Page 28 of The Ghost Assassin

He’s such a dick, I think. “And why exactly did I call you, Rich?”

“You tell me.”

“Because you are so high on your badge, you never break the law. You aren’t dirty. But sadly for us all, you have the high and mighty stick so far up your ass, you can barely breathe, and neither can anyone else around you.”

“There are two people who aren’t going to buy that bullshit, Lilah. Kane and me. When he finds out, you can explain how—”

“I’m right here, Rich,” Kane says tightly. “Why don’t you explain it to me, whatever it is you think you know that I do not.”

There’s dead silence on the other line. Long seconds tick by before Rich says, “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that Lilah can speak for herself.”

“I’d rather hear it from you,” Kane assures him.

Rich detours in a big way. “The word on the street is Murphy crossed the Russians and this was a one-off. There are no other targets.”

Seems like Ellis has been getting his cover story out there. “Yet to be determined. Tic Tac needs to stay undercover for at least another twenty-four hours. If you can’t bring yourself to protect him, put him on a plane to us, but I don’t suggest you escort him.”

“Or,” Kane adds, “you can escort him right to my doorstep, where you and I can sit down and have a long overdue conversation.” The air crackles.

Silence ticks in return. “We’re off the radar,” Rich finally replies. “I’ll call in tomorrow morning.” He disconnects. I hand Kit his phone and Kane lifts his chin at him.

Without another word, Kit stands and exits the kitchen and then the apartment.

Chapter Nineteen

Kane stands up, a sign he’s so agitated his mood can’t be contained while seated.

I join him on my feet, and we end up facing each other at the counter. “You know why I did it,” I say.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Lilah?”

“I would have. I never got the chance, and it wasn’t top of my list, considering all that went down. He’s nothing to me.”

“And yet, he won’t get the fuck out of our lives.”

“I was trying to save Tic Tac.”

“How did you even know he was back in the States?” he demands.

“I didn’t. I took a chance.”

“And you still had his number?”

“My brain is really good at holding onto the bad stuff, Kane.” I wave off the topic. “Forget Rich. We need to talk about your father.”

He just looks at me, his dark eyes a black hole of condemnation. “We don’t need to talk about anything right now,” he says tightly. “I have meetings.”

He starts to turn.

“Kane,” I bite out.

He’s already walking away when he never walks away, but the angry part of me that defines most of my life wants to just let him go, although that is not all of who I am where Kane is concerned. What he feels matters to me. What he needs is necessary for me. And we just talked about how I left him and went to LA, where I met Rich. In Kane’s mind, Rich was part of me shutting him out and blaming him for everything, when Kane did nothing but try to protect me from me. Considering Kane was ready to turn the table on me and shut me out last night, Rich is once again a master of bad timing and ridiculous demands.

I whirl around and head for the hallway through the opposite kitchen exit, hoping to cut Kane off before he can leave. He’s already at the first security door, his back to me, when I say, “Kane, wait.”

He pauses but he doesn’t turn.

“I was in damage control-mode. I had a half dozen people to protect immediately, or they could have died.”

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