Lost and Found (Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #2)(125)

“And I love you, but we have a lot to work out. Ariel thinks we should go into couples therapy. That’s what I meant by having time, but if you’re going on the new mission…”

He wasn’t wasting another second. He’d almost lost her, almost lost everything. He moved into her space, shoving her back against the lift wall. “Ariel needs to stick to assassinations. She’s damn good at them and I don’t find it annoying. As for you, I’m never leaving you, love. If you’re in London, that’s my home. I might have to travel occasionally, and I definitely have to help my brothers, but you should know that I’ll always come home to you.”

Her hands came up and he could see the vulnerability stamped on her face. “Tell me this is real, Owen. I would rather we took a step back and worked through all of this if there’s the slightest chance that you’re going to wake up and realize that you don’t love me.”

He put his forehead on hers, rubbing against her and feeling better than he had in days. “Never. You’re my everything, Rebecca. I’ll go to any therapy you want to go to, but you should know it won’t change how much I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Her face lifted to his. “I love you so much. It’s killed me to be away from you, but I had to get everything ready. I had to be sure.”

He kissed away whatever she was going to say next. He kissed her and felt as though the world opened up again.

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.