Page 50 of Benny

Which meant she also had to face the possibility that his new reality might not include her. The thought hurt like hell, but if that was how it played out, she’d treasure the time they had spent together since his return. It was all she could really do.

They gathered in the conference room at the Zephyr, this time with Davenport there physically, and debriefed after Dev joined them via video link.

Dev’s expression was short of murderous as he addressed them. “I stepped away while they process the scene, but I’ll have to hang here as long as they need me to.” He paused, then said quietly, coldly. “We’ll find her.”

Davenport agreed, then added, “But not today.”

Dev’s expression hardened and he looked as if he was going to argue.

Davenport looked at Devin, his own expression deadly serious, then turned his attention back to the table. “She’s out there, but we’re all seasoned enough to know the difference between a hunt and a suicide mission. Right now, you need to let Beck and I start hunting the shadows for her.” He paused. “She’s not like us. She’s cunning, she’s sadistic, and she’s the creepiest motherfucker I’ve ever been around.”

Jordan couldn't argue with that assessment.

“But she won't be impossible to find,” Davenport continued. “People like Overlander always think they're smarter than everyone else. Eventually she'll make a mistake.”

Dev cocked his head, clearly considering Davenport’s words, but it was Cali who spoke first.

“He’s right.”

Jordan saw Dev’s almost imperceptible flinch. Oh, how he had to hate that. Cali was siding with the one man who seemed capable of frustrating Dev even more than she did.

Dev narrowed his eyes at her in an unspoken rebuke. She wasn’t supposed to ally with the enemy… or whatever Davenport was to them today.

“Well, he is,” Cali shot back. “We need to decompress. This is a lot for all of us to process, especially Benny and Jordan. They’ve had the most upheaval this time around.” She looked around the table. “Give it a day. Let Jordan’s side of things shake out. Let Benny figure out what the hell he wants to do next. Then we can attack the problem again.”

Dev opened his mouth, but Cali held up a hand. “The rest of us need a break, physically and mentally.” She leaned back in her chair. “It’s been a hell of a few weeks. We don’t even have our headquarters anymore, Jordan still has to deal with IA, and Benny doesn’t know if he’s ever going to get his memories back.”

The room went quiet.

Jordan glanced at Benny who was staring down at their joined hands. Absently she realized they were still holding on to each other. They'd walked out of the lab that way. Ridden back to the Zephyr that way. And somehow they'd made it all the way into the conference room without letting go. A tiny spark of hope warmed her chest.

But then she tempered that spark because she was getting ahead of herself.

Tomorrow Benny might wake up and realize he wanted to find out who he was without Jordan Gonzalez standing beside him. If that was what he needed, she'd let him go. It would rip her heart out all over again, but she'd do it. Because this time Benny hadn't been taken from her. This time, whatever happened next would be his choice.

His fingers tightened around hers, and Jordan looked up to see him watching her. And just for that moment, she let herself hope he might choose her.

She broke their eye contact and addressed Devin. “Until I hear back that the bounty’s been removed, I’d like to stay in the penthouse.”

Jordan wasn’t going to speak for Benny, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to make him decide what he wanted to do in front of all their friends, so she left it there. If he wanted to come upstairs with her, he would. If he chose to follow her and gather his things and leave with Beth and Tate, then he would do that instead, and she’d have to learn to live with it.

“Fine,” Dev said, his tone beyond grumpy as he turned his attention to Davenport. “You and I need some rules of engagement,” he said, his voice hard. “Now seems like a good time to hammer them out, until they call me back in there.”

Jordan took that as her cue to leave and stood, prompting the rest of them to do the same. She suspected a few wanted to stay and watch the fireworks between Davenport and Dev, but she, for one, was done for the day.

“I’ll put a call in when I get upstairs,” she said to the room. “I suspect IA will want to have another chat pretty soon too. I’ll also check in with Abel and see if anybody has an idea when headquarters can be released.” Then she turned and walked from the room, everything inside her sighing in relief when Benny followed.

Just like in the car, they didn’t speak as they rode the elevator up. But the second they pushed through the penthouse doors and reenabled the alarm, Benny backed her against the wall and his mouth came down on hers, hot and hard.

She answered him immediately, her tongue dueling with his as he pressed her against the wall and she felt every hard inch of him.

He finally broke away, but only far enough to look into her eyes.

“I could feel you thinking the whole time,” he said. “Wondering if I was going to come back with you or if I was just going to leave.”

Jordan swallowed, wondering if she’d been that transparent, or if he knew her that well, deep down, and didn’t realize it.

“Understand me right now, Jordan. I don’t know what the future holds, but right now, you are my present.”