Page 13 of Honor ’N’ Duty

Still clutching one of Rosa’s hands, she met him at the open doorway. “How many bedrooms are there?” she asked.

“Four.” Guilt swamped him. He’d been living here alone for years while she and Rosa had been forced to live in a tiny two-bedroom duplex that had seen better days. And his actions were partly responsible for that. “Rosa, this can be your room if it’s okay with your mom.”

Rosa peered into the room, her eyes going wide as she uttered a tiny gasp.

The bedroom was the smallest of the four but painted lavender, with pink floor and ceiling molding. A glittery, enchanted castle scene took up an entire wall, complete with a prince and princess dancing in the courtyard. There wasn’t much else in the room besides the double bed with a white bedspread, but it was definitely girly.

“Ooh, Mommy!” Rosa began jumping up and down, then Smoke joined in, pirouetting in place as he channeled her excitement. “Can I stay here? Please, please, pretty please?”

Kade couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiastic response. When Laia’s lips began to twitch, he took that as a yes and deposited Rosa’s bag on the bed.

“Okay,” Laia said finally.

“C’mon, Smoke!” Rosa ran to the enchanted wall where she ran her hands over the glittery castle and the princess’s blue ballgown. Smoke went to the bed and began sniffing the bag. Whether he was searching it for food or automatically switching to narco-buster mode, Kade wasn’t sure.

“I take it the previous owners had a little girl.” Laia followed him inside, inspecting the room.

“Yep.” Kade gestured to the door. “C’mon. She’ll be fine.”

They left Rosa opening her bag and emptying her clothes and books on the bed. Smoke stayed behind to verify there was no bacon in the bag.

Kade went to the end of the hall and stood aside for Laia. Before crossing the threshold, she froze.

“I can’t stay here.” She looked up at him, so wide-eyed one would think there was a herd of cockroaches stampeding up the wall. “This is your bedroom. Did you really expect me to stay here with—”

He held up his hand, interrupting her as he lowered her bag to the floor beside the king-size bed. “No, I didn’t. I’ll stay in one of the other bedrooms.” What kind of a presumptuous jackass did she think he was and why would she think that in the first place? “This bedroom’s bigger, and you’ll have your own bathroom.”

He went to the master bath and flipped on the lights. When he’d bought the place, his realtor had told him this bathroom was the house’s crowning glory. Judging from the look on Laia’s face as she’d reluctantly followed him, the realtor hadn’t been exaggerating.

Her jaw dropped. Slowly, she ran her hand over the silvery-gray, natural-stone wall tile that shimmered like diamonds, courtesy of the embedded shards of mica. Tiny mother-of-pearl accent tile ran in a three-inch wide swath around the entire wall. Equally glittery, light-gray granite countertops, shower and tub surrounds, and nickel faucets completed the look. But the icing on the cake was the crystal chandelier hanging over the giant soaker tub.

“Right?” He picked up a remote and pushed the button, lighting up the battery-operated, flickering candles on the chandelier. “This is a common tract house built in the seventies. Apparently, the last owners went all-out renovating the master bath.”

“I can see that.” Laia gazed lovingly at the tub. “I haven’t seen a tub like this since—” She cleared her throat. “Well, it’s been a while.”

Yeah, he knew what she’d been about to say. That she hadn’t seen a tub like his since the U.S. government had seized hers and Josh’s house, along with virtually everything else they possessed.

“I can’t stay here,” she repeated, shaking her head. “This is your room and your bathroom. You should enjoy it.”

“I don’t take baths,” he countered. “This tub is wasted on me. I bought the house for its location and the backyard.” When she began backing away, he reached out and stopped her. “Please, stay here. I want you to enjoy it.” Because you deserve it, and it’s the least I can do to make up for what happened.

She thought for a moment, then took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay, but this is only temporary.”

“Agreed,” he said, holding out his hand to shake on the deal.

When she placed her hand in his, he was instantly thrown back in time, to another day when she’d taken his hand as he’d pulled her to her feet. Seconds after that, his world had imploded.

Their hands remained clasped, hers so small and delicate in his. The woman standing before him was the same, yet so different now. Stronger and more confident. Maybe being married and becoming a mother had done that. More than likely, it was a strength born of necessity after her husband was arrested.

Then murdered.

Living with Laia would bring back all the bad memories and the guilt he’d lived with for two years. But he had no choice. Laia and Rosa were now his responsibility. A responsibility that he fully embraced.

“They’re searching for it, aren’t they?” she asked as they returned to the bedroom.

Kade had been about to turn off the bathroom light, but his fingers froze on the switch plate. There was no need to verbalize what “it” was.

The ledger.