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“Maine. Augusta, Maine. He’s so cold.” Orly’s voice was now a near whisper, but everyone was so quiet, Hallie heard her loud and clear. She pushed through the crowd a bit, in time to see Caden slip out of his blazer and wrap it around Orly as her body shivered from the cold she was describing in Augusta, Maine. Then Orly rattled off an address, and Caden reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
Hallie slowly backed away from the men and the woman who was not only beautiful, but incredibly gifted. Her heart raced as she snatched her handbag and ran to the side of the house, and out the metal gate. She got in her car, fumbled with her seat belt, and drove away as fast as she could, not even paying attention to where she was going.
Tears streamed down her face in a fury. She was a joke. She’d been so afraid of telling Caden about her ability because she was sure he wouldn’t believe her, when in fact what he likely wouldn’t believe was how pathetic it was. Compared to Orly’s, her ability was nothing more than a useless horror show that played random scenes with no subtitles.
Caden had been awkward around her all day before that kiss. Maybe he suspected something. Maybe he even suspected her in Blake’s shooting. That would explain why Blake had barely talked to her the entire time. Had Caden told him that she was the one who’d sent in that tip?
She sighed, wiping the wetness from her face with the back of her hand. She reached into her handbag and pulled out her cellphone to use the GPS to get home.
Hallie had never seen anyone run to someone as fast as Caden had run to Orly. Not that Hallie blamed him, given the circumstances, but it still hurt. Especially after the way he’d kissed her.
The further away she got from Garrett’s house and Caden, the easier it was for Hallie to calm down and think more clearly. Maybe there had been something between them, but whatever it was, it hadn’t been enough to keep Caden from running to another woman. And not just any other woman. His best friend’s wife who happened to have an incredible ability.
Not wanting to compare herself to someone who was obviously way more gifted than she ever would be, Hallie turned her thoughts to Caden instead. As much as it would hurt, she needed to make a clean break. She never should’ve gotten involved with him in the first place, but she’d let her heart do the thinking against her own better judgment. Well, no more.
The only thing she wanted to do now was get out of these clothes, crawl into bed with a bowl of fudge mint chip ice cream, and forget all about that kiss and the man who gave it to her.
Chapter 11
Caden had raced across the yard after hearing Skyla’s scream, thinking whoever Orly had connected with was causing her pain. It turned out the old man had fallen down the stairs and had been lying there for quite some time, cold and alone.
“Caden?” Orly was finally releasing the connection. The shivering had stopped, and he and Martin had made the necessary calls to ensure someone from the Augusta police and fire department checked on the old man right away.
“Right here. You okay?” Caden sat with his hand covering Orly’s much smaller one - a simple gesture to let her know he was there.
She nodded. “Mr. Johnson -”
“He’ll be fine,” Martin said. “I just got off the phone with the Augusta Fire Department. They’ll take care of him.”
Skyla pushed a tall glass of water in front of Orly, and the women exchanged smiles. Orly took a few small sips and seemed to be back to her normal self.
Caden’s thoughts immediately turned to Hallie and he stood, looking for her. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain all this, but he’d have to think of something.
“She left,” Blake said.
“What?” Caden asked, sure he hadn’t heard right.
“I saw her take off right after you ran over to help Orly.” Blake handed him a cold beer. “Maybe it’s for the best.”
He ignored his friend’s last comment, but at hearing her name, Orly turned her attention to them. “Caden, you have to call her and explain, unless you want me to.”
“I’ll take care of it.” But it was in that moment, as he stood there with his friends watching him, waiting for him to say something, that Caden realized what he’d done.
“I sent Luke a message,” Tanner said. “He’s on his way back now.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Orly said. “He’s just going to worry because he wasn’t here. I’m fine, really. It wasn’t even that bad.”
“It was bad enough,” Caden said. Orly always stayed with people until help arrived and she’d been shivering while talking about Mr. Johnson being cold. Even after all these months of knowing her, Caden still couldn’t shake the feeling of helplessness every time he was around her when she connected with someone in need. He had no idea how Luke did it, but he admired the hell out of his friend.
“Tell me it was an act to get her to trust you,” Blake said in a low tone, changing the subject to the one thing Caden didn’t want to talk about.
He stepped away from the women, mostly as a way to buy a few seconds while he figured out what he was going to say.
Blake and the others followed him like they were dogs going after a bone. “Oh, come on, everyone saw the kiss,” Blake insisted.
“And everyone wants to know,” Garrett chimed in. Tanner and Martin stood nearby waiting for his answer. They were acting like schoolgirls on a playground, but Caden couldn’t blame them. He’d acted like an immature idiot and now he had no idea what to tell them. He could say he kissed her to gain her trust, but the truth was, he’d wanted to kiss her since the moment he met her. And it turned out to be the best kiss of his life. But then... He didn’t even think twice about racing to Orly’s side, but he never should’ve left Hallie like that after their kiss.
In less than five minutes he’d created a clusterfuck of epic proportions, and all because he couldn’t keep his head straight when it came to Hallie Owens. “I’m going to have Avery reassign her to another agent.” It was the right thing to do. The only thing to do.
