Closing the door behind me, I hear Kade calling out, asking if I’m good.
“Yes! I’m locking up now,” I yell back.
I need a minute, though. I feel sick to my stomach that I never even considered Aleksei could be playing both sides, like Cat suggested he was. The longer I think about it and the more I focus on the Aleksei I’m starting to know, the less thrown I am by what she said. He is a good person, a really good person, just caught in a fucking awful situation. It's another good reminder of how right fate was, bringing us together.
I make my way to my other reminder of fate getting things perfect. Kade, too, is a good person, and his honesty and authenticity was something I was always drawn to. The only reason he lied about his career was to protect me, and I understand that all too well.
The thought of finally sharing with Santiago, Kade, and Aleksei more about Victor and why I’m doing what I am doing is freeing. It’s daunting and terrifying, too, but the knowledge of how much I want to share with them far outweighs the negatives.
Kade is sitting up, using his elbows to support himself. “Who was it?”
“You would not believe it.”
“Try me,” he insists as he tries to sit up further.
I press him back down, sitting next to him and running my fingers over his face a few times. I need his positive energy.
“It was Cat, one of the women from the warehouse.”
“What? That doesn’t make sense.”
“And she said things about Aleksei.”
He clicks his tongue impatiently, making a grab for my hand, “What kind of things, Quinny?”
I run my hand over my face before looking at it from his point of view. “I’m just shocked, Kade. Let me try again. Cat was at the door, and by the looks of it, she works for the National Crime Authority.”
His rising frustration all but disappears when I share with him what has me caught up in knots. “Really?”
Kade grabs my hand, not letting it go.
“Yeah, do you work with them?” I ask him, passing over the water bottle again.
“I mean, not me personally, but Interpol works with agencies all over the world. I worked undercover a lot, but our paths didn’t cross.”
I want to say I know him, but the truth is, we hardly know each other. “I want us to tell each other everything.”
“Me too, Quinny. I’ll happily answer any questions you have. I’m sorry I lied to you.”
I shush him up with a lingering kiss. I stay so close, my nose is nearly pressed to his. I can see all the color in his eyes and only breathe his scent.
“Please don’t apologize anymore. I know you’re sorry. I want to tell you a few things, too, but I need to put everything aside to fix your wound, give you some blood, and get you back to being yourself as soon as possible.”
He stays lying down, his fingers trailing over my cheek as he does. “You do that. But I need to tell you something.”
I follow him down. “Yeah? What?”
“I’m pretty sure I started falling for you before the end of our first date.”
“You’re not worried we happened too fast?”
He stares at me for a long time. “Quinny, I know you’re not worried about that. Trust that what your beautiful heart is telling you is real, for the simple fact it is. Everything you are feeling, I am too. I’m not the only one who's already in deep, either. And yes, we’re finding each other and making promises to each other quickly. To outsiders, it won’t make a lot of sense, but it doesn’t involve them at all. This is us, and right now is the start of our future. And in case no one has been obvious enough, Aleksei, Santiago, and I are packing you, along with all your secrets, the first chance we get.”
He pulls me back down close so he can use his kisses as confirmation of the sweet promises he made. He’s right—I know we’re meant to be together. And it’s not overwhelming or hard to explain. It's simple—we found each other right when we were meant to, which is how life goes sometimes.
And then I really do have to “swap hats” and shut him down and out of my thoughts. Which is harder said than done, though the incentive of him getting better is a strong motivator.
After a few very loud and colorful swear words when I administer the local anesthetic in and around his leg wound, he stays quiet. While I wait for the numbing agent to work, I move over and go through the same process with Nalla. I return to Kade to do the next action, treating one then the other, until they’re both stitched up and high as kites, in a pain-free cloud, thanks to the pain meds.
