Off Limits(124)

Alix laughed and let go, wiping at the corners of her eyes to stand back and give me room to see. Vince was dressed casually in his typical jeans and t-shirt, leaning on the footrest of my bed. Rita had already claimed one of the two chairs, sitting like she was getting ready for a business meeting.

“Vince, I’m glad you came down so quickly,” I said. My voice was stronger, but I was still having to pull the mask down and speak before taking another breath. “Where’s Monica?”

Vince shook his head sadly. “Sorry, Kade. When this thing hit the Internet, and you asked us to come down, Monica said no. She gave me a letter to give you. Apologies, I peeked, but it’s a resignation letter. She wrote that she’ll stay in Portland and keep the office going until you get back, but that’s it. Sorry.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s okay,” I said. Alix and Vince both nodded, and I had to laugh quietly. It seemed I would have two assistants. That would be helpful. “But don’t worry about it for now.”

Vince nodded. “What do you need, Kade?”

“What I want is to get the hell out of here, but you can’t do that,” I said. There was pain in my chest from the operation, but so far it wasn’t too bad. Maybe the nurse had me on drugs that were blurring the pain or something. I didn’t think I was too drugged, I seemed to be thinking well enough. “What I do need from you today is muscle and backup.”

“I can do that,” he said. “For what?”

“You and Alix, if you can, go back to her house,” I said. “Clean out and pack up clothes for her. She’s not going back there alone. In fact, Alix, I don’t want you leaving this hospital by yourself until the cops find Sydney Hale.”

“Do you really think he’ll come after me again?” Alix asked, frightened.

I shrugged. “I didn’t expect him yesterday either. And if he’s f*cking crazy enough to try and stab me, then he’s also crazy enough that I don’t want to take the risk. So you’re going to have a bodyguard as long as we stay in the Los Angeles area. I want you safe.”

Alix’s eyes were full of questions, but she held them in front of Vince. She glanced toward him, and I smirked. “I guess the time for that sort of hiding is over. Vince, I assume you’ve seen the video?”

It was Vince’s turn to look chagrined as he nodded. “Enough to have more knowledge of your body than I ever wanted to have.”

I had to laugh at his choice of words and waved it off. “Not a problem. And you’re still here?”

He nodded his head vigorously. “Of course.”

“Then it doesn’t matter. Yes, Alix and I are in love. I haven’t seen the video, but we said some stuff that I’m sure tells you the same thing. I’m not going to be embarrassed by it. Instead, I’m going to get the son of a bitch that tried to blackmail her, and who I’m blaming for my father’s death. And I’m not going to hide the way I feel about Alix any longer.”

“Not a problem with me, Kade. Just spare me the further intimate details.” Vince stood up and rolled his shoulders. He had to have been stiff after the early morning flight, but he was a good man. “Alix, do you want to come now, or spend a few minutes with Kade first?”

Alix looked at me, and I smiled. “I’m okay,” I said, taking her hand and kissing it. “But if you guys can give me a few minutes with Alix, I’d appreciate it. Rita, do you have your computer with you?”

Rita shook her head. “I don’t, Kade. I actually don’t even have a laptop right now. Sorry.”

“Okay, then first thing I want you to do is go down the street and get a laptop. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back. Then come back here, we’ve got work to do.”

Rita grinned. “I love it when you spring for shopping sprees. Too bad it’s only for the geek side of me.”

“Don’t rush, it’s not worth sharing,” I retorted, and Rita laughed. She stood up to go, and I held up my hand. “Wait. You have to give Alix and Vince a ride to her house, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Rita said. “Vince, hallway time. You can tell me what it’s like working for Kade while we wait.”

Once the two of them left, I sat all the way up and wrapped my arms around Alix. It hurt my stitches, but I didn’t give a damn. “I missed you last night, Alix.”

In my arms again, Alix finally let loose with the hurricane of tears and sadness that had been building inside her. I’m sure she had done more, but she had to have been holding back, just trying to stay strong. “Kade . . . your father . . . Mom . . . ”

“I know,” I said. I had cried too, unable to tear my eyes from the news reports that played the scene from the press conference over and over. Fox News even had put up stills of the video, blurring over the nudity but still leaving enough visible that it was easy to tell what was going on. When the nurse had finally come in at one in the morning and had literally pulled the plug on my television, I had finally been able to go to sleep, aided by a sedative. “But you did nothing wrong.”

“I seem to keep doing nothing wrong, yet hurting a lot of people in the wake of it.” Alix sniffled. “And now Mom hates me.”

I held Alix as fresh tears came out, and I reminded myself to try to reach out to Layla, maybe through Dad’s law firm or something. I kissed Alix’s temple and held her close. “She doesn’t hate you, Alix. She was scared and hurt, and yes, angry at both of us. She’d probably have kicked my ass if I hadn’t been stuck up here. But I have a very serious question for you.”