Page 28 of Hushed

Now Kenzie was eager to spend the night at the Yates’ house.

The limo should have clued her in that they were beyond wealthy, but she wasn’t expecting the mansion they pulled up to an hour later.

In the house, Austin showed Kenzie to a guest wing and invited her to make herself at home.

“If you want to chat, I’ll be downstairs in the living room after I say goodnight to my husband.”

“Thanks. I think I’m going to take a shower and then I’ll be down.”

“There are some sweats and things my sister-in-law left last time she stayed. They might fit you if you want something clean.”

“Thank you.”

When she was alone, she stripped off her clothes and tried to rinse away the ugliness of the night. The Cage was nothing like she was expecting, and she wondered if they were all that way or if she really had picked a bad one. She couldn’t imagine Gage running a place like that at all.

After her shower, she rummaged around in the bedroom dresser and found some sweats to put on. They were tight on herthick waist, and she would be taking them off before sleeping, but there were oversized t-shirts that almost reached her knees and covered the fact that the pants didn’t quite fit.

Kenzie found her way downstairs, but Austin wasn’t there yet, so she sat on the couch and looked around the spacious room. Despite its vastness, it was still homey. She liked it.

A few minutes later, Austin appeared, and she’d obviously been crying.

“Are you OK?” Kenzie asked, jumping up from the couch.

Austin laughed and wiped her sleeve over her eyes. “Oh gosh. I’m perfect. How are you?”

Kenzie shrugged. “Still curious.”

Austin moved to a bar along one wall. “I’d like a drink. You?”

Kenzie shook her head. “I’m good. Just some water, maybe?”

Austin bent and pulled two cold bottles of expensive water from beneath a counter. “Good idea.”

She handed her one and sat in an easy chair next to the couch. “Tell me about yourself. How do you know Gage?”

Kenzie twisted the cap off her water and drank for a long time, giving herself precious extra seconds to formulate an answer.

“He served in the military with my big brother. Then they started working together in another way. Something for the government. I never fully understood it. But Gage spent a lot of holidays at my house when I was a kid. He’s a lot older than me. Reggie died a few years ago and Gage checks on me now and then and does weird things like change my locks and have the security upgraded in my building.” She left out the part where they slept together once or that ever since that night, he didn’t come to visit her anymore. It sounded pathetic.

“That’s good that you have each other. I didn’t realize Gage had suffered such a loss. You as well. I’m so sorry.”

Kenzie blinked back tears. “Thanks. It’s still hard even all these years later.”

“And why isn’t Gage showing you around his club?”

Kenzie snorted. “Something about my brother recruiting the souls of the damned to help haunt him if he does?”

Austin laughed. “That sounds like Gage.”

“Can we not talk about me anymore? I want to know about you. How do you know Gage?”

“Patrick and I are part of a big club in Colorado. Club Solitaire. He visited a few times when he was updating Exposure. We’ve been good friends ever since.”

“By club, I assume you mean BDSM?”

Austin nodded.

“And you and Patrick are…”

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