Page 113 of Good Enough

They both knew that Waters wasn’t just referring to Ka-Bar at that moment.

He continued, “In his defense, I think sanctuary was the initial plan. But something must have told him that it wasn’t a viable option. When I spoke to her, Zahra said that he couldn’t get her out of her father’s compound without creating an international incident. Then he got a visit from one of her father’s security team who threatened him to find out where Zahra was. That was when she took matters into her own hands and disappeared without telling anyone, trying to protect Ka-Bar. Both sides thought the other was responsible for her vanishing act when neither knew she was on her own.”

Kubrick shook her head, murmuring, “Fuckin’ Kent.”

“Hardly surprising how it all went down. If it had just been about Zahra, seventh child of seven, and the third daughter, her family probably would have been pissed but just written her off. Some of the most traditional families in any culture don’t have much use for daughters. Especially ones that have fallen in love with ‘the infidel.’ But three of the brothers have died in military action, and the baby is a boy, so…” His voice trailed off.

She nodded in agreement. “A possible heir to the family name.”

“She’s Ka-Bar’s wife—”

“So she’s tribe. I know.”

“Exactly.”

Fuck. Here goes nothing.

“Kubrick?” He expelled a pent-up breath of nerves. “I need to apologize to you.”

Kubrick’s posture became ramrod straight; what little color she’d had was now leaking from her face, jaw clenching, and eyes going blank.

“You were right. The way I left. I should have waited. I wasn’t thinking clearly. God ordered us out immediately, and I was angry. Unfortunately, you were the one who suffered for it, and it shouldn’t have been that way.”

“It’s okay, Waters.”

“No, it’s not, Kubrick, and you shouldn’t be accepting of it. I could have at least waited for you to wake up, to be clearheaded. To explain what was going on. Instead, I fell into old habits even when I knew it wasn’t how you deserved to find out what was happening. It was easier for me to leave like I did, but I should have worried about was what was easier or better for you. I have no excuse. I’ve been making decisions based on a fucked-up paradigm for so long that when I needed to make a really important decision and do it right, I totally screwed it up.”

He both felt and saw her armor go up before she turned her eyes onto him. “It’s okay, Waters. It’s not like we didn’t know that we would be separating eventually. It just happened before we thought it would. And you needed to go. If you hadn’t, things might have gone much worse for Zahra and her son. I’m not angry.”

He reached over and brushed the unruly strand of blonde hair that had fallen forward and settled it back behind her ear. “Maybe not. But I hurt you, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. I should have listened to the team. I should have ignored God.” He reached for her hands, prying them out from under her legs, and held them, brushing his thumbs over her knuckles. “I should have stayed.”

“But to what end?”

“Baby, you were left alone and vulnerable. You had Demon to be a buffer for you for the last three weeks on set, sure. But now, here at home, you were left off even more vulnerable, and the situation could have ended up so much worse. I’m absolutely sick thinking what could have been if you weren’t so amazingly you.”

“Don’t, Waters. I’m fine. Besides, the end result would have been the same for us. And unfortunately, now I’m just going to have to go through all that pain again.” She pulled her hands back from his to cover her face. Her shoulders started to tremble. “I’m so fucking weak. I’ve never needed anyone, and for the past few months, I’ve been dependent on you or Demon to get me through.”

Waters felt his molars grinding a bit at the thought of Demon helping her with anything, but he’d done that himself. His watch pinged. He stood. “Speak of the devil.”

I’m going to fucking kill him. His timing is shit.

He crossed to the door and flipped up a hidden panel. On the security camera screen, Demon and Steel appeared in the Yukon, turning at the mile marker to the cabin.

Waters sent back a quick text and then deactivated the system so he could open the door when they arrived and let them in. He looked over at Kubrick, who hadn’t moved an inch since she sat down.

“Look, why don’t you go upstairs and lie down. Try to take a nap. The adrenaline crash is coming. Take a shower, and then you’re going to need to eat. And I’ll need whatever clothes you have on right now.”

“Why?”

“Bloodstains. Part of the cleanup process.”

She looked down at her lap and nodded. “Right.” Stiffly, she got up from the chair and went up the staircase. Once she was out of sight, he let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

How the hell do I fix this?

Steel had parked the Yukon in the camouflage carport about a half mile down the road, and they walked in. Demon didn’t bother to come up onto the porch, but he pierced Waters with a hard stare as he stood at the bottom of the cabin’s steps.

The chance to get your shit together and fix it has been dropped into your lap. Don’t be a douchebag.

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