Why wasn’t she? Sydney cleared her throat. “You’re confused, Slade.” She tried to make her voice sound soothing. But her words broke because her control was fracturing.
“Did he wait a few months...or did he go after you right away?”
The question had her gasping. “It wasn’t like that!” Gunner hadn’t gone after her at all. Not for two years. Not until...
The last mission.
When she’d told him that she’d moved on.
They’d been moving on, together.
“You’re wrong about him,” Sydney finished, voice quiet. “You’ll see that, soon.”
Gunner still hadn’t spoken.
“No,” Slade exhaled on a low breath. “You’re the one who’s wrong, and you’ll see that...soon.”
Then he was leaving the villa. Cale followed on his heels.
The door shut behind them with the softest of clicks.
Silence.
Sydney was still staring at that shut door. Her body was tight and aching, as if she’d just been through another vicious battle. Maybe she had.
“Gunner...” Logan’s voice. “Gunner, you know it’s the stress. Slade is going to have PTSD, he’s going to—”
Gunner shook his head. “He meant what he said.”
“Yeah, well, if he meant it, he was wrong.” Logan was adamant. “I know you, and that...hell...that’s not the way you operate. You don’t leave a man behind, especially not your brother.”
She couldn’t read Gunner’s expression.
“But I did leave him behind,” Gunner said softly. “Isn’t that why we’re all here now?”
She wanted to grab him and shake him. “You tried everything you could!” If it hadn’t been for Gunner, she would have died on that mission. He’d barely managed to get them both to safety.
“Rescue teams went back. They saw no sign of him.” Logan’s sigh was ragged. “Stop beating the hell out of yourself over this.”
“You already let Slade beat the hell out of you.” Sydney didn’t even know why she said those words, but...
Gunner glanced at her. The darkness of his eyes was a banked heat. “Why didn’t you ask me?” Soft.
Logan whistled. “Okay, I’m going to check in with Mercer. Syd, you, uh, finish up in here, and then we’ll talk about our exit strategy.”
Then he was gone. Pretty much rushing in his haste to get away.
Gunner rolled his shoulders, as if pushing away a painful memory. Then he stalked toward her.
She didn’t move, even though she had the urge to flee.
“He told you to ask me,” Gunner said. “So why didn’t you?”
Because she hadn’t wanted the others to hear his answer. Because some things should be between the two of them.
“You thought he was right, didn’t you?”
“Not about you leaving him,” she whispered. Logan was on the phone in the outer room, but still close enough that she worried he’d overhear them.