It felt good to be wanted.
The darkness of the club was punctuated by a swirl of lights that spun and sent rays of color over the dance floor, briefly illuminating Kade in shades of neon blue and yellow before plunging us back into the black. I closed my eyes, blocking out the mass of people surrounding us, many of whom were in similar clinches with their partner. Or partners.
The DJ switched tunes and I was abruptly jolted from my hypnotic reverie. I knew this song. It had played on the jukebox the night Blane had come to the bar for me, the night I’d met my three “fairy godfathers.” He’d walked through the door, put me in his car, and then we’d—
I jerked back, horrified. What was I doing? I’d already come between them once over a lie, was I now going to make it a truth? Was I just using Kade to make myself feel better?
“I-I need some air,” I stammered, pulling away from Kade.
The look of confusion on his face made more guilt swell inside me, and I hurriedly pushed through the crowd that now felt oppressive until I was outside.
A high fence barricaded the edges of the roof, but it was blessedly cooler out here and the music was muffled. Couples dotted the roof, though few appeared to be talking.
“What’s wrong?”
I turned. Kade had followed me.
“Nothing.” How could I possibly put into words how confused I was? How much I regretted that I’d come between him and Blane? How every moment I spent with him made it harder and harder to remember why I shouldn’t want him?
“Liar,” he said without heat. He advanced until my back was pressed against the fence, then took my hand in his. The wind blew my hair and he tenderly smoothed it away from my face. “Tell me.”
His sweetness was my undoing, and I broke. “I don’t know, Kade. I don’t know what I’m doing or why. I feel guilty all the time for what happened with you and Blane—” My voice broke at the pain those words produced. “I came between you, you and your brother, and I never wanted that. Please believe me. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Shhh, it’s okay,” Kade whispered. His brows were drawn together in concern as his thumb brushed my wet cheeks. “It’s not your fault.”
“It is,” I insisted. “It really is. I never should have… have…”
“Been my friend? Is that what you regret?” Kade interrupted.
His eyes seemed to beg me to contradict him, to not deny what we’d built between us.
Did I regret it? If I hadn’t spent time with Kade, Blane never would have had reason to suspect we’d had an affair. We wouldn’t have broken up. We’d still be getting married. Kade and Blane would still be speaking to each other.
My hesitation was too long and Kade’s expression turned cold.
“That’s what I thought.”
“Kade, that’s not—”
“Turn it off, princess. Time to get back to work.”
He was looking to my right now and I looked, too. The guy Kade was supposed to target stood nearby with a small group of people.
“I need you to keep him occupied for the next thirty minutes,” Kade said. “Can you do that?”
I swallowed, nodding. “Where will you be?”
“Breaking into his room, of course.”
Alarm shot through me. “What if you get caught?”
“I won’t. After thirty minutes, excuse yourself to go to the bathroom and leave. Meet me back in the room. The key is in your back pocket.” I felt him slide the card into my jeans.
I chewed my lip in worry. I hated that I hadn’t gotten the chance to answer Kade’s question. “Kade, I—”
“Not now,” he interrupted. His tone was such that I immediately shut up. “Put it aside. We have work to do. Everything else will have to wait.”
I gave a reluctant nod. “All right.”
“Can you cry on demand?” he asked. “That would help.”
That was an easy one since I was already fighting back tears. I looked up at Kade and allowed the tears to leak out my eyes. For a moment he looked stricken before he schooled his features into a grim mask.
“I’m going to grab you, shake you,” he said. “Try to push me away as hard as you can. I’ll let you go and you head in his direction, but not directly for him. Understand?”
“Yeah.”
“You ready?” he asked, looking slightly skeptical.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just do it already.”
Kade’s hands closed on my upper arms and he shook me. “Start fighting me,” he hissed. His face hard with anger. I tried to push him away, squirming, but he just held me tighter. “Try harder. He’s watching.” I put all I had into it, twisting to get away from where Kade had me pressed against the fence.
“Let me go!” I demanded, pushing at his chest. His arm was within reach, and I clamped my teeth around it and bit.
“Ow! You bitch!”
Kade released me and I wasted no time pushing past him toward the man, but was careful not to look at him. I hurried, glancing over my shoulder to see Kade was jogging after me. He reached out and I cringed away with a cry.
I was suddenly snagged around the waist and yanked toward someone. It was the guy. He’d grabbed me and had moved me behind him while he faced off with Kade.
“Get out of the way,” Kade ordered.
“I don’t think she wants to go with you,” the man said.
“I don’t give a shit what she wants,” Kade snarled. He pushed roughly past the man and grabbed my arm.
The guy threw a punch at Kade, which I knew he could have blocked, but he chose not to. The crunch of bone on bone made me flinch. When Kade looked back at me, his mouth was bloody.
I decided I didn’t like this job very much.
“Fine,” Kade said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “I was through with her anyway.”
He turned and stalked away, disappearing into the crowd.
“Are you all right?”
I swung my attention back to the guy.
“Yeah. I’m okay,” I said. “Thanks for helping me.”
He gave me a small smile and held out his hand. “I’m David, and you’re welcome.”
I shook his hand. “Kathleen.”
“Can I buy you a drink, Kathleen?”
I forced a smile. “Sure. I’d like that.”
David motioned to a nearby cocktail waitress and soon I was sipping a vodka tonic. Sipping because I certainly didn’t need more alcohol, not when I felt responsible for keeping Kade out of trouble.
David asked me what I did and I told him I was a bartender. He didn’t bat an eye at that. He didn’t wear a wedding ring, so I assumed that though he had a daughter he must be divorced. Now that he was talking more, I could hear the trace of a British accent.
When I asked him what he did for a living, his answer was vague.
“I run security for a firm in Switzerland,” he said.
“That sounds interesting,” I said. “What kind of firm?”
His smile was enigmatic. “The kind of firm for which people pay a lot of money to retain their anonymity.”
I took a drink to hide my dismay. I’d heard about the big, prestigious banks in Switzerland in movies and such. That was what Kade was trying to hack into? I broke out in a cold sweat.
“It’s been lovely meeting you, Kathleen,” David said. “But I have an early meeting tomorrow. Do take care and perhaps choose your company more wisely in the future.” He turned to go.
I panicked. It hadn’t been thirty minutes yet.
“Wait!” I said, latching on to his arm. He looked back questioningly. “I mean, we were just getting to know each other.” I smiled and threw in a come-hither look for good measure. “Surely you can stay a little while longer?”