Denial (Careless Whispers #1)(61)

“Adriel wanted it,” she says. “He didn’t want to work for The Underground anymore.”

“Right,” Nathan says, clearly meaning “wrong.” Then he focuses a probing look on me. “You’re hurting.”

“I fell asleep and missed my pill.”

“Take it now.”

“I left it in the other tower.”

His look is pure reprimand. “The medicine has a cumulative effect. I didn’t say four times a day for no reason.” He reaches for his bag. “Good thing I brought some with me.” He digs out a prescription bottle and glances at Giada. “Do you have some water?”

She nods and hurries away, and Nathan lowers his voice. “It kills me not to tell her that Kayden fired Adriel so he wouldn’t end up dead, but it’s not my place. He wants her to believe Adriel left on his own, to protect her.”

“So Kayden remains the monster.”

“Yes. He believes he deserves that title—but I’m hoping like hell you’re the one who’ll ground him. No one else has.”

“In five years,” I supply.

He arches a brow. “You know. I’m surprised he told you this soon.”

“Gallo told me. That’s why Kayden went after him.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. But neither would Kayden taunting Gallo into an arrest in order to be there when he ran your prints.”

He offers me a pill I take from his hand, and I give him a curious look. “You sure know a lot for someone who isn’t with The Underground.”

“I’ve become the doctor to The Underground, and a friend to Kayden. I was with him when he found Elizabeth and Kevin.” His expression tightens. “I couldn’t help them. They were already dead.”

My stomach churns with the certainty that although he and Kayden might have barely known each other before that night, the unlikely pair were deeply bonded from that point forward.

“Here you go,” Giada says, offering me a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” I murmur, opening it and sucking down my pill and half of the water. Afterward, Nathan checks all my vitals while Giada hovers. “How’s your memory coming along?” he asks.

“Improving, but it’s coming back in confusing pieces.”

“I predict that will continue until a trigger brings it all back.”

A trigger. Like I am to Kayden. Like he was afraid he’d be to me. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for either of us.

Once he’s repacked his bag, Nathan stands. “You need to rest: that’s the key to everything. Call me if you need anything. Kayden and Adriel should be back before bedtime.”

I walk him to the door, and he gives my chin a brotherly nudge. “It’s all going to work out.”

I shut the door and lock it, then Giada sets the alarm. “It’s going to be a long few hours waiting for their return, and I really don’t want Marabella watching over me like a child tonight,” she says. “Can I hang out in your tower with you?”

“Yes. Sure.” We go out the back entrance, and when we’re in the main foyer and I need to punch in the code, I have the oddest sense of unease. I actually find myself blocking her view as I press the numbers to ensure she can’t see them.

We enter the tower foyer, and she surprises me by saying, “I’ve never been in this tower,” as we walk up the stairs. Does Kayden not want her here? “Kayden’s a bit of a hermit,” she adds.

“Interesting. I haven’t thought of him that way.”

We reach the main floor, and when that odd sense of unease expands in my chest, this time I know I’m not taking her to my room. I motion her to the living area. “The kitchen is this way. We can eat. I’d say we could watch TV, but I won’t understand it.”

She snorts. “Are you kidding me? Kayden has the place set up with Netflix.”

We enter the kitchen and I grab a couple of sandwiches from the fridge. “I didn’t know you could get Netflix in Italy.”

“This is Kayden we’re talking about,” she reminds me. “He’s got a way around everything.”

Translation: Matteo has Netflix magic in his fingers. Giada gets us bottles of water and we settle at the table to eat, planning a shopping trip together. Later we move to the living room, where she turns on the TV.

“I’m obsessed with Breaking Bad right now. Do you like it?” she asks.

“I don’t know it. What’s it about?”

“Good guy who gets cancer, and starts dealing drugs to take care of his family.”

The word cancer, along with Gallo’s warnings about Kayden being a “kingpin,” axe that idea for me. “Not my thing. Any chance they have Friends reruns?”

“Oh, I love Friends! And they do have it.”

She flips to the show and we alternate talking, watching TV, and playing tic-tac-toe for hours, and still there’s no word from Kayden and Adriel. By ten, Giada’s fallen asleep on the couch, and I’m in a chair next to her scribbling butterflies in my journal when my phone finally rings. Giada jerks to a sitting position as I check the ID.

“Hi, Adriel,” I say, disappointed it’s not Kayden.

“Come to the front door.”

“Why? What’s wrong?”