Lydia lowered her head. If she’d had any thought about someone else being able to help her identify Rick’s assailants, those hopes vanished.
Brody put his finger below her chin and raised her gaze to meet his. “I can tell you this, though… It wasn’t your fault. If anything, it was mine. I should have been paying more attention. We were just caught up in a… a conversation, and neither one of us saw it coming.”
“What sort of conversation?”
Lydia watched as Brody chewed on his bottom lip. He looked down at his feet before meeting her gaze. “I’m not sure I should tell you this. It’s not really my place.”
Lydia backed away from him, needing the space. She wrung her fingers together and twisted the watch that her brother had given her. “Tell me.”
Brody hesitated.
“Tell me damn it!”
Brody drew in a deep breath before releasing it. “He said he’d step out of the picture if it meant that I’d continue to train you.”
Lydia threw her hands up. The energy in the room thickened.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’re wasting energy,” Brody said as he took a step toward her.
She couldn’t help what she did to her surroundings. There wasn’t going to be any way to dissipate the surge. Brody placed his palm on her arm. “You can’t save him if you wear yourself out.”
The truth of his statement resonated through her ears. Lydia closed her eyes and visualized her Zen-like place. A place inside her subconscious where she’d visited on occasion when she couldn’t stand the pain around her, like the day her best friend had died. She stayed in that state until she felt her pulse slow down and her temper subside. She lifted her gaze to his. “Brody, I hope you understand that he doesn’t make my decisions.”
Brody dropped his hand from her arm. “I kind of figured that, but you have to admit he has it pretty bad for you if he was willing to take a back seat to your training.” Brody paced the small kitchen and lifted his hands in the air. “I mean what man does that?”
Lydia poured another cup of coffee and offered one to Brody. She needed to be very clear. She gestured to the couch. “A good man,” Lydia said. “Listen, we need to talk.”
“Oh no we don’t.” Brody stepped back and placed one hand over his heart. “The last woman who said that to me walked out on me and took my heart with her.” Brody took a sip of his coffee but sat on the couch anyway. “And, no, I don’t want to talk about it, so get that thought out of your head right now.”
Brody’s confession made Lydia pause. All of this time she’d pegged him for a playboy that never gave enough of himself to get hurt, and here he’d proved her wrong. Yep, she’d figure out a way to help him, just like he’d helped her, when this was all over. “I just want to talk. Don’t be scared.”
Brody eyed her warily. “Unless it’s about your undying need to be with me, you don’t really need to explain. I get it.”
Lydia laughed for the first time in a long time. “My undying need, huh?”
Brody shrugged. “One can only hope.”
Lydia raised her brow. “It’s not going to happen.” Lydia stood and started pacing the room. “But I am going to tell you what is going to happen. I just need to know where you stand.”
Lydia stopped in the middle of the room and turned toward Brody. “I am going after him…with or without the help of anyone from the compound.”
Brody crossed his arms over his chest. “What makes you think we won’t help?”
Lydia gestured toward the door. “I don’t know those people. They might not be concerned about a certain FBI agent, but I am. It’s my fault he came here, it’s my fault he was taken, and I’ll be damned if I let it be my fault that he dies.”
The vase on a nearby table rose and slammed to the ground, breaking into shards. Lydia swiveled at the sudden noise. “Crap.”
Brody rose to his feet. His big frame came to tower over her. He pulled Lydia into his chest and whispered, “You’ve got to rein all that energy in.” He leaned back from the embrace. “I’m going to help you, and we’ll get him back. If we have to tear down the whole building, we’ll find him. We just need to find out which one he’s in.”
Lydia leaned into Brody’s comforting embrace. She needed the support, not in a draining way, but a friendship way. She was alone now in this place. Sure Briggs was on her side and Jaime seemed to be too, but someone who understood what she was going through with her gifts was just as important to her. A tear slid down Lydia’s cheek.
Brody swiped it with his thumb. “You aren’t alone.”