Page 44 of Some Like It Hot

“What?”

“He’s one of the escapees from the prison gang.”

She froze, glanced at Orion, whose jaw tightened.

“Yes, actually, he is,” Orion said quietly. “But he’s also a hero. A former SEAL and an old friend of mine. And he’s been shot.”

Riley didn’t move.

And that’s when the guy from the sofa sighed and said quietly, “And, Riley McCord, I knew your father. I promise you, I’m not looking for trouble. And, if you put the gun down, I’ll tell you how he died.”

Seven

“You’re lying.” The words simply scraped out of Riley, a guttural, instinctive response to the desperate negotiation of the fugitive—Thorne. “How could youpossiblyknow my father?”

“I served with him,” Thorne said quietly. “In Afghanistan. I was on the raid that…well, it’s a long story.”

Riley tracked back to that moment only two days ago when he’d shared a few scant words with Thorne on the fire line. What had he told him? His name, maybe the fact his father had died.

The man could be making a giant leap.

Or—

“He’s telling the truth, McCord,” said Orion, who was lowering his hands. He glanced at Larke, still positioned behind Riley, where he had vise-gripped her wrist. Blood trickled down his arm. “Larke. Trust me. Thorne is not dangerous. He’s been shot, and he needs help.”

Riley’s gaze pinned back on Thorne. “Tell me where—”

“The Kunar province.” Thorne hadn’t moved from the sofa, from his grip on his bleeding arm. He looked every inch like he might be telling the truth, his quiet blue eyes holding Riley’s.

Yeah, Thorne reminded Riley—too much, frankly—of the kind of men his father had commanded.

“Why are you in prison? Why did you run?”

Now Thorne shot a look at Orion, and his jaw tightened. “Yeah, well, again, long story.”

“Sum up.”

Thorne sighed. “I boosted a car in Fairbanks. The wrong car. Taillight was out when I got pulled over in Copper Mountain. Problem was, the car was already stolen. Apparently, I have a knack for getting in trouble. I figured I’d been wiped from the system, so I threw them my name but…yeah that was probably a bad idea because when that US marshal showed up it started to sink in…”

Riley didn’t let his words, or empathy, loosen his grip on Larke or the gun. “What started to sink in?”

“If I didn’t get away, and someone started digging…they might find me, and it wouldn’t be long before a guy like me showed up to make sure I never made it home.”

A guy like him? Oh, Riley just knew it. But before his instincts could put Thorne on the ground, Larke asked softly, “Who might find you?”

Thorne’s jaw hardened. “The military. The CIA. The guys who erased me.”

“Why?” Riley said. “What did you do?”

Thorne’s jaw tightened just for a second before he sighed. “I lived.” Then he looked down, his expression almost defeated. “I lived, when I was supposed to die. And then…and then I ran.”

Riley put down the gun. Because he knew that expression, too. He’d seen it too often himself—the knowing that somehow you’d derailed your entire life and hadn’t a clue how to fix it.

His throat tightened.

No. Riley hadn’t derailed his life. He just took a different path—

“Why were you supposed to die?” Larke said. Riley had released his grip on her enough for her to push past him.