of him. “Everything okay?”

She desperately wanted him to hold her. But her emotions were too close to the surface. It would just take her mind back there. And if Gage was looking so terrified at the numbed version of her, he wouldn’t survive the version that felt every second of terror she’d been through.

That version of Sloane was messy, and loud, and filled with so much fear and sorrow. No, she couldn’t let that Sloane out of her cage. Sierra was tucked away in a little box in her heart, and that was for the best.

“Kimi and I were just talking about her team.” Sloane smiled tightly. “She’s moved up in rank since the last time we were together.”

“I have. But that doesn’t mean I’m any less determined to see this case closed, once and for all.”

“Good. Because I’m finally ready to stop hiding. Let’s go over the new information you have.”

* * *

“That was intense. Are you okay?”

God, what a stupid question to ask. Of course she wasn’t. If everything felt wrong to him, then Sloane must be feeling it a million times over. The room was too warm. The air, too thick with emotion.

Tears swelled in her eyes. She was finally letting herself feel after a grueling two hours of talking with Kimi about the evidence they’d been gathering since Sloane’s case. Fuck, every little detail had flipped his stomach, and now it sat churning with worry for the woman sitting next to him.

“Tell me what you need.” Gage slid off the sofa, crouching down on his haunches in front of her, his hands hovering above her legs.

“You,” she whispered.

“Red, you have me.” His thumb reached up, wiping away her tears. “What can I do?”

“Can I wear your clothes again?”

His heart squeezed painfully. “Yeah, of course you can. Come on.”

He left her in his bedroom to change, feeling the dread spreading in his gut. He needed to talk to the guys.

Before he could reach for his cell, Sloane was back, his sweatshirt hitting her mid-thigh while her hands pulled the sleeves down so they bunched in her palms.

---