Page 56 of Some Like It Deadly
Her job was done.
She madeit to Richard’s house, but he wasn’t there. The guard at the gate recognized her, and without complaint, he’d helped her into the house. She’d been grateful—it had taken every scrap of energy she had to stay upright on the drive. Without a doubt, the guard would report in to Peterson and whomever, but it didn’t matter.
Richard mattered.
Exhausted, she sank down onto the sofa and leaned her head back. Maybe leaving the hospital early hadn’t been the best idea—though it proved surprisingly easy. What little energy she’d mustered evaporated before she slipped into a taxi. Bless the driver, he didn’t bat an eyelash at her odd clothing.
Who knew, maybe pajama bottoms and a hospital gown would be all the rage in the next season.
The door opened and Kate could barely keep back a groan. “I asked for a few minutes,” she told the guard, not willing to move yet. “I can go back to the hospital later.”
“Kate.” At the sound of his voice, her eyes jerked open.
“Richard.” He was there. He looked like hell—his eyes were bloodshot, his hair disheveled, and his shirt wasn’t tucked in—and she’d never seen a more beautiful sight. “Youareokay.” Relief swamped her.
“Yes.” His presence seemed to fill the room, but there was a distance in his eyes and a hard tilt to his mouth. “You weren’t at the hospital.”
“Neither were you.” But her attempt at levity fell flat and her relief dissolved into a pool of unease. “You know.”
“Peterson had to authorize your medical care,” he murmured. “I figured it out and Armand confirmed.”
Her heart squeezed at the distrust in his dark eyes. “I’m sorry.” She had no excuse to offer, no pretty words to make it better. They’d given her a job to do and she’d lied to him to make it happen. “I lied to you.”
“Yes, you did.” A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Then you saved my life—twice.”
How did she answer that? “I screwed up at the center. I shouldn’t have let you distract me when I opened that door. I shouldn’t have opened it without clearing the porch first. Basic rules and I—I was thinking about getting naked.” Bitter was the taste of her failure.
“But you’d quit.” He moved forward, his steps slow and his gaze intent. “That’s what Peterson said.”
The churning in her stomach increased. “I did. I still knew better, especially after you sent the security detail away.”
“You were upset on the driveway.” He said it as if that made sense to him now, and perhaps it did.
“An unsecure location? Strangers? Poor lighting? Yeah, I was upset. But instead of saying it, I had to keep playing my part.” Tears burned in her eyes. Stupidity was crime in her book. “I’d never have forgiven myself if you’d been hurt.”
“What part were you playing, Kate?” Danger lurked in that question, but he had every right to ask it.
“Girlfriend. Lover. But it wasn’t a role, it was what I’d become.” Her chest hurt with every breath, but she tried to take a deeper one. She needed to get the words out and refused to shy away from the choice she’d made. “It’s why I had to quit. I hated lying to you.”
“But you kept lying.” The accusation stung.
She could argue that she’d made the decision before she really knew him—that it somehow mitigated it. “I had orders, and a contract and…all of that aside, I didn’t want you to hate me.”
“Ripping the Band-Aid off?” Her Richard appeared in the shadows of the cool man assessing her.
“Without mercy. Ilikedyou. I reallylikedyou. I never lied about my feelings. But it was so damn complicated. You were supposed to be a protectee, one I had to be undercover to protect because you didn’t want visible security.” She blew out a breath and tried to stand, because she hated feeling so weak in this discussion. But she’d barely made the attempt before Richard was across the room and stopping her with a hand on her arm.
“What are you doing?” There was nothing distant or cool in his growl.
“Trying to stand… To walk to you.” Though his presence made her action a moot point.
“No, you stay there. Scared the hell out of me when I found out you’d slipped out of the hospital. At least until the man on the gate called Peterson and me to let us know you were here.” He squeezed her arm gently, his fingers a light brush against herskin, but he pulled away before she could capture the contact then sat down on the coffee table in front of her. Blinking furiously, she catalogued his appearance. He really did look like hell.
“You didn’t want visible security. They briefed me on your aversion to it and the fact that you slipped a detail before. The job as your assistant was perfect. I’d be with you for a huge portion of the day, I could assess your internal security in the office, coax the building into increasing it, and provide the rest of the detail with the data on your schedule so they could maintain surveillance at a distance. It—it created an illusion that would make you comfortable and safe at the same time.”
“Yeah, it’s the illusion part I’m having a problem with.” The stilted words were like shards of glass being driven into her chest.
“The job—as your assistant, that was an illusion that I enjoyed. I did do the work. You and me? That was…” How could she describe it? God, she’d wanted to be the one to tell him. Finding out the way he did and then… “You weren’t under lockdown, were you?”
