45. Delilah
DELILAH
The bell over the bakery door chimes fifteen minutes before we open.
I look up from the register and see Niko standing in the doorway.
Not Kane.
Niko.
"We're not open yet," I say.
He closes the door behind him. "I know."
I cross my arms. "What do you want?"
"Five minutes of your time."
"For what?"
"To talk."
"About?"
"Kane."
I turn back to the register. "I don't want to discuss Kane."
"He's falling apart."
"I doubt that."
Niko moves closer. "I'm not joking, Delilah. He's not eating. He's barely sleeping. He looks like death."
"I'm sure he'll survive."
"Will he?"
I look at Niko. "What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? That I'll take him back?"
"I want you to know what leaving him did."
"I know what it did. I was there when I did it."
"He sits in his office all day. He doesn't go out. He doesn't see anyone. He just works until he can't anymore, and then he goes upstairs and stares into the void."
"Niko—"
"He drives past your bakery every night. Did you know that?"
The memory of our last meeting stabs between my ribs.
I saw his car that first night at the beginning of the month. Recognized it immediately. I'd just been putting the finishing touches on the Christmas decorations, and there it was. Black, sleek, parked out of sight. Unmistakably Kane's car.
Part of me wanted to ignore it. To let him sit out there in the cold, watching me work.
But the other part—the part that still misses him—wanted to go outside and ask him to come in.
I did neither.
I just kept working. And he kept watching.
Until last week, when I finally confronted him.
I remember the way he looked when he turned around. Exhausted. Desperate.
I remember the way my chest ached when he said he missed me.
And I remember walking away from him anyway.
Because wanting him isn't enough.
Trust has to come first.
"Yeah," I say finally. "I know."
Niko studies me. "And you let him?"
"What was I supposed to do? Have him arrested for parking on a public street?"
"You could have talked to him."
"I did talk to him. I told him to stop."
Niko's jaw tightens. "And did he?"
I don't answer.
Because I don't know if he stopped.
I haven't looked for his car since Thursday night. I haven't let myself.
"He loves you," Niko says. "And I know he fucked up. But he's trying. He really is."
"Trying how? By stalking me?"
"By respecting your boundaries. He's sending you every piece of information we find. Through Skye, like you asked. And he's making sure you're safe even though you told him to leave you alone."
My throat tightens.
Because I know Kane is still protecting me.
I get the reports from Skye. Updates, new evidence. All of it sent within hours of being discovered.
Kane kept his word about that.
But it doesn't change what he did.
"I can't trust him," I say. “Or maybe I just refuse to. If there’s even a difference.”
“There is. The difference is whether you're protecting yourself or punishing him."
I glare at Niko. "You don't get to—"
"He made a mistake. A bad one. But he owned it. He apologized. And he's doing everything you asked."
"He lied to me." My voice starts to shake. "He knew about my mother and he didn't tell me."
"And we can all agree that was shitty of him."
"Great," I snap. "Glad we agree."
"He fucked up, Delilah. That doesn't mean he's suddenly evil incarnate."
God, this man is unnerving. Almost as unnerving as his brother.
"I'm not saying he is." I cross my arms over my chest and swallow the knot in my throat. "But what am I supposed to do? Just forgive him?"
Niko exhales. "That's up to you. I'm just asking you to think about whether you want to spend the rest of your life without him. Because that's where this is headed."
The rest of my life.
Niko's words stab me right through the heart.
He turns toward the door.
"Wait," I say.
He stops.
"Is he really that bad?"
Niko looks back at me. "Yeah. He really is."
He reaches for the door handle.
"Niko."
"What?"
"Is he safe?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean is he doing something stupid? Or dangerous?"
Niko's mood shifts. "Define dangerous."
My stomach drops. "Niko."
He hesitates. Then he says, "Vetrov threatened to kill the accountant before the hearing."
I go still. "What?"
"Thomas Fisk. The one who gave us the financial records. Vetrov found out he was cooperating. Now he's threatening him."
"When did this happen?"
"Yesterday."
"And you're just telling me now?"
"Kane didn't want you to know. He thought—"
"He thought I couldn't handle it?"
Niko winces. "Fuck. I'm not doing him any favors, am I?"
I should be angrier about this. Kane lied. He hid crucial information to protect me—again.
But right now, anger has to take a backseat.
"Forget favors." I press my palms down on the counter. "Where's Fisk now?"
"Safe house. Guarded."
"By whom?"
"Our men. Yuri set it up."
"Is he okay?"
"For now."
"What does that mean?"
Just then, his phone vibrates.
He pulls it out, blinks at the screen for a second, then hisses, "Shit."
"What's wrong?"
"Yuri just learned Vetrov found the safe house. We need to move Fisk. Now."
My pulse spikes. "Then move him."
"We are. Kane's coordinating with Yuri right now."
"Right now? As in they're doing it right now?"
"Yeah."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Niko—"
"Delilah, I can't. It's for your safety and his."
I grab his arm. "You need to protect him."
"We are."
"No. I mean you need to protect Fisk. He's the only witness who can connect Vetrov to the payments. Without him, the legal case falls apart."
"I'm aware."
"Then get more men. Get whoever you need. Just make sure he stays alive."
Niko watches me for a moment. Then he pulls out his phone. "I'll call Kane."
"Do it."
He dials.
The phone rings twice before Kane answers. I can't hear what he says, but Niko's brow furrows.
"I'm at the bakery," Niko says. "Delilah wants an update."
He listens.
"Yeah, she knows about Fisk. And she wants to know what the plan is."
Another pause.
"I'll tell her."
He starts to lower the phone.
I snatch it from his hand before he can end the call.
"Kane."
"Lilah." His voice comes through rough, tired.
My chest aches at the sound of my name.
"What's happening?" I demand.
"We're moving Fisk to a second location. Yuri's with me. We have four men on the perimeter."
"Is that enough?"
"It'll have to be. More would give us away."
"Kane—"
"I'll keep him safe."
"And yourself?"
He doesn't answer right away. Then he says, "I'll be fine."
"Promise me."
"Lilah—"
"Promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise."
I hold the phone against my ear and listen to Kane breathing on the other end.
He sounds exhausted. Worn down.
Just the way Niko described.
And I want to be angry. I want to yell at him for hiding the Fisk threat from me. For making decisions about what I can handle without asking.
But right now, all I can think about is how dangerous Vetrov is.
"Are you still there?" Kane asks.
"Yeah."
"Do you need anything else?"
Come back safely.
Don't get hurt.
Don't make me lose you before I figure out if I can forgive you.
I swallow hard. "Just don't do anything stupid."
His voice softens at that. "I won't."
"Kane—"
"I need to go."
"Okay."
He hesitates. Then he says, "I'm sorry. About Fisk. About not telling you."
He's always sorry.
But sorry doesn't fix the pattern.
"I know," I say.
The line goes quiet.
Then Kane says, "I'll call Skye when this is over."
He ends the call before I can respond.
I give a cursory glance to the phone in my hand.
Then I hand it back to Niko.
He pockets it. "Feel better?"
"No."
"He'll be fine."
"You don't know that."
"I do. Kane's smart. And he's got Yuri with him. They'll get Fisk out."
I press my hands to my face. "I can't lose—" Kane's name sticks in my throat. I clear it. "I can't lose that accountant, Niko. Without his testimony, Vetrov wins. He takes my bakery. And everything Kane sacrificed was for nothing."
"We won't lose him."
"You can't promise that."
"No. But I can promise Kane will do everything in his power to keep him alive."
I lower my hands. "Go."
"What?"
"Go help them. You should be there. Not here, pretending Kane didn't send you here to keep an eye on me while Vetrov is volatile."
"I—"
"Don't lie to me, Niko. You're terrible at it."
He studies me for a moment. Then he nods. "Fine. I'll go. I'll keep you updated."
Then he leaves.
I stand there in the bakery, staring at the door.
My hands won't stop shaking.
I try to go back to work. To finish setting up the display cases. Prep the dough for the next batch of pastries.
But all I can think about is Kane.
Kane driving to the safe house.
Kane evacuating Fisk.
Kane putting himself in danger because I need that accountant's testimony.
And Niko's words keep echoing in my head.
He sits in his office all day. He doesn't go out. He doesn't see anyone.
He looks like death.
I wanted Kane to miss me.
I wanted him to feel what I felt when he lied.
But I never wanted this.
I never wanted to wonder if I'd get another chance to tell him I miss him, too.
Three hours pass.
I bake a dozen loaves of sourdough I don't need. I wipe down tables that are already clean. Rearrange the display case twice.
Priya arrives before noon and finds me scrubbing the same counter for the third time.
"Delilah."
I don't look up. "What?"
"What's going on?"
"Nothing."
"You're cleaning the same spot over and over."
"So?"
She takes the rag from my hand. "Talk to me."
I exhale. "Kane's moving the accountant. The one testifying against Vetrov."
"Okay."
"Vetrov found the safe house. He's threatening to kill him."
Her eyebrows touch the ceiling. "Shit."
"Yeah."
"Is Kane okay?"
"I don't know. He said he'd call when it was done. That was three hours ago."
"Maybe it's taking longer than expected."
"Or maybe something went wrong."
"You don't know that."
"I don't know anything."
She sets the rag on the counter. "Do you want me to call Niko?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because if something happened, they'll tell me."
"And if nothing happened and you're worrying yourself to death for no reason?"
"Then Kane will call with an update as soon as he can."
She studies me. "You're scared."
"Of course I'm scared. He's protecting the only witness who can save my bakery."
"That's not why you're scared."
I don't respond.
Because she's right.
I'm not just scared about losing Fisk's testimony.
I'm scared about losing Kane.
About never getting the chance to tell him—
My phone vibrates.
I grab it so fast I almost drop it.
Kane's name appears on the screen.
I answer. "Kane."
"We got him out."
Relief floods through me. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah. Shaken, but alive."
"And you?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Kane—"
"Lilah, I'm fine. I promise."
I close my eyes. "What happened?"
"Vetrov's men were waiting when we arrived. They blocked the exit. But Yuri got Fisk out through the back while I held them off."
"You held them off?"
"With four men. It wasn't just me."
"But you were there."
"Yeah. I was there."
"Jesus, Kane."
"It's over now. Fisk is secure. And he's finally ready to talk."
I open my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"He's been holding back despite our deal. Worried about implicating himself along with Vetrov. But tonight made him realize withholding evidence won't protect him. He's authorizing his lawyer to release everything. And he'll give investigators a full statement."
"Everything?"
"Everything. The payments to Marat. The Halyard Group connection. The bribes. All of it."
I sink into a chair. "That's enough to connect Vetrov to the kidnapping and the arson. To expose the redevelopment scheme."
"It is."
"And Fletcher?"
"Fisk doesn't have direct evidence on Fletcher. But the financial records prove Vetrov's the one funding the development. And that's enough to destroy his credibility with investors."
"Skye needs to see this."
"I'll have Gershon send it to her tonight."
"Kane—"
"What?"
I want to tell him to be careful. To stay safe. To come see me.
But I can't.
Because we're broken up.
And nothing's changed.
"Thank you," I say instead.
"You don't have to thank me."
"Yes, I do. You risked your life tonight to protect someone I need."
"I'd do it again."
"I know."
There's a long pause. Then he says, "Lilah."
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you called earlier. Even if it was just to yell at me."
My heart clenches. "I wasn't yelling."
"You were a little."
"I was worried."
"I know."
"Don't do it again."
"Do what?"
"Put yourself in danger."
"I can't promise that."
"Kane—"
"But I can promise I'll be careful."
"That's not the same thing."
"It's the best I've got."
I exhale. "Fine."
"Goodbye, Lilah."
"Goodbye."
I end the call and set the phone on the counter.
Priya is watching me. "He's okay?"
"Yeah."
"And the accountant?"
"Safe. And ready to testify."
"That's good."
"Yeah."
She waits. When I don't say anything else, she asks, "Are you going to call him back?"
"Why would I do that?"
"Because you look like you want to."
"I don't."
"Liar."
I glare at her. "Don't."
"Don't what? Point out that you're still in love with him?"
"I'm not—"
"Yes, you are. And that's okay."
"It's not okay. He lied to me."
"And you're punishing him for it."
"I'm protecting myself."
"Are you? Or are you just scared?"
I don't answer.
Because maybe she's right.
Maybe I am scared.
Scared that if I go back, he'll lie again. Scared that if I stay away, I'll lose him for good.
Scared that I've already made the wrong choice.
I pick up my phone and pull up Skye's number.
Then I type out a message.
ME: Kane just called. The accountant is safe and ready to give a full statement. Gershon will send you the new records tonight. Use everything. Even if it implicates Kane.
I hesitate before adding the last part.
But Skye needs to know I'm serious.
I send the message.
Priya reads over my shoulder. "Even if it implicates Kane?"
"The forged guaranty. If Fisk's records prove Kane knew about it from the beginning, Skye needs to include that evidence."
"That could hurt him."
"I know."
"And you're okay with that?"
I meet her eyes. "I want the truth. All of it. No matter who it hurts."
She studies me for a moment. Then she nods. "Okay."
My phone lights up with Skye's reply.
SKYE: Got it. I'll review everything tonight and loop you in tomorrow. The new evidence is strong. This could be what we need to bury Vetrov.
I set the phone down.
"You did the right thing," Priya says.
"Did I?"
"Yeah. You did."
I want to believe her.
But all I can think about is Kane's voice on the phone.
Tired. Rough. But still here.
Still keeping his promises.
Even after I walked away.