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.“I know, but it’s uncomfortable when he lashes out at me like it is my fault.”“He bottles it up inside.Eventually he’s going to do more than yell.Be careful.”I stopped, grabbing Drexel’s forearm.I steadied him with a level gaze.“Kellan isn’t perfect, but he would never lay a finger on me.”“You know him better than I do, but it’s clear he’s unstable.”“Because everyone keeps threatening him.First my grandfather tries to kill him, then Kai tries to move in on me, now God knows who is lurking around a place we’ve barely moved into.” I shook my head, my gaze traveling back to the car across the garage.Kellan sat in the car, pinching the bridge of his nose.I furrowed my brows, looking back at Drexel.“He’s always had issues with coping.I thought they were in the past, but perhaps not.” My heart splintered at the admission.As much as I wanted to defend Kellan, his actions spoke louder than any words I could have said.Drexel placed a steady hand on my back.“Let’s go talk to Sanders.” I let him lead me inside.The ex-army vamp immediately pointed us to an office on the left side of the lobby.He closed the door and immediately flicked the lights off.A few taps on a computer had a projector rolling down from the ceiling.A moment later footage appeared on the screen.“This is the perp.It’s not the best angle, but whoever it was knew about our external security measures.” Sanders frowned.I studied the grainy image.The person was dressed in head-to-toe black with a ski mask on.He or she was scaling the building with a rope.“From what we can gather, he hooked the railing of your balcony and was using it as leverage to climb the walls.A neighbor several floors below you contacted us when she caught a glimpse of someone outside her window.”“What do you have in mind?” Drexel crossed his arms over his chest, a glower on his face.Sanders stared at Drexel for a few seconds too long.My heart softened.I didn’t know what had happened in the past, but the man still cared about Drex.“I’ve already gotten the approval from William to add a few flush cameras on the balcony.Nothing short of closing in the space will keep them from trying the same toss-and-climb thing, but at least we will have an immediate visual and can act quick enough to hopefully catch the intruder.” Sanders turned to me.“As for you, I don’t know what kind of trouble you’ve gotten yourself into, but don’t let him leave your side.I’ll also have a guard checking your floor more often.If push comes to shove, I’ll permanently assign someone to your floor.”I wanted to argue that I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I knew it didn’t matter at this point.“I have a friend who’s coming to install some security features later.”“How long have you known this friend?” Sanders leaned back, wrapping his arms around his chest.“I trust him.” I knew Kai, just like Kellan, wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.Sanders pressed his lips into a straight line.His lips weren’t overly plump, but still clearly defined.They all but disappeared as he considered me.I could tell he thought I was an immature, ignorant young vampeen.He was probably right on some accounts in comparison to their level of experience.“He’s one of the Bladang leaders.I trust him.”Sanders’ chuckle held no humor.“If you’re sure.”“I am.” My voice was barely above a whisper.I turned on my heel.“I’m going upstairs.”“She’s not who you’re making her out to be.” Drexel shut the door behind him, shadowing me to the other side of the lobby.“It’s the years he spent as a secret agent.He doesn’t trust anyone.”I faced him.“He trusts you.”The big man actually blushed.“We were partners.We had to trust each other.”“You didn’t trust him, though.”His expression was stoic.“I had my reasons.”“I’m sure you did.” We both stood in front of the elevators, waiting silently for the bell to ding, announcing its arrival.“He still cares about you.”Drexel stared ahead at the shiny metal doors, watching them open.We boarded.He pressed the floor number.The doors closed behind us.We were just starting our ascent when he spoke.“I know.” It was a solemn response.I chanced a glance at him.He had his guard down, a moment of weakness.Clearly this was something that still ate away at him inside.I felt for the vamp.Heartache was never fun.I linked my fingers with his, letting him know that I was there.The second we arrived on the correct floor, Drexel’s emotions disappeared behind a façade again.One day he was going to have to come face to face with his feelings, get beyond his past and everything that still haunted him to this day.You can’t run forever.Even as I thought this, I knew it was the same for Kellan.The longer I was with him, the more I knew about him, and the more I knew about his demons.One by one they’d surfaced.I loved him in spite of his bitterness.I loved him in spite of his insecurities.I loved him in spite of his behavior.But I knew there would come a day when love wasn’t enough.His issues were a lasting wall between us.We would never reach our optimum potency so long as he hid his true feelings from me, so long as he hid the truth from himself.Chapter 26Drexel insisted on entering the condo first.He scoped out the space before allowing me to go inside.I studied him.He hadn’t let his guard down again since the elevator, but I knew his mind was still lost, his heart sinking in an ocean of unknown.“How about some yummy treats?” I smiled, going for a light mood.His lips lifted slightly at the corners.“Depends on what you have in mind.”“And that depends on what you’re in the mood for.” I headed for the kitchen and began pulling out baking ingredients.“When I was a child, my mom made delicious brownies.” He came over to the island in the kitchen.His gaze traveled over the items I was pulling out.“She would give me a plate with a big piece of brownie and a cup of vanilla milk.” He chuckled, lost in a memory.“She said fairies kissed the milk and that’s how it became sweet with vanilla.It wasn’t until I was older that I caught her putting some vanilla beans in it and mixing it with a spoon.”“You were close to your mom?” I pulled out the KitchenAid stand mixer and began measuring out and dumping the dry ingredients into the metal bowl.“At one time, yes.” His face turned hard again, and I knew to back off.“This will be my first time making brownies, so hopefully they turn out well
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