It was almost midnight by the time they’d sat down to eat. Andy had cooked while Avery, Mike and Jem utilized different computers, Jem and Mike searching for any trace of Gunner, while Avery answered e-mails from Dare and Grace so they wouldn’t worry.
She was starving and the food was delicious. Reminded her of how Gunner would cook for her.
“You should both stay here for now. Safer for all of us,” Mike told them as he gave her and Jem seconds.
He was right and Jem, who knew it too, said, “I’ve got to move my truck.”
Andy pushed his hand into his pocket and pulled out keys, tossed them at Jem. “I already put it into our garage and brought your bags in.”
Jem grunted. “Could still take you out, squid.”
Andy snorted and Mike looked over at her.
“Thank you,” she said. She’d been quiet after they’d talked some more about what Gunner was dealing with. She was trying to absorb everything, and it proved overwhelming. “I should call the hospital about Billie Jean—let her know we’re okay if she comes through. When she comes through,” she corrected.
“I’ll make sure she knows you’re okay,” Mike said. “I already checked with my contact from the hospital. She made it through surgery. Still critical, but they’re hopeful. She’s opened her eyes and she’s spoken to the police briefly.”
“What about his other ex-wives?” she asked, assuming that Mike and Andy knew about that too.
“I’ve got guys on both of them. One’s in Europe—hard to find. The other’s in Colorado. She’s staying with friends, being careful.”
“Good.” She finished the rice and beans and sausage, ate more fresh bread and finished her beer. Now that her stomach was full and she knew that Billie was okay, it was time to turn her mind back to Gunner and the rescue effort. “How do we bring a man back who doesn’t want to come back?”
“I’ve always found waterboarding to be pretty effective,” Jem said, then stopped when they all just stared at him. “Not what we were going for?”
Mike and Andy looked at each other and shrugged. “We were about to try it on you,” Andy told Jem.
“Not the worst idea I’ve heard,” Mike agreed, and Jem nodded sagely, as though he agreed with the fact that they’d been planning on torturing him.
She took a long drink of beer, then asked, “You think that’s really going to work on him?”
“I think it’s the only thing he’ll understand at this point,” Jem said.
“He’s only been with Landon for a couple of weeks, at the most,” she pointed out.
“That’s more than enough,” Jem told her.
She asked the question she’d been dreading, the one she knew the answer to. “Do you think he agreed to go back because they threatened him?”
“I think he went back because they threatened you, Avery,” Mike said.
“That’s what I was afraid of. Excuse me.” She pushed away from the table, went into the next room for some space. She blinked back tears, held herself together as she looked around at the pictures scattered on the table.
They were mainly of the men and Josie. A woman who was most likely Josie’s mom. And, if she looked closely, there were a few of a younger Gunner. The fact that these men kept his pictures here after what had happened . . .
She turned away. This was like sneaking into someone’s past, uninvited.
“What’s going on, Avery?” Jem asked.
“Nothing.”
He stared at her and she got the distinct impression she’d be next in line for light waterboarding if she didn’t talk. “I saw him, Jem. Recently.”
“When?” Jem demanded.
“A week ago. He came to my hotel room and . . .” She trailed off. “I didn’t ask him where he’d been and he didn’t offer. I didn’t want to freak him out by asking him to stay, so . . . dammit. He made love to me and he left.”
“That doesn’t mean you suck in bed or anything,” Jem said.
She crossed her arms and stared him down. “Thanks.”
“Aw, come on, you know what the deal is with him now. The fact that he came back, even for a little while, is good news. But you have to stop holding shit back from me. I’m the king of shitty choices, Avery. I won’t judge you.” Jem put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re still the key to getting Gunner back with us.”
“Thanks for saying that.” She paused, considering. “Maybe Gunner doesn’t know Landon’s trying to kill us.”
“Or maybe Gunner sent them,” Jem said.
“I can’t believe he’d do that.”
“I don’t want to either.”
She glanced at the picture of Josie and Gunner. “They both look so young. Innocent.”
“Yeah, they do.”
The fact that Gunner might’ve done this, given up his life, his love of tattooing, and gone to work with the worst kind of criminals because of her made her ache. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the picture of Josie.
“I won’t let him down, Josie,” she whispered as she ran a hand along the picture like a promise. “I swear I won’t let him down again.”
“You didn’t let him down,” Jem told her, but she knew better. She hadn’t begged Gunner to stay with her out of some misguided notion that it had to be his idea to stay.
Gunner had been waiting for her to ask. When she hadn’t . . .
“Let’s go find him,” she told Jem.
“Atta girl.”
Chapter Nine
Downtime would tell the tale . . . and so far, the tale was still damned fine.
“You’re thinking about the team again,” Grace said with a smile.
“So were you.”
She shrugged, not minding being caught. The bikini she wore should be outlawed, because it was really just string and crocheted material and he would’ve been covering her with a towel if they were anywhere but in the privacy of their own beach. The resort he’d picked was known for its share of guests who didn’t want to be bothered by anyone. Their food was cooked, left for them discreetly. They barely saw the people who cleaned their rooms while they were lounging on the beach.
“We’re supposed to think about Section 8,” she reminded him. “That’s the point of Avery’s forced vacation.”
“She’s really bossy, isn’t she?” he grumbled, but couldn’t hold back a smile.
“A family trait,” she told him.
“Aw, come on, baby. That’s not fair.”
“I’ve never fought fair.”
He stared up at the blue sky, sunglasses firmly in place. They’d all been to hell and back and none of them
