Dirty Little Secrets(66)

“Half a mile. I’m just glad I didn’t find you wandering the breakdown lane of the freeway or something,” Rita replied. “Come on, sis, let’s get you home, and get some rest. We’ve got a busy day in the morning.”

“Why?” I asked. “And I don’t have a home go to any longer. Sydney violated my home, and Mom . . . Mom . . . ”

I broke down bawling, and Rita held me, letting my tears soak into her shirt. Patting my hair, she let me vent my sadness for long minutes before the tears trickled off. “I know,” Rita said quietly. “The staff told Kade, who told me over the phone. You’re not going to Laguna or back to your house. You’re coming to my place, and while I doubt I have anything that will fit you, Kade’s going to get some people down here to help out. Until then, I’m taking care of you.”

I nodded, then looked over at Rita. “Why? Why are you here?”

Rita put her arm around my shoulder and helped me stand up. “Because I love Kade, and through him I love you too. Because even though he and I will never hook up again, I’m still always going to serve him, because that’s what a good sub does. It’s also what a good mentor does, and that’s what I feel like I’ve been to you. Hell, if I hadn’t encouraged you to go after him, you wouldn’t be in this mess. Do you want to blame me for it now?”

I shook my head, exhaustion dropping over me. “Not your fault.”

“And it’s not yours, either,” Rita replied. “Now come on, before someone approaches us and I have to pull the damn pistol I’ve got in my pants pocket.”

“You have a pistol?” I asked, the words coming through like listening through a wall of cotton.

“No, just an airsoft gun that I sometimes shoot paper targets with,” Rita said, “which is specifically why I don’t want to have to pull the damn thing.”

Rita led me to her car, guiding me into the passenger seat. “All right, now buckle up. I’m going to send Kade a text message, the doctor agreed to at least let him get those. If they haven’t doped him up to let his body rest, he’ll be relieved. If not, he’ll get it in the morning.”

“I want to go back to the hospital,” I said, surprised at the little girl’s voice that came from my mouth. “I want to see Kade.”

“Visiting hours start at nine thirty tomorrow. In the meantime, we’ve got to pick some people up from the airport. Kade called some guy named Vince, who’s flying down first thing in the morning.”

I lost all track of time, exhaustion dropping over me again, and the only thing I was aware of for the rest of the night was Rita helping me up the stairs to her apartment and tucking me into her bed. She leaned over and kissed me on the temple, and whispered in my ear. “It’ll be all right, Princess Alix. Trust me.”

I woke up the next morning to find my pillow wet with tears, and Rita sitting next to the bed, a steaming cup of something in her hands. “You didn’t sleep well,” she said matter-of-factly. “Dreams?”

“None I can remember,” I whispered. “I guess I just wished yesterday never happened.”

“What did happen, anyway?” Rita asked. “I mean, there’s the public story about a traffic accident, but then with what you said yesterday, and with the little that Kade texted me . . . ”

I told Rita everything, from the start of it all at the UFC event, to the photo shoot, to Kade and I making love the day before and Sydney walking in on us. I even told her about Paris Nova and how Mom was now pregnant. “Fuck,” she said as I finished my tale. “And so Sydney’s the one who released the video to the Web.”

“Yeah, obviously so,” I said. “I’m sure the cops are looking for him, but Sydney knows how to disappear. He’s from a bad background, he’s probably got connections that can keep him safe for a long damn time.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Rita said, thinking. “But that’s for later. It’s nearly eight o’clock, we need to swing by the airport to pick up Vince before going to the hospital. I know you want to be there as soon as visiting hours start, right?”

“Right,” I said, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. Suddenly, a dark thought struck my mind. “Rita?”

“Yeah, Alix?”

“What . . . what if Kade blames me for Derek’s death? I mean, my mother seems to.”

Rita shook her head and took my hands again. “Never, ever blame yourself for Derek’s death. You need to be one thing more than anything else over the next few weeks.”