In some weak, pathetic place inside her, Kaya still felt an unbreakable loyalty toward her only living kin. She felt protective of Leah and concerned for her wellbeing, especially now that she realized her sister was pregnant.
Had Angus Mackie raped her? Kaya wouldn’t doubt it for a second. Her sister had made some poor decisions in her life--much like their mother--but Kaya refused to believe that Leah might have willingly allowed a sadistic animal like Big Mack to touch her.
Then again, what did Kaya really know about Leah now?
That she feared Mackie was obvious. She’d have to be a fool not to. But had Leah’s self-worth slipped so far that she might actually have developed some kind of relationship with the vicious gang leader? Kaya could only pray not. Her sister had to be saner, smarter than that.
And if she wasn’t?
What if it turned out that Leah’s brainwashing and abuse within the commune of criminals had consumed every last shred of her humanity? Kaya didn’t want to consider it.
But she had to consider it, because it wouldn’t be long before the Order answered the question for her.
There was no doubt they would be moving in on Big Mack and his cronies--and soon. With the existence of ultraviolet weaponry a very real, very lethal threat to all of the Breed, combined with an evidential link between Angus Mackie and a recently terminated Opus Nostrum member, the Order would waste little time before formulating a plan of attack and then executing it.
Which meant Leah would soon be in the crosshairs of the Order’s wrath as well.
Not to mention her unborn child.
The weight of Kaya’s concern sat like an anvil on her chest. She exhaled a heavy sigh. “God, Leah. How did you end up like this? Why didn’t you let me help you?”
Now, it might be too late to fix anything in her sister’s life.
After today, it might be too late for Kaya to fix things for herself too.
She should have spoken up as soon as Mackie’s name was mentioned. Fear had stalled her tongue. What would her teammates think of her, hearing she’d been on Big Mack’s turf as recently as this morning?
How could she expect to remain in the Order’s fold if they ever learned that she herself had once been part of the very group that had slaughtered an innocent family in their home? That she had been born into that hateful world, raised within it. Still bound to it by her love for her twin.
What would they all think if they knew she’d been withholding those truths from them all this time? Their faith in her would be shattered, possibly without repair.
Sooner than later, she would have to choose between the only family she had left and the one she was making with her friends and teammates of the Order.
She thought she had made her choice when she began training as a warrior. Now, she wasn’t certain her heart was stalwart enough to shut out either one of the things she loved.
But as conflicted as she was about devotion to her blood kin versus duty to the only people who had ever made her feel that she belonged, Kaya’s regret for the way she behaved with Aric went even deeper.
To her surprise, he was in the war room when she headed down after her shower to resume working on the photos. She had anticipated being alone to go over the images he’d reviewed while she was gone that morning. Instead, he stood facing a wall of projection glass where an array of pictures from the reception were displayed.
Kaya stood in the open doorway, her gaze more riveted to the man than to the dozens of photos illuminated in front of him. Tall, broad shouldered and hewn of pure muscle, as a Breed male Aric Chase was magnificent. Even standing still he radiated otherworldly power and strength.
As the lover who had touched and kissed and pleasured nearly every inch of her body in the small hours of last night and this morning, just the sight of him made her legs go a bit weak beneath her.
He hadn’t deserved her cool rebuff when he approached her outside the kitchen a short while ago. Nor had he deserved her lie that the intimacy they had shared meant nothing to her. She only wished it meant nothing. In truth, the hours she’d spent alone with Aric naked in his arms under the moon and stars, and then the rising sun, had been ones she would cherish for the rest of her life.
She would have to cling to those moments, because she could never give in to the temptation again.
Even if that meant pushing him away.
He glanced over his shoulder, aware of her presence even without her saying a word. “It should be easier to compare the photos here instead of at the table.”
His tone was level and professional, as if she were simply one of his comrades now. Why that didn’t give her more relief, Kaya refused to acknowledge.
The one thing they both agreed on was the fact that their partnership was temporary. When it was over, their lives would continue on separate paths. No expectations of anything more. Simple, uncomplicated.
Yet when she thought about Aric--every time she was near him--her feelings were anything but simple or uncomplicated.
It was a realization that terrified her as much as any ugly secret from her past or the threat of losing everything she’d worked for with the Order.
Aric Chase made her crave things she never imagined she would have in her life. A confidant. A protector. A lover who gave as much pleasure as he demanded.
A true partner in all the ways that mattered.
Things she
