Her head was cocked, causing E to inquire, “Who else do you recognize, Kee?”
Nik added, “I only see the two, Thompson and McNeil.”
Lacey leaned into her sister. “Keeley?”
But Keeley kept watching the doctor treating Chase. It wasn’t just her movements. The things she was saying were like déjà vu. Where had she heard them before? And then Dr. Thompson angled herself toward the camera. Keeley matched the angle. “Where do I know you from?” she mumbled under her breath.
Lacey clutched her sister’s hand, but Keeley shook it off and leaned closer to the screen.
“You were lucky there’s something to repair,” Carla told a mortified Chase.
That look on his face. God, she remembered how it felt to be damaged to the point you thought no one could ever fix you again. But it wasn’t that as much as how Carla said it, or rather the accent lingering in her words. Images were appearing in rapid fire as Keeley remembered. Her brain providing missing pieces she thought she’d never recover. And one in particular lit up like a Vegas sign in the pitch black desert. Viviane! Keeley gasped and backed away from the laptop so fast she fell.
“Are you okay?” Lacey reached down to help her sister, but Keeley batted her hand away.
“No. It can’t be. My God. Noooooooo!” She bolted to her feet and tore out of the office, running as fast as she could. Her only thought: Dr. Carla Thompson was Viv.
Lacey looked over at E. “Should I go after her?”
Nik answered, “Something spooked her. Give her a minute.”
Alex pointed out, “Mitch is out there on a call.”
Mitch raced after Keeley but she left like a bat out of hell. What was that all about? He turned to go ask her family when they met him.
“Where’s Keeley?” Lacey inquired.
“I was hoping you could tell me where she ran off to,” Mitch replied.
“Tar?” E implied.
“Now that would make perfect sense,” Sofie offered.
Lacey couldn’t deny that and nodded.
Nik chimed in, “Then she’s in good hands.”
“The best,” Mitch confirmed and decided to send Tar a text giving him a heads up on Chase and Keeley. He faced the Strands, “Let’s get back to work and as soon as Keeley reaches Tar, I’ll let you know.”
They all agreed but Lacey just couldn’t shake that twin instinct. Keeley figured something out.
Something crucial.
Vital.
Life changing.
Tar was out of his mind with worry. Mitch and the team still didn’t have a location on Chase but they were working their asses off to find it. He finally convinced Mitch that once they were ready to move in for extraction, Tar would be there. And what was the deal with Keeley? He’d spoken to E, and not even Lacey could figure out what happened. Did that video somehow trigger her? God, he should be with her, holding her, reassuring her. Hell, just being with her during the crisis. That was what a good husband did for his wife, he was there for her in the good and the bad. Went the other way too, you were after all partners in all things. At least you should be. He paced thinking about that more. The Strand brothers certainly understood this. He knew that even though Aimee couldn’t be there, Nik was talking to her daily, probably more than once. But he couldn’t help but wonder, would Chase be in this kind of danger if he kept his wife more in the loop? He got needing to protect her from certain things. Yet, wasn’t it odd that she knew nothing? He ran his hand through his hair contemplating that.
Lisa approached, “I’m going to fix dinner. Is there anything that sounds good to you?”
He spun around. “How often did you talk to Chase?”
She shrugged, “When he was home.”
“So, he never called you during the day or sent you a text?”
Her eyes were wide but inside she was desperately trying to figure out what he was after. “Occasionally. We have a normal marriage,” she added for good measure.
“But he kept certain things from you,” he pointed out, “and you hate that.”
“Yes, I do. That’s no secret. It’s why I couldn’t marry you,” her voice trailed off.
“You should’ve said so, not fuck my brother.”
She blinked several times. How do I work this to my favor? Her head bowed as she cried, “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Water under the bridge,” his voice and stance softened.
“I wish I knew what it was you need to hear.” She wiped away the tears on her cheeks waiting to see if that was the in she needed with him.
He stepped forward and embraced her. “I need to hear how much you love Chase.” Holding her like that brought those crawling sensations again. She was lying. He could feel it in his bones. But what did she lie about? The past? The present?