Page 17 of Benny

Beth followed him. “They’re taking it as well as can be expected. Because of all this, they’re staying at the ranch until we tell them to come home. I’ll touch base with them again tomorrow.”

Benny draped an arm over her shoulders. “Thank you for playing intermediary. I didn’t know I’d need it,” he admitted.

“Let me grab the tech and we’ll get a move on,” Jordan said, sympathy in her tone. “We shouldn’t stay here any longer than necessary. When Benedict posted my picture, he tied me to all of you. La Sombra is searching for me as we speak. You all need to be on the lookout for him as well, along with these assholes from DARPA.”

Her words caused a surge of protectiveness to roar through him. He didn’t like the fact that she was in danger. Yeah, she was a cop and that kind of went with the territory, but this was different somehow. More personal in a way he couldn’t put his finger on. On the tails of the conversation with his parents, it left him feeling raw in a way he didn’t recognize, even from before.

Malone pinged Dev, stating the car was ready in the service area, so Benny gave his sister a big hug, feeling the concern pouring through their twin bond.

She nodded, and moved to Tate, who tucked her up against his side. “I’m just worried about you. I don’t want to let you out of my sight, but I know I have to. I know that’s what will keep you safe.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Tate said. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll keep in touch via cell, I promise. It’s not like you’re going to the ends of the earth, man. It’s just the ‘burbs.” He cracked a rare smile, which made Benny grin in return without even thinking about it, despite everything that’d happened today.

Jordan emerged from down the hall and gave him a nod. “I’ve got what we need. Dev, I’ll check in when we’re situated.”

He and Jordan stepped inside the elevator, the silence between them charged. He understood why he was jacked up, and it made sense why she’d be on edge, but again, it felt like more.

“Jordan, before I disappeared, did we have a fight or something?”

If he hadn’t been watching her closely, he wouldn’t have noticed her stiffen, wouldn’t have seen the way her mouth went tight before relaxing.

When she turned her head to face him, though, she looked every inch the professional. “No, what makes you ask that?”

He shrugged, now vaguely irritated, but not sure if it was with himself for overreacting or with her for that slight involuntary reaction. She didn’t want to be here with him now, but that could simply be for the reasons she’d stated upstairs.

He’d opened his mouth to push further when the elevator doors opened and his opportunity was lost. It was one thing to ask her in the privacy of the elevator, but he wasn’t going to press her in a public place.

They walked a sterile hallway that was obviously closed to the public to a service entrance, where Malone and a sleek black SUV waited for them at the curb.

He handed the keys to Jordan. “The house and the car are attached to the alias Pat Frederick,” he shrugged. “Unisex name that’s pretty ordinary and either of you can pass for it, so you shouldn’t have any problems.” He handed her an envelope. “Passcode for the garage, front door and the security system.”

Jordan stared at the keys in her hand for a second, then gave Malone a nod and pulled open the driver’s door.

Benny walked around the rear of the SUV and slid into the passenger seat. Earlier he had thought all of this was moving too fast, but now, as he sat in the well-appointed vehicle and looked across the console at Jordan, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

She rolled down the window, oblivious to his churning thoughts. “Spot?”

“We’ll have her to you safe and sound in a little while, along with any supplies you need. The stuff from your car is in the cargo area.”

Jordan nodded and gave him a little half salute, then pulled smoothly away from the curb.

The way she said the cat’s name pinged something in Benny’s brain, cutting through all the clutter and emotion and questions on motives.

How did he know she had a cat? Or even care? And now, looking at her in the confines of the car, it felt achingly familiar… like they had done this before, and he felt the wrongness of her deflection in the elevator.

Something had happened between him and Jordan, of that he was sure. And now he had plenty of time to figure out what. Because even with everything else going on, it felt important.

~

Jordan felt the weight of Benny’s gaze as she pulled away from the curb and then out of the loading area. She wondered what her tell had been, how he’d known she was deflecting. She hadn’t lied outright, at least. They for sure hadn’t had a fight. Instead they’d celebrated their engagement in the very best way possible.

In the silence she heard all of his unspoken questions and hoped to God he didn’t voice them while she was behind the wheel. Because if he did, she would probably break down in tears. She’d held it together this afternoon pretty damned well, but her reserves were perilously close to hitting empty.

The last forty-eight hours had just been too much, and she knew it wasn’t going to get much better.

“Do you mind if I take care of some business while we drive?” she asked, if only to fill the silence and divert his attention for a moment.

“No, go ahead,” he said and settled back against the seat, still watching her.