Fate was a bitch; there was no doubt about it.
But the cards had been dealt, and it was far too late in the game to change them. All she could do was figure out a way to win the hand.
And maybe even the man.
* * * *
Awareness returned slowly. Pain hit first—not sharp pain, just a muted, constant ache that thumped in time with the throbbing in his head. But gradually, sounds overtook his focus on the aches and he stirred. Somewhere to his left came the soft ticking of a clock, and from directly ahead, the squeak of a trolley being wheeled along and the murmur of distant voices. Close to his right came the slow inhale and exhale of someone sleeping.
It was a sound Cade would have recognized anywhere. He'd once spent his nights just lying beside Vannah, listening to her sleep. Wondering when the job that had become something of a dream come true would all come crashing down.
Which it had, all too soon.
Because of the lies that had stood between them. Because of who he was and what he had been there to do.
He opened his eyes. She was curled up in the chair next to him, wrapped in a blanket that covered her from neck to toe. She'd taken off the black wig, and her golden hair fell around her face, a silken shower that made his fingers itch with the need to just run through it.
Even though ten years had passed, in sleep she was still that innocent looking woman he'd met so long ago. And she was just as beautiful, even with the scar. Only when she was awake could you see the real change. Once, her green eyes had been filled with life and laughter. Now the only thing to be seen there was wariness and distance. And that made him sad. He might have been at Rosehall to do a job, but he'd tried to shield her as much as he could, even if she thought otherwise.
Part of him wished they could just start over again—wished the history between them could be just swept away so that all that was left was intense attraction. It would have been fun to explore just where that attraction might have led. But he was who he was, and she was who she was, and the way they now interacted with each other was never going to change. He was too hotheaded, too possessive in nature, and she was too free spirited. It wouldn't have worked back then. It probably wouldn't work now.
He forced his gaze from her and looked around. White walls, white-sheeted beds, and white coated men and women walking past the door of his room. He was obviously in a hospital.
So why was he here? Memory hit even as the question went through his mind. He realized what had happened. What she'd done.
Anger surged through him, and his gaze jumped back to her. As if sensing his fury, her cool green eyes opened and she stared back at him. The defiance so evident in her gaze only fueled the fires of his anger to greater heights.
"You had no right to do what you did.” Though he tried to keep his voice carefully neutral, anger crept through. Raiding his mind was one thing—he could hardly rail against the intrusion when he did it for a living himself—but raiding his psyche, his very soul, was another matter entirely.
"I did it to save your life.” Her voice was as cool as her eyes, yet he sensed an anger in her that was equal to his own.
As if she had anything to be angry about this time.
"You accuse me of mind rape, yet all I did was read your mind. What you and your sister did last night was a far worse kind of intrusion."
"You didn't just read my mind, Cade; you broke through several shields to do it."
"And you didn't?"
"We didn't break through. We parted."
"There's a difference?"
"There most certainly is."
He snorted. “You sure you're not trying to justify your own actions?"
"No. And I can show you the damn difference if you want."
"I hardly think you could take my mind now that I'm awake and fully aware."
"Cade, you know jack when it comes to telepathy. The golden pack has had centuries of training behind them. We've forgotten more than your goddamn teachers at the academy will ever learn."
The academy had some of the best telepaths in the States as trainers. Granted, none were from the golden packs, but that didn't mean they were any less capable. “You have no idea what you're talking about, woman."
Her eyebrows rose. “Meaning you're willing to partake in a little demonstration?"
"Anytime, babe."