Rea returned to his room after dealing with the men. As he came back, he expected Karma to be waiting to meet him. An unusual warm feeling flowed through his body at the thought of her waiting for him.
He silently opened his bedroom door. Instead of Karma, Gears waited for him. The doctor paced, looking far too concerned for Rea's peace of mind.
"Where's Karma?" The thought that she'd run off scared him. He was honest enough to admit that he secretly didn't want her memories to return. He hadn't pushed Gears for an antidote. He wanted her to stay exactly as she was, but he didn't want to examine that too much.
"I'm fine," Gears snapped. "Thank you for asking."
"Where's Karma?" Rea repeated, ignoring the barb.
"She's sleeping on your bed. I was so scared she might kill me that I knocked her out. I was afraid her memories had returned when she shot Nash. If you don't mind my saying, this is getting out of hand."
"I do mind you saying." Rea paused. "Wait. Did you knock her out? How?" Rea pushed past his friend and found Karma on the bed. She was under his blanket, sleeping peacefully. As far as Rea could tell, she looked unhurt. He let out the breath that was painful in his lungs. She was safe. That's all he wanted right now.
"I gave her a drug that's basically a low-dose sleeping pill. The medication will knock a person out for about an hour unless more is put into their system. While she slept, I cleaned the new injury and washed away all the blood. It was a small scratch from Nash's knife. RCC100 closed it up. All her cuts are healing well."
"Thank you, Gears," Rea spoke calmer than he felt. He lovingly moved a lock of hair away from her face.
"You're not welcome."
Gears' outburst surprised Rea because his friend was rarely upset about anything. They almost never fought.
"You can't keep doing whatever it is you're doing. You know that, don't you? She isn't an old friend, and she isn't here for a visit. She might kill you or me or Eric, or she could leave. Don't you remember saying that? You have to do something with her. You have to lock her up or tell her the truth, something other than this." Gears swept his hand across the room encompassing the whole thing.
"I'm not locking her up. Don't be dramatic."
"Dramatic? What you're doing is straight-up lying. I can't stand watching this anymore. When all her memories come back, what then? What're you going to do then?" The look Gears threw at him was pointed. Apparently, he wanted a precise answer.
"I don't know. Okay? I don't have any idea what I'm doing. And don't act so damn superior to me, either. The only helpful thing you've said has been 'some of the rats died.'"
Gears didn't respond. Instead, he snatched his bag off the table and headed to the door. Rea wanted to stop him, but he truly didn't have any answers that would placate either of them.
When Gears reached the exit, he finally spoke.
"I'm leaving. When you do figure out what you're going to do, you tell me. My advice is to stop lying to her. She's going to be even more pissed when she figures all this out. Hopefully, you'll come to your senses before she kills you."
Gears threw open the door and didn't bother to look back. He marched out into the hall, sweeping his bag onto his shoulder. The door slammed behind him. Rea was left alone with Karma.
His friend was right. He played a dangerous game. Sooner or later, this would fall apart. He couldn't blame Gears for not wanting to be there when she remembered who she was.
He took a settling breath and then returned to Karma's bedside. He sat next to where she was sleeping. She looked sweet with her arms holding the blanket. Karma looked like the woman he'd always fantasized about having in his life. He couldn't help but want to keep her with him.
As he studied her, he lifted the quilt and looked at Karma's upper body. He tried to see if she had any more bruises and cuts, but as he glanced at her scantily clad frame, his body stirred to life.
She was down to her bra again. The sheer fabric made his blood heat. He let his eyes look over her pants that molded to her long shapely legs. He could feel his pulse quicken.
As he moved the blanket, Karma's eyes fluttered open to meet his. She looked tired and much too pale. Gently, he lifted the quilt partway and tucked the corners around her waist.
Once he had a clear view of her body, he studied the small bandage across her stomach. He kept his head bent so she wouldn't be able to see his eyes. He didn't want her to read his anger at himself and this whole dilemma.
He focused on the white medical tape under her bra instead. He acted as if he would adjust it. The cut was covered, and Gears had done a good job cleaning the skin, but he didn't feel better knowing her wounds healed.
His mind reviewed the entire event over and over again. He remembered the tip of the blade missing her. At that moment, time had stopped. His rage at not being able to be there had made the idea of losing her sink deep into his brain.
He was happy the cut wasn't deep. It could have been worse. Gears said the wound was closed already. That should've been comforting, but it wasn't. In his head, he thought of all the close calls she must've had in her life. Those thoughts were alarming.
Rea ran his hand across the bandage. "What're you thinking, Kitten?" he asked quietly. He could feel her eyes drilling into him.
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do." Rea waited.
She didn't say anything, but he could see questions rolling across her face. She closed her eyes and then opened them again. He hoped her brain wasn't filling with memories. Rea wanted to kick himself for even taking her to the training room.
He adjusted the covers over her exposed flesh and got up from the bed. He couldn't take being near to her while trying to figure out what was going on in her head. On top of his piling guilt, he realized his body wasn't accepting that she was injured.
"Rea, why did you bring me here?" Her words were hesitant, as if maybe she really didn't want to know.
"I couldn't leave you alone." That was the truth, as close as he could get. His heart pounded a little too hard whenever he thought about her discovering their real relationship. He hated keeping the truth from her, but he couldn't give her up.
He couldn't keep up this charade. Rea needed to tell her who she was. She might never get her memories back if he never told her she was an assassin.
He should make a solid decision. Be honest and deal.
"Do I train with you?" she asked as she ran her hand over her bandages.
Rea frowned as he considered how he was going to answer. Don't lie.
"I don't think you need any training from me, Karma. I wouldn't want to teach you those kinds of things anyway."
She chewed on her bottom lip and appeared to be mulling over what he said. Rea was surprised at how true the statement was. He didn't want Karma as a sparring partner. He didn't want to train with her and have her on this base as a killer or a guard. Rea wanted her in the most elemental way. He wanted her as a companion to talk to—someone to come home to at night. He wanted Karma to hold and to love, and he wanted her love in return.
Everything he wanted, he couldn't have. She would leave one day. He was resigned to that fact. He accepted that like he might agree to a sword going through his heart.
"Rea, kiss me and chase away what happened today." Karma reached out her hand and clasped his wrist. She wasn't going to let go until he gave in. He could see that in the soft reflection of her eyes.
Some stupid part of him soared. He wanted to kiss her more than anything. He didn't even care that what he was doing might have dire consequences.
"Do you think that's how it works?"
"I'm sure that's how it works." Her smile was broad as she tugged on his arm.
Rea let the relief spread through his body. She was still his. Everything was still where he wanted it to be. He didn't care that he would have to explain his choices one day. He had this moment with her, and he wasn't going to tell her the truth. He was going to keep her.