Chapter 5: Not a people person.

TRAVIS DROVE THROUGH THE gated community, acutely aware of the tense silence between him and his passenger. He watched Bliss from the corner of his eye. She sat straight up, her hands in her lap, posture tense.

He'd had to face down a number of men and women who thought their dollars bought them a shotgun seat on the jobs Aegis was hired to do. The problem was that the moment an untrained civilian was put in the mix, things changed. Their unit was pulling bodyguard detail in addition to whatever they were hired to do. It just didn't fly. They couldn't risk being divided like that.

Then why was she sitting shotgun in his rental?

Back at the house, he'd backed down, even when every shred of training and experience said that Bliss Giles needed to stay right where she was.

He didn't need help. If a situation required backup, both Ethan and Mason were in Vegas. No doubt now that Wendy's husband was retaining their services, the others would be briefed. Which meant Travis needed to have a sitrep with the BAU. He was no longer their man on the job. His loyalty would always be to Aegis first. The management had given him a chance when no one else would.

It was the conviction. The way Bliss had stared him down, he'd known that he'd either keep her close or spend precious time checking up on her following him. He just hoped she could keep up.

"We have to have some ground rules," he said.

Bliss turned her head toward him, but didn't speak.

"If we don't find Wendy in the next forty-eight hours, chances are we won't find her. I need you to agree to do what I say, when I say it. And if you think you can't do that, stay behind."

"I understand," she said.

"Some of our guys are good with clients. They know how to keep them positive, calm. That's not me. I'm not a people person."

"Never would have guessed that, sunshine. Pull in here." She tapped the window. "If you promise to not keep secrets, then yes, I'll do whatever you say."

Secrets. His life was built on them. She didn't know what she was asking.

"First thing, don't tell anyone else Wendy is missing." He pulled into the parking spaces outside the security office and killed the engine.

"Why?"

"Whoever took her knew what they were doing. They've done this before. If the cops or FBI get involved it might escalate the situation, and he could end up killing her before his appointed time."

"Boy, you are cheerful."

"Let's go."

"Wait."

"What?"

"What's the second thing?"

He stared at her.

"You said first thing, what's the second?"

"I'll tell you when I know."

Bliss met him in front of the SUV, and together they entered the security office. An older man eyed him with obvious distrust.

"What can I do for you?" the guard asked.

"Hi. I need to review some footage from last night." Travis fished out another business card and offered it to the guard.

"Afraid I can't do that," the guard said.

"Actually, you have to. In that HOA my sister signed, it said residents can access the footage. Mr. Ration here has been hired by my brother-in-law. Grayson Horton, you know him?" Bliss leaned against the desk and smiled. He'd seen mercenaries who looked friendlier than she did right now.

"What exactly is it Mr. Horton is looking for?" The guard hadn't moved, but they had the upper hand.

"The footage?" Travis prompted.

"Over here." The guard got up and walked around a partition.

Travis followed him to a bank of monitors that showed the streets and entries into the community. It was a fairly common system.

"I can take it from here, thanks." Travis squeezed past the man and pulled out a chair. Bliss was right behind him and gave the guard a pointed get lost stare.

"Let me know if you need anything." The guard looked like he'd just sucked on a lemon, but he gave them space.

Travis opened the files containing the last twenty-four hours of footage for each entry and cued them up.

"What are we looking for?" Bliss bent and peered over his shoulder.

"Something that doesn't belong."

He started with one gate at five o' clock, the last time Bliss had seen her sister, and put the footage on fast forward through the night. He made notes about cars, the movements of people, anything out of the ordinary. He was starting to think the kidnapper must have used another point of entry by the time he got to the front gate. It was the least appealing entrance, based on traffic and the face to face time with the guards, and yet...

"There."

Travis paused the footage on the car leaving.

"What? What is it?" Bliss sat forward and looked up from her phone.

"This car. It arrived with a man inside, and is leaving with a passenger. Even the help drive better cars than this."

"Are you sure?" Bliss squinted at the screen.

"Yes."

He jotted down the make, model, and license. The image was too dark and grainy to get a facial on either person in the car, but it was a start.

"Come on."

Travis stood, and Bliss yelped. Her arm shot out, and her eyes went round. He reached out and snatched her before she landed on the tile floor. Her hands gripped his biceps, and her face was so close he could smell lemon on her breath and see lighter flecks of color in her dark eyes. Her body was soft, fitting against him in ways that would haunt him later.

"Everything okay?" the guard called.

"Fine." Travis cleared his throat and took a step back, putting Bliss at arm's length. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I didn't think you were going to move that fast." She laid a hand on her chest and blew out a breath. Her cheeks were pink again.

Damn. He could have touched her hair if he'd thought about it. Now that was a creeper idea. He needed to convince Bliss to stick to the sidelines, or she was going to become a distraction he couldn't afford.

"Let's get out of here." He gestured behind her, and this time, waited for Bliss to lead the way out of the guard shack.

On the way out to the SUV, he pulled out his cell phone. Did he call Aegis? They were technically on the case to retrieve Wendy. He'd updated the chain of command via text after speaking with Grayson. But the FBI might have better intel. He wouldn't mention that to their guys–it would chap their asses. Why not make two calls?

He hit dial, climbed into the truck, turned it on and flipped the heat to high. The Bluetooth activated almost instantly, and the call rang through the speakers.

"Ration!"

"Gavin?" Travis frowned. "Where's Zain?" The kid was another Zain in the making, except he had both hands. But Zain had ten plus years on Gavin and the kind of experience in covert and black ops that couldn't be bought. Plus he could tech circles around anyone, even the FBI and other government agencies who regularly courted at least half of the people on Aegis' payroll. Even Gavin.

"Captain Hook took the week off for some spacey, blue box thing. You know him, can't resist the geek beacon. He forwarded your text to me." Gavin muted whatever was playing in the background before speaking. "Zain forwarded your text. Pulled the info on the girl. She's cute for a chubby girl. Did you know she works for a sex toy store? Man, some of those things-"

"She's listening," Bliss announced at the same time Travis disconnected the Bluetooth.

"Keep your fucking opinions to yourself. I've got a license plate I need you to run," he said.

"Uh...Right, okay."

Sex toys?

He kept his gaze straight ahead, but his mind was already working overtime. What exactly did she do for them? Product testing?

"Can she hear me?" Gavin whispered. If it were possible, the kid had worse customer service skills than Travis.

"License plate." Fuck. Why did Zain have to be off on one of his nerd things?

"Right. I am so sorry, man. I'll email the stuff to you. She's clean. Well, I don't know her medical history, but otherwise, nothing hinky going on there. Unless it's in the bedroom. You think-"

Travis rattled off the plate number. Normally he wouldn't care what shit came out of Gavin's mouth, but this time it mattered. Without even looking at Bliss he was aware of her tense posture, the way she'd sat up straighter, smoothed her clothes down.

Chubby? That was not the word Travis would use. Gavin needed to grow the fuck up and stop looking at skin mags as his guide to women. Bliss was...real.

"Right. That plate traces back to a truck that was stolen," he said.

"The plates were on a car. Buick Electra, 1970s make I think, beige."

"Okay. Um, let me see what I can look up."

"Fine."

"Ration?"

"What?"

"Are you going to bang her?"

Travis rolled his eyes and ended the call.

Fucking Gavin. The guy was freakishly smart, but not where it counted sometimes. Travis remained still, waiting for the feminine explosion of rage. When Bliss didn't react, much less respond, he glanced her way. She'd pulled out her cell phone and was otherwise occupied. Should he apologize? He hadn't done anything wrong, and yet he couldn't shake the urge to make things right.

He'd call the BAU first. Maybe the right thing to do would come to him.

The call to his contact at the BAU went faster. They were no doubt working their own case and would go over the research when they could. By the time he hung up with the unit chief, he still didn't know what to say to Bliss.

"Sorry about Gavin. He's a stupid shit."

There.

That was good, right?

He reversed out of the spot and drove them out through the front gates.

"Your phone is really loud, just so you know." She glanced up. "Where are we going?"

Shit.

He was going to deck Gavin.

"Lunch? It'll take them a while to search for leads on the car. I can drop you back at your car if you like."

"No, that's fine. I told my boss I was going to be out for a few days. I have a few things I'll need to do, but they can wait."

Her at work...what did that mean? Did she test batteries in vibrators? Make them? Travis had never needed to use toys on a woman before. Everything he knew about them came from porn.

Shit. He wasn't any better than Gavin.

"You can ask me about it. My job, I mean." Bliss sighed and stared out of the passenger window.

He wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"So...what is it you do?"

"I'm the sales manager for the Blush Shoppe. We sell a wide range of adult toys." She leaned her head against the seat and turned to watch him.

"You sell...what, exactly?"

"Have you ever seen a vibrator in person?" She chuckled.

"No."

"Oh, that was a fast reply."

He merged onto the highway but didn't miss the way Bliss rolled her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Guys and vibrators. You're all so intimidated by them."

"I am not."

"You're awfully defensive about it. What's wrong with a vibrator?" She turned to face him and perched her elbow on the armrest, leaning closer.

Did she have one? He was willing to bet she did by the way she spoke. Unbidden images unfolded in his mind. Bliss on her back, her hands between her legs...

"Nothing." He pulled into the first fast food restaurant he saw. The better to get out of this conversation.

"But you don't like them. Guys have porn. Why can't girls have vibrators?"

"It's not like that." He turned the SUV off and opened the door. Her sigh played on repeat to the mental image of Bliss pleasuring herself. It was damn frustrating to not be able to touch.

"Then what's the issue?" She made no move to get out of the truck.

He closed his door and faced her.

"Why need it at all?" he asked.

"Seriously?"

"A man should be able to take care of his woman's needs." Oh, if Bliss were his...she'd never have needs.

"What about everyone else? Not all of us have a man. And even the ones that do, what's wrong with it? I mean, do you only like one position for sex? Or do you change it up?" She froze, as if she hadn't intended to pose those questions to him.

This conversation should end. He needed to get out of the car, get some air, and pretend this never happened.

But he now knew one very important bit of information.

Bliss was single.

Her cheeks grew bright red.

Damn him.

"I like all the positions," he said.

Her, he'd do from behind so he could get his hands on her ass, a handful of her hair, bend her neck a bit for a hard kiss.

Bliss cleared her throat. Her hands were wrapped so tight around her phone her knuckles were white.

"That's not the point. I just meant...why limit the ways to enjoy sex?"

"That's never been a problem."

"Okay, then what if it can be different? Not better, just a little change."

"If a guy is doing it right-"

"But why does it have to be about the guy? Why can't it be about the girl?"

"It is."

"No, you keep coming at this talking about the man taking care of the woman, the man doing it right. It's about you. Not your partner. That right there is invalidating everything you say about wanting the other person to enjoy themselves, because it's about you. Let's just eat." She opened the car door and slipped out while he stared at the space she'd just vacated.

He wasn't selfish in bed. Was he?