This was what he’d been waiting for all his life. He didn’t need his memories to know that.
His mum would have loved Becca. He simply knew that, too. His mum would be thrilled he’d found the love of his life.
“Will you come back to Scotland with me?” He whispered the question.
She nodded. “I’ll go anywhere with you.”
It wouldn’t be that way, but he appreciated the words. She was the brilliant one. He would follow her. He would be the man who protected her so she could work. He would be the man who reminded her that she was loved for more than her brain. He would watch over her and give her everything she needed. It was his job in life.
And she would lift him up. She would make him whole.
“I want to go back with you. I think I might find something of them there if you’re by my side. I might feel some connection.”
Her whole face lit with an empathy that seemed to come so easily to her. “I want to try a couple of things with you. You’re having flashes. I think we might be able to get some of your memory back. I want to try. I want to give them back to you.”
She’d given him so much already. “All I need is you.”
The sound of the phone ringing jarred him from his intent.
Becca’s smile rocked his whole world. “You should probably answer that.”
He didn’t want to. He wanted to shove her right back against that wall and have his way with her.
The ringing continued. With a curse, he picked it up. “What?”
“Eh, someone’s telling me the elevator’s stopped again.” Colin was back on the job. “Sorry, I’ll get right on that. I mean not right on it because I’m walking my dog at the moment, but I’m sure he’ll be done soon. Then I’ll be right there.”
He hung up the phone without saying another word. He turned back to his lady, lowered his head, and got back to business.
Forty-eight hours later Robert McClellan sat in the conference room at The Garden and stared down at the report he’d been handed. It hadn’t taken Jax long to break the encryption they’d found on the thumb drive Owen had taken from Carter Adams. Though it would take them a while to get through all the files and completely understand it. What they did know was that McDonald had sent Becca a large amount of data, and most importantly in Robert’s mind, she’d sent their personal records. Though those were proving difficult.
“There’s nothing about history in these records?” Damon glanced up from his seat at the head of the table. “And she doesn’t actually name the subject? Is this some kind of code?”
Damon’s wife, Penny, sat next to Ariel and set down her tea mug before addressing the crowded conference room where the whole team was gathered. “I’ve looked through it and there’s no real code. I think this was her cheeky way of recording her experiments. She used Latin to name the project and Latin to describe each subject. We’ve figured out a few of them based on timing and medical records. We believe Theo Taggart’s file is the one named Interim Militem.”
“It’s Latin for the perfect soldier,” Becca explained. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and despite what he knew were long nights and little sleep, she looked bright and shiny in the way only a well-loved woman could look. “I’m fairly certain Robert’s file is the one marked Ex Novo. That means built from nothing. I’m not sure why she named your file that, but you have a rare blood type and this file is the only one that matches.”
“You can match us by blood type?” Dante asked, leaning in.
“Not always,” she replied. “There are over seventy files in here. It’s going to take some time to match them up. I’m afraid I think most of these test subjects are no longer with us.”
Because they were dead. McDonald had been a monster and they had a lot of cleanup to do.
Starting with a new mission.
But first he was going to get through this very thorough debrief, and then he was finally going to do what he’d wanted to do since the moment he’d set foot in this place. He was going to take Ariel Adisa out on a date. Sure he would have to do it in a foreign city because they were hopping on another plane in a few hours, but that would make it all the more special.
Becca went on about the files, but Robert had more pleasant things to think of.
Ari. Gorgeous, smart, surprisingly mean Ari. He would never forget how she’d fought to get him the help he’d needed after that massive ass had shot him. Ari hadn’t faltered. Not once. He’d pulled away from her initially because she’d been worried about their patient-therapist relationship. But he knew what he wanted, and he’d never wanted anything more than Ariel. Not even his freedom.
He’d separated himself from her professionally. Ari served as the therapist for the rest of the group, but Robert was seeing Kai Ferguson. He did it via phone calls and over the Internet, but it worked and it meant he was free to pursue the woman of his dreams.
Her eyes caught on his and they warmed, her sensual lips curling up. God, he loved it when she wore white. It made a stark contrast against her gorgeous skin. Her dark eyes practically ate him up.
He was going to get his hands on her tonight.
This was the right time. This was their time.
“Robert, are we boring you?” Damon’s icy tone cut through his inner thoughts.
Ari grinned his way as though she’d known exactly what he was thinking. “He asked a question three times.”
Yep, he was in trouble. “Sorry, boss. My mind was elsewhere.”
Damon sighed. “Yes, that seems to be a problem these days. I asked if everything was set for the flight this afternoon?”
Everything was good to go including reservations at a very nice restaurant that Damon didn’t need to know about. “The jet is ready. Tucker’s finishing up his prep, which is why he isn’t here. Everyone’s got new passports and we’ve got the go from the McKay-Taggart team. They say Green is in DC and he seems to be hunkering down after the defeat we handed him.”
“Or he’s found someone new to work on this cure he claims to have,” Owen said.
“Do we believe him?” Ariel sat back. “He’s been known to lie.”
“I’m looking through the material we found,” Becca replied. “But there’s a lot of it. Walter, Steph, and I are going through it down in the lab. Faith Smith is coming in next week and she’s going to help us. So far I’ve seen nothing that makes me think she’d worked on a cure, but I’ve still got hundreds of files to go through.”
Walt, Becca, and Brody’s wife, Stephanie, had taken over the lab. It was now filled with white boards and computer equipment, and apparently they were getting some high-tech medical stuff that the docs would be playing with.
All so they could potentially get their memories back.
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he intended to cooperate. After all, he meant to help his brothers.
Except one of his brothers was a traitor.
“All right then.” Damon nodded his way. “Let’s break and we’ll meet tomorrow morning for a regular weekly. Robert, could you stay behind? Ariel, we might need you.”
Ariel’s eyes flared briefly, and he knew she was surprised. But he wasn’t. Tucker’s mission to explore some of his past was one they’d all argued over. Going back to Kronberg was dangerous, but Tucker was insistent. He needed to know. Robert was likely going to have to advocate for his brother again.
“Get ready, Rob,” Owen said, his hand tangled in Becca’s as they moved to the door. “I promise I won’t crash the plane. I can’t promise I won’t lose Tucker. You’ll need to keep eyes on him. The boy needs a leash. He follows every shiny object he sees, and by object, I mean women.”
Becca laughed and shook her head as she followed her boyfriend out of the conference room.