"What's wrong?" he demanded anxiously. "Did you hit your head? Did he hit you?" I shook my head.

"No, no. I just...was dizzy for a moment, that's all," I said weakly. Kade seemed to process this.

"When was the last time you ate?" Kade asked.

I shrugged. "This morning, maybe?" I answered. It seemed so long ago.

"You're a s.h.i.t load of trouble," he grunted, helping me to my feet and steadying me. "Can you get dressed by yourself?" I nodded, my cheeks flaming at the thought of him having to help me dress.

Wrapping the blanket around me like a toga, I shuffled back to the bedroom, Kade close on my heels. I stopped short when I walked through the French doors. Stephen's body was on the ground, his head bent at such an angle that I knew his neck was broken. His eyes stared ahead sightlessly. My stomach rolled but I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth. I absolutely would not throw up in front of Kade again.

Hooking his hands under Stephen's armpits, Kade dragged him to the door. After checking to make sure the hallway was clear, I unlocked Stephen's room and Kade dragged him inside. Grabbing Stephen's security card off his pants, I retreated back to my room, letting Kade do whatever he was going to do to stage Stephen's untimely demise.

Filling a gla.s.s with water from the tap, I drank it down, hoping it would help clear my head. Water was everywhere on the floor so I grabbed some towels and sopped it up.

Pulling clothes from my suitcase, I hurriedly pulled on a pair of jeans and a black turtleneck, pulling my hair back into a tight ponytail. I had no tennis shoes so slipped my feet into a pair of black flats.

By the time Kade came back, I felt I'd regained some of my armor, though the memory of what I'd been enduring when Kade had first seen me in this hotel room made it difficult for me to look him in the eye. A mixture of rage and shame filled me and I would have given anything for someone else, anyone else, to have saved me. I knew Kade thought I was useless trash, and somehow having him see someone treating me that way, made it feel more like it was true.

"You ready?" he asked and I nodded, not speaking. I grabbed my purse and we left the room. We didn't speak until we were on the street.

"Let's get some food in you," Kade said, his hand moving to lightly grasp my elbow. It was cold outside, the wind gusting in our faces, and I was glad I'd pulled my hair out of the way.

"I'm fine," I said. "Let's just get to the datacenter."

"Forget it," Kade said firmly, pulling me down the sidewalk. "I'm not having you pa.s.s out on me because you're too stubborn to eat."

"I won't pa.s.s out," I said through gritted teeth. "I just want to get this over with."

"All in good time," he said. "It's better anyway if we go later. Fewer people will be in the building. Now, let's eat." Ignoring my protests, he started to pull me into a small, dimly lit pub.

"No!" I said, trying to pull away, my voice near panic. Kade stopped and looked down at me, his eyes narrowing.

"What's the problem?" he said, and I inwardly cringed at the irritation in his voice. I couldn't explain it, but the thought of sitting across from him and eating, pretending nothing had happened, was enough to make me want to do anything to avoid it. I wasn't able to be detached, like he was, and knew I would wonder the entire time if all he could see when he looked at me was the humiliation I'd endured. If, in his mind's eye, he saw me naked on the bed, face shoved into the covers, about to be raped. Of course, I could tell him none of this.

"I just...can't," I said weakly, avoiding his eyes. I felt him studying me. Then his hand was under my chin, lifting it toward him. I looked down, refusing his implied request.

"Look at me," he said softly. I shook my head, biting my lip to keep from crying. Two tears slid down my cheek anyway. I felt his thumbs brush them away.

"Keep it together, Kathleen," he said quietly. "Any other woman would have needed a sedative after what that b.a.s.t.a.r.d did tonight. You're stronger than that." More tears fell and he brushed those away too, his thumbs lingering on my cheekbones.

"It wasn't your fault, Kathleen," he said earnestly. "Don't blame yourself for what he did."

I did raise my eyes then and I don't know what he saw in them, but he cursed under his breath. Then his lips settled on mine with a sweetness I would never have thought he possessed. He didn't try to deepen the kiss; it was more like a benediction. I savored the touch, feeling like it could heal the part of me that Stephen had broken back in that hotel room.

Kade touched his forehead to mine, our breath mingling in the cold night air. We stood like that for several minutes, his hands wrapped gently around the back of my neck, his thumbs caressing my face, while my hands rested on his arms. When he finally did pull back, I was able to look at him without wanting to bury my face in shame.

"Please," I whispered, "don't tell...anyone...about what happened." Both of us knew who I was talking about; I didn't think I could bear it if Blane ever found out. Kade's jaw tightened but he gave me a curt nod and somehow I knew he wouldn't break his word to me.

"I'm hungry," I said, and Kade's lips tipped up a little at the corners.

"It's about f.u.c.king time," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the pub. This time, I went willingly.

Chapter Fifteen.

Kade and I were seated in a corner booth of the pub. He sat across from me with his back to the wall. A tired looking waitress came up to us for our order.

"Water for me, c.o.ke for her," Kade answered.

"Diet c.o.ke," I interjected, but Kade cut me off.

"No, regular," he told the waitress who nodded and left. "You need the sugar," he said to me once she'd gone. This seemed high-handed to me, but I didn't want to argue over something petty.

Glancing through the menu, I tried to find something appealing at this late hour. I settled on a turkey sandwich with a baked potato instead of fries.

"Does the potato come with sour cream and cheese?" I asked. The waitress nodded.

"Bacon, too, if you want it," she said.

"That would be great." Bacon should have its own food group. Kade ordered a sandwich as well and the waitress left us alone.

I sipped at my c.o.ke and grudgingly admitted that the sugar was making me feel better. Even if it was transient energy, I no longer felt like I could lay my head down on the table and fall asleep. We sat in silence for a few minutes before I asked a question that had been hovering in the back of my mind.

"How did you and Blane...find each other?" I asked. Kade's eyes narrowed and I thought he wasn't going to answer me.

"My mother died and Blane's father's name was listed on my birth certificate," he said flatly. "They wanted to pa.s.s guardianship to him."

"When did she die?"

"My mother died of cancer when I was six. I was shuffled around the system for a few years. I was on my twelfth foster home when Blane found me."

My eyes widened in surprise and sympathy. Twelve foster homes. I couldn't begin to imagine how horrible that would be for a child, especially one so young.

"Blane's father didn't take care of you when your mother died?" I asked incredulously, my opinion of the man sinking lower every minute. Kade's lips curved in a humorless smile.

"He had a reputation to consider," he said bitterly. "It wouldn't have looked good, taking his orphaned b.a.s.t.a.r.d in, now would it?"

"But Blane did," I said, and it wasn't a question. I could tell by the look in Kade's eyes that I was right and he slowly nodded.

"Blane did," he affirmed. Our eyes met and held and I saw again in them the same steadfast loyalty to Blane that I'd seen that morning when he was in my bedroom.

"Blane said he and his father had parted ways before he went into the Navy," I said. "Was that because of you?"

Kade nodded. "And because Blane wouldn't toe the party line. The old man was a lifelong Democrat who came from a long line of lifelong Democrats. Blane thought differently and the old man never forgave him for it. Blane was fourteen when he found out about me. He tried to get the old man to take me in, but he wouldn't."

"When did he die?" I asked.

"When Blane was eighteen."

"Did his mother know?"

"I'm not sure," Kade answered. "Does a wife ever really not know when her husband is cheating on her? Whether or not she knew about me, I couldn't say. Probably not."

"Did Blane tell her?" I didn't know why he was answering my questions, but so long as he did, I wasn't going to stop asking.

Kade shook his head. "She was a gentle woman. Fragile. And she loved his father, even if he was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d. His death seemed to weaken her. She died not very long after him."

That was sad, being so in love with someone who wouldn't be faithful. I couldn't imagine a scenario where it wouldn't matter to me that I would love someone to the point of looking the other way. It seemed so...weak somehow. I tried not to make judgments on Blane's mother but I couldn't imagine giving up on life when I had a son who needed me.

"You're quite a bit younger than Blane," I said, then paused as the waitress sat our food in front of us. The food distracted me for a few minutes, the smell making me realize how famished I actually was. I dug into my potato, closing my eyes in pleasure when the coolness of the sour cream combined with the heat of the vegetable hit my tongue. When I opened my eyes, Kade was watching me, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

"Good?" he asked simply. I mumbled an affirmative response around the next bite.

When I'd taken the edge off my hunger, I returned my attention to Kade, eyeing him speculatively. His brow arched in an unspoken question.

"You're, what, ten years younger than Blane?" I asked.

"Eight."

"Did he come find you when his father died?" Kade nodded, finishing off his sandwich.

We were interrupted by a woman sliding into the seat next to Kade. My eyebrows flew upward as she grasped his jaw lightly before placing her mouth on his. I watched, dumbfounded for a moment as they kissed, my stomach tightening into a knot. Then I jumped and let out a squeak when a large black man sat down next to me, his arm resting on the back of the booth behind me.

The woman finally broke the kiss and snagged a fry off Kade's plate. "About time you guys showed up," Kade said, unfazed. The woman cracked a smile at him. She was pet.i.te and lovely with dark, nearly black hair, and bright green eyes.

"Wouldn't want you to take us for granted, Kade," the woman said lightly, and I was surprised to hear her speak with an accent. Irish, maybe?

"Who's your fine friend, Kade?" the black man asked. I turned toward him and looked up, and up some more. He was huge, and although he was smiling, his eyes were calculatingly a.s.sessing me. I decided right then and there that I would never want to be on his bad side. His chest and arms were ma.s.sive and I bet he could squash me like a bug.

"Ah yes, I should introduce you," Kade said smoothly. "Kathleen, this is Terrance and Branna."

"Nice to meet you," I said automatically, watching as Branna ate another fry. She sat very close to Kade who didn't seem to mind.

"Terrance and Branna are going to help us out tonight," Kade explained. Turning to Branna he asked, "Were you able to tie in to the cameras?"

Branna nodded, smiling slightly. "Of course. I'm now able to control them remotely. They'll only see what I want them to see."

"You never disappoint," Kade murmured, and Branna seemed pleased with his praise.

"How are you getting in?" Terrance asked, and Kade swung his gaze to him.

"It's not the getting in I'm worried about," he said wryly. "Where's Rusty? Didn't he come with you guys?"

Branna rolled her eyes. "He's outside with the van. Said he didn't want to leave it alone in a bad neighborhood."

"Bad neighborhood?" I asked, confused. We were actually in a nice part of town. Kade sighed.

"Same old paranoid Rusty, I see."

"You got that right," agreed Terrance with a huff.

Kade signaled for the check and tucked some money into the small leather folder when it came. We climbed out of the booth and surrept.i.tiously I looked over Branna. She had a figure any woman would envy, tiny waist and rounded hips, encased in skin tight black jeans and heeled leather boots that went to her knees. Her hair was thick and wavy and she wore it unbound. A green shirt the same color as her eyes was molded to her chest and she wore a black vest over the top. As she walked away from me, I saw a telltale bulge in the small of her back that told me she had a gun.

Outside, Terrance and Branna led us around the corner to a van parked on the side of the street. Terrance knocked on the side door sharply. When nothing happened, he rapped again, calling out in an irritated voice, "Open the f.u.c.king door, Rusty."

The door cautiously slid open to reveal a slight figure wearing gla.s.ses and a ball cap as he leaned out the opening. "You're supposed to use the code knock, Terrance," he argued in a petulant voice. "Three short, two long, two short. Then I know it's you." He pushed the gla.s.ses further up his nose.

"f.u.c.k that stupid code," Terrance groused. "I ain't doin' that."

I watched Branna and Kade exchange a look of mutual understanding as Terrance and Rusty continued to bicker. They were obviously familiar with this scene. I felt uncomfortably like an outsider and shifted nervously from one foot to another. This drew Kade's attention to me and his amused smirk faded.

"If you two are done," he interjected, effectively silencing Terrance and Rusty, "let's get on with it."

With a final huff of disdain, Terrance moved around and got in the driver's seat while Branna climbed in the pa.s.senger side. Kade motioned for me to climb in the van as well.

"Who's she?" Rusty asked, staring at me as I settled myself inside and Kade slid the side door shut.

"She's our ticket inside," Kade answered.

"You got a keycard?" Rusty said in disbelief.

"Give it to him," Kade ordered me and I did as he said. "Rusty, we need this to be someone other than Stephen Avery."

Rusty took the card eagerly, turning it over in his hands. "Why?"

"Because Avery's dead," Kade replied. Rusty didn't seem surprised by this.

"Then he can't very well go running about the datacenter, can he," Rusty asked rhetorically, taking the card and disappearing into the back of the van. Twisting around in my seat, I saw the back had been torn out and replaced with a shelf bolted to the side that held computer equipment. A folding chair sat in front of it. I watched as Rusty sat down and put the card into some type of device.

"What's he doing?" I asked Kade in an undertone.

"Changing the base code so it will still open the doors, but not as Stephen Avery," he answered.

Turning back around, I saw Branna was watching me. I met her stare.

"You're not taking her inside with you?" she asked Kade disapprovingly.

"Was planning on it," he answered shortly.

"That's foolish, Kade," she said with a snort. "She'll get herself killed and maybe you along with her." I decided I didn't like being talked about as if I weren't there.

"'She,'" I interjected forcefully, "won't be getting anyone killed."