Page 39 of Final Exit

He paused, then resumed stroking her hair. Knowing Hawke wasn’t a romantic interest shouldn’t have mattered at a time like this. It shouldn’t have made him feel lighter inside. But it did.

“He was a good man,” she continued, her voice sounding stronger now. “He saved my life more times than I could count on some rescue missions earlier this year.”

“Rescue missions?”

She stiffened, then pushed out of his arms to meet his gaze. “You sound surprised. Why?”

The anger in her voice caught him off guard. Maybe this was how she dealt with loss, by striking out.

Hoping to avoid the storm, but not really sure how, he answered truthfully. “I’m not all that familiar with the Enforcers’ missions. That was on a need-to-know basis.”

“Need-to-know, huh? That’s the second time you’ve told me that. Sounds like there are a lot of things you’ve turned a blind eye to without getting all the facts. Did you just assume that all Enforcers did was kill people?”

He looked around, relieved no one was close enough to hear her. “Keep your voice down.”

“You act like you want the truth and yet you don’t ask any questions.” She poked her finger against his chest. “How many men and women have your teams captured while you looked the other way, don’t ask don’t tell?” She waved her hand toward the curtained area where Hawke’s body now lay. “You’re responsible for this, Kade. Men under your command did this. And you still think you’re one of the good guys?”

He sucked in a pained breath at her words.

And suddenly Abby’s terrified eyes filled his vision.

Her screams of terror from the passenger seat, turning into shouts of warning. The century-old oak tree rushing to meet them. Kade, desperately turning the wheel. Too late. Too late. Metal crunching, popping, crushing.

Killing.

The horrific images faded, only to be replaced with a more recent memory, Henry Sanchez’s dark eyes staring up at him from the autopsy drawer. But instead of looking cloudy and unfocused, this time his eyes were open and staring at Kade in silent accusation.

You did this to me. This is your fault.

Kade swallowed the bile in his throat and slowly shook his head.

“No, Bailey. I haven’t been one of the good guys in a long, long time.”

Chapter Eleven

Saturday, 5:57 p.m.

Guilt was something that Bailey wasn’t too familiar with, because she made it her life’s mission to do what she believed was right, to never shrink away from doing something just because the path was difficult. But as she walked with Kade through the back hallways of the hospital to avoid running into Lieutenant Russell again, guilt crushed down on her like a boulder.

She couldn’t quit picturing the bottomless well of pain that had flashed in his eyes when he’d told her that he wasn’t a good man. Her use of him as her emotional punching bag was inexcusable. But she didn’t know how to fix what she’d done.

Or even if she wanted to.

Maybe it was better, safer, for both of them to leave things the way they were now. All of this emotional stuff flowing between them was unsettling. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down, and neither could he. This truce, or whatever it was, was temporary. As soon as they were out of the hospital she’d be looking for a way to ditch him so she could escape the government’s net. And even if Kade was having a change of heart and wanted to help her avoid being caught, she was much better alone. Because alone meant she didn’t have to worry about anyone else.

And if she wasn’t with Kade, she couldn’t hurt him anymore.

Kade stopped just short of the exit doors and pulled Bailey back against the wall. “I have a bad feeling about this. First Hawke, then Sanchez. I don’t know which of my men I can trust anymore. We need to make damn sure no one’s out there gunning for us before we step out those doors.”

“Who’s Sanchez?”

Her frown reminded him that he hadn’t told her about the other murdered Enforcer yet. Wonderful. If she didn’t hate him already, once she heard what had happened it would tip the scales the rest of the way.

He sighed and faced her. “Henry Sanchez is an Enforcer. I saw his name on the monitor outside of Hawke’s room. He was brought in for an allergic reaction and died. That didn’t feel right, so I verified the cause of death and that it was the same Sanchez I’ve had an agent following.”

“You verified cause of death? How?”

“I went to the morgue.”

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