He'd been gentle. He had been there when the men in the kumpania had coached Hugh before his wedding night, telling him it wouldn't be easy the first time, that he might hurt Lily a little. So Colm knew he had to be careful, but Adele had been so excited that when he'd hesitated before that first thrust, she'd pulled him in, arching up to meet him, letting out only the smallest cry and if it had been pain, she seemed to have forgotten about it quickly enough. So he'd done well, and he was proud of himself. He –

The smallest sniffle stopped him midthought. Adele still lay on her side, her back pressed against him. She was quiet, asleep it seemed.

Another sniff. He scrambled up as she sat, wiping her eyes.

"You're crying," he said.

"No, I just – "

"Did I hurt you? Gods, Adele, if I did, I'm so sorry. I tried to be gentle – "

"You were." She smiled through her tears. "You were perfect, Colm. It didn't hurt at all." The smile twisted. "Well, maybe just a little, at first, but it was worth it. That's not why I'm crying."

"You regret it. You wanted to wait and now – "

She took his hands and pulled him to sit beside her. "Never," she said fiercely. "I love you. I don't care if this isn't right, if you're too young. I can't wait anymore. I love you so much. If I can't be your wife yet, I want to be your lover.

If that's okay..."

"S-sure."

She kissed him, still clasping his hands. Then she lowered her gaze and a fresh tear slid down her pale cheek. He freed one hand and wiped it away, then leaned down, trying to meet her eyes.

"What's wrong, Adele?"

She shook her head.

"Please tell me."

She nibbled her lower lip, then lifted reddened eyes to his. "I understand why you didn't want to help me last night."

"What?"

"With Robyn Peltier. I needed your help catching her, so I called and left that message – " She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. You're right. This is my problem."

"I never said that. If you left a message, I didn't get it."

She looked away. "That's okay, Colm. You don't need to lie – "

"Lie?" His voice cracked as he got to his feet. "I'd never lie to you, Adele."

She reached for him, but he sidestepped her grasp.

"That's not fair, Adele. I've never lied. Not to you."

"I'm sorry."

He looked away, but let her catch his hand, pulling him back to her.

"I'm sorry. I just thought – " She squeezed his hand. "I wouldn't blame you. I've gotten you into this mess enough already."

"You didn't get me into anything. I offered. You were in trouble and it wasn't your fault. I was happy to help, and I would have been happy to help last night if I got the message."

"Your mother must have forgotten to tell you."

His mother took the message? That explained it then. She hadn't forgotten, but Colm was happy to let Adele think that, and shield her from the truth – that his mother hated her. She'd been trying to discourage friendship between them for years. Then, last fall, when she'd caught them kissing behind the communal building, she'd exploded and gone to Niko. Colm had crept after her and listened.

His mother had wanted Niko to cancel Colm and Adele's betrothal. She'd said it wasn't right, a nineteen-year-old girl making out with a fourteen-year-old boy, and that only proved what she'd suspected for years – that there was something not quite right about Adele, something sneaky, manipulative, wrong.

Niko had laughed it off. She was just having trouble seeing her baby grow up and let another woman into his life.

After that, his mother had worked on Colm directly, trying to convince him Adele couldn't be trusted.

Colm loved his mother. His father had left the kumpania when he was two, but he'd never felt the lack. His mother had made sure of that. He knew that she was just looking out for him, but he wasn't a child anymore and he wished she'd see that and let him lead his own life.

As angry as he was, though, he trusted his mother would come around, and he wasn't going to say anything to turn Adele against her, so he nodded and said, "Yeah, she must have forgotten. But if you still need my help..."

Adele chewed her lip again, hands clasped, gaze down.

"Adele, I'm here for you. Just tell me what you need."

She did.

HOPE

Hope sat at a diner window, watching the front door of another restaurant across the road. Robyn was inside, having lunch and waiting for Adele Morrissey. They'd considered having her sit at the window, but given that Adele had no compunctions about shooting people in broad daylight, it seemed unwise to tempt her.

Robyn had a new prepaid cell and a panic button. Karl had miraculously produced the button last night, saying he'd like Hope to start carrying it. With that, she knew that even before last night he hadn't been underestimating the danger she faced.

Karl must have taken the button and receiver last year, when he'd had Benicio Cortez supply it for a job they'd been working. He'd kept it all this time, even bringing it to Los Angeles, where she'd expected to do nothing more dangerous than her regular job. In other words, he'd been waiting for the excuse to pull it out and say, "I think you should carry this."

He shouldn't need an excuse. But he wasn't wrong to think he did, at least not if he expected her to give in without a fight.

If it made him feel better, she'd start carrying it. Time for her to grow up and realize no matter how hard she trained, there would be some situations she couldn't handle alone.

For now, though, Robyn had the panic button and she'd taken it without question, accepting that this was not something she could handle on her own. So now Hope sat at a diner table, cell phone out in case Robyn called, panic button receiver on her lap. Karl was outside, scouting the perimeter while making a phone call. When he returned, Hope asked, "What did Jeremy say?"

"He's going to give it some thought."

She picked a bacon bit from her uneaten salad, hearing her mother sigh about table manners. "You told Jeremy that she suspects what you are, but we haven't confirmed it, right?"