Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

W averly fell asleep on the way home. Kane woke her as he tried to get her out of the car and carry her inside. "My sister is safe? Are you sure?" she asked again.

"She is. She's spending the night with Pen, Rowan, and Damon. Quad is really upset she was taken and is over there along with the undercover FBI agent. Rowan's last report was that everyone was in the living room eating popcorn and candy and watching a movie," Kane told her as he helped her into bed.

Waverly stripped and crawled between the sheets. She was exhausted. Bruno and his men were in custody. Men from the DR3 were in custody. The FBI was closing in on the Medina crime family. She could finally sleep safely.

Sleep she did. Hard. The kind with no dreams. Waverly opened her eyes and blinked with surprise at the sun peeking in through the curtains. She reached out for Kane, but he wasn't in bed.

Waverly rolled back over and looked at the clock. It was almost noon. Voices came from the living room. That must have been what woke her up. Waverly hurried and put on some old clothes, raked her fingers through her hair, and headed to see who was there.

"I just need her signature," Olivia was saying to Kane.

"You'll have to wait until she wakes up." Kane wasn't backing down and she loved him for that.

"I'm up. Thanks for letting me sleep in. I'm finally feeling safe and I guess my body just needed to shut down and recover. What do you need signed?" Waverly asked as Kane got up to kiss her good morning.

"Your two patent applications. We got them ready and I want to get them filed immediately," Olivia said, holding out a stack of papers.

Waverly nodded and took the pen Olivia handed her. It only took a few minutes, but after signing at least ten times, she had two completed applications. "I'll file them right now," Olivia told her as she packed up the papers and grabbed her keys. "I'm glad this, at least, is resolved. Let me know if you need anything else."

Olivia opened the door to leave and found Peter about to knock. Olivia smiled at him but hurried to her car. Waverly would also feel better about having her patents filed, the sooner the better.

"How are you feeling after last night?" Peter asked.

"Better now that I know everyone is in jail. Have you found anything?" Waverly asked him as he came inside and leaned against the kitchen island.

"Yes and no. The warrants on your co-workers came through. So far, we've only learned that Garvey thinks you're brilliant and tells everyone so. Elwood has a crush on you, but is now seeing someone new. And Kelvin thinks he's the smartest man on the planet. He is not. That's what we've learned from their emails. Their financials are all normal. We're digging deeper though. At first glance, they didn't sell you out. We're working on getting the banks to cooperate with the financials of the Medina family. So far, they're fighting the warrant, but we have ways of forcing them to turn over that information," Peter answered.

"If it wasn't my co-workers, then who was it that told the Medinas about my project?" Waverly asked.

"Garvey was trying to sell your invention. We think one of the companies he approached either told someone and it made its way back to the Medinas. Or that third party sold the information to the Medina family. The Medinas probably have people in law enforcement, border patrol, and the DEA. Unfortunately, there are weak people everywhere and people like the Medinas are very good at finding who is easy to turn with a little cash or pressure to a drug addiction or a gambling debt. We may never know who turned on you until we get all of the Medinas' communications, which might take a while, if ever."

Waverly's shoulders slumped. "I'm in limbo until we know who sold me out. What do I do?"

Kane squeezed her shoulder supportively. "The immediate danger has been defused."

"It has," Peter agreed. "We had enough to arrest most of the DR3 in Charleston. Then Bruno's whole organization is either dead, arrested, or on the run in Haiti. Turns out that Bruno stole some guns from a gang leader in Haiti. Somehow, that info got turned over to the gang and now they're hunting down Bruno's men."

Waverly felt her eyes go wide. "Shouldn't you take both gangs out?"

"Wish we could, but we don't have any jurisdiction in Haiti. The best we could do was get that information to someone who could get it in the hands of someone to take care of Bruno's gang to make you safe." Peter sighed. "Sadly, that's how international politics works a lot of the time. The good news however means that, for now at least, you're safe. Your co-workers didn't sell you out. It's safe to go back to work and back to your life."

It felt strange. She had what she wanted. Waverly had her life back.

"Okay," she said slowly. "I guess I'll call Garvey and tell him I'm coming back to work on Monday."

What would that change? Would she leave Shadows Landing? Would she leave Kane? The thought of leaving Kane and a town that had become home to her was heartbreaking. But she'd moved here for her safety, not because they had been in a relationship and Kane hadn't asked her to move in with him permanently. She had her own house. Her own life. Now it was time to get back to it and see if Kane's and her relationship could survive the adjustment.

Peter took his leave and she noticed Kane watching her. He was profiling her and she didn't know how to handle this next step.

"I'll pack the few things I have here and head home."

"Is that what you want?" Kane asked her.

Waverly paused and frowned. She was hardly ever asked what she wanted. She did what was best for her job and for Lark. What she wanted was to stay here in Shadows Landing with Kane, but he hadn't asked her to stay.

"I'm not sure what I want," Waverly admitted. "I love you and I want you, but I also don't know how all this works as we go back to our normal lives."

Waverly saw the quick shot of pain that flashed through Kane's eyes before he blanked them. "I love you too. I want you in my life, but you have to want it too."

"How will it work now that I'm back at work and I assume you're going back to work? I know you've been handing off cases since you took mine."

Kane frowned. "I have been. What exactly are you saying you want to do, Waverly?"

"I want to continue being together, but let's adjust to this new normal of me not being in danger and both of us getting back to our lives to make sure we still fit together the way we do now. Basically, let's date."

"You don't want to break up?" Kane asked, not giving anything away.

"No!" Waverly exclaimed instantly. "I don't want that at all. I want to transition into a normal relationship as if we'd met under normal situations."

"When are you going home?" Kane asked, still not showing his thoughts on the matter.

"Tomorrow. Is that alright?"

"Of course. Then maybe we could get dinner Monday after your first day back at work?"

Waverly smiled. He wasn't giving up on her. "I'd like that a lot."

Kane didn't know what to think. Did Waverly want to put distance between them or was this just her being careful with her heart? His phone rang and he took the reprieve as he answered the call from Wilder.

"Hey, did you make it to New York in time for your meeting?" Kane asked him.

"I did. I'm sorry I couldn't stick around and see how Waverly was doing. I got the text updates though and I'm glad she's safe now. But I'm calling because I have a potential client for you. He wants to meet this weekend," Wilder told him. "However, you'll have to come to New York City."

Wilder had access to a ton of celebrities and sports stars through his exclusive luxury nightclubs all over the world. Several of Kane's first clients had come from Wilder's VIP lists.

"Who is it?" Kane asked, opening up his laptop.

"Jack Griffin, billionaire owner of Griffin Publishing. He has some international travel coming up and wasn't thrilled with the security measures where he's going. I overheard him in my club last night and I mentioned you to him. He was very interested in meeting with you for insurance, but also since you have a personal security contact."

In Kane's periphery, he saw Waverly get up and head to the bedroom. Maybe some time in New York City was what he needed to help recenter his feelings for Waverly. The thought of her leaving his house broke him, and he didn't want to resent her for something that was completely logical and rational. His head understood what Waverly was saying, but his heart didn't.

"I can be there tonight," Kane said, texting Angelica to book him a flight.

"Come to the club when you get in. You need a night to unwind before you meet Jack. He comes across as an asshole, but he's actually a good guy."

Angelica texted him back with flight information. "Sounds good. I'm forwarding you my flight information. See you soon."

Kane hung up and let out a breath. Waverly wanted to see what their relationship would be like in the real world. Well, she was about to get a crash course. And so was he.

Kane found Waverly packing her things in the bedroom. "I'm sorry. I have to meet a potential client in New York City. I'll be back for our date on Monday." Kane reached into his back pocket and pulled out the new cell phone he'd gotten her this morning. "I also got this for you. I put everyone's numbers in it for you."

Waverly turned and he could see her fighting to contain her emotions. She wasn't as good at it as he was. Her eyes were red with the struggle not to cry and it made his heart ache even more.

"Thank you," she said with a smile as she took the phone. The lock screen was a picture of the two of them and he saw her smile grow.

"I have the entire town in there, so if you need anything while I'm gone, just text any of my family or anyone from Shadows Landing. You know, even if you go back to Charleston, you are part of Shadows Landing now."

"Kane," Waverly said, sliding the phone into her back pocket. "How many meetings have you canceled since you met me?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does. I would love nothing more than to stay here, just you and me, in our own little world. But that's not real. This is hard for me to do, and I don't do it lightly. I love you and I don't want to leave you. But we have to see if we can work in the real world."

"I understand that, intellectually. It's just hard to walk away from you."

Waverly shook her head. "You're not walking away from me. You're going to work. We still come back to each other. And if we don't, then we're saving each other even more heartache down the road."

"As I said," Kane said, leaning forward and placing a kiss on her forehead, "my mind understands that. That's why I took this meeting. It's just not easy."

"I know. It's killing me to pack up and think about not having you in my bed at night."

The admission made Kane feel better. She did love him and he loved her. He'd do whatever it took to prove to her they were as good, if not better, without someone out to kill her. Now they could do things couples did. Dates, vacations, trips to the beach, officially moving in with each other, marriage, and yes, kids. He wanted a little girl who acted just like her mother.

"So, how many meetings?" Waverly asked.

"Eight. I was able to send someone else to six of them and two agreed to wait for me. I'll have Angelica schedule them for this coming week."

"Good. Now, why don't we get some barbeque before you have to pack and head to the airport? Maybe you can drop me off at my house on the way since that's where my car is."

"I'd like that. And to see your house. Maybe give you a reason or two to miss me."

Waverly laughed and part of his heartache eased.