I am gutted by the news, understanding Kayden better now than ever, and I’m also angered on his behalf, lashing out in response. “Convenient? Are you accusing him of actually hurting the people he loved?”

“People die when he’s around. That is a fact. Two years ago—”

“I know what happened two years ago. You act like he was the cause.”

“The Underground. Do you know them?”

“He told me about them.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“They find things for people for a price.”

“And do you think what they do is legal?”

I shrug. “He did work for the police.”

“Kayden is the kingpin of a massive, dangerous organization. He makes the decisions. He leads them to hell, and if you think he doesn’t do what he has to do to keep his slate clean, you’re going to end up dead like the rest of them. I’m trying to protect you.” He softens his voice. “Please listen to me, Eleana. I am truly trying to protect you.”

“No, you’re trying to turn me against him.” I stand. “I think you need to leave.”

“Yes. You need to leave,” Kayden says.

At the sound of Kayden’s voice Gallo grimaces, and I’m relieved this meeting is over. Gallo turns and Kayden’s stare is pure contempt. Gallo doesn’t cower. “I am helping Eleana find her way back to her life—not yours.”

“Leave, Gallo.”

Gallo’s lips twist sardonically. “I’m not quite done here.”

“Leave,” Kayden bites out. “Now.”

Gallo glances at me. “How should I reach you to give you the fingerprint results?”

“Kayden,” I say, making it quite clear which side of the line drawn between these two I stand on. “Call Kayden.”

He smirks. “I’ll just come back by.” He turns and rounds the table to stand face-to-face with Kayden.

“Move along,” Kayden instructs. “You’re on private property and I’m fully within my rights to throw you out. Actually, make my day and give me a reason to toss you out the door myself.”

I hold my breath, aware Gallo would like to push Kayden, and the heavy seconds that follow are eternal. Finally the detective saunters toward the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. “You know where to find me, Eleana,” he states firmly, and leaves.

Adriel moves in behind him, locking the door while Kayden closes the distance between us, his fingers clasping my wrist. Without a word, he begins leading me toward the back exit. I hurry to keep up as we pass Giada; I don’t look at her and neither does Kayden. He’s angry. So very angry, and not just at Gallo. We reach the door and he punches in a code to exit, and it’s barely lifted before he’s ducking under and taking me with him. He doesn’t wait for it to close, leading me several feet, and out of hearing range of Adriel or Giada, before turning me to face him, his hands settling on his hips.

“What part of ‘I don’t want you in the store’ did you not understand?”

My defenses prickle. “You didn’t say not to come to the store. You said you didn’t want me to work here.”

“Semantics.”

“No. You specifically said you didn’t want me to work here. That’s a different thing than telling me you don’t want me here. This is your house, and you’ve taken care of me. I would have respected your request if you had made it. And I only came because Marabella asked me to try and bond with Giada.”

“Marabella,” he repeats flatly.

“Yes, and please don’t be mad at her. She cares for you and Giada deeply. It would hurt her to feel she caused this today.”

“What did you tell Gallo?”

“I told him I only remembered my first name, and made sure he fingerprinted me. That’s what you wanted, right?”

“What did he say to you?”

“He told me The Underground is dangerous and so are you.”

“We are. What else?”

I know he has the right to know the rest, but I can’t seem to speak the words.

“Ella—”

“He stole your right to tell me something in your own time.”

He stares at me, silent. Intense. His hand runs through his hair, and that hawk that establishes him as a protector flashes. “He told you about five years ago.”

“Yes. About Kevin and . . .”

“Elizabeth.” Her name is sandpaper on his throat, pain ripped straight from his heart.

“Yes.”

His jaw clenches. Seconds tick by. “It’s time Gallo and I have a heart-to-heart.” He turns and is through the door to the store before I know he’s moved.

“Kayden!” I shout, running after him. “Kayden!” I enter the store and he’s already at the front door, exiting to the street, with no coat and no explanation.

“Adriel!” I shout. He rushes out of his office. “He went after Gallo for telling me about Elizabeth.”

“Fuck!” Adriel is already rounding the counter. “Stay here and lock the door.” He grabs a coat from a rack and disappears out the door.

I hurry forward and lock it. Sinking against the wooden surface door, I suck in air, my heart hammering against my chest. This is bad. I grab my phone from my pocket and dial Kayden, willing him to answer, but it rings and rings and then goes to voice mail. I walk to the sofa and sit down, trying again. And again. I press the phone to my forehead and shut my eyes. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him. No. I had to tell him.

“You okay?” Giada’s standing in front of me with two steaming cups in her hand. “Hot chocolate. I thought you could use some.”

I set the phone on the table to accept the mug. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” She sits down next to me. “So. Are you okay?”

I turn to face her. “Kind of. Thank you. What about you? You had a rough night.”

“I broke up with my boyfriend a few days ago, over Adriel harassing him. I tried to drink away my heartache. It didn’t work.”

“It usually doesn’t,” I say, sipping the hot beverage.

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

I smile. “Well, I do have amnesia, so I’m not really an authority on my past right now.”

“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry. That must really suck.”

I shrug. “My memories are slowly coming back, and I also seem to just know some things. Like I’ve tried to drink away a man before, and failed.”

She curls her legs to her side to face me, and I do the same with her. “What’s up with you and Kayden?”

“Still up for debate. I saw you last night on the monitor screaming at him.”

Her eyes drop sharply to her cup. “Yes. I guess I did.”

“What did you scream at him?”

Her gaze shoots to mine. “Mean things. Horrible things, Ella. My father was working for him when he died.”

“I know.”

“Kayden told you.”

“Yes.”

She hesitates. “What did he say?”

“Not a lot, but he hurts, too. Badly.”

Her throat bobs with a hard swallow. “My father worked for Kevin before Kayden. They were all close, but I didn’t meet Kayden until after it happened.”

“You moved here after your father died?”

“Yes. Kayden wanted us here where we’d be safe. I guess he had new security installed after . . .”

“Five years ago,” I say. “I know.” And I suddenly have a renewed need to hear Kayden’s voice. I set my cup down and pick up the phone, and dial his number. Ring. Ring. Ring. Voice mail. “Damn it,” I whisper.

Giada sets her cup down as well. “What’s up with him and Gallo?”

“Gallo blames him for something in his past, like you do.”

“I don’t blame Kayden.” She purses her lips. “Okay, maybe last night I did. I was drinking and hurting.”

“I meant what I said. He’s hurting too. You have to know that—right?”

“He’s hard to know.”

“Because he carries the burden of so much loss that he can’t let anyone in.” I face her, hesitating to share Kayden’s past, but gamble that dropping a tidbit of his past is okay. “Do you know about his family?”

“He never talks about them.”

“He lost them when he was ten. That’s when Kevin adopted him.”

“Oh, my God. What happened to them?”

“It’s not my place to share that story, and please don’t mention that I told you at all. But I’ll try to get Kayden to tell you.” An image forms in my mind of a pretty redheaded woman who is smiling at me, and my chest expands painfully. My mother. She’s gone, and it hurts so much. I will away the tears threatening to form, my voice hoarse as I continue. “I think Kayden can relate to your loss more than you realize.” And me, I add silently, swallowing hard and forcing myself to look at her. “Instead of blaming him, I think he might be a good person to talk to.”