My phone rings and I jerk awake, the loud tone completely disrupting me. Keyra shifts in his sleep but doesn’t wake, and Nova is snoring softly, curled up to her.

She’s been doing that a lot lately, favoring Keyra. I’d be a little offended if it didn’t warm me so much.

I pull away and sit up, blearily looking at the screen. I take it into the bathroom, closing the door and answering, so I don’t disturb my girls.

“Yeah?” My voice is rough with sleep and I yawn, sitting on the closed toilet.

“Keyra?” A voice hisses, and I realize that like an idiot, I’ve picked up Keyra’s phone. But who’s calling her this late?

“Sorry, this is her boyfriend. She’s asleep.”

“You need to wake her up right now, this concerns both of you.” I hear a door close in the background, and the woman’s voice gets louder like they can finally talk.

“Is it important? If it’s something that can wait, I’d rather not bother her.”

“Well golly gee, I don’t know. Is a rape allegation important enough to you?”

My blood goes cold.

I don’t know who the hell this person is, but apparently, Keyra does so I open the door and rush to the bed, gently shaking her awake. I turn the night-stand light on.

“Hm?” She blinks, wiping a little drool away from the side of her lip. “Wha’ you want?” She opens her eyes fully and sits up straight when she sees my face. “Dane, what’s wrong?”

I don’t know what I look like, but if it’s anything like I feel, then I imagine it’s pretty alarming.

The first thing I think about is Addison. What if I never get to see my little girl again?

I just found her. I can’t lose her so soon.

I can’t.

I swallow what feels like sandpaper in my throat and pass her the phone, rooted to my spot. She puts it to her ear and I’m too busy running through the past few months in my head to hear what she’s murmuring, but she slides off the other side of the bed and runs to the living room.

I follow numbly, just standing in the middle of the room, a montage of every time Addi smiled at me running through my mind.

Keyra’s at the desk, scribbling something on a sheet of paper, and she clicks off the phone and turns to me.

Her face is as somber as I’ve ever seen it.

“I’m going to ask you something, and I don’t want you to think about how I might feel.” She lifts her chin, clearing any emotion from her eyes. “I need you to be honest with me. Okay?”

“Okay.” I brace myself, hating the closed off look she has. This is Business Keyra, no doubt about it.

“At any point, were you and Natalie sexually involved while she was staying here?”

“Never.” I straighten, rigid because I realize right then that Natalie hadn’t changed at all.

“You didn’t touch her. You didn’t have sex with her. Nothing sexual in nature ever happened?” She asks, voice flat and clear.

“Never, Keyra. Not before you got back and not after.” I move towards her, but she puts a hand up and I stop cold. Is she upset with me? God, does she not believe me?

“Don’t. Not…just…I can help you.” She ducks her head, taking a breath. “But I need to be clear right now. I need to know that I’m not about to go to bat for a man that’s not worth it.”

“How can you even ask me? How do you not know?” I walk towards her again, stopping about a foot away. It’s close enough to see the pain in her eyes that she’s trying to hide and I realize that it’s no easier for her to ask me than it is for me to hear it.

I put my pride aside and humble myself in that moment, meeting her gaze and hoping she sees the conviction in mine.

“I never touched Natalie for more than a hug. We never kissed, we were never intimate. I never had any kind of sex with her.”

She searches my face for a long moment and I never blink. In the space of a second, it’s as if she wilts. She braces a hand on the desk and turns away from me, rubbing her chest and her breath huffing out.

“Baby.” I put a gentle hand on her back and she stands and shakes her head.

“I’m okay. I just…it’s a lot.” She pulls her lips between her teeth, looking up. “Uh, put a few things together and pack a bag.”

“A bag? Where are we going?”

“Anywhere but here. I need more time.” She mumbles, rushing back to the bedroom. She’s a whirlwind, but I know when she gets like this, not to bother her with questions. “I’ll put things together for Nova.”

I do as she instructs.

I trust her. I trust her judgment, and there’ll be time for me to get all the details later.

When all that’s done, we turn off all the lights and leave. We take Keyra’s car and drop off Nova at Leo’s because he’s awake and on the way to wherever she has in mind. I don’t know when they talked about it, but he hands her his keys and tells her the tank is full when she hands him Nova, and we leave in his black Jeep Cherokee.

We leave the city lights behind and she directs me to drive for however long, I don’t really know. Everything’s a big blur of time to me. Keyra’s been on and off the phone, on her computer. I know we pass water a lot.

We’re in Vermont when she starts giving me smaller directions. A right here, a left there. We turn onto West Shore Road and stop in front of a large lakefront house. I pull onto the gravel and stop the car, raising my brows.

She looks up from her laptop, closing it. “My mom’s grandfather left this place to her. We come up when we need a break from home. It won’t look suspicious that we came after the team lost.”

“Won’t they check here?” I grab our bags, and follow her around and up the stairs. She puts a code into a lockbox and it pops open, revealing a set of keys. Unlocking the door, she motions me in.

“We’re not on the run, I just couldn’t deal with you being taken in for questioning while I figured things out. My friend only found out because she caught a glimpse of some paperwork. She’ll let me know if things get set in motion quicker than I’m anticipating.”

“You have a lot of friends.” I take in the light spilling through the windows and the endless expanse of blue water over the back deck. I wish I could appreciate it fully, but the only thought repeating in my head is I don’t want to lose Addison.

“I’m not a good enemy to have.” She rubs the back of her neck like it’s bothering her and I close the space between us, smoothing my hands down her shoulders, over her arms.

I feel guilty.

“I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I didn’t mean to bring extra stress to your life. I’m supposed to be your relief from all of that.”

She wraps her arms around my waist, tipping her face up to look at me with clear brown eyes.

“Honestly, if I wasn’t taking care of the people I love, I don’t know what I’d do.”

I massage her nape with my hand, kissing her lips tenderly and she closes her eyes, sighing.

“You love me?” I pull back, searching her face.

“Yes, Sire.” She smirks. “Even though you’re bad at keeping roleplay going.”

“Wow, am I being penalized for wanting you and not some wench?” I kiss her again, this time deeper. Harder. “I love you too.”

“You better.” She whispers. Pausing, she pulls away a little. “You know I didn’t think for a second you’d done that to Natalie, right? I just…I had to ask. There’s a lot on the line if this goes south, and not just for you.”

“I know.” I nod my head. “I respect it, and I appreciate you more than I’ll ever be able to express.”

She takes a deep breath, giving me another quick kiss and moving out of my arms.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road. I want her story dismantled in time for me to watch Quantico baby-mama drama free.”