Page 90 of Final Exit

“Stop calling me that. I’m not who you think I am.”

“Iknowyou, Bailey. You don’t have to be afraid. Let’s go somewhere and talk—”

“I have to get some sleep,” she said. “It’s a big day tomorrow.” She headed toward the kitchen side door that led outside.

Kade was suddenly there, moving faster, and more gracefully, than she’d ever seen him move. He opened the door for her, and waited.

“Thank you. Good night.” She stepped outside, and started down the brick path toward the guesthouse at the back of the property that she’d been given for the night. Parts of the path curved right beside the pool, with gaps in the foliage to open up the view. She glanced through one of the gaps and was relieved to see the pool area was empty. Mason and his wife must have gone back inside the house.

The sound of humming had her turning around.

Kade was just a few steps behind her, humming some kind of upbeat tune. He stopped when she stopped, and arched a brow in question.

“I’m going to my guesthouse,” she said. “Where are you going?”

“To my guesthouse.”

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I thought there was only one.”

He blinked. “Surely Mason wouldn’t have assigned us to the same sleeping quarters.” He opened his right hand to reveal a small key. “I guess we’ll just have to find out.” He took her hand in his and tugged her along with him.

She was too surprised by this flirtatious—and far-too-charming—side of him to pull back. Besides, his hand holding hers felt too good to stop just yet. They headed down the long, curvy path until it stopped at a little one-story cottage. White railings boxed in a quaint front porch, with a trellis of thick, green leaves climbing up both sides to provide privacy. She imagined the vines would be thick with some kind of blooms every spring.

He slid his key into the lock and watched her as he turned it. The lock clicked.

“Looks like this cottage is mine,” he announced, as he pushed the door open.

Bailey leaned past him, looking for another cottage. But she didn’t see any. “Mason must have made a mistake.”

He leaned inside the cottage, looking around, then straightened. “I don’t think so. The main house is big, but there are only so many guest rooms. This one looks to have a bedroom and a very comfy couch. He probably assumed we could share.” He arched a brow. “Or are you afraid of being in the same house with me?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not afraid of you.”

He braced his arm on the railing beside her and leaned in close. “Then whatareyou afraid of?”

Teasing Kade was gone, and in his place was a man determined to get the truth.

“I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“Tough.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” He shifted, bracing both hands on the railing on either side of her, boxing her in. “Ask me.”

“Ask you what?”

“Ask me. Ask me what you most want to know. Ask me the one question you should have asked on the plane, but were too much of a coward to ask. You can’t just throw a comment out like you did and shut me down afterward. You never even gave me a chance to talk it out. People who care about each other—”

“Share,” she whispered.

He nodded. “Let’s try it again. Why did you become an Enforcer, Bailey?”

She swallowed, licked her lips. “Because I didn’t want to go to prison.”

“And what does going to prison have to do with deciding to become an Enforcer?”

She pushed against his chest. He grabbed her hands, threaded his fingers through hers. “Bailey, you have to know that I already know everything about you, everything that can be read on paper at least. It was part of my research to decide the best way to capture you.”

---