Once he was away from them, his steps picked up and he hurried down the hall. Sydney was already gone on the elevator, so he took the stairs, three at a time, and he was standing in front of that elevator when the doors opened.
Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw him.
Before she could speak, he caught her arm and pulled her toward him. He knew this floor well. He’d spent enough time at the EOD facility to know every inch of the place. He didn’t take her to Slade—he knew Slade was in the room with the guard stationed at the door.
Instead, he took her back and to the left. To the old conference room that would be empty.
“Gunner.” She started to dig in her heels. “I have to talk to him.”
“You’re talking to me first.” He pushed her inside the conference room and secured the door shut behind him.
Then he turned around and just...stared at her. She was pale, and he didn’t like that. There were a whole lot of things he didn’t like just now. “What are you going to do?”
She huffed out a breath. “I’m going to get Slade help. That’s what we’re both going to do.”
Through gritted teeth, he asked, “Are you still marrying him?”
Her eyes widened. “That’s what you want to know?”
“Are you?” Because if she was, he would back away. No, damn it, his brother was hurting. His captors had strung him out on their poison. He would back away, no matter what. “He’s the one who loves you.” Gunner forced the words out.
If possible, she seemed to become even paler. “And you don’t?”
His chest ached. “We had a good time, Sydney.” He didn’t let emotion slip into his voice. He couldn’t weaken. “But he’s the one you promised your forever to.”
She took a step back. “A...good time?” Her voice faltered. “That’s really all I was?”
No, she’d been everything, to him.
She still was everything to his brother. “Slade needs you,” he said.
“And I’ll be there for him. I’ll help him.” Her voice was tight. “I always planned to help him.”
Then she was marching forward.
Gunner stepped out of her path.
She reached for the door, then stopped. “Did you really have to pull me aside just to tell me that you didn’t love me?” The pain in her voice seemed to tear into him. “Trust me, Gunner.” She glanced back at him, and he saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I already knew that.”
She left him.
I never said I didn’t love you.
He sucked a deep breath. One. Another. When his hands were steady, he left that room. A turn down the hallway showed Sydney just slipping past the guard.
Gunner’s stare slid over the hall. Slade was being held in an interrogation room. That meant the area adjacent to that room would be designed for surveillance.
Gunner’s steps were silent on the heavily carpeted floor. After about ten feet, he stopped, going not in the room with Slade, but into the surveillance room.
The surveillance room was dark, but he didn’t bother turning on the light. Through the big wall of glass—a two-way mirror—he could see perfectly into the area next door. He could see Sydney. See Slade.
Mercer had sent him after Sydney because the boss had wanted to make sure that Slade went in for his treatment.
But Gunner knew that Slade didn’t want him anywhere close by, so he’d keep his distance.
He’d just taken the first step to keeping that distance. When his brother was well—and he would be well; Gunner would do everything possible to make that happen—Slade would have his chance with Sydney.
After his years of captivity, Slade deserved happiness.
Gunner would make sure he got it.
* * *
“WHY THE HELL am I here?” Slade demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sick of this EOD crap. You hear me, Sydney? Sick of it.”
She swallowed and eased into the chair across from him. Mercer’s words replayed in her mind. Increased aggression. Paranoia. Yes, she’d sure seen that with him. But how much was due to the drugs? And how much was a result of the torture that she feared might have fractured his mind?
“Slade, you need help.” She kept her voice soft and easy, trying to soothe him.
He shoved out of his chair and leaped to his feet “What I need is to have my brother locked away, but the EOD isn’t doing that.” His cheeks flushed. “I gave them time. I gave you all time, and that time’s run out. I’m going to the press. I’m telling them everything.”
She stood, reaching for his hands. “You know the EOD’s work is classified.”
“I don’t care.” He yanked away from her.
“The man you used to be—he cared.”
“That man died in a jungle.
She flinched. “I think...I think that man is still inside.” She had to be very careful. “I want to help you get him back. I want to help you.”
His eyes searched hers. “How you gonna do that?”
This was the tricky part. “Mercer has a place for you to go. The doctors there can get you well.”
“You think I’m sick?” he snarled.
Yes. “I think...” She inhaled a heavy breath that seemed to chill her lungs. “I think your captors gave you something while you were down there. They made you...take some drugs, didn’t they?”
He stilled.
So she kept talking. “The drugs are changing you. Making you do things, say things, that you wouldn’t normally do. But we can help you—”
“You’re not going to stay with me.” His flat words had her floundering.
“Slade, I—”
“Whenever I touch you...” He came closer and touched her cheek.
She flinched.
“You do that,” he said, and his hand dropped. “You can’t stand for me to touch you anymore, can you?”
“Slade...” She locked her knees and refused to give in to the urge to back away from him. “You need the help—”
“I need you, but he’s between us. Always between us.”
“This isn’t about Gunner!” It wasn’t. “It’s about getting you back to normal. Getting your life back.”
“What life?” Spittle flew from his mouth. “Without you, what the hell am I supposed to do?” Then he moved quickly, faster than she’d anticipated, especially with his limp, and his hands grabbed her arms, right under her elbows. He yanked her up on her tiptoes, forcing her body close to his. “Tell me, are you going to marry me, Sydney?”