Free The Fall of Lucas Kendrick by Kay Hooper

Fourteen-year-old pushers, twelve-year-oldprostitutes, pimps who’d kill one of their girls without a second thought because there were always more so easily found.”
    Kyle was silent.
    “There was no way to make a difference,” he went on quietly. He pulled her hand over to rest on his flat stomach, holding it with both his own and looking at it. “Maybe I could have kept on trying, I don’t know. But too often I’d be told to stop nosing around a certain party. Somebody rich enough, or powerful enough, to have
friends
in the department. Too many people playing too many games. I couldn’t take that.”
    “No one could blame you,” she ventured hesitantly.
    He was toying with her fingers, stroking her skin as if the texture drew him irresistibly. “Feet of clay,” he murmured. “I couldn’t be the white knight, so I just quit.”
    “Don’t do this to yourself.”
    His mouth twisted a little. “It never bothered me so much before. Then I saw you again andhad to face up to why I left you. And now I’m dreaming of things I saw all those years ago and wondering how I can live with myself.”
    Kyle searched for something to say to him and found it. “Luc, you told me about the work you do for Long Enterprises. You’re helping people now where you
can
make a difference. You help keep all those companies running by investigating problems. You and your friends helped destroy a white slavery ring, brought information against terrorists out of a hostile country, and stopped that gun shipment before it could be used to hurt people. And now you’re about to go into a house and find stolen artwork. You
are
helping. There are over half a million police officers in this country; you’re doing things they can’t do.”
    After a moment he turned his head to look at her and smiled a little, a smile that made him vulnerable. “You gave me a wonderful illusion ten years ago when I really needed one,” he said huskily. “But I don’t think I could stand it if you gave me another one now, Kyle.”
    “I don’t do that anymore,” she said, her own voice unsteady. “All I can give you now is a picture of a real live man. One I’ve talked to and watched these past days. An extremely bright, intricate man, with more facets than a diamond.” She drew a deep breath and met his shimmering gaze squarely. “I don’t know how I feel about what’s behind us. But there is something I know now about you, Luc.”
    One of his hands moved to brush a strand of dark hair away from her face, his fingers lingering on her cheek. “What’s that?”
    “There isn’t a selfish or dishonest bone in your body,” she said with certain knowledge. “When you realized yourself why you’d left me, you didn’t have to tell me. But you did. And I see now that you couldn’t be honest with me then, first because you were undercover and later because of the way I was. The way we were. You were in a terrible position. And I believe I understand why you left.”
    “You do?” he asked gently.
    Her laugh was shaky, almost inaudible. “I’mnot painting you noble again, I promise. And I still don’t know how I feel about you now. But we were both escaping into illusion, I think. We’d both felt things we didn’t want to feel anymore. You in your job and me …”
    “Your family?”
    “Poor little rich girl,” she said wryly, mocking herself.
    “Don’t do that.” His hand slid beneath her hair to lie warmly against her neck. “Don’t think it’s your fault in any way, that you should have been happy just because you had all the so-called advantages. Material things are never enough.”
    He pulled her toward him and kissed her, a gentle kiss with no passionate demand. Then he held her there, against him, watching the firelight shimmer off her silk pajamas and awaken the red tint in her dark hair.
    Kyle could feel tremors deep inside her, circling outward slowly, like ripples in a pool. She didn’t know what had caused them and