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“Why don’t these elevators have key cards?” she asks. “Why don’t the stairwells have key cards to open? Turns out this building is not as secure as the mighty Wolfe family thinks.”
I say nothing.
I say nothing because Kelly is right. No doubt Reid and the Wolfes felt that the first floor security was sufficient. Guards outside the door. Guards outside the back doors as well. Keyed entry, and security at a desk.
But it’s not sufficient. The Dark One, as Kelly refers to him, clearly got through. And the two guards are still missing.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” she asks haughtily.
“No, Kelly. I have nothing more to say to you.”
We reach the fourth floor, and she stops at the door to her place.
“Nope.” I say. “You’re staying in my apartment.”
She sets her hands on her hips. “I’d rather have my fingernails pulled off.”
“I’m sure we can arrange that,” I say dryly.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Her voice brims with acid.
“I’m the man who loves you, though you make me rethink that every day. I’m the man hired to keep you safe. And damn it, that is what I intend to do.”
I walk to the door of my apartment, slide the key card through, and to my surprise, Kelly walks in ahead of me.
Apparently I won this battle.
But the war is far from over.
What will it take? I love her, and I know she loves me. But what will it take for her to get rid of the last of the venom she still holds inside her?
It took a while for me to get over the PTSD from my tours, but there’s one huge difference between Kelly and me.
I entered the Navy of my own free will. I chose to serve my country, and when I went on each of my tours, I knew all the risks. I knew that it wouldn’t all be pretty. I knew that it could be downright ugly, downright torturous. And some of it was.
But still, I entered into that contract with my country willingly.
Kelly did not enter into her life willingly. She didn’t sign up for a mother who abused her and neglected her and locked her in a closet. She didn’t sign up for five years on that horrific island.
No. All of that was thrust upon her without her consent.
I need to remember that.
I soften. “You frightened me, Kelly. When I got out of the shower, and I couldn’t find you, I—” I close my eyes and shake my head.
Is it time to truly reveal myself to her? She knows my feelings, but does she know how a dagger pierced my heart when I thought she might be gone?
“Please, Kelly. I’m trying to be understanding. If you love me, you—”
“No,” she says. “I do love you, Leif. But I’m not going to put any conditions on that love. So don’t give me any of that ‘if you love me’ bullshit. I do love you.”
“Then may I ask why you frightened me?”
“I was angry.”
“So you’re admitting you knew I’d be frightened when I found you gone.”
She bites on her lip.
Yeah, she knew.
“Look, love is beautiful. It’s amazing, but it’s also about respect, Kelly. It’s about respect in spite of anger. And when you respect someone, you don’t deliberately frighten them.”
Her eyelids flutter and she looks to the floor.
I don’t say anything more.
About a moment later, she looks up. “You’re right, Leif. I apologize.”
Thank God.
She’s not regressing after all. She just reverted to her old ways in a fit of anger. Hell, I’ve done that more than once.
My phone buzzes in the back of my pocket.
God, great timing, this. But I have to check. It could be important.
And it is.
It’s Reid Wolfe.
“Yeah?” I say into the phone.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” he asks.
“Yeah, you did. What can I do for you, Reid?”
“I’d say it can wait, but I can’t. Racine Taylor has been in contact with Rock and me again. She’s still adamant about seeing Kelly.”
“I told her Kelly doesn’t want to see her.”
Kelly’s eyes widen at her name.
“Well,” Reid says, “we certainly won’t force her to. But Racine says it’s important.”
“If there was anything that important, she could’ve disclosed it to me the other night when I met with her.”
Reid clears his throat. “She says this is new. Information she didn’t have at that time.”
“For Christ’s sake. I don’t know what the woman wants, but it’s clear she has no feelings for her daughter. She’s got all the money she could want, so what the hell is she after?”
“She may have a lot of money,” Reid says, “but I have a lot more. Some people get a taste of money, and then however much they have is never enough.”
“Kelly doesn’t have any,” I say.
Again Kelly raises her eyebrows.
“No, but I do. And Racine no doubt knows that my family will do anything for these women.”
