Deadly Games - Cate Noble [83]
“I guess I never realized how much Harry disliked me,” Gena said. “But honestly, I don’t remember much of my marriage. After I miscarried, I fell into a horrible depression and drank to drown the pain. Which is no excuse.”
“Maybe you were drinking to drown other pain, too,” Rocco said. “Harry’s abuse was more frequent than you told the police, wasn’t it?”
She nodded. “At the time, I thought I deserved to be punished for losing the baby. Our baby. I shouldn’t have stayed with Harry as long as I did.”
“That time you went to the emergency room. A warrant was issued for Harry. When I heard about it, I kicked Harry’s ass and hauled him in. But you dropped the charges.”
“I dropped the charges when Harry agreed to grant me a divorce and stay away.”
Rocco reached for her hands, held theminhis. “God, Gena, I know there’s more. And if I had realized—”
“If, if, if. We can’t go back.”
He watched as she pulled the blanket closer around her. “Come here. You’re exhausted.”
Gena stood and moved closer. “Rocco—”
He shifted her onto his lap and kissed her forehead. “I never stopped loving you, Gena. Ever.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “And I’ve always loved you, too.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Richmond, Virginia
October 6, 5:00 A.M.
I am not Taz.
I am Logan.
Mission incomplete.
Logan dug the ice pick more deeply into his thigh but got little relief. Erin was right. He needed to do something different.
When she had told him about the data chips earlier, the pain had spiked worse than ever. But in that moment of extreme agony, he’d had a breakthrough.
He’d remembered.
Everything.
Right now he could count the data chips inside his abdomen and beneath the muscles in his thighs. He also recalled Rufin’s instructions.“Find me. Save me. Or Bettina dies. She is with me.”
Bettina.
Those bastards had stolen Taz’s sweetest memory of love. And then they had invented others. Imaginary brothers. Fictional sisters. Children he’d dreamed of but never had.
But Bettina had been real. And she had loved him like no other.“I’ll wait for you, however long it takes. I intend to be Mrs. Logan Treyhorn.”
He’d had that inscribed on her tombstone. Bettina had died from pneumonia. Logan had been on a mission when she’d taken ill. By the time he’d reached the hospital, she’d been on life support for seven days.
“I’ll wait for you.”
He’d sat beside her bed, holding her hand, begging her to get better. “I’ll never leave you again,” he had said.
Bettina had died a few hours later. And his life had sucked ever since.
“Pull over here.” Logan’s voice was hoarse. “We’ll get gas.”
“We just stopped.” Erin’s voice was gentle.
He knew she wondered if he was losing it. Actually, he’d found it.
Now that Taz knew about the data chips, it all made sense. Rufin had felt trapped, had expected to be killed. Hell, part of Logan still wanted to find Rufin, just to fulfill that expectation.
But a bigger part realized the danger he was now in. People would slaughter him to get the data.
“Pull up at the pump,” Logan said. “I’ll top the tank off anyway.”
When Erin shut off the engine, Logan held out his hands for the keys, but instead of taking them, he grasped her hand.
“Thank you for telling me the truth. About Rufin.” Logan took a deep breath, struggling to hold back the pain. “When I was with Dr. Winchette, I saw his thoughts before he died. A man’s life doesn’t flash before his eyes, only his regrets. Winchette had many. He felt guilty for not warning your father. Winchette worried he’d be murdered, too, and kept copies of all his records on a hard drive. It’s in a bank box in Springfield. Number 803 is all I got.”
Erin blinked back tears. “Now I need to thank you.”
“For what it’s worth, Winchette regretted deceiving you, too. And he planned to take his own life if anyone tried to force him to take action against you.” Logan grimaced and dug the ice pick in more deeply, seeking a few additional minutes of relief.
Erin shifted her hand, gripping his