"Why did you leave her?" Although spoken just above a whisper, the sharp question woke me from the fog of my nightmares.

"This is not my fault! You walked out on us both. And don't forget, it was your girlfriend who did this." The second voice was louder, a weak attempt at a whisper. Somewhere, not so distant, glass shattered to the floor startling me. "Don't get angry with me! This whole time, I have been trying to protect her. As soon as she's well enough to travel, we're going home." I tried to force my lids open, to see what was going on as the argument continued.

"What about the letters?"

What letters? I thought, confused.

"You aren't going to know what to make of any of it unless I help you."

The evil laugh that followed could only belong to Garrett. "You have proven yourself far less than useful. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you wanted her to be killed. You are probably right in bed with these people aren't you?"

"You're daft, man. I can't imagine why she trusts you. Don't pretend you could have saved her without me either."

Garrett sounded furious now. He was making no attempt to keep his volume low. "Sure you fight like some sort of ninja and you can sew a wound. What of it? You're not fooling me. I know what you people are!" The sentence was punctuated with the familiar thud of fist meeting flesh. I opened my eyes in time to see Garrett retract his punch from Kael's injured side. I could see in Kael's face that he was prepared to retaliate. I started to sit up and tried to shout, "No!" though my voice lacked audible quality.

Both heads turned in my direction in surprise. Garrett leapt over to take a seat on a chair by my bed, looking over, rubbing his hand on his pant leg nervously. "Hey, you ok, Harper?"

Surprised to find myself back in my guest room, I glanced around me. The curtains were partially drawn, but I could see that it was dark outside. I must have been unconscious for some time. I tried to nod, propping myself on a weak elbow to sit up. Kael came over and pushed me down gently, crouching by the bed, "Lie down."

I tried to whisper, but the words just wouldn't form. What's wrong with me?

"What?" Kael asked, recognizing my efforts. He put his ear down toward my mouth, his hair lightly brushing my face.

"Don't... hurt him," I breathed.

His face came back above mine, looking hurt. "Ok," he nodded. "I won't, just rest." I gave a feeble attempt at a smile. He'd given the response I had wanted. I closed my eyes, trying to recall what had happened to bring me to this state.

"As soon as your neck injury allows, we're getting out of here. It's not as safe as we were led to believe," Garrett was glaring at Kael as he spoke to me.

I shook my head, trying to clear the fuzzy spots in my memory. A bandage rubbed the tender skin at the nape of my neck as I moved. "It's ok. It's my fault." My voice was slowly recovering with use. I didn't want their fight to resume. I looked at Garrett and whispered a string of explanations, "I got myself locked in there. She started talking to me. I guess I didn't see the danger in it. She offered me information." I shook my head, hoping my explanation was adequate.

"What did she tell you?" Kael asked.

I looked away, unsure what I wanted to divulge, but Garrett spoke, irritated. "For goodness sake, man, quit worrying about your own agenda. She couldn't have told her anything to make you out to be worse than we already know you are, be sure of that."

Actually, she could have, I thought.

"I'll take the first watch," Garrett called back to Kael who was headed for the door. Turning back to me he said, "You need to rest. The medications haven't worn off. He had to fix your shoulder." He saw me wince and patted my hand reassuringly. "Nothing too worrisome, I promise."

I heard my bedroom door close behind Kael as he left. Garrett offered my hand another encouraging pat and went to sit on the sofa.

I found it impossible to sleep with him in my room. He was never silent between rustling papers and incessant tapping on his phone. I kept my eyes closed, trying to sleep. The hours crawled by. I was about to confess my sleeplessness when my door opened and Kael came in. He nodded toward Garrett who stood up.

I heard Garrett whisper, "I'm right around the corner. If you try anything, I'll hear it."

It was a lie; Garrett was one of the hardest of sleepers. Nevertheless, he left his threat hanging in the air and closed the door behind him. Kael leaned against the door and slid down to sit becoming motionless, his actions identical to what he had done the other night. While his method of protection should have been more conducive to my sleep than Garrett's, I found myself even less able to sleep in his company. How could he just sit there so still? Garrett had hardly spent two seconds together in the same position.

"Hey," I whispered. His head turned toward me. When he didn't move to get up, I tried again, a little louder, "Hey."

He stood then and walked over, towering over me when he arrived at the bedside. Momentarily, I regretted that I had been so bold. The smallest amount of fear crept inside me, but I pushed it aside.

"Why did you come back the other night? When you said you wouldn't," I spoke softly, now suspecting I knew the answer.

"Scoot over," he whispered. I hesitated for a moment, finally deciding he meant only to sit. Once seated on the edge of my bed he explained, "I told you I wouldn't come back until morning. It was 5:30. I thought you were asleep?"

I ignored his question and asked one of my own, "Were you keeping watch?"

"What do you think, Harper?"

I nodded, knowing my guess had been correct.

"What were you guys fighting about earlier?" I asked. When he didn't respond, I pressed on, "you shouldn't hurt Garrett. He means well."

Kael sighed impatiently and pushed back to lean against the headboard.

"Did he hurt your broken ribs?" I asked softly.

"Why do my broken ribs bother you so much?" He turned and looked down at me though I couldn't make out his face in the dim moonlight.

"Because it's my fault. If I wouldn't have been, well, attached to you, you would have been able to fight properly. Not to mention you were defending me when it happened. So, yeah, Kael, your broken ribs bother me. They bother me a lot." I sat up with that, not liking the way he was towering over me.

After a minute Kael broke the silence, "Do you have the letters your father was writing to you?"

Surprised by the change in topic, it took me a moment to formulate a response. Garrett must have told him. "Not really. Does it matter? They were a bunch of nonsense about current politics and weather. He kept it fairly general."

"What do you mean, not really?" Kael asked.

"Well, when I started getting them, I would scan them and send them to Garrett. He loved how intriguing it all was. So I suppose they might be in my sent folder or his inbox."

"Really? That's good. We'll take a look in the morning. I think there might be more in them than weather and politics."

"Like a code or something?"

I liked the idea but wasn't sure how we would decipher it.

"Perhaps. We had one we would use in our correspondence and invoices. That way, if they were intercepted, they couldn't be understood by anyone else."

"Nice."

He laughed softly.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you ready to sleep now?" he asked. He went to stand up, but I grabbed ahold of his arm.

"Kael, who's Ava Price?" My voice was soft, but I was determined to get an answer.

He moaned and leaned his head against the headboard. "How did you hear about Ava?" he asked, then paused and added darkly, "...Madeline," almost to himself.

I stayed silent, hoping he would keep talking, but he didn't. Fighting my impulses, I said nothing as well. I could play his game. He had used this technique on me in the past, using silence to release the dam of words welled up in me then but not this time. He had something to hide. Otherwise, he would have said something by now. I could offer a small tidbit, just enough to tempt him. No, I would wait. The suspense had to be killing him, wondering if I knew about his nefarious dealings with my mother. If he confessed to it, as I had a suspicion he would, I wasn't sure the best way to respond. After a moment's reflection, I decided anger. I would demand a full recount of his actions before throwing him from the room. That would wake Garrett up and lead to another blow to those cracked ribs. I winced at the thought. In this case, however, it would be well deserved.

The minutes ticked by. Finally I accepted that he was better at this tortuous game than me.

"Madeline said Ava Price was my mother. She said you killed her." I whispered the words softly, but knew they hit their mark when he said nothing. "Do you deny it? She said Gideon ordered the kill and she refused, so the order came to you instead. Did you know who she was?"

When he said nothing again, I turned to look at him, his dark figure still leaning motionless against the headboard. Why was he being so difficult? I leaned forward, to see his face. His eyes were closed. I then noted his even breathing, the methodic rise and fall of his chest. "Oh." I whispered. I sat back, not sure what to do. I wondered if Garrett was coming back soon. He would kill Kael in his sleep if he saw him sitting even a foot from me, let alone beside me. I suspected it had been long enough since shift change to assume that he was sleeping right through his second shift.

I decided to leave him alone, for now. Slowly, I slid down until I was lying on my back. Sleep would never come now, but it was worth a try. How he could he fall asleep when I had brought up the woman he killed suggested he had no conscience at all. I would be wise to remember, however, that my source could have twisted some, if not all of the truth. I had forgotten to ask Kael if Madeline was dead. Every time I asked, I expected him to say yes. One of these times, I knew he would. Someday, I would sit down with him and get all the answers. Whether it was here at Harper manor or in a police station prior to his court hearing, I wanted the whole story. I turned to the side, watching him. Strangely, I felt safe. After a while, my eyelids grew heavy, and I yielded to my body's cry for sleep.

*****

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