Page 44 of GAF Factor

When the microwave dinged, I pulled the food out and set it between us on the counter. After digging out our portions, we both sat and ate in silence. The tension was too much that I finally set down my fork and just went for it.

“I came out here to talk with Knight because Cash left. He kind of lost it and went on some tirade in search of whoever was involved in helping The Syndicate. And now I need Knight to go find him and drag him home before he does something stupid and gets himself killed.”

She slowly set down her fork, swallowing her food before clearing her throat. “Wow, that’s…He just left?”

I nodded once. “He hasn’t been the same since Rafe died.” I let out a humorless laugh. “As his wife, you would have thought I would have known the reason behind such grief, but he kept me in the dark the whole time.”

“What was it?” she asked curiously.

My eyes met hers. “He pulled the trigger and killed Rafe. He was being burned alive, so it was a mercy, but still…It’s eating him alive, and he didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”

“Or he felt he couldn’t,” she offered. “Maybe…maybe it had nothing to do with you. We all hide things for different reasons.”

I cocked my head to the side, studying her for a moment. “What do you hide?”

Her smile was dim as she looked at her plate. “Too many things.”

“I can only imagine.” Not that I thought my experiences would help her in any way—in fact, they were quite different—but maybe they would help. “I met Cash at a very low point in my life. I was on the run from some very bad men, and I really didn’t think I would live another year. But he just wouldn’t let me go. He kept pushing and pushing because he’s like that,” I huffed. “And he wouldn’t give in until he broke down my walls and practically forced me to trust him and his whole merry gang of misfits.”

“What is he like?”

“Cash? He’s…strong, loyal, fierce?—”

“He sounds like a dog,” she retorted.

I smiled because I did describe him in a bad way. “I don’t know. He’s very determined to make everyone happy and keep them going in the right direction. And he loves his business and keeping all of his men safe. It absolutely kills him when something goes wrong on his watch, which is why this thing with Rafe is tearing him up inside. But he’s also funny when he’s relaxed. He likes to joke with the guys, even when he’s on the job. They have this tendency to pick on each other in heated moments and get into arguments over the stupidest things at the worst times,” I smiled, remembering how I argued with him over getting on the horse when we were escaping Jones’s house. Okay, maybe it wasn’t just him.

“He sounds great,” she said, reaching across the table to grip my hand.

Tears pricked my eyes at the contact and I sucked in a breath, squeezing her hand. “He is.”

“If anyone can get him to come home, it’s Knight.”

I smiled at her as my lips trembled. I pressed my fingers to them, hoping to stop myself from breaking down in tears. “I hope so.”

11

ISABELLE

It wasn’thard to see the absolute devastation Eva felt as she sat across from me last night. If anyone understood grief, it was her. Loss was a strange thing. It had a way of twisting your insides and tearing away all the things you thought you knew about yourself.

After I went back to my room, I sat up for a long time, trying to reconcile myself with how I played a part in her husband’s downfall. Technically, I hadn’t really done a thing wrong. When Ebarardo came for me all those years ago, I hadn’t been willing. I knew that much. But I never asked anyone to come after me. Rafe did that all on his own. And Cash chose to go after Rafe. But I still felt I had to take some kind of ownership for the part I played, even if it was unintentional.

When she told me she asked Knight to go after Cash, I immediately panicked, hating the idea of losing the one person who seemed to understand me. But then I realized that if I asked him to stay, Eva might end up going through the loss of a husband. Just like me.

The pain that I constantly felt—the ache that slashed at my chest—was just too much to bear sometimes. I didn’t want her to feel that for even one minute. While she may be hurting now,there was still a chance her husband could be saved. She could still get him back, even if he was broken.

Besides, she had kids. They needed a father. That was something I never had a chance to have with Ebarardo. We’d talked about it over the years, but it never seemed to be the right time. If I could help her keep her family together, I would do everything I could.

That was why I stood in the common area, waiting on Eva to come out of her room. The moment Knight saw me, he knew something was up. I was never out here waiting for anyone. But today I was.

“Isabelle, what’s going on?”

My heart beat a little faster as I tried to open my mouth and tell him what I wanted. It seemed impossible. Ebarardo always knew what was best for me. He told me what to do and when to do it. I was never given the opportunity to have the freedom of choice. Could I actually voice this?

“Isabelle?” Knight said again, his eyes concerned.

“I—” My throat dried up at the thought of asking. No, I couldn’t do it. It was…wrong. Ebarardo wouldn’t want me asking for anything.

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