Page 25 of Romancing His Heart

It’s unsettling, so I try to ease the tension that has filled the room.

With the brightest smile I can muster, I say, “You can all thank me by answering all of my questions from now on.”

“Fuck that,” Seth says, entering the room. And just like that, the heaviness of the moment dissipates.

“What happened?” Loki and Ash ask at the same time.

“Vic is up to something, but I don’t have any idea what. If SIA has anything on what you’re running from, Loki, he’s escalated it above my clearance,” Seth tells the room.

“Okay. Start at the beginning. Run through it all, and let’s hope something jars my memory.”

“Here’s what we know.” Ashton moves to the front of the room where a pinboard is hanging. “I spoke to you on October 23rd,around 3 p.m. At that point, you had captured, or …” his gaze drifts between Loki and me before continuing, “or eliminated targets B, D, and E.”

“My half-siblings,” Loki says flatly.

“Yes,” Ash agrees contritely. “Target C was on his way to a safe house in East Boston, but you hadn’t made your move yet.”

“There was a missing piece I needed to find before I made my move on Luca,” Loki says, as if remembering a movie clip from years ago.

“Right,” Seth takes over. “Then we didn’t hear from you for almost a month. Our next correspondence came shortly before Trevor’s wedding.”

“I was planning to be here for that. I was intercepting Luca, Target C …”

Loki drifts off, and no one speaks while he works things over in his mind.

“I apprehended him at the warehouse, but he was there for something. He was waiting for something. When I got there, he went mental.”

I’m having a hard time listening to Loki as he struggles to get his memories in order, especially knowing he is talking about his own brother. As if he hears my internal scuffle, he turns.

“We were blood, Red, but not family. Hunt or be hunted, remember? Only one of us was getting out of that warehouse.”

I have to swallow a few times before I can speak. “Loki, you don’t owe me any explanations.”

With a nod, he returns his attention to Ashton. “Agent Jason Carter took him in with Anton, but I waited at the warehouse.”

“You can’t remember what you were waiting for, though?” Seth asks more gently than I thought he could manage.

“No.” Loki digs his knuckles into his temples again, as if he can push the memories to the surface. “That’s where the explosion was, though, I’m sure of it. I can see the building in East Boston. I can see the alley I entered through, the riverbank I hid myself in, but I don’t know what I was waiting for. Why the fuck can’t I remember?”

Loki cradles his head in his hands, and I look to Preston for help but can’t grab his attention. All eyes are focused on the man struggling before us.

“Seth, did SIA find anything at the site?” he asks hopefully.

“Seth,” I warn. I know what they found. I may not know Loki well, but I know no man can take all this at once in his condition.

My warning has him raising his head in time to see everyone glancing at one another.

“What?” he asks calmly. Too calmly.

Attempting to pause this conversation, Preston says, “Hey, let’s take a break, Loki. Dex and Trevor are coming over for dinner. You’ll get to see Lanie and Julia again. I think they both have a bone to pick with you about your meddling.”

“What did they find in the warehouse, Preston?” Loki asks again.

The atmosphere in this room is palpable, and I know I have no business being here, but I can find no way to escape. I want to run. When Loki was missing, I could eavesdrop on all this information because it wasn’t personal. He was just a face.Good research, I’d thought.God, I really am too naïve for my own good.

“What did they find?” Loki screams.

“Human remains,” Ashton says carefully. “SIA wasn’t able to identify the body, but Jason was in charge of the crime scene. He believes someone placed them there, after the explosion, as a diversion.”