Deep Under

Chapter Fourteen

Kyle

I didn't plan to be naked and on top of Myla when I tell her who I am, but every instinct I own says that if I shut her down now, she will shut me out.

"Are you FBI?" Myla asks, trying to fill in the blanks I haven't, which is exactly what I don't want her doing. "Because if you are," she continues, "I gave you the list of the Alvarez locations. I can't help you more than that, or I'll get Kara killed. You know that."

"I'm not FBI, Myla. I've told you that."

"Are you loyal to Alvarez then?"

"You know better," I say. "I know you do."

"Kara," she supplies, going to the only logical next place. "She sent you."

And there it is. "I didn't tell Kara I was coming here," I say, not ready to tell her Kara found out anyway.

"But you know her."

"She's a friend. Her husband, Blake Walker, is my boss at Walker Security, the company I work for, and also my best friend."

"Damn it," she hisses. "I should have known. I did know. You're going to get her killed." She shoves ineffectually at my chest, her legs pushing against mine. "Let me up, Kyle," she demands. "I have to figure out how to save her before you get her killed."

"She's safe, Myla. Blake took her to Washington and has her locked in a hotel room until this is over."

"So does she or does she not know I'm alive?"

"She doesn't, but Blake's telling her tonight."

"No. No, you can't let him tell her."

"She knows Alvarez is alive. She figured out I'm undercover in his operation and showed up here yesterday."

"Here? Right here?"

"Yes. We quickly got her out of Texas, but if she starts feeling out of the loop, she'll come back. The best way to keep her safe is to keep her informed."

"Kara won't stand down if she knows I'm alive. You can't know her and not know that."

"Kara knows how to stay alive and she wants you alive," I say. "She won't do anything to endanger any of us. And Blake won't let her out of that hotel room if he thinks any differently. Look. Sweetheart, I can make sense out of any question you have if you let me. The question is, can I let you up to talk without us having a problem?"

"Yes. We can. Please let me up."

"And I can do this without you going for the gun and shooting me for real this time?"

"I'll shoot if my sister ends up dead."

"Well, then, I'm safe, because that's not going to happen." I ease off of her, and help her sit, snagging my shirt from the end of the couch and pulling it over her head. She shoves her hands through the sleeves, immediately facing forward, her feet on the floor, her arms folding in front of herself, everything about her body language defensive, withdrawn. Forcing myself to give her space, I move away from her, but I don't let her escape fully, choosing to sit on the coffee table directly in front on her.

"I would never risk Kara's life," I promise her. "I need you to know that. I love her like a sister. And her husband, Blake, he and his entire family are family to me."

"Why didn't you just tell me the truth?"

"For starters, I was taken off guard that you were here at all. I had no way of knowing you were the person I was guarding. Once I did, I had no way of knowing, if you were really aligned with Alvarez, or even brainwashed to support him, which is not uncommon in captive situations. Once I knew you weren't, it was clear that you'd sacrificed yourself to protect Kara. It also became clear to me that she could truly be in danger. I damn sure wasn't going to tell you who I was until I knew she was safe. I wanted you to have that peace of mind and frankly, I wasn't sure what you'd do to protect her if I hadn't."