Free Misguided Target by Jessica Page Page B

confided in Dom or she was involved in whatever was going on. As for me, well I'm at a total loss as to how I got roped into all this,” she stated in disbelief, and I trusted her. Although I didn't know her well, something about her didn't strike me as someone who would be stupid enough not to provide important information given this situation. I believed if she knew anything she would share it.
    “Okay, let me know if anything jumps out at you. I need some time to think. Tomorrow we'll figure out our next move. In the meantime I'll reach out to some of my contacts.”
    She got up and headed over to the bathroom. Stopping in the doorway, she slowly turned her body around to face me, “I wanted to say thank you for saving me tonight. I appreciate all your help but… if you want to leave, you can. I won't blame you. I can go on the run for a while and try to figure things out. You don't need to continue being involved in all this… this… madness. I know you and James weren't close and it's not too late for you to walk away. You didn't ask for this,” she said earnestly, sounding somehow incredibly brave and vulnerable at the same time. She was giving me an out and she was right, I had no real relationship with my brother or with her. I could leave and never look back, but that wasn't in my nature. I couldn't leave her exposed and vulnerable like this. And even if he was a shitty brother I couldn't leave James to rot and die somewhere.
    “You didn't ask for this either. Besides, they saw my face so whether I like it or not, I'm involved now,” I answered honestly, unsure whether they would come after me. Of course I've been trained to protect myself and as long as I was working in the SEALs I was better protected from being identified by any system, especially without alerting my superiors at the very least. Given my rank and my skill-set I was very important to them which warranted additional protection at times. Sometimes it was useful knowing how to be a ghost.
    “Well then, thank you again, but this time for staying. I'm grateful,” Kendall said as she walked through the doorway, closing the door behind her.
    I found myself smiling, which I knew was an unusual reaction given the circumstances, but I couldn't help it. It was odd to actually be thanked for doing what comes naturally to me — being a fixer, an investigator, a protector, and a soldier. That's what I was doing right now. Everything about this was like the job I did every day and honestly, as sick and difficult as my job could be at times, I'm good at it. At least, I was before the incident happened, but then something changed in me. Actually, everything changed for me. I wasn't sure what was driving me right now. Was it the subconscious desire to find and save a brother I hated? Or was it protecting Kendall? I wasn't sure, but for the first time in a long time, even among all this chaos, I felt like myself again. Protecting the innocent was an important job which I took seriously. One thing for sure, I would do anything I could to see this through. I just hoped whatever happened wouldn't leave me even more broken than I already was.

    Kendall
    I did feel a little better after my shower. I hadn't even realized how dirty I was until Kane pointed it out. After my shower I got changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt while Kane jumped in the shower. We were both filthy with dirt and blood and it felt amazing to be clean. Next I did as he requested; I packed a bag of necessities to bring with me. I went back to the living room and found a bowl of spaghetti waiting for me, which was nice of him. I hadn't felt hungry, but now that the food was in front of me I ate everything and fought the urge to lick the bowl clean. I sat back on the couch, which Kane had backed onto a curtained window and faced the front door. I turned on the television on at a low volume trying to distract myself from my increasing fatigue and the fact that there were men out there