We gathered in Aiden’s kitchen, he and I, and Jack and Brent. They were all dressed alike, all in dark cargo pants and dark t-shirts, looking for all the world like they were part of some special ops team. And, in a way, they were.

“I texted the system back at the office," Aiden explained, “the moment they broke into your house again.”

“We got the signal and brought a team,” Jack told me. “We got here within ten minutes of getting the word.”

“That’s it?” I looked from face to face. “You guys storm in and take everyone out and we just go home?”

“No. The local law enforcement will have to be notified.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “But in this particular instance, I thought it would be better to contact a friend of mine with the DEA.”

I nodded, a sense of dread that had become habit when the acronym DEA was spoken near me. I leaned back against the counter, my knees growing quite weak now that it was all over, now that the adrenaline was gone and the pain was increasing. Aiden came to me and pressed a hand against the towel I was using to stem the flow of blood from my belly.

“We should get you to a hospital.”

“I want her to talk to this agent first,” Jack cut in.

Aiden glared at him. “She’s bleeding. She needs a doctor.”

The two brothers seemed ready to go toe-to-toe, but before they could, a group of people stormed into the kitchen like they owned the place. I recognized one of them the moment he stepped over the threshold, the sight of him making my heart stutter a little. And not in a good way.

“Dr. Bailey,” he said, coming toward me. “Imagine my surprise seeing you here.”

“Well, it wasn’t really my idea.”

“No, I don’t suppose it was.”

He looked me over, his eyes hesitating on the bloody towel Aiden was still pressing against my stomach. His eyes moved slowly back up to my face. “You’re injured?”

“It’s a knife wound she sustained a couple of weeks ago in an attack by a local motorcycle club,” Jack offered. “The stitches were ripped during this little fracas.”

The man nodded, his eyes never leaving my face. “You’re okay?”

“I will be.”

He came to me and took my hands between both of mine. “I can’t tell you how sincerely sorry I am for everything that’s happened in the last few years. The failure of WITSEC was completely unexpected and never should have happened. We’ve investigated and believe we know what happened and the problem has been dealt with.”

I inclined my head. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you’re safe. And now that Stamosson is dead, the threat to your life is greatly reduced. We can’t, without a doubt, say that Mr. J won’t send anyone else after you, but it seems unlikely.”

“Then I’m free?”

“You are. But you should keep my card in case anything else happens.”

I nodded, tossing my arms around his neck. This was the man who’d convinced me to testify, the man who swore I would be safe and could practice medicine again. And this was the man I’d blamed for the failure of the WITSEC arrangement. But he was climbing again in my good graces with that statement.

“Then it’s all true?” Aiden asked.

I glanced at him even as the DEA agent nodded. “All of it,” he said.

“I told you, Aiden,” Jack said. “My contacts have no reason to lie.”

“Wait. You knew all this before I told you?”

Aiden glanced at Jack who stared back at him.

“Jack thought he recognized you, and after you were stabbed—”

“You knew and you let me go on like a damn fool, apologizing and arguing over my choices? You knew and you still doubted me?”

Aiden reached for my arm, but I jerked away and spun on my heel, marching out the back door of his house. I didn’t know where I was going because the backyard was locked up like Fort Knox, a heavy lock holding the back gate closed. But I needed to get away anyway.

Aiden chased after me, snagging my arm as I marched away. He pulled me around and forced me to face him. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t that I doubted you. But…shit, Carson, what would you think if you heard a story like that?”

“But you knew the truth and you made me tell it over, thinking it was the first time you were hearing it!”

“Maybe that wasn’t fair, but—”

“Wasn’t fair? It was damn cruel!”

“Carson—”

“No, you don’t get to do that. You don’t get to take the high road on this one.”

He held up his hands as though saying he surrendered. Then he dropped down on one knee, staring up at me like a child begging for a cookie before dinner.

“I love you, Carson. I was hurt and I was angry, but I love you and I’m sorry for anything and everything I’ve done to hurt you.”

I shook my head. “I hate you. How could you do that to me? You were the first person I trusted, the first person I let into my life like this! How could you not believe me?”

“I believe you now.”

“Because it came to roost in your own house!”

He got back up on his feet and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me a little as he pulled me into him. “I’m sorry. What more can I say?”

I looked up at him, anger burning in my chest. But then it began to wane a little as he stared down at me with naked emotion on his face. I shook my head as I moved into him.

“I hate you.”

“I know.”

“We can’t do this again. We can’t keep secrets. We can’t tell lies.”

“I know.”

“I just want to have a normal life, to be myself again and to be with you.”

“And I want to get to know the real you.”

I pulled back slightly and looked up at him. “Take me to dinner.”

He chuckled softly. “I’d love to.”

“After the hospital.” I touched my side, fresh blood coming away on the palm of my hand. “I really think I tore something I shouldn’t have.”

He scooped me up in his arms without another word and carried me through the house to the SUVs parked out in the street. He held me the entire way, making one of Jack’s men drive. And when we arrived, I was given the VIP treatment, Jack having called ahead to let them know we were coming.

“He actually does like you,” Aiden assured me as we waited for the doctor to come assess the damage.

“I think I like him, too.”

Aiden smiled. He leaned down and kissed me gently, that touch taking my breath just like it did the first time.

Would it always be like that?

I certainly hoped so.