“I know you are.”
He hated to see her sad. Her anger, he could handle; sadness twisted his insides. But right now, he couldn’t deal with those feelings on top of all the others. It was too much. “Stay where you are. I’ll send the vehicle back for you.” And he turned around and strode away, his mind closed…though he doubted she was trying to get through to him.
She probably already regretted letting him in.
On the positive side, it was unlikely she would have to live with those regrets for long.
He had no doubt the Tel agents were going to set off the bomb and cause the cataclysm, and he doubted very much that they could do anything to stop it. They knew the “when,” but they didn’t know the “where.” Which meant it was over.
Ten thousand years and they’d failed.
The end of the world was coming.
Chapter 37
Kaitlin stared after him as Kane disappeared down the track.
Her chest ached. She suspected it might be her heart breaking, then chided herself for being melodramatic. She thought about trying to make her own way back, but maybe she was better off here. Kane clearly didn’t want her with him right now. Besides, she’d used up the last of her strength getting to him.
What a waste of time that had been.
He’d totally shut down. Shut her out.
What the fuck!
She lay back and stared at the sky, keeping her mind blank, not moving even when she heard the vehicle pull up. She finally turned her head as the driver came to stand over her. Dave stared down, hands shoved in his pockets, a frown between his eyes.
“Thanks for coming to get me.” She heaved herself into a sitting position, wincing as pain shot through her ankle.
“My pleasure. I had to get out of there,” he said. “Everyone is pretty tense.”
Crouching down, he scooped her up gently, and placed her in the passenger seat. Then he came around and climbed in beside her, handing her a flask. “Jake sent this.”
She unscrewed the top—it was Scotch—and took a deep swallow. The alcohol went straight to her head, no doubt mingling with the aftereffects of the painkillers. She took another swig and rested her head back.
“Love is hard,” she said.
Dave chuckled. “Nah. You just picked the wrong guy.”
“I know.” She sighed, then took another swallow. “I always knew. Why do you think I fought so hard and so long?” And another. “Kane’s an asshole.”
“He is.”
“But it’s too late to take my heart back. I’m fucked.”
“Yup.”
She’d emptied the flask by the time they reached the house. It took all of about three minutes. And she was hardly aware as Dave picked her up and carried her inside, gently lowering her to her bed.
She must have slept because the next thing she knew, Rose was nudging her. “Wake up, sleepy. We’re having a funeral. I thought you’d want to be there.”
Kaitlin struggled to pull herself from sleep. Her head felt fuzzy, and something really hurt at the end of her left leg. Rose handedher a couple of pills and a glass of water. “Christa sent them for the pain. And the hangover.”
“Thanks.”
“And here are some clean clothes.”
Rose dropped a bundle on the bottom of the bed. “Do you need any help?”
