Page 68 of Final Exit

With her pistol out, she headed inside. The house was closed up like a tomb, the heavy drapes covering every window, making it dark inside even though it was only late afternoon. There was just enough light to let her navigate around furniture but not enough to see much detail.

She quickly cleared the kitchen, family room, the first bedroom and the bathroom. So far, nothing. No signs that anyone had been here recently. Her shoulders slumped with disappointment. One room left. She threw the door open to the second bedroom.

“Bailey?”

She jerked her gun hand down at the sound of the familiar voice. It was too dark to clearly see his face. But she’d know that silhouette anywhere. Good thing he probably couldn’t see the goofy grin that had to be on her face right now.

“Kade. I can’t believe you’re really here. I was right.”

“Bailey, what are you—”

She threw her arms around his waist and pressed her head tightly against his chest. “I’m hugging you. Now hug me back, damn it. I thought Faegan was torturing you or might have already killed you.”

He hesitated, then wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against the top of her head. “Everyone made it out of the lab safely? No one got hurt?”

“We didn’t get to shoot one single agent. You ruined our fun,” she teased. “What about you? How did you get away? And why did you come back here?” She pulled back and flipped the hall light on. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. “Oh, Kade. What did they do to you?”

“Nothing that hasn’t been done before.” He pulled the bedroom door shut behind him and took her hand in his, leading her into the family room. “I was just about to make some soup. Want some?”

“I... guess I could eat.”

She followed him to the kitchen. Was his limp worse than before? Was he favoring his side? She climbed onto one of the bar stools so she could watch him. He turned on the stove and grabbed two cans of tomato soup from the pantry.

“Kade, what happened after we went into the safe-room?”

He set out two bowls and stirred the soup as it heated in a pot. Was it her imagination or did he seem distracted? Tense?

“I played one of the videos to throw Faegan off. He bought it. As soon as I started accusing him of using me as a scapegoat, he had me handcuffed and brought me to some compound.”

He turned off the stove and began ladling the soup into the two bowls. “Crackers?” He held up a box of saltines.

Why was he acting so weird? He was acting like a... stranger. “No crackers. Thanks.”

After placing a bowl in front of each of them, he took the stool beside her. She could see how stiff and sore he was as he sat down. And in the light from the kitchen, the bruises she’d seen by the light of the bedroom looked even worse. They were just starting to show up, evidence of a recent beating for sure. Maybe that’s why he was acting so off. He was in pain and didn’t want to worry her.

The eyelid on his right eye was swollen, but not too bad. The worst part seemed to be the cuts and welts, like someone had taken a whip to his neck and shoulders, and run a knife down his right cheek from temple to chin, not to mention several equally long cuts on both arms. The cuts were angry and raw, but didn’t appear to be deep or in need of stitches. A couple of Band-Aids were apparently covering the worst of the cuts.

They ate in silence. But she’d only eaten half her soup before her curiosity couldn’t be contained any longer. She put her hand on his left thigh as he raised his spoon to his lips.

He glanced at her in question.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “They tortured you, didn’t they?”

He drank the spoonful of soup. “Eat. You look pale, and tired. When’s the last time you had any food?”

“I ate plenty. I’m not hungry anymore. Kade, how did you get away?”

He took two more spoonfuls of soup, then gathered up the dishes and headed around the bar into the kitchen.

“Kade. Please answer me.”

He sighed and set the dishes in the sink. “Faegan and most of his men left to take care of something. I guess he underestimated me. Maybe he figured I couldn’t do much with a bum leg. The lone guard he left to keep me in line wasn’t a challenge. I took the guard’s car into town and ditched it. Then I used a car service to get here. Don’t worry. I paid cash. No electronic trail.”

She nodded slowly, wishing he’d volunteer more information. But he seemed even more quiet than he had before. And angry. She sensed it simmering just below the surface. Whatever Faegan had done had made Kade furious.

“We’ve been looking for you.” She joined him at the double sink and helped him wash and stack the few dishes into the drain rack. “Jace, Mason, all of us searched for you. They gave up, but I kept looking. I went to the cottage, your house in Boulder, EXIT headquarters.”

His head shot up. “You went to EXIT? Did anyone go after you?”

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