bad, but I couldn’t see it. That wasn’t normal and it scared me. Hard as it was to
admit, perhaps it was time to call Kayden in. This wasn’t something I could do
on my own. I didn’t have enough information on how psychic abilities worked,
or how to get past the block in my head. I needed what he knew, but… Old doubts resurfaced.
If I went to him, who would I find? The PSY-IV operative? Or the man who
was making his own private niche in my heart? Who did I want to face?
As unfair as it was, part of me was angry with Kayden’s absence. Where had
he been while I was busy being someone’s punching bag? Why wasn’t he here
now? Even if he was out searching for me, someone should’ve been watching Kelsey’s place. The silence of the condo swallowed me, burying me under the weight of loneliness. Whatever future I once envisioned was a distant memory.
My family was gone. Whatever remnants of Kelsey’s presence that still haunted
this home, where she invested so much of her heart, were fading. The team, that
was once my secondary family, had been hunted until only three of us remained.
I was so tired of going at it alone. What had it gotten me?
Thanks to past hurts, I cowered here, unable, or, if I was being brutally honest with myself, unwilling to reach out for help. Help I knew Kayden would
willingly offer, regardless of the mission. One of Kelsey’s last pieces of advice
whispered through my mind.
“Someday you’re going to have to take a chance and just jump. If you’re lucky, someone will be there to catch you. ”
“And if I hit the ground to shatter in a big, bloody mess?” Old anger andresentments twisted my question.
“Chances are, you’ll only have yourself to blame.” A brutal response, given
in love. “You walked away, Cyn. You shut him out and hid behind your angerand guilt. If you stay there too long, he’ll leave for good. Then where will yoube?”
The same damn place I was right now.
Alone.
CHAPTER 19
The sound of the deadbolt clicking open echoed through the silence like a
gunshot. I scrambled in a tangle of blankets and limbs, falling in a
graceless lump on the floor. Ignoring the renewed complaints from my abused body, I crouched behind the bed and considered my options. I was naked with no
gun, no knife, nothing usable in reach. My best bet was the safe in the closet. I
made it three steps before the sound of my name froze me in place.
“Cyn?”
Kayden. Relief turned my legs watery. I opened my mouth to call out, but only a soft sob escaped. Mortified, I slapped my hands over the offending orifice.
“Cyn?” This time his voice was sharper, his frustration evident.
“Kayden?” His name was a whisper, but it also had me grabbing my
discarded blanket and wrapping it around me toga style. I stumbled to the doorway, sticking to the heavier pools of shadow. “Here, I’m here.” My voice was shaky, but he heard me and reached out to turn on the kitchen lights. “No,
don’t.” It came out sharp. Maybe too sharp.
His hand hung in mid-motion, before he slowly dropped it. “Are you okay?”
Instead of answering with a lie, I asked, “How did you get in?”
He held up a key. “Got a copy from Terrance.” He moved closer. “Where
have you been?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.” I forced my legs to carry me over to the
couch and away from him. I curled into the corner, tucking the blanket around
