Demand (Careless Whispers #2)(62)

He catches my hand and kisses it. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

My heart does a little flip-flop at the tenderness in his eyes and voice, and I head for the door. “Yes,” Adriel calls after me. “Thank you. Sweetheart.”

I call over my shoulder, “Thank me by being nice to me.”

“I’m always nice.”

We all laugh, but as I hit the stairs, the words “blood trumps all” hit me hard and I stop dead in my tracks, catching the wall with my hand. What if Kayden and I have a blood feud? What if my family hurt his family, or his hurt mine? What if my dad was a Hunter? What if—

No. No. No. Don’t go there. Don’t do this. I glance down the hallway toward Kayden’s office, where the photo of the necklace rests in his drawer, a sure trigger to some kind of memory. Needing answers, any answers, I head in that direction and don’t stop until I’m sitting behind the heavy wooden desk, that folder open in front of me again.

I stare down at the necklace, the butterfly with diamonds set in its wings, and words start to come to me. Wishing I had my journal, I grab a pen, and I’m suddenly back in the past. I am back in that hotel room, moments after David left. It’s the moment after he left me alone and I ripped the butterfly from my neck in anger.

Appalled at what I have done, I stare at the necklace on the floor, falling to my knees. I pick up the butterfly, and frown as I find a piece of paper sticking out of the back. I tug on it and stare at the handwritten words. What the heck is this? Pierre Remy—Marc—0000. That’s very odd. This has to be some sort of serial number and the manufacturer. Right now, I just need to figure out how to get the chain fixed. I need to find a jewelry store before David gets back.

I open my eyes and write down Pierre Remy—Marc—0000. Then I underline it. This is important. The air shifts and I glance up to find Kayden entering the room. “Kayden,” I say, and one look at his intense, hard expression has me popping to my feet to meet him as he rounds the desk. “I just wanted to look at the photo. I didn’t mean to invade your private space.”

“My space is your space, Ella,” he says, his hands coming down on my shoulders, and he pulls me to him. “Ella—”

“I remembered what the piece of paper from the necklace said.”

He blanches. “What? When?”

I grab the folder and show him the note. “Pierre Remy—Marc—0000.” I glance at him. “Does that mean anything to you?”

“A place. A person. A code of some sort. We’ll figure it out later.”

“But it’s important—I know it is.”

“Niccolo called.”

My heart falls to my feet. “Oh God. Already? What happened?”

“Just what I said would happen. He wants to meet.”

“You’re nervous. You’re worried. You’re things I never see in you.”

“You’re nervous. You’re worried. I’m calm. I have this under control. I promise.” Adriel appears in the doorway. “Adriel is staying here with you and locking down the castle,” Kayden says. “He knows how to get you out of here if he should have to.”

I don’t let myself think about what might make that necessary. “Who’s going with you?”

“Nathan. He’s done work for Niccolo and Niccolo trusts him. Matteo and Carlo will have our backs.”

And there it is. Proof of what I suspected. My doctor is so much more than just a doctor. “What do you think is going to happen?”

“As I told you, we’ll negotiate. We’ll come to terms, and he’s going to tell us who you really are.” He eyes Adriel, who disappears, and the instant he is gone, Kayden snags my hips and drags me to him. “This is good, Ella. This is answers and freedom. You know this.”

“I do,” I say, sounding strong when I have to fight back the urge to tell him how scared I am. He has to focus right now, and he needs me to be strong, not a weak distraction. I grab his shirt, balling it in my fingers and ordering, “Damn it, you will make this go the way you said it would. You will be safe and come back alive. You will.”

“I will,” he promises, cupping the back of my head and kissing me, a deep, drugging, too-short kiss that ends with him releasing me. Before I recover, he’s disappeared out the door. No goodbye, no don’t worry, but then, I’m not sure those things make me standing here, rather than chasing after him, any easier. And it’s not easy at all. I fight the urge to go after him, to scream for him to come back, when I know he can’t and won’t. I know my pleas won’t help things or stop what has to be done. But this isn’t me supporting him in a hunt or his duty as Hawk. This isn’t even about him getting the necklace and returning it to the British government. This is about him trying to protect me, and that’s a bitter pill to swallow. If anything happens to him, I have only myself to blame.

I’m still staring at the doorway, willing Kayden to reappear, when Adriel steps inside. “Come with me,” he orders.

“Where?”

He grimaces. “Just come with me.”

I grab the folder and place it in the desk. Adriel steps back into the hallway and allows me to pass. “We’re going back to the gym,” he instructs.

That seems like an odd location to huddle down and wait this out, but it is one of the higher locations in the castle. Maybe that translates to safer. I cut left and take the steps, and once I’m in the gym I turn. “Now what?” I ask, as he joins me.