Free Operation Reunion by Justine Davis Page B

Sergei, who had been his friend for years, and helped him start Sound Digital Video. What if he was accused of hacking a bank or something even worse? The idea was laughable. Serge might sneak his way into the hottest gaming company around, but nothing more.
    But he tried to imagine the scenario. If Serge vanished after the crime, how would he feel? What would he do? To what lengths would he go to find him and help him?
    A long way, he thought. But ten years of unrelenting searching?
    It was, Dane thought as he wearily headed for the shower, a lousy comparison. Serge was a good friend but not a brother. And the crime wasn’t some computer hacking but a literal hacking, the slaughter of two people.
    He thought of his own parents then, all they’d done for him, given him, how they’d supported him, believed in him, even given him a loan to keep SDV going until it started gaining some traction in a crowded field. The day he’d paid them back was one of the best of his life. They were proud of him—he knew that. And he loved them both. It was one of the reasons he’d lasted as long as he had with Kayla’s quest. He couldn’t imagine losing them both and in such a horrible way. If he’d had a brother, maybe he couldn’t believe he could kill two loving people like that either.
    He knew not all parents were as good as his—his were living proof of the old joke about how the older you got, the smarter your parents seemed to get—but Kayla’s, from what he remembered, hadn’t been bad, although he’d thought they favored their son a bit too much.
    Which made what Chad was accused of doing make even less sense.
    Hot water streamed over him, and he felt a bit more awake. He finished quickly; he had an online meeting today with an app developer in Nevada who wanted a video for an upcoming trade show.
    He was just pulling on his socks when his phone rang again. His pulse kicked up, but a quick glance showed the smiling picture of his mother, one he’d taken a couple of years ago at their thirtieth wedding anniversary. Odd how that happened sometimes—he’d think about them and then they’d call, or he’d call and his mom or dad would say they’d just been thinking about him.
    He reached for the phone, thankful he hadn’t told his folks about his decision to leave Kayla so now he didn’t have to explain why he was back. His mother had been telling him, gently and with love, that perhaps he should find someone more willing to focus on him than the past. She cared for Kayla, but she loved her son and wanted him to find the kind of happiness she had with his father.
    His answer had always been that he was happy. He loved Kayla and admired her loyalty to her brother. But in some part of his mind he was agreeing. He wanted someone who wasn’t caught up by the past, who was focused on a future with him.
    Problem was, he wanted that person to be Kayla, and he hadn’t been ready to give up on that.
    Until two weeks ago.
    And now?
    What happened now, he thought as he prepped himself to sound cheerful to his mother, depended on Kayla.
    And Quinn Foxworth and his crew.

Chapter 9
    D ane tapped his fingers idly on the restaurant table as he waited for Kayla.
    She was trying. Truly making an effort. Dane could see that. Whenever she wasn’t working, she was pushing for them to be together. She called him regularly, texted him and told him she loved him so often that the ache inside started to ease up. This was the way he’d always wanted it to be. He should be happy. He was happy. He’d be delirious if it wasn’t for the nagging question of how long this would last.
    She rarely mentioned Chad or even the Foxworth Foundation. He knew she was likely in regular contact with Quinn and Hayley, but she said nothing. Had there been no developments, or was she just not telling him?
    He nearly laughed aloud at himself.
    You can’t have it both ways, he told himself. You either want her to talk about it, or you don’t want to hear