“When we were at the diner with Cam, you mentioned something happened with your dad. I’m guessing that would have been right around the time you got out of the army,” she said, suddenly desperate to keep him talking. “Did he have a problem with you getting out? Is that why you left and came to live out here?”
Zarina held her breath, waiting for Tanner to turn and walk away because she’d trespassed into forbidden territory. But he simply shook his head, his expression introspective. “No. Dad was fine with me getting out. And Mom was frigging thrilled.”
“But?” she prompted when he didn’t say more.
He shrugged, almost looking at a loss as to what he wanted to say. That was hard for her to see. Regardless of the whole hybrid thing, Tanner was a smart, confident man. Seeing him unsure of himself was something new for her.
“But things didn’t work out the way anyone planned, and I realized being around my family was a really bad idea,” he finally said. “That’s why I left.”
Zarina cursed silently. Tanner was like a broken record, using the same excuse to turn his back on his family as he did with her and his friends at the DCO, that he was going to make a mistake and hurt them. But this stuff with his family had been long before he’d been turned into a hybrid. So what had him running so scared back then?
She wasn’t sure how to even get into it with him, until something Tanner had said to Ryan popped into her head. Something that scared the crap out of her far more than his hybrid-induced rages.
“When did all this start?” she asked softly. “This need to get away from people?” When he didn’t answer, she followed her instincts and the horrible suspicion that had started creeping into her mind. “Did it have to do with why you got out of the army and why you’re on VA disability?”
Tanner stood there, staring at nothing, his blue eyes looking so lost and confused, it nearly tore her heart out to see it.
She knew she should probably back off and wait until he was ready to talk, but she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t stand there and act like she didn’t see the pain etched clearly on his face.
She wanted more than anything to yank him into her arms and squeeze him until everything was better. But she knew that wasn’t how it worked.
So instead, she lifted her fingers to his strong jaw and gently turned his face to hers. “Tanner, why won’t you talk to me about this? I want so much to be able to help you, but I can’t do that if you won’t even talk to me.”
“This isn’t something I can talk about.” He gazed down at her with eyes filled with so much sorrow that it took her breath away. “Sometimes, there just aren’t words to explain what’s happening.”
Zarina felt the tears she’d been holding back slide down her cheeks, and she opened her mouth, ready to beg if she had to. Anything, as long as he would let her help him. He stopped her with a single tormented glance.
“I can’t talk about this stuff, but maybe I can show you,” he said, his voice so low, she had to strain to hear it. “Maybe then you’ll understand.”
Turning, he walked over to the stack of firewood and grabbed his T-shirt from where he’d left it earlier, pulling it on as he walked away. Zarina grabbed her pack and joined him, ready to follow him anywhere. She thought for a moment that they were heading back to their cabin, that maybe he was going to show her a picture or memento to explain all this. But instead, he headed into the forest.
“Where are we going?” she asked, hurrying to catch up with him. “I thought you said we needed to stay close to camp.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders, his long strides covering more ground than she could ever hope to. “We won’t be gone very long. The camp will be safe enough until we get back.”
“Back from where?” she said, running to keep up. “Tanner, where are we going?”
“To the place where I died.”
Chapter 7
“I still can’t believe he’s gone,” Abby Warner said over her shoulder to Tate as she unlocked the door of Bell’s office and pushed it open. “He was absolutely the nicest person I’ve ever worked with. I swear I’m not just saying that. I don’t think I ever heard the man complain, not even once. And he was beyond brilliant. One of our very best doctors and an even better genetic researcher.”
Tate exchanged looks with Chase as he followed the chief administrator into the office. He and the deputy had talked to several other doctors and nurses at the Scarborough Medical Center before checking in with Abby Warner, and the story had been consistent so far. McKinley Bell had been hardworking and friendly, passionate about his patients and his research, and more than willing to pull extra shifts if they needed him to. Even though he’d won a lot of awards and recognition for the work he’d done in the field of genetics, they couldn’t find anyone who’d admit having a beef with him. Tate wasn’t surprised. He didn’t think anyone there had anything to do with Bell’s death. Not unless they were using the large hospital as a cover for hybrid research, of course, which wasn’t very likely.
Still, there was always a chance he might stumble over someone who knew what Bell might have been involved in and point him in the right direction.
“Ma’am, can you think of anyone who might have wanted Dr. Bell dead?” Chase asked.
The woman frowned. “That’s an odd question. Wasn’t McKinley killed by a wild animal?”
Tate
