Page 186 of Chaos has a Name
‘Head to the cabin after your detail with the cop. Elizabeth is going to head into the office to catch up with Ethan and Callen before hitting the dead dude’s home. I can cover it there. Swap out with Michael and give him a break. He’s babysitting Wyler in the treehouse. Last he texted me, he asked if he could tie the man up and gag him. Expect the unexpected, and keep him where he is for the boss.’
Well, that sounded like the best idea.
Running was easier.
Hiding was a good plan.
Caspian knew that he had no business talking to this woman, or even being near her. He was a hippy nut who meditated in forests and did yoga to keep his body and soul balanced.
There was his way out.
Dealing with Wyler was a no-brainer in his book. There were lots of things that they could talk about and he’d not laugh at him when he said something stupid. That was the safest option.
Getting as far from Rayna as possible was the best option as far as he was concerned.
For both of them.
He stalled for as long as he could, typing and erasing the line to do it over and over again. Finally, he read it over, and hit send.
‘Bless you. I’m in over my head here, Ivan. I gotta get away from her. I’m not doing well here. She’s friendly, and I’m…not.’
After getting that off his chest, he tucked away his phone, he focused on the area around them.
Rayna saw him scanning the scenery as it went by the windows of her patrol vehicle.
“It’s pretty,” she said.
That got his attention.
“The trees?”
She nodded.
“I love walking around in the woods here. It feels like home, and that’s always a nice place to be.”
Unfortunately for him, Caspian wouldn’t know.
As a Marine, he didn’t have a home. He had a place where he slept, and a bed that was there for him, but he didn’t have a place that felt like his.
Ever.
His apartment back in DC was simply a place to go after work. Even as a kid, they moved around, and he always felt…displaced.
And it sucked.
In fact, it made him a mess. Being a kid without a place to call home, and having an incredibly strict father had stunted his social skills.
As a Marine, it was actions above words.
As a guy stuck in a car with a gorgeous Native woman who had a degree and sounded intelligent, he was at a loss. That panic always led to one thing.
Because he didn’t know how to interact with her, he kept it short and sweet.
“Yeah, I like nature too.”
Jesus.
She was struggling here.
