My eyes burned from more unshed tears. The poor girl had been in the most heartless form of captivity since she was an infant. Tate must have been the closest thing she’d ever had to a friend.

“So if she saw you,” Bones went on, “she might not run. Or try to murder you as she did Denise.”

Spade tensed at that. Denise looked away guiltily. Guess she hadn’t told him who’d bloodied her up the most.

Tate’s smile was wry. “Depends. I told her to kill anyone who came after her. That might include me, with how methodical her mind works.”

“Are you willing to take that risk?” Bones asked bluntly.

Tate snorted. “Do I look like a pussy to you?”

“No,” Bones replied with a ghost of a smile. “You look like the same stubborn, reckless, devoted sod I’ve almost killed a hundred times over, which is why you’re perfect for the job.”

“And you’re the same overbearing asshole you’ve always been,” Tate replied, eyes glinting green. “But you’re right. For this, I’m your man.”

Somehow, after that insult-laden discourse, they exchanged a look of complete understanding. I shook my head. Maybe they’d always dislike each other, but perhaps mutual respect could still exist between them.

“Then get to it,” Bones stated. “Ian? Take him back to Point Pleasant. Fabian stayed behind to help. Perhaps he’ll have good news.”

Ian really didn’t like Tate, so I expected anything except his jubilant, “Let’s be off, then!” before he snatched Tate up and blasted off like a rocket. Why would he . . . ? Oh, right.

“Stop him; he’s happy about this because he intends to kill Tate!”

Bones gave me a jaded look. “That’s not why, luv. Ian collects the rare and unusual, and that child is the rarest, most unusual person in the world right now. He’ll scour the globe with Tate and Fabian looking for her.”

That notion was almost as unsettling as my first. Then I consoled myself with the knowledge that Ian was many things, yet a pedophile wasn’t one of them. He might want to “collect” Katie, but he wouldn’t lay a lustful—or harmful—finger on her. The same couldn’t be said for others who might also be hunting for Madigan’s missing experiment.

“Since all urgent business has been attended to, I need a private moment with my wife,” Spade said, interrupting my line of thought.

Denise threw me a rueful look before she walked off with Spade. The two of them disappeared into the farthest silo away from us. With the thick concrete and metal walls going a hundred feet up, I could barely hear them once they were inside.

My jaw clenched. I had a few things to discuss with my spouse, too, but before I could, Cooper’s condition still needed to be addressed.