For a second, when she stopped, I thought she’d come over to me. But her eyes moved down to my neck, I saw the hurt in her eyes for a moment, then she put those shields back up and walked off, leaving Luke behind.
“Give her some time,” he murmured.
“Fuck.” I scrubbed my hands down my face, not wanting to let her walk away but knowing that I needed to. For now.
“You watch over her, Luke,” I scowled at him.
“I will, boss.”
Tilting my head to her, he took that as his queue to leave.
She may have thought this was the end but it was only just the beginning.
Kitty was sat at the entrance of the country club by the time I’d made it back there. Pulling the door open, I grabbed onto the handle to pull myself up into the van, not saying a word to her as I shuffled over to the middle seat.
“Kay-” she mumbled, her voice unsure whether she should say something or not.
“No.” I held my hand up, turning to face her. “Not now. I just need some time to think.”
She frowned, staring at me. I could see that she wanted to say something else but, instead, she nodded and said. “Right, okay.”
Luke jumped up into the van next to me, slamming the door and grunting at Kitty to go. She pressed down on the gas pedal and sped off down the main road that led into the country club. Leaning back in the seat, I folded my arms around my waist and looked down at my feet.
Neither of them said anything on the way back to the compound, the entire ride was spent in silence. They didn’t even have any music on, which was unusual for Kitty, she always had something on when she drove.
My mind whirled with thoughts that I couldn’t stop, no matter how hard I clenched my eyes shut. All I could think about was her. Why hadn’t Ty pulled away from her?
Was she really his wife?
My gut told me that she was, because if she wasn’t, then Ty wouldn’t have had that look on his face and he would’ve denied it. I didn’t know what the look on his face meant, but I knew that he was shocked. Shocked because she’d turned up or shocked because I’d found out that he had a wife? Either way, I didn’t doubt that she was telling the truth.
Did that mean that I was a home wrecker now?
I held my head in my hands at all the thoughts whirling around in my head. As we went through the compound gates, all I wanted to do was jump out of the van and go straight to bed.
Then I saw the house, his house.
Eli and Miss Maggie were in there along with Henry but I couldn’t face walking through those doors. Thinking of sleeping in the same bed that I’d slept in with Ty made my stomach roll. I wouldn’t be able to keep it together being around all of his things. Every single thing on this compound reminded me of him.
Kitty pulled up outside the warehouse, turned the van off and we all sat there, just staring out of the window. We were meant to be going back inside the warehouse to debrief, but there was no way I could go in there and wait for Ty to turn up.
I needed space. From everything. It was all too much.
Kitty cleared her throat and pulled open her door. “See you inside, chica,” she said jumping out of the van.
I swallowed, not being able to move out of the van. I could easily climb over the drivers’ seat, but I didn’t want to. I could feel Luke’s eyes on me as I took a deep breath.
“I…I…” My hands twisted in my lap as my eyes looked everywhere but the house and the warehouse.
“Kay?” Luke asked, placing his hand over mine. “What’s up?” I looked down at my hands, they were almost white with how hard I was gripping them.
Pulling them apart, Luke’s hand slid off mine and I looked up at him. “I…don’t think I can go in there, not tonight.”
“In where?” He frowned.
“Ty’s house, the warehouse,” I murmured. “I just need some time and space.”
He would understand that right? There had been so many changes recently, getting out of my relationship with Max moving onto the compound. Then there was whatever was going on with Ty. What that was now, I wasn’t sure of.
A couple of hours ago, I was sure of what we were. Together, the real thing. At least that’s what it had felt like, but listening to my gut hadn’t worked. I didn’t have a clue where we stood now, with his wife back. What did that mean?
Would she move onto the compound? Would me and Eli have to move out?
My head was spinning and it was late, I was over thinking things. What I needed was to take a deep breath and a night away from it all.
Luke huffed out a breath and pushed his door open. “Stay at mine tonight, you can have my bed and I’ll take the couch.”
He jumped down, holding his hand out for me. Looking from his hand to his face and then to his eyes, I scanned them. Looking for…what?
I didn’t know how I felt about staying at Luke’s, sure I had been there with Eli. Never overnight though. I didn’t want to cause any trouble but, at the same time, I couldn’t bring myself to stay at Ty’s. Not tonight.
“Things will look better in the morning.” He moved closer to me, shaking his hand in the air to get my attention.
“Erm…if you’re sure?” I said, biting my lip.
“Yeah, come on.” He smiled.
I placed my hand in his, slid across the seat and jumped down. Letting go of his hand only when my feet were planted on the floor, I walked next to him. The only sound in the still night was the gravel crunching under our feet.
I followed him up to his door, still worrying my hands together. Pushing it open, he waved me inside. Ducking under his arm as he held it open, I waited at the bottom of the stairs while he closed the door.
I shuffled my feet, looking down, suddenly nervous. “Can I go straight up?” I hooked my thumb over my shoulder, just wanting to get out of this semi-awkward situation.
“Yeah.” He pushed his boots off and walked past me, jogging up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Following him up and towards his room, I stumbled slightly as I came to the door. Inside, I knew that we were only friends but it still didn’t feel right stepping into his bedroom when it was just me and him. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel safe with Luke, because I did. I just didn’t feel right about it.
I took a tentative step inside as he rummaged through his drawers and pulled out a t-shirt. “Here.” He held it out and watched me. “You good, darlin’?”
“Yeah,” I whispered, taking them from him.
“I’m only downstairs if you need me.” He reached forward, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“I don’t mind sleeping on the couch,” I said as he went to the door.
“Nah, you take the bed,” he said, walking out of the room and down the hallway.
“Thanks, Luke!” I called after him.
“No worries!” he shouted back.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door closed and looked down at the t-shirt he’d given me. I smiled when I realized what one it was, it was one of his t-shirts, from his time in the Special Forces.
Undoing my dress, which wasn’t easy on my own, I pulled the t-shirt over my head and climbed into his bed.
Wearing one of these t-shirts made me feel closer to Corey, but also close to Ty as well. A double edged sword.
Blowing out a breath, I decided to deal with the whole Corey thing tomorrow as well. I hadn’t spoken to him since I found out he had visited and not come to see me.
Lying my head on the pillow, I closed my eyes, hoping that sleep would come quickly but that the night would go by slowly so I didn’t have to face everything too soon.
I didn’t go straight back to the compound, not trusting myself to give Kay the space she so clearly needed. She was the type of person who had to think things over, she needed time to process. Whereas I was the type of person who wanted to sort things out there and then. It was an adjustment that I had to learn to make. It was hard though, when all I wanted to do was follow her and make t
hings right.
So instead, I drove around the streets, getting my own head together and trying to come up with some explanation as to why Serena was back and what she wanted.
Serena being my ex-wife, or, wife if you wanted to get technical.
After driving for a few hours, no destination in mind, I found my way back to the compound. I looked up at my house and took a deep breath, walking towards the door. My stomach flipped as I went inside and up to her room.
Finding the room empty, I frowned and checked all the other rooms apart from the one that Miss Maggie was staying in. Just putting my ear to the door was enough to know that Kay wasn’t in there.
Jogging back down the stairs, I headed for the warehouse but the door was locked. Looking around, I wondered where she was. Luke had said that he’d watch over her. So did that mean he’d took her back to his house?
My nostrils flared as I jogged across the compound and went into Luke’s house without knocking.
Tip toeing up the stairs, so that I didn’t disturb Kay, I told myself that I’d only check on her and then go back to the house. But as I slipped into Luke’s room, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to leave.
Her mouth hung open slightly and soft snores sounded around her. I couldn’t help the smile that came across my face, I loved watching her sleep. It was rare that she slept without a nightmare, and knowing that she was sleeping soundly made me happy. But the fact that she was in Luke’s bed had my fists clenching.
My eyes followed the length of her leg that was thrown over the sheet, the t-shirt she was wearing sat precariously at the top of her thigh and my eyes landed there. Continuing up, I noticed that it was one of Luke’s t-shirts; that didn’t help me keep my cool. My jaw clenched and I had to take a step back so that I didn’t take it off her. She shouldn’t be wearing his t-shirt; it should be mine that she was wearing.
“Boss?” I spun around to the door as Luke opened it, his head coming through the small gap and his eyes finding Kay.
“Out,” I grunted and pushed him back out the door. No way was he seeing my woman like that.
“I thought I heard you come in,” he said leaning against the opposite wall.
“I had to check on her.” Clearing my throat, I shut the door and leaned on it, facing him.
“You should have told her,” he said, arching a brow at me.
Yeah, I should have told her but I could never find the right time. I couldn’t just come out with, ‘hey, I have a wife’, she would have pulled away even more. That’s not what she needed, she had to have someone who was there for her, who she knew she could come to.
Scowling at him, I grunted, “I fuckin’ know.” I scrubbed my hands down my face, willing the throbbing in my head to stop. I had too many thoughts spinning around in there, and all I wanted to do was slip under the covers with Kay and forget all about them.
“What’s Serena doing back anyway?”
“Fuck if I know,” I growled. She couldn’t have come back at a worse time. I had so much shit going on; finding these girls and finding the people responsible for taking them were high on my list of things to do. To add to that, I was still trying to find Max while still doing my best to keep up with everything. I was being stretched thin and it was starting to take its toll.
Kay was the only one who could calm the noise down. The only one who truly saw me and there was no way I was letting her get away. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.
“I don’t trust her.”
“Yeah…” Looking up at his frowning face I replied, “Me neither.”
It wasn’t until after I left Serena that I found out how much she had schemed and lied about everything. I couldn’t believe that all my friends had known what she had been doing and not one of them had told me. Would I have believed them? Probably not.
But that wasn’t the point.
Shaking the thoughts from my head, I pushed up off the door.
“You stayin’?” Luke asked, smirking. His eyes flicked from his bedroom door and back to me.
Running my hand through my hair and down my face, I winced at the whimper coming from his bedroom.
“Yeah.” I turned around and was pushing on the door knob just as he said, “What was that?”
Flicking my eyes back to him, I growled. “Nothing.” There was no way that I would be telling him what Kay went through every night.
Shutting the door behind me, I walked straight to the bed and sat on the edge, my hand finding her face without even meaning to. She automatically leaned into it, even when her brain had told her to walk away, her body stayed firmly by my side.
I sat and watched her, making sure that her nightmare was over before moving off the bed.
Undoing my top two buttons, I sat on the chair in the corner of the room. Leaning my ankle on my knee, I drummed my fingers on my leg. It was one of the only other things that calmed me, that consistent beat. Predictable.
I hated change, I hated not being able to control what was happening.
There has only been two times that I’ve felt out of control.
The day that I had walked away from Serena and right now. Not knowing what would happen when Kay woke up had me on edge.
Settling down in the chair, I watched and waited. I wanted to be the first thing she saw when she woke up. I wanted her to know that I wasn’t going anywhere.
That I was always here.
Because I would be, there was no way that I would be letting her go.
She was it for me.
I groaned as I rolled over, the sheets tangled around my legs. My arm automatically reached out for Ty, forgetting what had happened last night. As soon as I felt the empty, cold space, it all came flooding back. Her.
His wife. I still couldn’t believe he had a wife and hadn’t told me. It was time to deal with whatever was going to be thrown my way today, but I didn’t want to move out of this bed. I wanted to stay here and pretend the outside world didn’t exist.
In here I was away from it all, all the secrets.
I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I had to get up, for Eli and Miss Maggie, they were probably wondering where I was anyway.
“Mornin’, sweetheart.” A gruff voice said from the corner.
I squeaked, my hand flying to my chest. “Ty,” I breathed.
What was he doing in here?
My head and my heart were in a war. My head was telling me that I shouldn’t trust him, he had lied. Well maybe not lied, but he didn’t tell me and it wasn’t like it was a little thing to just not tell me. Having a wife was a big thing, such a huge part of his life that he should have told me about.
But my heart?
That was telling me to trust him, to hear him out. He wouldn’t hurt me; he’d done nothing but protect me since I’d walked onto this compound.
Right now, my brain was winning the war and I knew that he could see that.
“Just hear me out,” he said as he stood up, holding his hands up in the air as a sign of peace making.
Shaking my head, I pushed the covers aside, slid off the bed, and made a beeline for the door. Pulling on the handle, I flung it open and walked as fast as I could but compared to his giant leaps that he calls steps, I didn’t make it far in front before he was right at my back.
“I don’t want to hear anything, Ty.” Stomping down the stairs, I turned into the kitchen.
“Kay,” he growled. “Just listen.”
“What? Listen to how you turned me into a home wrecker?” I pushed the button to start the coffee pot and spun around, leaning against the counter. “Don’t you think that was something you should have told me before we…you know.” I waved my hand in the air to get my point across.
He smirked. That insufferable smirk that always made me smile. This time was different though, I wouldn’t allow him past my walls. Nope. He was staying firmly in front of them.
“When we slept together?” he stepped forward.
“Yeah.” Clearing my throat, I turned to
pull a cup out of the cupboard.
“Let me get that for you, sweetheart.” His breath fanned across my neck, causing a shiver to roll through my body. Why did he always have this effect on me?
I watched his hand wrap around the cup and bring it down to the counter. He didn’t step back, instead he pulled the coffee pot off its holder and poured me a cup.
“I should have known to wait until you’d had this,” he chuckled.
I released the breath that I had been holding when he stepped back, hanging my head. How did he do that?
He could disarm me without me even knowing. Damn it, I could never stay mad at him, it wasn’t fair.
“Fine,” I huffed, turning to face him. “I’m listening.”
Waving his hand to the small table and two chairs that sat in the kitchen, he said, “Let’s sit.”
Blowing out another breath, I stomped forward and slumped into the seat that he had pulled out for me. Ever the gentleman.
“First, I want to say that I never intentionally lied to you. I didn’t tell you because…well…shit.” He ran his hand through his hair then dropped it onto the table.
I could see that he was struggling to tell me. Scanning his face, I noticed the dark circles that had appeared under his eyes. He looked worn out and I hated seeing him like that.
“Ty…” I was in two minds. It was true, he hadn’t intentionally lied but he still hadn’t told me.
But then, I still had secrets. Things that none of them knew about. Could I really be mad at him for not telling me?
“No, let me get this out,” he said, looking anywhere but at me.
“Okay.” I lifted my cup to my lips and took a sip of the sweet nectar.
“Me and Serena were married right out of high school,” he said, not bringing his eyes to mine. “I thought I loved her, I really did. But when I went away, I didn’t know half of the things that went on.”
So that was her name. Serena.
His fingers started drumming on the table, the beat relaxing me slightly. I’d become so used to hearing it that when Ty wasn’t doing it, it felt strange.
Exposed: Book 2 MAC Security Series Page 2