The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart: A Hart Brothers Novel (16 page)

“No. That’s not a remote option for me.”

“Why not?”

“You know why. I refuse to leech off of
you.”

“You won’t be. I’ll put you to work. I’ll
pay you and charge you rent. It won’t be a free for all.”

“Kade, I can’t. This is too new. I’m not
going to jump into anything with you. What if you start to hate me
after a week? Where does that leave me?”

His features harden. “Do you actually think
I would throw you out?”

“I don’t know what you’d do. I don’t even
know you. We only met a month or two ago and suddenly we’re
crushing on each other.”

He lifts me off his lap and sets me on the
bed. Heated anger pours off him. I know I’ve pissed him off, but he
wanted honesty so I’m giving it to him.

“Can you do me a favor and get dressed? It’s
not easy having this conversation with you pretty much naked.” Then
he stalks out of the room, leaving me alone in my fluffy towel.

Since I don’t want a repeat of finding him
in conflict with his urges like I did earlier, I hurry and get
dressed. The sweatpants and sweatshirt are huge, but cozy, and I
confess to myself that I love wearing his clothes. Even though he
said I could borrow his sister-in-law’s, I’d rather be wrapped in
Kade’s scent. I’m back downstairs in no time. He waits for me in
the den.

He gives me no opportunity to speak.

“Lets get one thing straight. I like you. A
lot. Am I in love with you? No. Not yet anyway. I’m not even sure
what that feels like because other than my brothers, I’ve never
loved or been loved by anyone. I didn’t grow up surrounded by it
and when my brothers left for school, I was alone in a loveless
environment. That’s when my drug use escalated.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m capable of love.
And where you and I are concerned, I think it would take a hell of
a lot of time for it to manifest. Are you following me?”

I nod. When I try to speak, his palm shoots
out.

“Please, let me finish and then you’ll have
your chance. So, you and I. What I’d like is for us to try. You
should know you’re my first. Since my hard addiction. Since rehab.
Since my brain resurfaced from its drug-induced haze it survived in
for so many years. Don’t think it’s because there weren’t
opportunities, because there have been plenty. But there’s
something about you that speaks to me. I felt it that first day I
saw you, fighting with that fucking root in your garden. Call it
what you want, but I call it fate. All I want is a chance to
explore whatever this is between us. If it doesn’t work, then so be
it. And I’m no prize by any means, Juliette. I come with an assload
of baggage, all twisted up inside of me. Just so you know.”

I say the only thing that comes to mind.
“The convent is my life.”

He answers back in a voice filled with rage,
“Liars and cheaters are the world’s depleters. They take and they
break and they only leave heartache.”

The words pierce me. I’m speechless as I
stare at him, openmouthed.

“You’re lying. I can see it in your eyes.
I’ve become an expert at spotting liars a mile away. I used to be
one and I grew up with one.” His accusation razors me.

“What you said—where did that come
from?”

“Me. It’s what I used to say to myself when
my father abused me. Don’t
ever
lie to me, Juliette. I’d
rather you kill me with the truth than shred me with your lies.” He
spins and leaves me standing there, staring at an empty space.

The Seven

Six men sit around a conference table,
silent. They stare straight ahead, not daring to make eye contact
with each other. Muscular thighs thump up and down as they wait.
Minutes later, the door rams open as their commander stomps in. All
heads turn as he pauses at the entrance, looking each one of them
in the eye. Every one of them flinches when it’s their turn.
Intimidation doesn’t even come close to what they feel, but that’s
the least of their worries. Fury emanates off him, choking them
with its fumes.

He moves to his place at the head of the
table and doesn’t sit. Instead he slams his palms on the table and
they all wince in their chairs. His lips curl with disgust.

“Are any of you deaf? Drey? Are you
deaf?”

“No, sir.”

“Rafe, what about you?” An edge of
impatience creeps in his voice.

“Not deaf, sir.”

“Edge?”

“No, sir.”

“Hmm.” Fingers thrum impatiently on the
table. “Can all of you speak English?”

They all answer in unison that they can.

“Good. And exactly how many languages do you
speak?” He clips off his questions, one right after the other.

They all respond, “All of them, sir.”

“Then, will somebody explain to me how the
fuck this happened?” he roars. The walls reverberate with the
thunder of his words.

They sit in silence, no one willing to
answer. They know the first one who does will get an ass chewing
never to be forgotten.

The leader begins to pace. Back and forth.
Back and forth. He finally stops and says, “You were hand picked
for a reason. Do you know what that reason is?”

Silence.

“Rafe, you’re my second in command. Will you
fucking answer me?” He shoots Rafe a look that nearly burns him in
his seat.

“Yes, sir. We were picked for our
intelligence …”

The commander holds out his palm. “Stop
right there. You were picked for your intelligence?” His voice
carries a taunting edge to it. “Well then how in the hell could you
so completely and adequately have fucked up this mission? I give
you orders and you’re supposed to follow them. How could you let
some slip of a girl best you like this? You’re supposed to stay
dark. That means in-fucking-visible. And what happens? She fucking
captures you on her boyfriend’s iPhone!” His body shakes with
outrage. His eyes are black, solid black, and his face contorts
with rage. “And what about those fucking footprints in the
goddamned snow?” One hand grabs the edge of the table and flicks it
like a feather, sending it flying. The other men leap to their feet
to avoid the getting hit with the splintered debris.

The commander closes his eyes and takes a
deep breath before continuing. In a barely controlled voice, he
says through clenched jaws, “And then there’s the matter of your
fucking dog fight.” He spins and punches his fist through the wall
before turning back. Blood drips from scraped knuckles that he
doesn’t appear to notice. His nostrils flare for a brief second as
the tiny muscle in his cheek starts to twitch. In a low voice, he
continues. “Did I not give clear instructions that if something
like that occurred, that if they ever found her, none of them were
to survive? You were to save the girl at all costs.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then fucking act like it,” he yells. “Now
we have three issues on our hands. The girl, the boyfriend, AND her
fucking assailants—that you assured me weren’t anywhere NEAR her.
What the bloody fucking hell are you doing out there? Are your
dicks so far up your asses that you’re blind?”

“No, sir.”

“Then I want an explanation, Rafe. NOW. And
no excuses.”

Rafe looked at all his men and shook his
head. “Sabin, I don’t know how she sees us, but she does. She can
pick us out of anything, day or night. She’s good. Really
good.”

Sabin leans into Rafe until they are nose to
nose and says, “Then you learn to be fucking better. Or they’ll
grab her and when, not if they do, she’s a dead girl. That girl is
walking Armageddon for this world and more. If you don’t do your
fucking job, we’re all going up in one giant poof of smoke. You got
that, buddy?”

“Yeah. What do we need to do?”

Sabin arches a brow and cocks his head.
“What do you need to do? Do your bloody fucking jobs! Every goddamn
one of you! The way you were trained! Do you get me?” The walls
rattle.

“Yeah, I got you.”

“Tell me now if you don’t and I’ll get
someone who can. I’m serious, Rafe. I need my best on this.”

Rafe peruses his men, one by one, and they
nod. Then he says, “We got this, Sabin.”

“You better fucking have this. You were
supposed to have had this for two, going on three years now. Get
your fucking acts together.” Then Sabin turns and rips the door off
the hinges as he leaves.

“Furious much?” Edge asks.

In one lethal bound, Rafe is in front of
him, Edge’s shirt wrapped tightly in his hand and he grits out,
“Edge, if you think this is to be taken lightly, you can skedaddle
your pansy ass out of here now. Some of this fiasco is your fucking
fault. I put you out as a team leader on a watch and this is what
happens. I will not, I repeat not, cover for your sloppy fucked up
shit again. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

Rafe releases Edge and turns to face Andros.
“This goes for you too, Andros. I am done with you two. No more
fucking excuses. Tell me now if you want out or are incapable of
executing this mission.”

Both of them demand to stay in.

“Do you need a fucking babysitter?”

“No, sir.”

Rafe rubs his neck and flexes his hands.
“Verus, Helios, Drey, get back to your posts. Keep watch and
contact me as soon as you see or hear anything unusual. And for
fuck’s sake, don’t leave any damn footprints. You’re trained and
know how to get rid of that shit. Go do it.”

“Got it sir.”

“And Verus, you’re in charge there for the
next twenty-four.”

“Yes, sir,” Verus replies as they file out
the door.

“Verus, wash out his goddamn computer.”

“Will do, sir.”

When Rafe is left alone with Edge and
Andros, he says, “I want you two to explain to me why I should let
you stay. And this better be fucking good.”

Andros and Edge look at each other and Edge
talks. “We know we messed up, but you know how it is with her. I
don’t understand how she can see us. We use every skill we have and
she picks us out every time. Her eyes land on us almost
immediately.”

Rafe eyes his two soldiers and says, “You’re
gonna have to do better than that. Sabin is not gonna let this one
go. He’s past pissed. And I’m going to have to account for it. I
need concrete reasons on why you should stay. He’s ready to stick a
damn boot up both your asses.”

“Tell him to come and see for himself,” Edge
risks mentioning.

“Oh, Edge, you really don’t want that. He’ll
run circles around every damn one of you and send you home with
‘Pussy’ in capital letters tattooed across your forehead.”

Edge pins Rafe with a stare and says, “I’ll
risk it. I’ll admit the snow was a fuck up. Didn’t count on that.
But the way she snagged us in the back yard. She’s unreal.”

“You better be damn glad you were able to
veil those fucking photos. All I’m saying. And the next time you
encounter those dickheads, take the motherfuckers out. I can’t
believe you let them get away. That’s another SNAFU you are facing.
I’ll mention to Sabin what you said. Be prepared for the fallout.
As for that tattoo, you’re gonna look precious in pink, Edge. Now
get the fuck out of my face.”

Kade

My annoyance is boundless. It’s not aimed
solely at Juliette. I cannot abide lying. In any form. It was done
to me ever since my father stole me and I grew up in a sticky web
of it. Then I layered it upon myself, for years, telling myself I
could stop the drugs at any time.

At first they were a pitiful bandage,
covering up a series of lacerations that mutilated my body and
soul. Then they marched in a regimental formation, stripping
everything from me, turning me into someone I no longer knew. I
lied, cheated, and stole money to buy drugs. The few college
friends I managed to make abandoned me when I stole from them,
heisting their credit cards to withdraw cash.

Reality was even worse when I was expelled
and my father showed up to escort me home. That’s when my life went
from terrible to horrific. He taunted, lied, came to my room when I
was completely out of it and mentally fucked with me, sending me
into a complete hell of darkness. One night, when I was in the deep
throes of a heroin high, he dragged me down the stairs, threw me in
the backseat of one of his limos, and drove me into the worst part
of New York City. Then he instructed his chauffeur to leave me
there. I remember it like yesterday. My brain was hazed to the max,
but I clearly remember him telling me to live with the people I was
most like. But before he left, he had his chauffeur rough me up a
bit. That translated to beating the shit out of me. When I came to,
I was in some alley, covered in piss and puke, and had no idea how
long I’d been there. An entire block of time had vanished. I
eventually called my oldest brother, Kolson, and he came and picked
me up. When he brought me home, it was war.

“
He’s a fucking piece of shit, no better
than the garbage I throw out every day. I put him where the rest of
the garbage lives. Take him back there. He’s not staying
here.”

“
You created that piece of garbage, as
you call him. You should’ve thought about that before you locked
him in the little cell you created for him.” Kolson screamed at my
dad.

“
Shut up or I’ll put that miserable hunk
of trash back in there.”

“
If you try, I’ll find a way to stop you.
We’re adults now. We won’t keep our mouths shut,” Kolson
said.

“
Oh, yes you will, if you know what’s
good for you.”

At the time, all I wanted was a shower and
food. And more drugs. I was itching for a fix. Things wriggled on
my skin everywhere. I rubbed my arms and shook.

“
Look at him. He’s pathetic. Get that
trash out of my site.”