MaeBe strode out of the room.
It was a dramatic kind of day.
Drake shoved himself off the couch. “Kayla, will you show me the outside cameras at least? I want to make sure we’ve got the most coverage. And get out of this very uncomfortable conversation.”
“But I like uncomfortable conversations.” Still, Kayla opened the door and followed Drake out.
Kyle was shaking his head. “I get the feeling I did something wrong.”
“I think that was MaeBe’s way of saying she’s not getting everything she needs out of you.” Boomer stretched as he stood. “I’m going to check the fridge. I’m getting hungry.”
Cowards. They were all leaving him with a confused Kyle. Damn it. He had his own problems. “I think MaeBe is just trying to say you don’t have to hide. I’m not ashamed of what I went through. I dealt with it a long time ago, but I’m just realizing that maybe we need to stop pretending the years in between didn’t happen. I’m doing that because I know deep down I was wrong not to talk to her more.”
“What if I am ashamed of what happened?” Kyle’s eyes came up, a stubborn look settling in. “What if I’m pretty fucking sure if she knew half the things I did, she would walk away from me in a heartbeat.”
“You take the chance.” He was going to have to do it. He was going to have to talk to Maddie because he couldn’t let her…couldn’t stupidly push her away again.
Kyle shook his head. “Or I find another way.” He walked over to the desk and pointed at the files MaeBe had given Kayla. “There’s something wrong with that chick. With that Jane person.”
“What?”
Kyle shook his head. “I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s there. Something about that picture. I don’t know. I’ve gone over it a hundred times and I can’t find a flaw in Mae’s research. I think I should go by Jane’s apartment. I can get in and see if there’s anything unusual.”
“Absolutely not. Breaking into a private home is not in the parameters of this mission.” The last thing he was going to do was get Big Tag’s nephew arrested. “We’ve got two more nights to get through. We have to get into Byrne’s office, and somehow I think he won’t invite us to his party if we break into his girlfriend’s house. Byrne is the subject. Have you had any luck getting on at the company?”
Kyle shook his head. “Nah. They said there was a hiring freeze.”
That didn’t feel right. Maddie had been talking about the interns she’d brought in last week. Maybe it was only in security. “Feel free to look into Jane Adams, but you can’t break into her place. And I need you with us on Saturday. You’re MaeBe’s bodyguard. I need her able to work.”
Kyle stopped like he was coming up with an argument, and then he backed off. “All right. I’m going to check on her.”
Kyle strode out, and he was alone. If he didn’t figure out a way to break through Maddie’s walls, he might always be.
* * * *
Maddie closed up the lab and glanced down at her watch. Deke would be here in less than half an hour and then they would likely follow the same schedule they had for the last week.
Drive back to her place. Order food. Laugh and talk with the others. He would take her to bed, blow her mind, and then go to sleep. She would lie there wondering what the hell she was doing and then the day would start over again.
Except tonight they would go to The Reef so she would get her mind blown at the club before they went back home and she lay in bed wondering. At least that would be different.
So why was she so worried that after Saturday she would have to make a decision? She wasn’t ready to make a decision.
Maybe she wouldn’t. Deke could go back to Dallas. She could stay here and deal with the fallout of whatever they found out on Saturday. They could talk on the phone and text. They could spend some weekends together.
They could let it die quietly this time.
She was going to get her heart broken again, and this time it wouldn’t heal. Maybe it hadn’t ever fully healed from the first time.
He wasn’t willing to share those years apart with her. He didn’t mind talking about the good stuff. She knew way too many Boomer and Big Tag stories. She knew about Deke’s friends and the places he’d seen, but it was all superficial, and now she had to wonder if it hadn’t always been that way. Had she been the one offering up her whole soul while Deke gave her sex and friendship and called it love?