That might be the key to winning Kyle back. It would prove that she was dedicated to a fresh start, to being open with him this time around. But first, she would make him a bit uncomfortable. Nothing big. Just some minor inconveniences that would make his life less than perfect.
Then when he needed her, they could start over.
Chapter Two
Kyle looked up at the clock and realized he’d been staring at the computer screen for way too long. It was past seven, and his first day of exile was over. Wade Rycroft had been the last of the bodyguards to tell him goodnight, and that was over an hour ago.
His stomach rumbled, and he had to make a decision. Was he going to get on the train or wait until David could pick him up? He probably could have gotten his uncle to give him a ride, but that would mean admitting he hadn’t bought a car. He didn’t have the money to buy a car yet, and that seemed like opening a door he didn’t want to open.
If he got on the train, he could grab a burrito from the convenience store a block from his brother’s townhouse and microwave it. If he waited, he could eat a granola bar from the snack basket in the break room. There were some protein shakes in the fridge that were apparently for everyone. Wade had rolled his eyes as he’d offered them up because apparently his uncle had them stocked to keep the group from getting pudgy.
His uncle was an asshole but he’d also provided a nice gym, and that was something Kyle could get into. He could probably get in five or six miles before David was done with whatever faculty bullshit he was doing this evening. If he tired himself out, he might sleep for a couple of hours.
He stood up from the desk he’d been assigned and looked around, taking in the whole of the place, looking for threats. This was what he did now. He took a perfectly normal location and turned it into a house of horrors, constantly assessing risk.
Because he’d improperly assessed risk once and his whole world had blown up because of it.
Don’t look at me like that, Kyle. You know who I am. You knew it when you asked me to marry you. You’re with me because you know deep down you’re just like me.
A chill went up his spine, and he realized he wasn’t alone.
It took everything he had not to reach for the Glock he wore in a holster under his arm. His uncle might get suspicious if he started taking shots at the janitorial staff.
But there was no way to ignore the adrenaline that started flowing as he heard someone shuffling along the hallway that ran beside the office. Security was tight in this building, but no system was foolproof.
Had Julia’s group decided to hunt him down? Did they think she’d given him her secrets and they wanted them back? Or would it be about revenge?
There was another option—one Drake wouldn’t let him pursue.
They could be coming to recruit him.
It was exactly what he’d wanted, what he’d tried to convince Drake to let him do. Let them come. Let them believe he’d taken Julia out so he could take her place and bring down the entire empire. If he got taken out, well, Drake could find a way to finish the job. It wouldn’t matter. The Agency would come up with some cover story and then his family didn’t ever have to know how low he’d gotten.
The door came open and real trouble walked in.
MaeBe Vaughn strode inside, a beer in one hand and tears rolling down her cheeks.
He felt caught, like a deer standing in the brightest headlights possible right before the truck took his whole-ass body out.
She sniffled and moved past him, not looking back. One hand went across her face, rubbing against her eyes. “Come on, Wade. Don’t fail me now.”
If he was very still, she might not see him. Or he could hide. He could jump under the desk he’d been given and curl into a ball, and she wouldn’t even know he was here. She would do her crying thing and he could sneak away and eat that sad-ass burrito and deal with his brother’s cat. Yeah. He’d trained for this. He’d spent years in the Navy and the Agency learning how to elude a dangerous foe, and right now that overly emotional goth girl seemed like the most dangerous opponent of all.
Because he wanted to figure out why she was crying and deal with the situation. It was his first, stupidest instinct to walk right up to her and hug her against him and ask what had happened. Like they’d always been friends. Like it was normal and natural to offer her comfort.
Fuck. He did need to see a therapist because he looked at her and saw everything he could have had if he hadn’t been in that car that night. If he’d made different choices, he would have gotten his MBA in management and probably come to work right here but in the business offices. Or for his stepdad, and one night she would have walked into Top and they would have met and talked all night and made all kinds of normal relationship mistakes. He would have forgotten important dates and she would… Well, she wouldn’t have turned out to be a traitor to her country and tried to pull him into hell with her.
He wouldn’t have been forced to murder that little goth princess.
“Damn it.” She stopped in front of Wade’s office and let her head fall forward against the door. “What am I doing? Go home, MaeBe. Except your home is currently being occupied by assholes.”
It was the sniffle that did it. He could easily have evaded her, but his feet wouldn’t move, and after she sniffled he gave in. “Do you need something from his office? I can probably get through the lock.”
She screamed, and the beer bottle dropped to the floor with a thud as she jumped and turned.
Kyle held up his hands, showing her he didn’t have anything in them. Not that he couldn’t do a ton of damage with his hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She put a hand over her chest as though she could stop the way her heart was racing. “Well, you did a good job. I think I’m having a heart attack.”
She wasn’t, but she had definitely been scared. “Again, sorry. I wasn’t trying to hide or anything. You didn’t notice me as you came in.”
No one had trained this woman. Earlier he’d seen his Aunt Erin walk in, and though she’d done it as casually as possible, she’d noted where everyone was. She’d likely done it out of long habit of being situationally aware of her surroundings, but it was what he’d come to expect from women in his world. Julia would have known where every living creature was along with the entrances and exits and whether or not the people in said room worked for an evil empire or not.
“I thought everyone was gone.” She bent down to pick up the bottle she’d dropped. It hadn’t broken on the carpet that covered the floors down here on the bodyguard level. She stood back up, and her mascara had run slightly, giving her a raccoon-like appearance. “I was looking for the recycling bin. This was out in the hall.”
Sure it had been. And she’d found it and poured it down her throat. Damn she shouldn’t look so pretty with ruined makeup. “Does Wade keep booze in his office?”
She frowned and sighed. “A bottle of whiskey. The bodyguards usually trade bottles of booze for Christmas every year, and Wade keeps his in his office. Or so I’ve heard. I…this is stupid. I’m going to go.”
He should let her. He wasn’t going to. “I assure you whatever Wade has in that office is complete shit compared to what my uncle keeps upstairs. Come on. It’s the best view of the city. We can get the snack basket and you can tell me why you’re crying.”