Page 31 of Everything We Found

11

THOMAS

Kane Mitchell made an appearance a little after 9:00 a.m. He’d texted before his flight out of Houston before the sun had risen, and again when he landed. His third text dropped right before he knocked to tell Thomas he was going to knock.

Nadia startled beside him on the sofa, her head swerving toward the door before turning to look at him, her expression alarmed. Thomas pushed up from the cushions where they’d been seated since dawn, scrolling through the headlines on their burners and surfing the morning news shows. They were hungry for updates, so Thomas was glad Kane finally made it.

He touched Nadia’s tense shoulder. He’d told her earlier Kane would stop by on his way from the airport to meet up with the other investigators combing his property. But he couldn’t fault her nervousness. They needed to be hypervigilant of potential threats.

“It’s just Kane.” He showed her the agent’s text.

Rather than sinking back onto the couch, she stood up, stretching her legs. “Let’s go meet him.”

Thomas muted the TV and went to answer the door. Nadia hung back a bit, cautious energy radiating off her.

“I’d say it’s good to see you, Kane, but…” Thomas greeted the agent after verifying it was him through the peephole, letting the obvious trail off.

Kane shook his hand. “Wish it was under better circumstances, Tom.”

“Likewise.”

“Mind if I come in?”

He scanned the street as Kane had once trained him to do and moved aside to let him by.

Kane hadn’t changed much since Thomas had seen him last, which had been during Fernando Ruiz’s trial. Kane was shorter than Thomas and wider in the chest. Younger by a few years. And he still wore the same everyday clothes Thomas was used to seeing him in. Jeans, chambray shirt rolled at the sleeves, badge clipped to his brown leather belt, right next to the holstered SIG Sauer. Reddish-tan freckles bled together on forearms dusted with wiry wisps of strawberry-blond hair.

“That’s new.” Thomas pointed at the full beard. Unlike him, Kane hadn’t gone gray during the agency’s operation to take down the Hidalgos.

“The wife likes it.” He cupped a hand over his chin and rubbed the beard. “She says it makes me look more intimidating on the job.” His thin smile faltered at the edges, his gaze darting briefly away.

“Kids good?” Thomas forced himself to make small talk for Nadia’s benefit. Kane was a family man, someone he’d known or worked with for the better part of ten years. He needed her to trust that Kane had their best interests in mind when the agent advised them of their next steps. Thomas could only convince Nadia to stay with him for so long. Sooner or later, she’d return home, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop her. He wouldn’t be able to keep her at his side where he’d know that shewas safe, where the only thing that had ever made sense to him was keeping her safe.

And right noweverythingwas about keeping her safe, the one thing he was least sure he could do. Yet he still had to convince her to stay.

Kane flicked his bottom lip, still cupping his chin. “Uh, yeah… Yeah, kids are great.” He looked around, perspiration glistening on his forehead under the incandescent ceiling light, and he noticed they weren’t alone. “You must be Nadia.”

Nadia came over to them and shook Kane’s hand. “I am. I sure hope you’re here to tell us we can go home.”

Kane warily threw Thomas a glance. “Unfortunately, no.”

Thomas felt a tightness in his chest at the agent’s ominous tone.

Kane shifted his weight. “Look, uh… there’s something I need to tell you.” He directed his announcement at Thomas but Nadia interrupted, stepping between them to get Kane’s attention.

“When can we leave?”

“Not anytime soon, I’m afraid. Tom, you might want to sit for this.”

Thomas transformed into granite, his chest thundering against stone. Kane warily glanced from him to Nadia. “Nadia, do you mind?—”

“She stays.” At this point, she was as deep in this as he was. Her life was just as at risk.

“Are you—” Kane shot him a sidewards glance.

“Say what you have to say.”

The agent looked over at the kitchen table.