Fractured

Chapter 1

It was a long night at the club.

Kadienne tossed her keys on the coffee table and sat down on the couch, leaning her head back against the cushion. She really needed a new job, something that didn’t require her being out until 3, sometimes, 4 AM in the morning. Countless job interviews came and went, but she never received any callbacks or offers. It was a miracle her friend, Thea Queen, gave her a bartending job at her club, Verdant, or else she would currently be on the streets. As much as she loved hanging out with Thea every night, the pay wasn’t very good and neither were the tips. Her feet throbbed painfully from standing almost 9 hours, only having a 15-minute break in-between. It was time for a shower and bed, though Kadienne wasn’t sure which one would come first since she could barely keep her eyes open.

Yawning, Kadienne opened her purse and reached inside to pull out her bottle of aspirin, quirking a brow. “What the hell?” In her hand a few seconds later was a small bag full of greenish blue pills.

One thing Kadienne didn’t do was drugs – of any kind. So who would plant these in her purse? As far as she knew, Thea didn’t allow many people in the back area of the club where the employees put their belongings. Maybe someone at Verdant wanted her to have them, thinking she was a drug addict or something. Kadienne didn’t know, but her curiosity heightened as she fingered the bag of pills while setting her purse aside. Turning them into the police wasn’t an option because they wouldn’t believe a word she said. She was a lowlife living in the Glades unlike Thea, who lived in a mansion and had millions to her name. No, going to the police would result in her being locked behind bars and Kadienne refused to be locked up for something she didn’t do or involved herself in. Flushing the pills was the right thing to do under the circumstances.

“Damn it.” Kadienne grumbled when the lights suddenly went out in her apartment. It wasn’t the first time it happened and she hoped the fuse box hadn’t overloaded again. “Stupid thing.” Standing from the couch, Kadienne reached down to pull the drawer out connected to the coffee table and pulled out a flashlight, flicking it on.

A second later, her window shattered as a body flew through it and landed a few feet in front of the occupant. Kadienne screamed out of both fright and surprise, shielding her head with her arms to prevent her face being sliced from the flying glass. She stumbled back against the wall, crying out when the bag of pills was knocked from her hand due to…an arrow. Tear-filled emerald orbs grew wide with realization as she stared back at the Vigilante of Starling City – The Hood. Her eyes moved from him to the wall where another arrow was embedded before snapping back to the man in dark green.

“P-Please…” Kadienne didn’t want to die, holding her hands up in complete surrender and couldn’t stop shaking, her stomach tightening with nausea.

The Hood eyeballed the terrified redhead through the darkness, his eyes narrowing and moved his gaze down to the bag on the floor. Vertigo. He recognized the drug anywhere and felt his jaw tighten, slowly moving toward the redhead. Why did Kadienne Young have drugs? She didn’t seem like the type of person who would do them, especially Vertigo. It was the most dangerous drug on the streets currently, even after its predecessor, The Count, had been taken down. Growling, The Hood snatched the bag of pills up from the floor and stuffed it in the front pocket of his hooded jacket, pulling the zipper up to make sure it didn’t fall out. Then his attention went back to the redhead, noting the tears sliding down her cheeks and tried not to let it bother him. Pressing the button on a small device, a modulator, that disguised his voice, it was time for a little interrogation.

“Where did you get Vertigo?” He demanded, his voice coming out a low dark rumble, which was the opposite of how he normally sounded.

“V-Verti-what? I-I don’t know what that is…” Kadienne answered, ready to give him any information he wanted if he’d just leave her alone. It was hard to believe The Hood was in her apartment after breaking her window. “I-I swear…”

His eyes narrowed again, this time on her. “The pills. Where did you get them?” He tried again, holding his bow at his side since there was no reason to point it at her. “Tell me!”

Kadienne flinched at his raised voice, more tears falling and could only hope the Vigilante believed what she was about to say. “I-I don’t know. I-I found them in my purse just a few minutes ago. Please, you have to believe me. I don’t do drugs!” What if he sent the police after her? “I was about to flush them, I promise!”

The hysteria in her voice told The Hood she was indeed telling the truth along with the fear in her emerald eyes. “They were planted on you. That means Verdant is compromised.” He backed away to give the petrified woman some space and turned to head out the window, not having any other questions to ask.

“Wait!” Kadienne was out of her mind to stop this man from leaving her apartment, but once again her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She pushed off the wall and took a few timid steps toward him, ignoring the possibility of her heart giving out from how fast and hard it pounded in her chest. “W-What are you going to do?”

“Find the one who planted these on you and make sure they don’t do it again. Your window will be replaced in the morning.” Then he hopped out and was gone, no traces of The Hood left behind besides the shattered glass window.

Kadienne swallowed hard, feeling the life give out in her legs and dropped down on the couch, wrapping her arms around herself hoping this was a dream she’d soon wake up from.

It wasn’t.

~!~

“Kadi, earth to Kadi!”

Snapping out of her deep thoughts, Kadienne looked up at Thea waving her hand in her face and blinked, clearing her throat. “Sorry. What did you say, Thea?”

“You look like you got zero sleep and you keep dazing on me. What’s going on?” Thea asked, placing a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “You can talk to me about anything, sweetie.”

Not this, Kadienne thought, cracking a phony smile to hide her distress. “Just one of those sleepless nights, I guess. Don’t worry, I’m fine Thea. I promise.”

There was no way she could tell her friend about The Hood breaking into her apartment and scaring the daylights out of her. One thing about him was crystal clear: The Hood was a man of his word. Her window had been fixed at 9 AM that morning. It didn’t match the rest of her dungy apartment, but at least she wouldn’t have to keep plastic over her window for the foreseeable future.

Thea eyed her friend and employee suspiciously, trying to decide if she was lying or not. “Alright, if you’re sure…” Her attention turned to the front door opening and her brother, Oliver Queen, walking inside toward her. “Hey Ollie, it’s a little early for you to be here…”

Oliver smiled at his baby sister and kissed the top of her head. “Just checking in on you. Is that wrong?” He was extremely protective of her and still had reservations about her involvement in his club. “Don’t forget, this is technically my business.”

Brushing that statement off, Thea turned to where Kadienne was busy prepping behind the bar and cleared her throat. “Then you need to make time to meet your employees, don’t you? Starting with a friend of mine.” She slammed her hand on top of the bar counter, gaining Kadienne’s attention and chuckled.

Kadienne hadn’t met Oliver Queen yet, avoiding the big brother as much as possible after the stories Thea said about him. He’d been stranded on a desolate island for 5 years after their family’s ship sank to the bottom of the ocean. Somehow, Oliver was the only survivor and endured the treacherous island before finally making his way back to Starling City. Even with all he must’ve gone through, Kadienne couldn’t understand how he remained ruggedly handsome and the scruff on his face just made him more appealing. From the moment he’d been home, Oliver changed and Thea wasn’t sure if it was for the better or not since he continuously lied to them about his whereabouts. That was until he opened up Verdant, though Thea still had her doubts about his reason for doing so.

“This is Kadienne Young. Kadi, this is my overprotective big brother, Oliver.” There was no sense dropping the last name since they were a very well-known family throughout the city.

Emerald met ocean blue across the bar counter as Kadienne slowly rose to her feet from a squatting position. “Hi – Hello, Mr. Queen.” She extended her hand to him with a soft smile and felt her insides turn to putty at the charming smile on his face.

“Mr. Queen was my father. Just call me Oliver.” He requested, taking her hand to give it a gentle yet firm shake before looking back at Thea. “Looking good around here, Speedy. Keep it up.”

He then walked past his sister to the back of the building and looked around to make sure nobody else had followed him, opening the door to the basement closing it behind him. Kadienne Young…Oliver removed his dress jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing both to the side. He preferred being shirtless down in the Foundry and moved to the three computer screens set up. They were connected to every surveillance in the city, including the police department and traffic lights. It was his way of keeping track of all the crimes throughout the city.

Everything had been set up by…her. Oliver shut his eyes, refusing to think about his fallen partner and moved past the computers after making sure the streets were quiet. First he would train to warm his body up with the salmon lift he installed and then he’d go out to find whoever planted the Vertigo on Kadienne. If she was telling the truth, someone out there was trying to frame her and he wouldn’t let that stand in his city. People called him The Hood or Vigilante, – hell, even Robin Hood – but he was far from a hero. He didn’t want to be one either. That was never his purpose for becoming The Hood/Vigilante in the first place or escaping the island, Lian Yu.

“Hey John.” Oliver greeted, finishing his last rep on the salmon lift before dropping down, landing on his feet like a cat with a sweat caked body.

John Diggle was his partner, the very first person Oliver trusted to tell his secret and the man stood by his side through everything. “Oliver, what’s going on tonight?” He asked, not expecting to hear from the man that night.

“Kadienne Young. She works for Verdant as a bartender.”

“What about her?” John was confused, raising a brow while taking his jacket off and recalled a redhead serving drinks for the last few months.

Oliver walked over to the computer systems and brought her picture up along with a complete profile that included a background check. “I wanted to check up on her and went to her apartment last night. Followed her home and watched her take a bag of Vertigo out of her purse. It wasn’t hers, or so she says.”

“You want me to look into it? See what I can find out about her besides what we already know?” John sat down in front of the computers to read the information on Kadienne Young and leaned back in the chair, tapping his fingers on the table. “If her father is a millionaire, why the hell is she living in the Glades?”

“Maybe he cut her off. Making her live her own life? I don’t know, but what I DO know is we have to find out if she lied or not about doing Vertigo.” Oliver sat in the other chair opposite of the computers, staring at the floor in thought.

John folded his arms in front of his chest, eyeing Oliver trying to figure out what was going through the man’s mind. “How do you plan on doing that?” It was healthy to see Oliver pursuing something else besides finding their partner’s killer. “After Felicity…”

“Don’t.” Oliver ordered, unable to hear her name let alone speak it for the past year. “I’m not giving up on that. I’ll never give up finding whoever killed her. But if Vertigo is back on the market, that’s a problem and people will get hurt if we don’t do something about it.” He shut his eyes briefly, painfully. “She’d want us to keep going with the crusade.”

Felicity Smoak was the light in their team. She was beautiful from head to toe, had an incredible mind and loved with her whole heart. Oliver relied on her many times and not just for doing the job either. She was a vital asset and they did everything they could to protect her, especially Oliver. In the end, it hadn’t been enough. Oliver had gone after a drug lord, dragged Felicity in the mix by using her as bait -it had been her idea and he was against it- and in turn, they targeted her. The night after the drug lord had been busted and put in jail, Felicity had gone home to get some rest without protection. She was murdered in cold blood, shot in the chest directly through the heart and forehead.

Oliver had been the one to discover her body and he cried over her for hours, holding her tightly against him staining The Hood suit with her blood. He never got the chance to tell Felicity how he felt – that he’d fallen in love with her. Oliver had a horrible habit of keeping the people he loved and cared about at arm’s length because of the life he chose to live. He didn’t want to put anyone in danger because of him and it backfired. Felicity’s death opened his eyes to the harsh realization that nobody close to him was safe, no matter what. It was several hours before Oliver could peel himself from Felicity’s body and called the police, reluctantly leaving her to be discovered and taken to the morgue.

The funeral was a few days later and Oliver, god help him, couldn’t attend it without having a breakdown. He had a suit on and everything, ready to go say goodbye to Felicity and couldn’t bring himself to do it. Saying goodbye was too final for him – too soon. So instead, Oliver spent the day down in the Foundry sitting on the concrete floor staring at the wall and silent tears wet his cheeks. He still hadn’t been able to visit her grave and it’d been a year since her death. Up until this Vertigo problem, Oliver hadn’t stopped looking for the hitman who took Felicity from him. One day, he would find the murderer and show him the meaning of pain before ending his life the same way he ended Felicity’s. The light in his life was gone and all that remained was pure darkness for Oliver. It showed in everything he did, though he tried not to drop bodies because it would only tarnish her memory.

“Go ahead and dig up all you can on the Young family. I wanna know everything.”

John watched Oliver pull the green hooded leather jacket on and flipped the hood over his head, painting his eyes green like a mask. “And where are you going?”

“Out. Stay alert.”

With that said, he left the Foundry to go search Kadienne’s apartment since he knew she’d be working late at Verdant.

Chapter 2

Her apartment was pristine. From the moment Oliver stepped through the new window to start his investigation, he didn’t want to touch anything. Despite how grungy the apartment was as far as the décor went, she kept it cleaned up. He slowly pushed the hood back from his head, ocean eyes surveying the living room carefully. A small television, couch, coffee table and lamp was all it consisted of. Kadienne didn’t have a lot, although she came from a rich family in the Young’s. The Queen’s hadn’t associated with the Young’s throughout Oliver’s life, even with both families being well off. Why wasn’t she in a nicer place than this? Oliver moved around the living room, taking his time to thoroughly search and moved the few pictures to the side that hung on the walls.

Her family, he assumed.

She had a beautiful smile – she was a beautiful woman in general and the fiery red hair just added to her raw loveliness. Not Felicity beautiful though. Felicity was sunshine all around. Kadienne didn’t look like she had much light in her life, especially being framed for Vertigo. He didn’t know why, but Oliver felt deep in his heart she was innocent. It was the reason he currently stood in the middle of her living room, searching for any shred of evidence pointing to lying about using Vertigo. Yes, he did believe she was innocent, but Oliver thought others had been in the past and they pulled the wool over his eyes.

Moving past the pictures, Oliver made his way down the small hall and searched the small bathroom, not taking a lot of time. It wasn’t on his side despite the fact Kadienne wouldn’t be home for at least a few more hours. Stepping out of the bathroom, Oliver eyed the door he knew lead to the last room of the apartment. He would search the kitchen on his way out, but wanted to get the bedroom out of the way. Turning the knob, Oliver pushed the door open and looked around, his eyes moving slowly from one side of the room to the other.

Again, it was similar to the living room with just a bed and dresser. There wasn’t a closet to sift through, so the only place to really look was through the dresser, under the bed and mattress. Nothing was found. Oliver made sure to fix everything and put it back the way it was. The last thing he wanted to do was give Kadienne the inclination someone was in her apartment snooping around. Once he was satisfied with straightening up the bedroom, he walked out closing the door and headed down the hallway, past the living room and stopped in the kitchen.

“Clear.” Oliver muttered, feeling a sense of satisfaction, but that still left the mystery wide open. Who planted the Vertigo pills in Kadienne’s purse? He pressed the button on his earpiece to signal John, hopping out the window closing it behind him. “Diggle, on my way back.”

“Find anything?”

“No. She’s clear. Doesn’t mean she’s not hiding it somewhere else though.”

John raised a brow upon hearing that. “So what are you gonna do now? How are you going to find out for sure if she’s innocent?”

Jumping on his bike, Oliver leaned back gripping the handlebars and looked up at the sky, smelling rain in the air. “Whatever it takes.” He ended the communication by firing up his bike and sped down the road toward Verdant to the Foundry.

~!~

It wasn’t as busy as the previous night, so Kadienne helped clean up the club whenever she didn’t have to serve drinks behind the bar. Thea tried telling her not to do it, but Kadienne didn’t want to leave her with a mess at the end of the night. They were both exhausted by the time Verdant closed and keeping up with the messes would get them out the door faster. She sighed softly, watching Thea disappear up the stairs with her current boyfriend, Roy Harper. It wasn’t a big deal and not the first time Verdant had been left in her hands to run. Luckily there was more than one bartender Thea hired, though Kadienne was the best at mixing drinks if the compliments from customers were any indication.

Turning with two martini glasses in each hand, Kadienne jumped as one slipped out of her hand and watched Oliver Queen catch it with ease. “T-Thanks…sorry for nearly running into you.” Even though he’d been the one standing directly behind her. “Nice reflexes, Oliver.”

He shrugged with a smile, handing the glass back to her. “I should be apologizing to you. Didn’t mean to scare you. Everything okay?” Oliver followed her back to the bar while looking around his club and knew this was his opening to talk one-on-one with Kadienne.

“Yeah, Thea is upstairs and should be down soon.” Kadienne wanted to cover for her friend when it came to her older brother, who was the actual owner of Verdant.

Normally, Oliver would’ve been heading upstairs to check on Thea to make sure she was alright, but his sole purpose for tonight’s visit revolved around the redhead in front of him. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you.” He sat down in one of the high seats, folding his hands on top of the counter.

Kadienne raised a brow, not expecting to hear that and placed the martini glasses in the dirty dish bucket beneath the counter. They were done at the end of the night unless they were busy, which only happened on the weekends. It was currently Monday night and there were only 20 people, maybe a few more.

“Okay…” She didn’t know how else to respond to Oliver’s request.

“Come outside with me for a minute.” Oliver didn’t bother asking, standing up and knew she would do whatever he wanted since he was her boss. “I won’t keep you long.”

Placing the towel on the counter, Kadienne walked out from behind the counter and followed Oliver out of the club through a side door. What could this man possibly want to talk to her about? She folded her arms in front of her chest, glad she wore a long sleeved top and jeans tonight since it was unseasonably chilly.

“How are you enjoying working here?” Oliver decided to start with an easy question instead of jumping straight to the interrogation he had in mind.

“It’s better than my last job. The hours are a little rough getting used to, but I just had to adjust to them.” Kadienne replied, being honest since there was no reason to lie to this man. “Did Thea say something or…?”

Oliver shook his head, keeping the friendly smile on his face to try easing the thick tension lingering in the air. “No not at all. You’re doing great, I just want to make sure you’re enjoying yourself. And there is another reason why I pulled you out here.” He didn’t feel up to having an actual conversation with her, his brain solely focused on finding the culprit behind Vertigo.

“I had a feeling.” Kadienne admitted, leaning against the building and felt the smile fade, thinking back to what she found in her purse the previous night. And the visit from The Hood. “It’s about the pills, isn’t it? Do you know who put them in my purse?”

So she was more perceptive than he originally thought. “No. They were planted on you too?” Oliver didn’t want to directly pinpoint her. “What did you do with the drugs? They are dangerous, Kadienne.”

“Whoa, I don’t do drugs, I swear!” Kadienne held her hands up much like she had the previous night, fear consuming her. “I – um – flushed them.” There was NO way she could tell Oliver Queen about her visit from The Hood and he’d been the one to take them the previous night. “Does this mean I’m fired?”

“No.” Oliver could see the turmoil in her emerald eyes, still keeping his guard up just in case she was lying to him. “Have you noticed anyone acting out of character or shady the past week?” Some intel – any – would be good, but if she truly didn’t know anything Oliver would have to find it another way.

“Not that I know of. I was shocked to find them in my purse and didn’t even know what they were…”

“Vertigo.” Oliver cut her off, wanting to stress the severity of the situation and locked intense flared blue on emerald. “I believe you. I just want you to know how dangerous that drug is.”

Kadienne knew all too well what the drug did to people and had to look away from Oliver, tears stinging her eyes. “I know it is. Just never saw it in person…until now.” Clearing her throat, she knew her emotions had to be pushed aside until Verdant closed for the evening. “I’m sorry, I just…are we done with the interrogation?”

Tilting his head slightly, Oliver instantly noticed the change of demeanor in Kadienne and he was mildly intrigued what caused it. The mention of Vertigo fired up the waterworks, though she hadn’t let a single tear fall. He knew what that was like to lock emotions up tightly inside, not wanting to show weakness to anyone. Hell, he was a stranger to her, so there was no reason for Kadienne to break down to him about whatever was bothering her.

“Keep your eyes open for me and don’t mention this to my sister. I’ll talk to her about it when the time is right.” Oliver ordered, knowing he kept Kadienne out here a lot longer than he originally anticipated and watched her walk away back into the club.

Kadienne went straight to the bathroom and locked the door behind her, just needing a few minutes by herself to regain her composure. Instead, the tears rushed down her face in two rapid streams and her knees gave out, making her back collide against the door to slide down to the floor. Drawing them up to her chest, Kadienne wrapped her arms around her legs and continued crying, burying her face in her jean covered knees. Talking to Oliver hadn’t bothered her, but the moment he mentioned what kind of drug she’d had in her purse, the memory of losing her mother, Emma, flashed through her mind.

The memory of finding her convulsing on the kitchen floor, foaming at the mouth and eyes rolling in the back of her head was a nightmare that plagued Kadienne. She’d only been 17 years old when it happened, but the pain of losing her mother still plagued her nightmares. Her father, Patrick, had been so distraught over her mother’s death, he delved into alcohol and barely spoke to her, claiming Kadienne looked too much like the love of his life. Nobody knew Emma had been doing drugs until it was too late and Kadienne knew her father blamed himself for not noticing the problem. It was one of the many reasons Kadienne moved out of the house to live her own life because she would not watch her father drink himself into an early grave.

A year after her mother’s death, Patrick and Emma’s best friend, Brandy, were married in a small ceremony. Brandy had come over every day after Emma’s death to console Patrick and they became a little too friendly with each other. Kadienne couldn’t stand the woman and thought she was nothing more than a gold-digger. It also stung because she was her mother’s best friend. Who the hell could do that to their so-called dead best friend? Screwing and marrying the same man her mother devoted her life and heart too for 20 years…Kadienne refused to go to the wedding and told her father she wanted nothing to do with either of them.

Neither of them tried reaching out to reconcile with Kadienne and she preferred it that way.

Wiping her tears away, Kadienne knew she had to get over her pity party and get back to work, peeling herself from the bathroom floor. She dusted her pants off and walked over to the sink to run some cold water, splashing her face. It was a good thing she wasn’t a makeup user or else it would be running down her face currently. Kadienne had nobody to impress and didn’t care what people thought of her, knowing most assumed she was Glades trash. If they only knew her true background, where she actually grew up at and how much money her family had. The money didn’t mean squat to Kadienne, not with her mother gone and her father marrying a whore, who was probably spending millions on a daily basis.

Drying her face off with a couple paper towels, Kadienne took a deep breath before heading back to the bar to continue working and was thankful Thea hadn’t returned from her secret rendezvous with Roy.

~!~

Young Family in Starling City

Oliver had the database searching for anything regarding the Young family, recalling seeing a bill with Kadienne’s last name on it earlier that night in the apartment. He wasn’t in the mood to go home and wanted to solve this mystery of Vertigo as quickly as possible. Ever since Felicity’s death, Oliver spent most of his nights under the hood or in the Foundry working out and training. One thing he learned on Lian Yu was to never stop training because one could also get better in skill and tactics. However, it was nights like these he missed Felicity because she was a whiz at the computer and could find any kind of information he wanted in the blink of an eye.

Sure, Oliver wasn’t completely computer illiterate, but didn’t have a brain nowhere near the level Felicity did. He missed her so much, it hurt to think about her and all the memories they shared together teaming up to save the city. She was his partner much like Diggle, so losing her had been a huge blow to the team. Oliver was sure John would leave his side to go pursue something else besides his crusade to save Starling City, but the man surprised him by staying. Maybe it was in memory of their fallen team mate or maybe Diggle legitimately enjoyed protecting the innocents of the city. Whatever the reason, Oliver was appreciative of it and never took his friendship for granted. He’d made a fatal mistake not telling Felicity how much she meant to him or the fact he loved her before her murder.

Oliver would not make that same mistake again.

Jolting out of his thoughts about Felicity Smoak, Oliver turned his gaze back on the computer screen and raised a brow when an article popped up regarding Emma Young. He blew it up on the screen, eyes narrowing at the information in front of him. Emma Young had died from an overdose of the drug Vertigo…and was survived by her husband, Patrick Young and 17-year-old daughter, Kadienne. Interesting. No wonder Kadienne had gotten upset the moment he informed her what kind of drug was planted in her purse. Oliver scrubbed a hand down his face and leaned back in the chair, not sure what to do about this situation. On one hand, somebody was responsible for planting that drug on her as an attempt to frame Kadienne, but Oliver had no clue who it was or why.

Unfortunately, this was a mystery that would take more than a few days to solve.

Chapter 3

“Sorry about that. Roy wouldn’t let me leave the office and-” Thea stopped talking in mid-sentence and placed a hand on Kadienne’s shoulder, jolting the woman out of her deep thoughts. “Kadi, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.” Kadienne managed a phony smile while cleaning up the bar counter, not looking up at Thea for fear of breaking down.

No she wasn’t. She was far from it and Thea wouldn’t be a good friend if she didn’t at least try to find out what was bothering Kadienne. “Stop.” She commanded softly, placing her hand on top of Kadienne’s and took the towel away. “Kadi, you need to talk about what’s troubling you. Please. Let’s go upstairs to my office and talk. The others can finish up since we’re getting ready to close anyway.”

Thea didn’t know about what kind of family she came from and Kadienne never wanted her to find out. “It’s nothing, really. I promise. I was just reminded of something that happened years ago and it still stings. Don’t worry about me, I’m good. Just need some sleep.” They hadn’t been friends nearly long enough for Kadienne to fully open herself up to the youngest Queen heir.

“Are you sure? Contrary to popular belief I am a good listener.” Thea tried one last coax, not wanting to push Kadienne to do or talk about what was upsetting her if she didn’t want to. “We could always go back to your place with ice cream and talk until we both pass out from exhaustion. Roy can live without me for a day…”

Kadienne shook her head, smiling more genuinely now. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m okay, really.”

Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to mention to Thea about the Vertigo. Oliver didn’t want his sister knowing until the time was right, but when would it be? What if someone got a hold of that lethal drug and died under Thea’s watch? She didn’t know what kind of person Oliver Queen was, only that Thea spoke highly of him and Kadienne didn’t want to start trouble between the Queen siblings. No, she would keep her mouth shut and let Oliver handle it since this was technically his club and problem.

“Okay, if you say so. I’m always here for you though, don’t forget that.” Thea squeezed her hand before walking away to clear the rest of the tables and make sure everyone had left.

Kadienne went back to cleaning up and left an hour later, making her way down the sidewalk heading to her apartment. Currently, she didn’t have a vehicle because hers had broken down a few months ago and being paid minimum wage at her old job didn’t allow her to replace it. There was no salvaging the junk car she had and she only had liability insurance on it, so they weren’t obligated to replace it for her either. Walking didn’t bother her, though it was in the Glades. Kadienne had mace on her at all times just in case someone tried attacking her.

“Hello Kadienne.”

She froze upon hearing that voice and shut her eyes, squeezing the bottle of mace in her hand. She always brought it out on her walk home, knowing there would be no time to drag it out of her purse if she was attacked. Somehow, she knew The Hood wouldn’t hurt her since he stood for justice within the city. Didn’t make him any less terrifying, however.

“What do you want now?” She asked tiredly, keeping her back to him and wrapped her arms around herself. “I told you I don’t know anything about the pills…”

“You’re lying.” Oliver mulled over how best to approach Kadienne about her family and decided to try The Hood first. “I know about your mother…”

“Excuse me?!” Kadienne whipped around to face the Vigilante, emerald eyes nothing more than two acid pools. “You don’t know anything about me or my family! How dare you!” She was pissed at his audacity and wanted to slap the hell out of him.

Oliver could tell he struck a nerve the moment he uttered the word ‘mother’ through his voice modulator. “Vertigo is dangerous and deadly. Your mother died from it. Do you want others to die as well? Tell me what you know.”

Gritting her teeth, Kadienne shook her head and took a step back as he took one forward, tears forming. “No.” How did he know about her mother or where she came from? “I’m not talking about it with anyone, especially you. Do you enjoy getting your rocks off on stalking women or am I a special exception? Why don’t you go find someone else to bother and leave me alone? Oh and go to hell while you’re at it!”

Done playing nice, Oliver grabbed her upper arm none too gently and slammed her against the nearest building, towering over her with the hood hiding his identity along with the green grease paint over his eyes. “There is no one else. You are the one who had Vertigo planted on you, or they were yours to begin with. And your mother died from it. You are going to tell me what you know and what happened to her or else…”

“Or else what?” Despite trembling from head to toe in fear, Kadienne’s anger kept her talking and fighting, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. “You’ll kill me? Is that what you do to people you interrogate?” The moment he released her arm, Kadienne saw her small window of opportunity and brought the bottle of mace up, spraying the Vigilante directly in the eyes.

Oliver roared out in pain, dropping to his knees holding his eyes and could only hear the rapid footsteps growing faint with each passing second. She sprayed him with mace! Why hadn’t he checked to make sure she didn’t have some kind of weapon? That was his fault and Diggle would say the same thing if he found out about this. Growling, Oliver snapped his blurred vision down the sidewalk where Kadienne had stood only moments ago and slowly rose to his feet. She wasn’t a fan of the Hood and wouldn’t open up to him, but maybe Oliver Queen could be more persuasive. Granted, he wasn’t the nicest whenever gaining information from others as The Hood either. Deciding to leave her alone, Oliver went back to Verdant to the Foundry to clean his eyes out and brainstorm what to do about Kadienne Young next.

~!~

Slowly opening her eyes in the early afternoon the next day, Kadienne slowly sat up in bed scrubbing a hand down her face. It was only hours prior she had another run-in with The Hood and it hadn’t gone well. She had no idea how he knew about her family, assuming he’d had to do extensive research to not only find out her last name, but what happened to her mother. That was part of her past Kadienne wouldn’t talk about that night or what happened. Talking about it wouldn’t help any or bring her mother back to life. Sighing, Kadienne stood up from bed and stretched her arms in the air, yawning loudly. It was time for a shower, food and possibly another nap before work that night. No sooner did Kadienne step out of the shower, a knock sounded at her door and she had to wrap herself in a tight towel along with a robe before answering it. She was shocked at who stood in front of her and tightened the robe around her a little more, emerald eyes wide.

“Oliver…”

It was 3 in the afternoon and she just now took a shower? Oliver had to remember she worked until 3 or 4 AM at Verdant on a nightly basis. “Sorry, bad timing?” He wore a simple long sleeved dark blue top with a white t-shirt beneath and perfectly pressed dark grey pants.

Kadienne sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, averting her gaze from his and felt awkward leaving him standing in the hallway. “A little, but it’s fine. Come in.” She shut the door once he stepped inside and turned to face him, keeping her hand tight on her robe. “What can I do for you, Oliver?” More importantly, how did he know where she lived?

“Thea mentioned you were upset last night after our talk and…I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I never meant to upset you.” Oliver figured an apology would hopefully break the ice between them a little more along with her walls. “I shouldn’t have shown up here unannounced or uninvited…”

A soft smile spread across her face at his sweet way of apologizing. “You didn’t. I mean – you did, but I know you didn’t mean to. No apology necessary.” Kadienne didn’t know why she felt a connection to this man, not remembering the last time she was interested in anyone intimately. “You could’ve waited to tell me this at the club tonight and something tells me you’re here for another reason.”

Perceptive indeed, Oliver thought, stepping forward to close the distance between them a little more. The only way to get her to open up to him was pretending to show interest. Oliver always had a way with women and charmed almost all of them into his bed. Nothing could ever happen between them intimately, but Oliver would have to use his charm on Kadienne until he received all the intel from her regarding her family. His love for Felicity would never die and Oliver didn’t want to be with anyone, not while he was The Hood. It would only tarnish her memory, which he refused to do and if that meant using Kadienne by keeping her at arm’s length, he would.

If only Kadienne knew what was currently going through his mind at that moment, she would’ve ordered him to leave her alone. However, she didn’t. “Take a seat and let me get dressed, then we can continue this discussion.” She walked past him down the hall to her bedroom and closed the door, leaning back against it taking a deep breath.

Ever since her mother’s death, Kadienne had kept any man who showed interest in her away from her past. She could never open up and be honest about who she was. Oliver would be no different, no matter how ruggedly handsome and charming he was. They could have sex if it came to that, but Kadienne wouldn’t be able to give him anything more than that. No man would ever be able to handle her burden, her suffering and the name she was linked to. If Kadienne could, she would change her last name to her mother’s maiden, but it cost far too much money to do it. Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, Kadienne quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a short sleeved burnt orange top that had laced hems.

Oliver felt his stomach tighten the moment Kadienne rejoined him in the living room. She truly was a beautiful woman, the burnt orange top bringing out her eyes and hair. He didn’t realize how long her hair was because it’d been up in a neat bun, but currently it flowed over her shoulders and down her back in soft wet waves, resting just above the waist. Kadienne could feel him checking her out as she walked into the kitchen to grab them something to drink and smirked, keeping her back facing him purposely. Those jeans she had on Oliver had to admit, only in thought, fit her legs and backside like a second skin.

“Here, this is all I have right now.” She tossed him a bottled water and plopped on the couch, drawing her knees up to sit on them. “So Oliver, what are you really doing here?”

The truth wasn’t an option. Luckily, Oliver had mulled over this conversation for the better part of the morning before showing up at her front door. “The drug you found in your purse – Vertigo. I think I might know who did it, but I need your help.” He reached out to take her hand, ocean blue and emerald once again swirling together. “Will you help me?”

“Of course, what do you need me to do?” Kadienne really thought for a second he’d been here for pleasure instead of business, feeling the heat rush up her arm from his hand holding hers.

Oliver reached for another lie, though it was somewhat validated. “The bartender, Diana. I know she’s been stealing wine out of the cellar. She’s a suspect and I want you to keep a close eye on her and report back to me if she does anything…out of the ordinary. Stealing included.” He had video footage of the woman stealing and hadn’t fired her yet because he wanted to make sure she wasn’t the one bringing Vertigo into the club.

“Okay, I can do that. Don’t tell Thea, right?” Kadienne watched him nod and slowly pulled her hand away from him, cracking a small smile. “You know it’s not easy lying to one of my closest friends.”

“I know and I’m sorry for asking you to do this, but I can’t keep an eye on Diana the way you can.” Not with his nightly activities saving Starling City from criminals, especially.

Kadienne couldn’t stop the next question from escaping her, curiosity once again burning brightly. “Why do you trust me to do this? You don’t know me and yet you’re putting your trust in me to help you…”

“I’m a pretty good judge of character – for the most part. You’re a good person, I can see that.” Oliver reached out to place a hand on her shoulder and immediately snatched it away as a memory of him doing that to Felicity coursed through his head. “Anyway, let me know what you find out.” He stood up abruptly and headed toward the door, needing to leave.

What the hell was that about? Oliver acted like he’d been singed from a simple touch of her shoulder. Kadienne was extremely confused and stood up from the couch to stop him from leaving, grabbing his arm. She opened her mouth to speak and no words came out as his eyes locked with hers again, an uncomfortable silence looming between them. Oliver furrowed his brows while staring down at her, wondering why she felt the need to stop from leaving.

“Oliver…”

“I have to go.” He shrugged her hand off and opened the door, his voice low and gruff.

All Kadienne could do was watch him leave, the door closing behind him and felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Of course Oliver Queen wouldn’t be interested in her! She wasn’t rich or beautiful, not like the line of women he’d had in his bed. Why would she think a rich billionaire would want anything to do with her? It was always better being alone; nobody could hurt her that way. Though she wouldn’t have minded having Oliver Queen in her bed for a few nights. From how he acted, all Oliver wanted from her was help to catch whoever brought Vertigo into Verdant and nothing more.

Kadienne continued on with her day and tried forgetting about her surprise visit from Oliver Queen.

Chapter 4

It was another night full of saving Starling City.

Oliver stood on top of the roof on the building across from Verdant, looking out into the city skyline. It was nearing 3 AM and Verdant would be closing at any time. Sure enough, 10 minutes later the door opened as he watched Kadienne left the club with an envelope in hand, leaving it on the windshield of Diggle’s car. Or rather the car Diggle drove him around in. Not the best cover in the world, but he didn’t seem to mind and Oliver didn’t have time to give him a new alias. Waiting until she was far enough away from the club, Oliver shot an arrow to plant in the side of Verdant, sliding down the zip line to land on his feet in front of the vehicle. He took the envelope and disappeared inside the building, using a side door nobody knew about it, not even Thea. It led straight to the Foundry, which required a code much like the door in the back of the club. Sitting down, Oliver pushed the hood from his head and opened the envelope to read the message Kadienne left him.

Oliver,

You were right about Diana stealing wine.

There was no sign of Vertigo. I searched her stuff too, just to make sure and found nothing.

Wish I could be more help. Hope you find whoever is doing this and if you need anything else, you know where to find me.

Kadienne

So Diana was clean besides stealing bottles of wine, just as Oliver suspected. He crushed the note in his hand, pressing his balled up fist against his forehead in a gentle tap. If it wasn’t Diana bringing Vertigo into Verdant, who was it? Oliver did a thorough search of every employee, including Thea, since she had a history using it. Once. Oliver still searched her, not leaving any stone unturned. Someone was targeting Kadienne because every other employee hadn’t been planted with the drug. They wanted to frame her; Oliver had no idea why and, until he discovered more about this woman, he couldn’t help her.

“Damn it.” Oliver whispered, slamming his eyes shut and stood from the chair, removing the upper half of his gear, deciding a workout was in order. The salmon ladder would clear his mind. “I don’t wanna do this…” He meant getting close to another woman, making a vow to himself to never love again after Felicity’s death.

There was no other way around it though. He had to do it. He had to get close enough to Kadienne, however long it took, in order to get her to open up about what happened to her mother. Oliver had to turn on the charm and push his own emotional pain aside in order to catch whoever the Vertigo criminal was. The safety of Starling City had to come first. His emotional baggage had to be pushed aside, no matter how much it would hurt to get close to another woman. Nobody would ever compare to Felicity Smoak and he would never forget or stop loving her. What he was about to do with Kadienne, even if it meant sex, wouldn’t change his mind and heart. It was strictly business. Jumping up, Oliver gripped the steel bar tightly and began moving up, the sound of steel banging every other second echoing throughout the Foundry.

~!~

As requested, Kadienne wrote Oliver a note and left it on his driver’s windshield in an envelope. She had searched Diana’s purse and belongings during a break while the woman covered the bar. Kadienne felt terrible doing it, but if Diana was the one who planted the Vertigo in her purse, she wanted to know and stop it from happening again. She wasn’t a friend of Diana’s, but they did work together and got along despite her stealing from Verdant and the Queen family. Kadienne wondered if she could tell Thea about the thievery at the very least. It was bad enough she had to keep the Vertigo situation a secret. Thea was her closest friend and losing her would be a major blow to Kadienne. She didn’t trust people easily, but when it came to Thea Queen it came surprisingly easy and Kadienne hated keeping secrets regarding Verdant from her.

Currently, she was on her only day off and jogging down the sidewalk toward her favorite coffee shop. It was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, which was rare for Starling City. Kadienne hadn’t heard a peep from Oliver Queen, figuring she wouldn’t and he’d gotten what he needed from her. That was until she walked inside the coffee shop and stood behind him, not realizing it at first. Then she inhaled a familiar scent and immediately looked at the individual standing in front of her a little closer, emerald eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Oliver?”

Sure enough, the individual turned around and looked down at her with those all too familiar ocean blues. “Oh. Hey.” Oliver greeted with a smile, stepping forward when the next person in line moved.

Oh hey? That’s all he had to say to her? “Hey.” She fired back, folding her arms in front of her chest and watched him turn back around to step up to the counter to give his order.

Oliver placed money on the counter and gestured to Kadienne, the barista getting his message loud and clear. When Kadienne stepped up to pay for her coffee, she was informed it was already paid for by Oliver. She frowned, not expecting that and looked over at where he sat by the window, contemplating if she should try joining him. No, he looked like he wanted to be left alone and the last thing he needed was a nobody employee bugging him. Kadienne placed a $5 in the tip jar for the barista and made her way out the door, bypassing Oliver holding the coffee up as a gesture of thanks. He responded by getting up from the table and walking out of the coffee shop, jogging to catch up with her.

“Hey wait up!”

Sighing, Kadienne stopped walking and turned to look at him, sipping her coffee carefully. “Yes?”

“Are you always this friendly?” Oliver demanded, raising a brow at the fiery redhead and wondered what he did to ruffle her feathers. “Normally, when someone buys a coffee, they’re thanked.”

Kadienne could not figure this man out to save her life. One minute he was warm and pleasant toward her and the next he turned ice cold and distant. Kadienne knew he was right about the coffee and she should’ve at least approached him to express her gratitude.

“You looked like you wanted to be left alone. I didn’t want to bother you.” It was a truthful answer as she took another sip of the hot beverage. “Thank you for the coffee, Oliver.”

“That’s more like it. And don’t worry about bothering me. I didn’t mean to give you that kind of impression.” Oliver extended his arm to her and smiled when she took it, looping them together before beginning to walk again. “And you’re welcome.”

He was full of himself and somehow Oliver made it sound charming. “Can I be honest with you about something?”

“Sure.”

“When you came to my apartment yesterday, you left kind of abruptly and…I just thought you didn’t want to be there. Not that I blame you.” Kadienne admitted openly, not believing what she just said and felt Oliver stop since her eyes were glued to the sidewalk.

Reaching out to lift her chin until their eyes met, Oliver forced a smile and ignored his twisting insides, sticking to his plan. “It had nothing to do with where you live. I felt awkward coming to your apartment uninvited to begin with and didn’t want to overstay my welcome.” His voice had dropped an octave and grew softer, quieter.

Why did his voice turn her legs to putty? His eyes did nothing to quell the raging fires deep inside of her. “Oh okay. That makes sense, I guess.” She cracked a hesitant smile and slowly pulled her chin out of his gentle grip, occupying herself with another sip of coffee. “Anyway…” They began walking again side-by-side, arms brushing together every couple steps.

She was flustered, Oliver observed, trying not to let a smirk slide across his lips. This would be easier than he thought if her reaction was any indication. “I got your note by the way, in case you were curious. That was a bold move on your part.”

“I didn’t know how else to contact you since you weren’t at the club last night.” Once again their conversation reverted back to the Vertigo problem and Kadienne tried not to look disappointed. “I’m glad you did though. I know it was a risk and I won’t do it that way again, but I wouldn’t have to if Thea knew about this. Maybe this isn’t my business, but why haven’t you told her about this issue yet?”

“Well…”

Kadienne cut him off, not finished speaking. “I mean don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind helping you catch whoever this is and keeping my eyes open with the other employees, but Thea is my best friend. I feel like I’m betraying her by keeping this secret.”

“I know and…”

She did it again. “Thea is a headstrong woman and I’m sure she’d be more than happy to help you find whoever has Vertigo within the company. I know it’s your business and she’s just running it, but she is your sister and I thought you’d have a little more respect for her than this. Again, sorry if I’m overstepping my boundaries, but this really bugs me and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to keep this from her because-”

“KADIENNE!” Oliver shouted, snapping the woman out of her rant and could remember having to do that a time or two with his fallen partner. She jumped at the tenor in his voice and in turn, he took a deep breath once again looking the redhead in the eye. “I plan on telling Thea when there’s more solid information. Telling her now would only complicate the situation. The only reason you’re dragged into this is because it was planted in your purse. I will tell her; I just need a little more time.”

She hadn’t meant to go on a tangent, especially in front of Oliver and felt her cheeks flame up in embarrassment, looking away from him. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I stepped over the line and it won’t happen again.”

Oliver chuckled, squeezing her shoulder gently. “No harm done. You have a right to express your opinion. Just because you work for me doesn’t mean you can’t tell me what’s bothering you. I’m not a complete dick, contrary to popular belief.” He had a saucy seedy reputation throughout Starling City, most of it revolving around his womanizing ways.

However, ever since Oliver returned home from spending 5 long years away in hell, he hadn’t gone back to who he used to be.

“Thank you.” Kadienne’s shoulder felt like it was on fire from his simple touch and had to get control of her hormones. Jumping him in the middle of the sidewalk in the Glades wouldn’t be the best headline in the newspaper. “I hope you find who’s causing the problem soon.”

“Do you mind if I’m honest with you about something too?” Oliver asked, deciding to take a chance and didn’t pull his hand away from her shoulder, keeping her full attention on him.

“Of course.”

“You were upset when I mentioned the drug.” Oliver pointed out, moving his hand from her shoulder to caress her reddened cheek. “You’ve heard of it before.” He didn’t bother questioning it, not this time.

That was one subject Kadienne would not discuss, not even with this gorgeous man. “Oliver…I can’t…uh…I can’t talk about that…” She shook her head and pulled away from him, closing herself off again like she had when he tried talking to her about it outside of Verdant a few nights ago. “I have to go…”

“No you don’t, Kadienne.” He stopped her from walking away by grabbing her arm, standing directly behind her and could feel how much she currently trembled under his touch. “You can trust me. I’m trusting you with this Vertigo situation and you should trust me enough to be honest with me about your knowledge on it.”

“I don’t trust easily, Oliver. And you shouldn’t either. I lost someone very close to me to Vertigo and I won’t talk about it.” Kadienne was steadfast, her stubborn streak a mile long and shrugged his hand from her shoulder, wrapping her arms around herself while still holding her coffee. “Please…”

He wasn’t sure what she was pleading him for, but the desperation and pain in her voice was a clear indication her mother’s death was her Achilles heel. It was the one thing in her life, the one memory, that caused her the most excruciating pain. Not all pain had to be physical, Oliver knew better than anyone what mental and emotional pain was. He heard the crack in her voice when she uttered the word ‘please’ and felt his own heart break for her. Oliver wasn’t completely heartless, though he was a hard ass 99% of the time.

“Come here.” He whispered, turning her around to let her face bury in his long sleeved shirt covered chest and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly. “I won’t mention it again.” Somehow, Oliver would have Kadienne bring the subject up and talk about it on her terms.

Kadienne hated herself for crying in front of this man, not knowing anything about him. He was still a complete stranger to her and here she was blubbering in front of him like an idiot. If there was a deep enough hole to crawl in, Kadienne would’ve and lock herself inside. This was mortifying and, no matter how hard she tried to stop crying, she couldn’t. Her emotions and thoughts wouldn’t allow it as the memory of her mother’s death rushed through her mind. It was a miracle her legs hadn’t given out on her and she didn’t collapse against him. Maybe quitting Verdant wasn’t such a bad idea after all that had transpired over the past couple days.

“Sorry about your shirt.” She mumbled once the tears finally subsided, refusing to meet his eyes and stepped away from him to put some distance between them.

“Don’t worry about it. Are you going to be alright?” Oliver knew it was a futile question, but felt the need to ask it anyway, eyeing her worriedly. He hadn’t felt worry for a woman since Felicity; it felt foreign. “Kadienne…”

“Never better, I really have to go now. Thank you for the coffee, Oliver. See you around.” Kadienne didn’t give him a chance to respond and took off down the sidewalk as fast as she could, tossing the half-drank coffee in a trashcan on the way back to her apartment.

Quitting her job was the only choice now.

Chapter 5

“What do you mean you’re quitting?”

Kadienne thought long and hard about this decision, hardly getting sleep the previous night. Working at Verdant had ripped open old wounds and she didn’t appreciate Oliver questioning her about the past. She had tried living in the present, hating thinking about her mother’s death and how great her life had been prior to that night. Or so she thought. It was bad enough The Hood had stuck his nose where it wasn’t wanted and now…Oliver started doing the same thing. If she couldn’t work at a company that didn’t mind their own business, Kadienne was better off finding a new job. Thea was her friend and that was another reason she had to quit because lying to her didn’t set well with Kadienne at all. This was just as much, if not more, her company than Oliver’s.

“I don’t understand…” Thea frowned, not expecting to hear this upon coming into work for another night of fun and adventure. “Kadi, there’s gotta be a reason – a legitimate reason – why you’re quitting. Did something upset you? Or someone? You have to talk to me and we can work this out. Hell, I’ll make you a manager. More money; just don’t quit on me.”

“Look, something happened with your brother and…”

Thea cut her off instantly. “I’m sorry – WHAT?”

Kadienne immediately put her hands up in defense, shaking her head rapidly. “No – no not that! I promise, nothing sexual happened between me and your brother.” She had to set the record straight, even though she secretly wished it would happen at least once.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Thea didn’t want Kadienne to be another notch on her brother’s bedpost. “Good – good, so what’s the problem then? I’m not letting you walk out of here and quit without a damn good reason. You need this job; we both know it.”

She couldn’t tell Thea the truth, not without exposing the Vertigo situation. “I just…your brother brought up a very sore subject for me and…this isn’t a good fit for me. I need something more stable and pays more.” Those were lame excuses, but it was all Kadienne could come up with on the fly.

“What sore subject? You’re not making any sense, Kadi.” Thea sounded genuinely confused and reached out to take her friend’s hand, a deep frown spreading across her face.

“Thea, we need you downstairs for a minute.” Diana called out through the doorway of her office, smiling apologetically. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt…”

Thea sighed, worried eyes staying on Kadienne. “I’ll be right there.” She acknowledged Diana and turned her attention back to her friend. “Stay here, don’t move. I’ll be back in a few minutes and we’re talking about this. You’re not quitting on me.”

“Thea…” Kadienne clamped her mouth shut when Thea shot her a stern look and lowered her eyes to the floor.

She wouldn’t stick around, needing to stick to her guns and headed out the door a few minutes after Thea left the office. Somehow, she managed to escape Verdant without being caught by Thea and started the walk to her apartment, wrapping her arms around herself. Now that she wouldn’t run into Oliver or be questioned about her mother’s death. She had to find some kind of silver lining with the situation and her decision to quit her job. Hopefully, Kadienne could find something quickly or else she would lose her apartment and end up living on the streets of the Glades.

~!~

“Ollie, I need to talk to you NOW.” Thea demanded as soon as she spotted him walking into Verdant later that night, annoyed and angry he ran her friend out of the company. “I’m not taking no for an answer and I don’t give a damn what you have to do. Get upstairs.”

Blinking, Oliver had no idea what he did to upset his baby sister and followed her without argument, feeling as though he was going to the principal’s office. Granted, he had work to do in Starling City that night, but his family had to come first at some point. Diggle hadn’t contacted him about any crime going on yet. The night was still very young and Oliver was on alert in case he had to suit up to go out and save the city. It was his first priority, especially after Felicity perished. Stepping inside Thea’s office, Oliver closed the door behind him and didn’t say a word, letting her say whatever was on her mind.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but chasing my friend out of here is something I won’t tolerate!” Thea snapped, not wasting a second and planted her hands on her hips. “What do you have to say for yourself, hmm?”

“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Speedy. You’re gonna have to be more specific.” Oliver responded honestly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Who are you talking about? What friend?”

Narrowing her eyes at her brother suspiciously, Thea stepped up to him with flared nostrils and tried maintaining her temper. “Kadienne. You remember her, right? She was my lead bartender and a good friend of mine and you scared her off. She said you brought up something painful from her past and she quit because of it! Why did you bother her to begin with? And by the way, I know you’re hiding something from me. I’m sick of the lies and deceit, Ollie. You better fix this and you better do it NOW.” It wasn’t a request; Thea wasn’t taking no for an answer and would hound him until things were set right.

Oliver shut his eyes momentarily, knowing exactly why Kadienne quit Verdant and tightened his jaw. She quit in order to get away from him because he’d questioned her too soon about her mother’s death. Kadienne had thrown a wrench in his plan by quitting; that was something he didn’t expect her to do. How would she pay her bills? Oliver knew she needed this job and yet she quit in order to get away from him. To get away from being framed with Vertigo. Granted, it hadn’t happened past the one time, but that didn’t mean the culprit didn’t still linger within the company. He needed Kadienne and her information in order to bring the Vertigo supplier to their knees.

“I’ll take care of it.” Oliver promised in a soft murmur, exiting her office and left her standing there staring after his retreating form.

It was time to pay Kadienne a visit.

~!~

Stopping at the corner market across the street from her apartment, Kadienne picked up a pint of rocky road ice cream. She took a long hot bath, made a TV dinner and then settled in on her couch to find something to watch. It felt weird not being at Verdant working behind the bar and laughing at Thea and Roy’s antics. Kadienne would be lying if she said she didn’t miss it, but in her mind there was no choice except to quit. Cracking open the tub of ice cream wrapped in a black fleece blanket, Kadienne stopped flipping through the channels on her television when she saw one of her favorite shows was on. Just as she began to relax and forget about quitting her job, a knock sounded at her apartment door.

“Kadienne, please open the door. It’s Oliver.” He called out when she didn’t answer and softly collided his closed fist against it. “We need to talk.”

Why couldn’t he take the hint and leave her alone? Kadienne continued watching her program blatantly ignoring the knocking and shut her eyes at his gentle pleading. “Damn it to hell.” She muttered, tossing the ice cream on the table and stood up from the couch, walking toward the door not opening it. “What do you want, Oliver? I want to be left alone. We have nothing to talk about.”

“Yes we do. Please open the door and talk to me. I’m not leaving until you do and I’ll stay out here all night.” Oliver meant every word he said, even if he had to go out to save the city, he would come back here to sleep outside of her door until she talked to him. Kadienne would have to come out eventually. “Don’t think I won’t either.”

Groaning, Kadienne heard the promising tone in his voice and scratched her forehead, hating the ultimatum he gave her. Would it be that bad if she heard him out? Part of her wanted to leave him out there to see if Oliver would truly stick to his word and sleep outside her door. However, a bigger part forced her to move toward the door and unlocked it, slowly pulling it open to face him.

“What do you want?” Kadienne asked with great reluctance, keeping the blanket around her shoulders since it was a chilly night. “Make it quick, I’m tired.”

“I’d rather do this without prying eyes and ears around. May I come in for a minute?” Oliver asked cordially, stepping inside when she moved aside and closed the door behind him, following her to the couch so both of them could sit down.

Kadienne tucked her legs beneath her backside, the blanket covering her from the neck down and took the remote to shut the television off. “Well, out with it.” She wasn’t lying about being tired and didn’t want this to be an all-night talk.

“Why did you quit? Thea’s very upset with me. Am I really the reason you quit?” Oliver had to know, noticing she wouldn’t meet his eyes and reached across the small space between them to place his hand on her blanket covered thigh. “Kadienne…”

“You know why. I don’t even know why you’re asking me when you know the answer already.” Kadienne retorted, finally looking up at him to stare in his ocean blues.

He scooted closer to her, moving his hand from her thigh to touch the side of her face and could see all the pain swirling through her emerald orbs. “I know what it’s like to feel pain – to lose people you care about and love. And how hard it is to let someone in. To keep your pain bottled up to the point where it physically hurts just to talk about that person you lost.”

“How do you know I’ve lost someone?” Kadienne whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment and could feel her heart skip several beats with how close he was. “And why do you wanna know so badly?”

“Because the pain will eventually cripple you and turn you into someone you don’t want to be. Trust me.” Oliver spoke quietly, his own pain from losing Felicity, Shado and others flowing through his mind currently. “I understand what you’re going through probably better than anyone in this city. And I know you’ve lost someone because of the look in your eyes every time I’ve mentioned Vertigo. Someone close to you died from it or else you wouldn’t be so upset and closed off. You wouldn’t have quit your job just to avoid me.”

Kadienne heard all about Oliver’s 5-year journey from Thea and the tabloids, but they were all rumors. Only Oliver knew the truth about what truly happened and it was obvious he wouldn’t talk about it. Not that Kadienne blamed him since he’d been stuck on an island in the North China Sea for 5 long years, somehow surviving. Not even Thea knew the hard truth about what her brother went through, though the tabloids had caught wind of 20% of his body being covered in scar tissue.

“I wasn’t trying to avoid you…”

“You’re lying.” Oliver accused softly, caressing her face to finger her chin almost lovingly. “I’m the one who upset you. Nobody else questioned you about Vertigo except me.”

That wasn’t true, but Kadienne wasn’t sure if she should divulge that information to Oliver. “No you’re not. Someone else did too.” She admitted, deciding to trust him and tried desperately not to let her entire walls break down.

Oliver knew what she was about to say and had to play the part of acting surprised, not trusting her nearly enough to tell her about his nightly activities. “Who else knows about it?” He tilted his head, acting completely clueless and could see the hesitation boiling in her eyes. “You can tell me, Kadienne. You can trust me.”

“How can you say that when we barely know each other?” Kadienne retorted with a thoughtful frown, searching his eyes for any indication or sign she couldn’t trust him and found none. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. Promise me.”

“I promise.” Oliver nodded, pulling his hand from her face to take both of her hands in his, the blanket slowly slipping from her shoulders down her arms. “Tell me.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Kadienne glanced briefly past Oliver at the replaced window and looked back at him, feeling his hands squeeze hers comfortingly. “The night I found the Vertigo in my purse, someone paid me a visit. Actually, it wasn’t a visit because he decided to crash through my window, which is now replaced. It was the Vigilante – The Hood.”

“What?” Oliver felt bad for shattering her window, but it was the only way to get into her apartment since he couldn’t very well knock on her front door as The Hood. “What did he want with you?”

“The same thing you did. He wanted to know how I got the Vertigo and I told him I had no idea. I don’t know if he believed me or not, but he scared the hell out of me with an interrogation and took the drug with him.” Kadienne explained, taking a chance telling Oliver the truth and hoped she didn’t get another visit from The Hood anytime soon. “I lied to him about not knowing about the drug, though I didn’t know what it was until he pointed it out to me. Whoever he is, he wants to know who is behind who has the Vertigo in your club too.”

“Interesting.” Oliver knew all of this already, but he still had a role to play in order to conceal his identity. “Sounds like he was trying to help you in his own way, whoever he is. He didn’t hurt you, just wanted information, so he can’t be that bad.”

Kadienne raised a slow brow, not believing what he was saying to her. “You’re defending him. Why?” She pulled her hands out of his, wondering if telling him the truth was a mistake.

“He saved my life once.” Oliver admitted, leaning back against the couch folding his arms in front of his chest. “It was shortly after I came back home from the island. I was kidnapped with my best friend, Tommy Merlyn, by men and…he stopped them from killing us.” It was a white lie considering he’d been the one to kill them in order to keep his secret. “I’m not against the Vigilante.”

“I-I had no idea…” Tommy Merlyn had died 6 months ago in the destruction of the Glades, half of them anyway -not where her apartment was located thankfully- thanks to an invention Malcolm Merlyn had developed. “I’m sorry for your loss…” That must’ve been who he referred to as far as being in pain about losing a loved one, Kadienne surmised in thought, touching his arm gently. “So do you think the Vigilante is trustworthy? Because if he comes to see me again…”

“Listen to him. Answer any questions he has because you’re more than likely helping him.” Oliver said truthfully, giving her a straightforward answer and hoped it would make things easier going forward between them. “Maybe he’s the only one who can bring the one behind the Vertigo down. I’ve had zero luck, even with your help, but you quit so my eyes around Verdant are gone. It’s a huge disadvantage.”

So he wanted her to come back to work at Verdant and be his eyes since he couldn’t always be there? Kadienne didn’t know how comfortable she was, especially lying to Thea. That was another reason she had quit, feeling too guilty being around Thea because of the lying.

“I don’t want to lie to Thea anymore. That’s another reason why I quit, Oliver. It’s not fair to her and she deserves to know the truth. She’s my friend…” Kadienne was cut off by his finger pressing against her lips, silencing her.

“I understand.” Oliver suspected he wasn’t the only reason she had quit, but he was definitely a major factor in it. “Just come back and we’ll figure it out. I don’t want to drag her into this problem if we can solve it. The only reason you’re involved in it is because you were framed with the drug, as I’ve said previously. I know you don’t want to lie to her and I hate doing it too. It’s for her own good though. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, Kadienne.”

Closing her eyes, Kadienne had a feeling she would regret doing it, but it was clear Oliver couldn’t do this alone. The last thing she wanted to do was have someone else die when she could help prevent it by catching whoever had Vertigo within Verdant. Kadienne opened her eyes, locking them on ocean blues and felt his hand take hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze to tell her silently everything would be fine.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

Oliver smiled for the first time since their talk began and cupped her face in his strong hands, pressing his lips softly against her forehead. “Thank you.” He rumbled, pulling back to look in her eyes and knew this was a born partnership between the two just until the Vertigo culprit was brought to justice.

All Kadienne could hope was she hadn’t made a mistake by agreeing to come back to Verdant to help Oliver Queen.

Chapter 6

The following night, Kadienne walked into Verdant dressed for work in a black skirt and short sleeved dark red laced top. It had a V shaped neckline that dipped somewhat low, showing just enough cleavage to give men a tease. Kadienne knew it would bring in the tips tonight and she needed them because her bills were due in a few days. She hoped Thea would welcome her back with open arms since technically she had quit. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to her if Thea told her to take a flying leap and kicked her out of Verdant. Then again, maybe Oliver had smoothed things over with Thea and she wouldn’t have to explain her actions.

No such luck.

Thea stormed over to her from the stairs and grabbed Kadienne’s hand, dragging her back up to her office, not a word spoken. The door slammed shut, making Kadienne jump a little and she could feel the anger rolling off of Thea in waves. What did she expect? Walking out on Thea Queen wasn’t the smartest decision and no doubt put a strain on their friendship. Being Oliver’s eyes and ears throughout Verdant would be a lot easier said than done.

“Thea, I’m…”

The youngest Queen held her hand up, stopping Kadienne from speaking and instead threw her arms around the woman’s neck, hugging her tightly. “I’m so glad you came back.” She murmured, reluctantly pulling back to plant her hands on Kadienne’s shoulders. “Are you okay? What the hell was that about last night?”

“I was being a coward and had a momentary relapse in judgment. I’m really sorry, Thea. I take it your brother talked to you?” Kadienne assumed, sitting down in the chair on the side of the desk that had a very outdated computer system on it.

“Yeah, I ripped him a new one for bothering you. And then yelled at him again when he told me he went to your apartment to ask you to come back to work. I’m glad he did though.” Thea handed her a stack of paperwork, a small devious smile stretching her lips. “Look these over and sign when you’re finished. I have to go check to make sure we have enough wine stocked for tonight.”

Bewildered, Kadienne took the paperwork and began reading over it, coming to a quick realization it was information regarding the company. The very first page was her application and it’d been changed – just one line. Job title no longer said bartender. It said manager and Kadienne felt her heartbeat accelerate, emerald eyes wide in shock. Thea had offered it to her the previous night as a way to keep her in the company and Kadienne rejected it. Now she was being offered the manager position a second time with a clearer head and she planned on accepting it. Being the manager would definitely give her an advantage to snoop around the club for Oliver, make it easier to catch whoever brought Vertigo in. Clicking the pen, Kadienne scribbled her horrible signature on the dotted line and set the paper on top of Thea’s desk before starting to go over the rest of the paperwork.

“Knock – knock.” A gentle rap against the side of the open door made Kadienne snap her head up from reading the paperwork and Oliver chuckled softly. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No harm done.” Kadienne set the paperwork aside, rising from the chair as he shut the office door behind him to give them privacy. “What can I do for you?”

Oliver was relieved to see the talk he had with Kadienne sunk in and convinced her to return to Verdant, at least for the time being. “Nothing, just wanted to see if you came back or not. You are my eyes, after all.” He had to fight the urge not to give her a slow scan in the outfit she chose to wear. “Diana will be fired tonight. Thea is taking care of it now.”

That information didn’t surprise Kadienne considering Diana’s sticky fingers. “I will do my best for you, Oliver, but I want to make one thing perfectly clear between us.”

He closed the distance between them, taking her hand. “What’s that?”

Why did he have to affect her so intensely with just his voice and gestures. It felt like electric volts were shooting up her arm from the hand he had a hold of. “I didn’t come back here just to be your eyes and help you. I actually enjoy working here and made the decision to come back based on that. Didn’t want your ego getting the better of you thinking you’re the sole reason I returned.” Kadienne informed him in a soft but firm voice, her eyes not leaving his.

“So coaxing Thea to make you a manager doesn’t give me any brownie points?”

“Hmm maybe one.”

Her pointer finger moved back and forth in front of his mouth, his lips practically inviting Kadienne to touch them with her own. Oliver wasn’t sure what to make of their small banter back and forth, disliking the magnetic attraction he felt for her. She could feel it too; he could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. Yet, Oliver couldn’t pull away or release her hand, an overwhelming impulse coursing through him to kiss her. No, he couldn’t! It would defile Felicity’s memory and he couldn’t do that, needing to keep Kadienne at arm’s length without completely obliterating his plan. This would be a lot harder to do than he thought.

“I’ll take it.” Oliver slowly stepped back, letting go of her hand and cleared his throat to try alleviating the tension in the air between them. “I have some business to take care of. Enjoy your first night on the job, manager.” He shot her a wink on his way out the door and nodded to Thea on his way down the stairs, making a quick right turn to head to the back of the club where the door to the Foundry was located.

John was already down there, watching the computer screen to see if any criminal activity popped up. There was always something on an almost nightly basis. He looked up when the door opened and Oliver came flying down the stairs in one of his suits, immediately undoing the tie. John could tell Oliver was frustrated for several reasons and leaned back in the chair, folding his arms in front of his chest.

“You look a little…irritated tonight. Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” Oliver didn’t know how else to answer that loaded question and unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off tossing it to the side. “We need to find whoever is supplying Vertigo. I’ll call Detective Lance to see if he can help with anything.” The sooner he solved this problem with Vertigo, the sooner he’d be rid of Kadienne Young.

Standing, John watched his partner begin his nightly workout and leaned against the wall, trying to find the right words to say without upsetting Oliver. “Look man, you know it’s alright to like someone…”

“Don’t start, Diggle.” Oliver grunted, flipping upside down to start doing handstand pushups with his feet pressed against the wall. “It’s strictly business…”

“If it was, you wouldn’t be going to her apartment. I can see it written on your face. You like this girl and I’m telling you, as someone who knows you better than anyone, it’s fine.” John ignored Oliver’s warning tone and continued. “Felicity…”

“DON’T!” Oliver growled, flipping back to stand straight up and squared his shoulders, anger flooding his face.

Once again, John continued saying his piece. “Felicity wouldn’t want you being alone for the rest of your life, man. You know it and so do I. She would want you happy…”

“Happy…” Oliver shook his head, not wanting to discuss this, but Diggle was adamant. “It’ll never happen because I won’t let another woman close to me again. Felicity is dead because of me and what we do. I should’ve found another way to be saved instead of hiding in her car that night. And I never should’ve offered her a spot on the team. It was selfish of me and she only wanted to stick around until my stepfather was found. Instead, she stayed and what did that get her? A bullet to the head.”

“Oliver, you can’t blame yourself for what happened to her. You can’t keep beating yourself up over something that was out of your damn control.” John reasoned, or tried, stepping in front of Oliver to stop him from walking away or leaving the Foundry. “You loved her. I get it, but you can’t spend the rest of your life under that hood. You’ll end up losing your humanity that way and Felicity wouldn’t want that for you. She wants you to live your life and find happiness.”

Tears burned his eyes at the multiple mention of Felicity’s name. “There is no happiness in what I do and what I’ve chosen to do with my life. It’s the reason I didn’t tell Felicity how I felt about her and she died without that knowledge. I won’t do it again; I won’t put another woman or person in danger.” He had tried giving Diggle an out after Felicity’s death, but the man was steadfast and stubborn, sticking to Oliver’s side. “I’m better off alone.”

“No you’re not.” John argued, gripping Oliver’s shoulder and wished he could find a way to get through to his partner how wrong he was. “You’re only hurting yourself by being closed off. That hood is only a part – a piece – of who you are. Felicity is gone, but that doesn’t mean you have to die along with her down here.”

Oliver opened his mouth to respond and snapped his head up to the ceiling, hearing gunfire. The conversation was over for now as both men rushed over to the computer and brought up the video cameras Oliver had set up throughout Verdant. Three armed men had stormed into the club with machine guns, shooting them at the ceiling forcing everyone to drop to the floor. Kadienne came up on the screen with one of the men having a hold of her by the roots of her hair while another had captured Thea. Roy was out cold on the floor after trying to stop them from taking his girlfriend. Oliver was livid, immediately storming over to his trunk where he kept his gear and suited up.

“Be my eyes, Diggle. Let me know where they are headed.” Oliver ordered, already on his way out the door and quickly shot an arrow up to the rafters of the building, staying out of sight.

Hopping on his bike parked in the far back of Verdant, Oliver fired it up and took off down the street to save his sister and Kadienne. The girls were tossed into a black van, their hands bound tightly behind their backs and duct tape slapped over their mouths. Kadienne looked over at Thea, seeing she had a cut on her forehead from being struck with the butt of the machine gun. Tears slid down her cheeks for fear of her life ending and she had no idea why these men took them to begin with. She overheard the last name Queen from one of the men and shut her eyes, quickly putting together the reasoning for this kidnapping.

They wanted Oliver and retribution for what happened to the Glades months ago.

Pulling up to a building, Kadienne cried out against the duct tape as one of the men dragged her out of the van by her hair and upper arm. She looked up, noticing stained glass windows and the shape of the building. Were they in a church? Kadienne tried pulling on the tight ropes around her wrists and failed, looking to her left to make sure Thea was still conscious. They shoved Kadienne none too gently on one of the brown benches while Thea was brought to her knees at the front of the aisle, a machine gun pressed against her temple.

“W-What are you gonna do with us?” Kadienne managed to ask in a shaky voice once the duct tape was ripped from her lips along with Thea.

“Shut up!” One of the men shouted, now unmasked, and pointed the machine gun at her. “Say another word and you’ll be blown away. This doesn’t concern you!”

“Then let her go!” Thea shouted, not wanting to watch her friend die and yanked on the binds around her wrists. “Please! I’m a Queen, not her!”

“And that’s precisely why we’re keeping her. She’s our leverage against you, Miss Queen. Now shut your mouth!” Another man ordered, smacking the back of her head with the butt of the machine gun. “Unless you want your brains splattered all over the wall.”

“Should do it anyway. She is a Queen after all. She’s responsible for the Undertaking!”

“Yeah!”

Biting her tongue to keep from screaming, Kadienne did as they commanded, doing what she could to try saving Thea. Were they going to die here? In a church of all places that was supposedly being remodeled? Kadienne didn’t want to go out this way or be a pawn to get Thea to do whatever they wanted.

“Screw it, let’s end this now! Killing one Queen is better than none!”

“NO!” Kadienne screamed, not caring about her own life at the moment and stood up from the bench. “PLEASE NO!”

Suddenly, an arrow fired through the air and into the man’s arm, making him drop the gun instantly as he howled in pain. “GET AWAY FROM HER!” A deep voice growled through the church and everyone looked up to see The Hood/Vigilante standing on the balcony.

Machine guns fired at him instantly as The Hood jumped and rolled out of the way, dodging every single bullet. He hopped down and was out of sight, all the men cautious as they approached the spot where he’d jumped. Kadienne’s eyes flew open, watching The Hood in action as he decimated all of the men besides one. She never thought she’d be happy to see him, not after their last encounter, but all of that changed in a split second. Thea cried out as she was dragged to the second floor of the church and up to the balcony, struggling with everything she had to get away from the lunatic.

The Hood quickly fired an arrow at the ropes around Kadienne’s wrists before taking off to save Thea, already having an arrow ready to fire in hand. Kadienne pushed the ropes off of her wrists and shakily stood up, looking up watching the man who had Thea hostage fell to his death. He didn’t due to The Hood catching him after he was shot with an arrow in his shoulder. Kadienne watched Thea take off and met her at the stairs, helping get the ropes off her wrists before hugging her tightly. Both women started sobbing against each other, thankful they were saved and hightailed it out of the building.

The Hood was nowhere to be found.

“Oh my god, are you okay?!” Kadienne demanded, cupping Thea’s face in her hands to check out the cut on her forehead. “Come on, my place isn’t that far away from here.”

“N-No, I have to go home…” Thea trembled, looking around afraid one of those men would come hunt her down and take her again.

“You don’t have a car here and neither do I. Just come to my place and you can call your driver or something to come get you.” Kadienne reasoned, wanting to get as far away from this place as possible. It gave her the creeps for obvious reasons. “Please Thea, we have to go now!”

Not having the strength or mindset to fight her off, Thea went with Kadienne back to her apartment and knew she’d have only nightmares that night. Unbeknownst to the girls, they were being watched by their savior as he followed them all the way back to the redhead’s house, piercing blues watching their every move. He had to make sure his sister was alright, knowing he couldn’t show up out of the blue without blowing his cover. Oliver hoped Thea made her way home or else he would go get her himself, wanting her in the security of the mansion and not in the Glades.

Chapter 7

An hour later, Thea called a car to come get her and Kadienne stepped in the bathroom for a much needed shower, trying not to start crying. Being kidnapped scared the hell out of her and she’d put a brave front up for Thea’s sake until she was alone. Now she was even more terrified. What if those madmen came back to finish the job? Her apartment wasn’t the safest and she didn’t live in the best part of the Glades. After her shower, Kadienne walked out of the bathroom in a black cotton robe towel drying her hair and sat on her bed, dropping the towel at her feet. She was exhausted in every way possible and just wanted to go to bed, but Kadienne knew as soon as she shut her eyes, the nightmares would come. Thea staying the night would’ve been great, but Kadienne didn’t blame her for wanting to be in the comfort and safety of the Queen mansion.

“What the hell?”

Kadienne stood up from the bed as the light in her room went off, the only one on in the entire apartment. No, it was happening! Her fears were coming true and machine guns were hopeless to defend against! Kadienne immediately ripped open her nightstand drawer and reached in to grab the small bottle of mace along with a knife. She should’ve had a gun, but Kadienne was against them and didn’t think they were safe to have.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

That voice…Kadienne whipped around with the mace and knife in hand, swallowing past several lumps in her throat. It was him. It was the man in green, The Hood. He saved them from the church. She could hear Oliver’s voice in her mind, telling her to trust The Hood. He had complete faith in this masked man because he was Oliver’s savior. Taking a leap of faith, Kadienne dropped the knife and mace to the floor, her heart thundering powerfully in her chest. She didn’t move an inch, every part of her body trembling from head to toe.

“W-What do you want?” It was a miracle Kadienne had a voice to use.

Oliver had to make sure with his own eyes Kadienne was safe and alright. He hated this apartment she lived in, wanting to take her to the mansion. It was surprising to him Thea hadn’t forced Kadienne to come with her, leaving her behind in an unsafe environment. Oliver had watched Thea get into a car to drive her back to the mansion and should’ve followed, but something told him to stay behind to keep an eye on Kadienne. He didn’t plan on going into her place, not like this, and yet here he was scaring the daylights out of the redhead again.

“Are you alright?” His low disguised voice asked, not moving toward her even though she’d dropped the weapons.

That was a loaded question and she couldn’t tell if he sounded genuine or not. “I’m fine.” That was also a blatant lie. She was anything but fine after being kidnapped. “You saved us. You saved me.” On shaky legs, Kadienne slowly moved toward him and tried adjusting her eyes to the darkness in order to see who was under the hood. “Thank you…”

The darkness prevented that along with the grease paint over his eyes. “You never have to thank me. I’m just glad you’re safe.” He took a step back to turn and leave only for Kadienne to grab his gloved hand, stopping him. “What?”

Merely saying the words wasn’t enough for Kadienne, not when could’ve been gunned down. “Don’t leave yet.” She moved to stand in front of him, not releasing his hand and looked up into his eyes through the darkness, trusting him wholeheartedly.

“Was there something else you needed?” Oliver asked, unable to pull his eyes away from her and spotted her free hand reach up to push his hood back, immediately grabbing her wrist. “Don’t.”

“Why not? I can’t see you anyway and I want to properly thank you for saving my life.” Kadienne insisted, touching his face with her fingertips while he still held her wrist in a tight grip. “Please.”

Her soft plea didn’t fall on deaf ears and Oliver released her wrist, already knowing what she wanted to do. He was powerless against her and shut his eyes as her hand pushed the hood back to reveal his face. Leaning up on her tiptoes since he towered over her, Kadienne pressed her mouth against his softly and both stiffened at the contact at first. The prickly hair tickling her skin told Kadienne The Hood was very much a man with scruffy facial hair. Then they relaxed simultaneously as Oliver’s arm encircled her waist to pull her closer to him, his other hand gripping the back of her head. Kissing this woman felt like she was breathing new life into his body, all of his senses heightening. Kadienne didn’t expect him to return the kiss, thinking it would be a quick peck on the lips and he would disappear again.

It didn’t take long for Kadienne to give him access to her mouth as their tongues swirled together in a dance of seduction, want and need. Her arms wrapped around his neck as the kiss deepened, soft hands sliding over his short cropped hair and she didn’t mind his fingers delving in her own wet tresses. It took every ounce of restraint from Oliver not to lift her up and take her to bed, knowing that would only complicate things between them further. Sleeping with Kadienne would only bring her closer to him and that couldn’t happen, not after what happened to Felicity. That thought alone seemed to jolt Oliver back to reality as he broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily while staring at each other through the darkness.

“We can’t.” He rumbled quietly after pressing the voice modulator button, stepping back to give them some much needed space. “It’s wrong.” Oliver flipped the hood back over his head and turned away from her, cursing himself mentally for allowing the kiss to happen in the first place.

Kadienne’s brain was too foggy to come up with an argument, her lips swollen and felt her heart racing rapidly, not expecting it to get out of hand the way it had. “Why?” It was the only thing she could come up with to say, fresh tears burning her eyes. “You want it as much as I do or you wouldn’t have kissed me like that.”

“Never should’ve happened in the first place, Kadienne. I’m not a good person and you deserve better. Keep searching for it, but it can’t be with me. I can’t be with anyone.” Oliver had to get out of there before he changed his mind, unable to get the kiss out of his head and his lower extremities were screaming at him to take the leap. “Good night.”

She rushed over to the window and watched him jump out of it, zipping down a line attached to an arrow that was embedded into the building. “Night…” Kadienne whispered breathlessly, touching her lips with her fingers and closed her eyes, savoring the taste of him as much as she could while it lasted.

~!~

Detective Quentin Lance sat up in bed and reached over to grab the special cell phone that linked him directly to the Vigilante. What the hell was he calling for at 3 AM? It had to revolve around the kidnapping of Thea Queen and Kadienne Young earlier that night at Verdant. The kidnappers were found at an abandoned church with arrows in two of them, but they’d been alive. The only one that had been killed was the one who originally took Thea hostage, an arrow shot directly through his heart. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Quentin reluctantly pressed the green button to answer the call and brought it up to his ear.

“I need your help, Detective.”

“With what exactly? Did you enjoy shedding blood tonight at the church?” Quentin demanded gruffly, not sure why he always felt the need to berate the Vigilante for his actions.

Oliver expected to catch grief for killing the man who hurt his sister from Detective Lance, not regretting what he did. Anyone who harmed a hair on Thea’s head deserved to die. His family was off limits and the only exception to giving people chances for redemption. The kidnapper was too far gone, too full of hate and would’ve come for Thea again if Oliver let him live.

“I never enjoy what I do, Detective. That’s not why I’m calling. Vertigo has infiltrated through Verdant and it needs to be stopped. I need your help finding who supplies it in the Glades.” Oliver requested, looking up at the sky while standing on top of a rooftop not far from Kadienne’s apartment.

“And how do you know this?”

“Will you do it or not?” Oliver blatantly ignored that question, feeling the exhaustion creeping up in his body and knew he’d sleep like a rock as soon as he got back to the mansion. “I’ll be in touch.”

Quentin gritted his teeth, hating that he didn’t get a chance to decline the Vigilante’s request and tossed the phone on the bed, scrubbing a hand over his head. “Damn him.”

~!~

“That little bitch!”

Since when did Kadienne have the Vigilante watching out for her? The whole plan was to kidnap Kadienne, so why the hired guns took Thea Queen was beyond comprehension. It was impossible to hire reliable help these days. Having the Vertigo planted on Kadienne didn’t work and now she had the Vigilante on her side along with Oliver Queen. Going forward, they had to be careful and execute each future move perfectly or everything would fall apart.

“I’m so sorry-” The hitman tried to plead with the boss and lowered his head in shame, knowing he failed.

“I don’t want to hear excuses for your incompetence.” The woman snapped, crossing one leg over the other showing off more leg than necessary and poured more wine in her glass. “I really don’t want to kill Kadienne, which is why I wanted her framed with Vertigo. That failed, so death is the only other option and you failed THAT too!”

The man didn’t move an inch, cringing at the disappointed tone of his boss’s voice. “Please just give me another chance…” He tried pleading with her again and once again, her hand rose to shut him up.

“No, you failed and I don’t have time to keep cleaning up your damn messes.” She picked up the gun that sat next to her wine glass and leaned forward in the high-backed chair, cool eyes never leaving the hitman. “In your next life, don’t be a huge disappointment.”

The bullet pierced right through the hitman’s heart and he dropped like a sack of potatoes, blood slowly pooling out of the wound. She rolled her eyes, placing the gun back on the table and took a long sip of wine, acting as if she didn’t just end someone’s life. What a mess that would be to clean up. Luckily, she had a reliable cleaning crew that did anything she asked without questions and that included disposing of dead bodies. One phone call was all she needed to make and in an hour, the body would be long gone and burnt to ashes. Enough about that, she had to figure out a new plan regarding Kadienne and stood up from the chair to stare into the roaring fireplace. There had to be a way to make her disappear, but kidnapping wouldn’t work, not with the Vigilante protecting her. So he had to be dealt with first and then she could take care of Kadienne.

“Brandy darling, where are you?”

Sometimes she really hated being tied down, even though her husband was a billionaire. “I’m coming, sweetheart!” She called back, leaving behind the dead body staining the dark stained wooden floor.

Patrick smiled upon seeing his wife walk out of her study, rarely going in there since she didn’t snoop in his. Or so he thought. “You look ravishing as always.” He complimented, taking her hands in his and kissed her softly. “How’s your night been? Sorry I’m late, duty called at the office.”

He hadn’t heard the gunshot and it was amazing how blind this man was. It made things for Brandy so much easier to do and plot, such as his daughter’s eventual demise. “Boring, nothing worth talking about. You look exhausted, sweetheart. How about we go upstairs and get you a hot shower, hmm?” Her tone held a suggestive tone, a sultry smirk curving her ruby red lips. “I’ll even join you…”

“Sure, but first we need to talk about something that’s been weighing on my mind lately.” Patrick stared down into her deep brown eyes, kissing her forehead gently. “It’s about Kadienne. I don’t know if you heard, but she was kidnapped tonight and the police contacted me about it. She’s living somewhere in the Glades not safe and…I want her home, Brandy. She belongs here and I’m sure you two can put aside your differences for the sake of her safety.”

Normally, Brandy would’ve been against this idea, but having Kadienne under the same roof as her would make it easier for her to kill her stepdaughter. “My god! No, I didn’t hear anything about it.” She lied smoothly, placing both hands on his shoulders acting concerned and shocked. “Is she alright? Have you spoken with her? We’ll do whatever you want, Patrick. I never wanted her to leave here in the first place and I understand why she was upset about our engagement. She thinks I betrayed Emma…”

“And you didn’t and she needs to get over that. You are my wife, I love you and nothing will change that. But I need her here with us where she’s safe. And as far as I know, she’s okay and wasn’t harmed.” Patrick couldn’t get the conversation he’d had with Detective Lance out of his head, which kept him at the office longer than normal tonight. “We need to find her. I’m hiring a private detective to hunt her down and I don’t care what it takes, even if we have to drag her back here kicking and screaming, she’s coming home.”

“Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. The Glades are a vile nasty place to live. She’d be much happier here with us.” Brandy smiled, trying to do what she could to comfort her husband and play the wife part perfectly. For now, anyway. “There’s nothing we can do about it tonight. So come on, upstairs with you for that shower and then we’re getting a good night’s sleep. We’ll deal with this starting tomorrow.”

Scrubbing a hand down his face, Patrick wouldn’t sleep well until his daughter was home safe and out of the Glades. “Very well. Thank you for being so understanding about this, darling. I love you.” He cupped her face, kissing her passionately and headed upstairs with Brandy, trying to get his mind off of Kadienne for the time being.

He had no idea just how much danger he and Kadienne were in.

Chapter 8

“Great, the DJ quit on me and I have no backup. Maybe I should just install a stereo system or something and play CDs. What do you think?” Thea asked, glancing over at Kadienne, who wasn’t paying attention to anything she was saying. “Hello? Earth to Kadienne!” She waved her hand in front of Kadienne’s face and snapped her fingers, jolting her friend out of whatever deep thoughts she’d delved into.

“What? Sorry, what did you say?” Kadienne kept rewinding the night she kissed The Hood in her mind, unable to forget about it.

Thea arched a dark brow, noticing for the past week something heavy weighed on the redhead’s mind. “Whatever’s bothering you or has you occupied, you can always talk to me. If it’s my brother again…”

“No, it’s not.” Kadienne was quick to defend Oliver, cracking a soft smile and reached over to squeeze Thea’s hand. “Your brother hasn’t bothered me at all.” Not even a visit or anything; it was as if Oliver didn’t exist since he hadn’t stepped foot in Verdant since she returned back to work.

“Then what’s on your mind? Something happened because you’ve been in a daze for the past week, barely hearing anything anyone has to say to you.” Thea pointed out, concern filtering through her eyes. “Is it…the kidnapping?”

As much as Kadienne hated lying to Thea, she had no choice and couldn’t tell her about The Hood’s visits. She would want to know why and that wasn’t an option right now. Oliver made it clear he wanted to keep Thea in the dark about the Vertigo situation. Kadienne had to respect his wishes even though it killed her to keep a secret of this magnitude away from her friend. The kidnapping provided the perfect excuse and lie for her to cover up what was really causing her to go into flashbacks with the Vigilante. Kadienne swore she still felt his lips against hers, the prickles of his facial hair gently scrapping across her skin while their mouths were locked together. No man had ever kissed her like that and it wasn’t her first kiss either. Kadienne was far from a virgin, having her fair share of men in her bed, but none of them kissed her as passionately as The Hood.

“Yeah, I guess it affected me more than I thought.”

“It was quite the ordeal we went through. I’m just glad it didn’t last too long and we made it out of there alive.” Thea felt terrible for not taking into consideration how Kadienne felt about the kidnapping. “If you need the night off…”

Kadienne shook her head, knowing she had to stop thinking about The Hood and start getting back to her normal life, to stop daydreaming about him. “No, I’m fine.” She smiled at Thea’s stern look. “I promise and besides, it’s too busy for me to take tonight off. If you want to give me an extra day next week, I’ll take it.”

“Now we’re compromising?” Thea reluctantly smiled back, wrapping an arm around Kadienne’s shoulders to kiss the side of her head. “You’re getting two days off in a row. And you’re gonna spend them at my family’s mansion. I don’t want any arguments either. That’s my condition or you’re being sent home tonight.”

Staying under the same roof as Oliver probably wasn’t the best idea. Kadienne could see how serious Thea was about the offer and couldn’t fight her on it, groaning. “You don’t play fair.” She mumbled, rolling her eyes at Thea’s smirk and nodded reluctantly. “Fine, you win.”

“I know, I always do.” Thea beamed proudly, looking forward to having a sleepover with her friend; something she hadn’t done in a while.

“What about your Mom? Did you ask her permission before coming to me with this?” Kadienne had to make sure Moira Queen would be alright with her staying the night since she wasn’t royalty like them.

“Don’t worry about it. My Mom doesn’t care what I do and the mansion is big enough to where she won’t even know you’re there, if you prefer.” Thea assured, grabbing a pad and paper before heading toward the door, looking back at Kadienne. “I’m sorry you were dragged into my family problems. We’ll talk more about it during our sleepover. Oh and it starts once we close up tonight.”

Why wasn’t Kadienne surprised to hear that? She just waved Thea off dismissively and started the process of getting ready to open Verdant. First, the bar had to be checked to make sure there were no empty bottles of booze and an abundance of fruits and vegetables were cut up to serve with the drinks. The DJ quit, so it was Kadienne’s responsibility to find a replacement. Luckily, Thea had a list of people she could call to make that happen. Sometimes being a manager wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

~!~

Avoidance.

For a week straight, Oliver had left Kadienne alone and avoided her like the plague, still not believing he allowed the kiss to happen. All he felt from it was raw thick guilt and that he betrayed Felicity’s memory. His love for her, more specifically. Whatever he felt toward Kadienne didn’t and couldn’t compare to his feelings for Felicity. She was dead and gone, sure, but that didn’t mean Oliver would ever forget her or his feelings. No other woman could take Felicity’s place and, on top of it, he didn’t deserve to be with anyone, not in his line of work. Oliver knew what Kadienne wanted as soon as she said she wanted to properly thank him for saving her life. She had no idea it was him under the hood and Oliver intended to keep it that way.

That was why he had to stay away from her unless it was absolutely necessary to make contact. So far, there was nothing on the Vertigo front and that included Detective Lance’s help. He also came up empty; Oliver started wondering if the culprit had already quit Verdant after trying to frame Kadienne with the drug. Another possibility was all of this had been orchestrated from an outside source. Oliver would not leave any stone unturned and rest until the Vertigo situation was handled. Until something from Detective Lance or Kadienne came up, he would continue protecting the city as always and live his life one day at a time.

It wasn’t until he dropped down from the salmon ladder Oliver realized he wasn’t alone in the Foundry. “How long you been here?” He asked his partner, moving up another tier.

“A little while. Didn’t wanna interrupt you.”

John was worried about Oliver since he’d been holed up down in the Foundry for the better part of a week. The man wouldn’t talk about what was bothering him, no matter how many times John pried. When Oliver didn’t want to talk about something, his stubborn streak surfaced and it proved to be difficult to change the man’s mind.

“You okay?”

“Yeah fine.” Oliver grunted, going up several more tiers before dropping down and landed on his feet like a cat.

It was the same song and dance routine; same answers every time John asked him that question. “You sure? You don’t seem like it. I wish you’d talk to me about what’s going on in your head, man. Maybe I can help since I am your partner.”

Oliver wanted to lean on Diggle right now, but he couldn’t, not after what he allowed to happen with Kadienne. “I hate waiting. I’m not a patient man, if you haven’t noticed, Dig.” He patted his neck, shoulders and chest with a towel to wipe the excess sweat away.

“Any news about the Vertigo?” It was pointless trying to force the truth out of Oliver, so it was better to just stick with the basics and doing the job in protecting Starling City.

“No – none.” Oliver sat down in front of the computer to see if there was any criminal activity going on, needing some kind of distraction. “I think it’s gonna be a quiet night. Might head home to check in. Go home, get some rest.”

“You should do the same thing.” John placed a hand on Oliver’s shoulder, letting him know silently he would always be there if he ever wanted to talk about what was bothering him.

Oliver nodded, pulling his t-shirt on and grabbed the keys to his bike. “I’ll keep an eye out on things from the mansion tonight and contact you if I need anything.”

“See you tomorrow, man. I meant what I said, get some sleep.”

“You too.”

Oliver shut down the computer systems, having them programmed on his phone -another perk from Felicity’s masterful brain- and headed upstairs to take the back door where his bike was parked.

~!~

It was 3:30 AM when Thea and Kadienne pulled up in front of the Queen mansion, both tired and hungry. Kadienne wouldn’t sleep well simply because it wasn’t her bed in her apartment. However, if this is what Thea wanted, she would do it no questions asked. They hadn’t had a sleepover in felt like years, though she knew Thea would try prying what had her so distracted out of her. Maybe telling her about what happened with The Hood wouldn’t be a bad thing. She just wouldn’t mention the reason for his visit, refusing to break her promise to Oliver. Once they were settled in Thea’s room, she left to go grab them some snacks and ordered Kadienne to stay put. However, her bladder had other plans as Kadienne left Thea’s room to find the bathroom. Surprisingly, she managed and did her business, walking out only to smack right into a brick wall. Strong hands gripped her upper arms to steady her and it took Kadienne a minute to regain her equilibrium, looking up into the concerned ocean blues of a half-naked Oliver Queen standing in front of her.

“Oliver…” She assumed he had his own place, but then again Thea didn’t either.

“What are you doing here?” Oliver asked the question currently burning on his tongue, unable to stop himself. “Are you okay? Is everything okay?” She was the LAST person he thought would be at the mansion and it figured it was on the one night out of the week he checked in with his family.

Kadienne nodded, feeling breathless at the sight of him shirtless and forced herself to exhale slowly. The countless scars covering his body didn’t bother her. He was built like a brickhouse, pure muscle and the shape of his body looked to be chiseled out of stone. Suddenly, it was Oliver on her mind and not The Hood, emerald eyes finally looking down to see her hands pressed against his chest. She was oblivious to it until now and immediately pulled her hands away, feeling her cheeks reddening to the point where they felt like they were on fire. Hell, Kadienne was on fire just from the sight of this beautiful man in front of her and she couldn’t for the life of her pull her gaze away from him.

“Kadienne?”

His voice calling out her name jolted Kadienne back to reality and she took a hesitant step back to give them some space. “S-Sorry, I should’ve watched where I was going.” It was one of those moments she wished a giant hole would form in the floor and swallow her completely or at least make her disappear from sight.

She ignored his two questions and Oliver wasn’t sure if he should be annoyed with her or not. “It’s fine, but what are you doing here?” He tried again, this time with a little more force in his tone.

Honestly, Kadienne hadn’t heard anything he said to her while she was busy undressing him with her eyes, but his words registered to her the second time. “Sleepover with Thea. She insisted on it because she’s worried about me.” Oliver really had to put a shirt on because his body was a huge distraction and her brain was hazy.

“Why? Did something happen?” Oliver folded his arms in front of his chest, tilting his head slightly. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. Never better. I didn’t tell her about anything either and told her the kidnapping is why I’ve been so distracted lately.” Kadienne could tell Oliver what happened with The Hood if she wanted to, but something stopped her from doing so. It wasn’t his business what happened between them and needed to stay between her and the savior in green. “I’ll set her mind at ease. Have you heard anything about…you know what?”

Oliver shook his head, doing his best not to give Kadienne a onceover the way she had him. The black shorts and white and black camisole she had on was incredibly diverting, clinging to her curves nicely. Even though he was still in mourning over Felicity, Oliver was also still a man and noticed whenever he saw a beautiful woman. It just reminded him that he still had some of his humanity left from being the old Oliver Queen. He kept his eyes focused on her face the best he could and knew a cold shower would be in order once they parted ways.

“Nothing yet. I’ll let you know if and when.” He assured her, keeping his voice down just in case Thea came rounding the corner or his mother for that matter. “So what have you been distracted about?” Oliver was mildly curious if she would tell him the truth or make up a ridiculous lie to cover what happened between them while he was suited up.

She didn’t. “Like I said, the kidnapping scared me more than I thought and…I haven’t been sleeping well.” Another lie considering all of her dreams had revolved around the moment with The Hood, only they were more explicit and he stayed a lot longer. “I’m fine though, really. Just need time to get over it.”

“I see.”

Oliver couldn’t believe she blatantly lied to him, tempted to shove her against the wall and show her how he kissed as himself and not The Hood. No, he couldn’t dishonor Felicity’s memory and put Kadienne in jeopardy by being with her. It’s for her own good, he thought, reminding himself of the vow he made after Felicity died.

“It’s late, you should head to bed and try to get some rest. Good night, Kadienne.”

The conversation had ended abruptly and it confused Kadienne once again because of his brash mood swings. Hot and cold – there was never a happy medium when it came to Oliver. She wouldn’t go after him, ignoring her instinct to stop him from walking away from her. It was obvious he didn’t want anything to do with her that didn’t involve Vertigo and Kadienne had to get it through her head. Granted, there was no future with The Hood either, but at least he gave her something to remember him by unlike Oliver.

“Yeah. Night.” She muttered, feeling like there was something wrong with her and headed back to Thea’s room, exhaustion finally taking over her frazzled mind.

When Thea finally came back to the room an hour later, she wasn’t surprised to find Kadienne passed out on her side of the bed and smiled, joining her in a deep slumber minutes later.

Chapter 9

“Well done, Thea.”

“She’s going to kill me for this. And our friendship is gonna be ruined.” Thea shot back, glaring at her mother and couldn’t believe she was convinced to do her mother’s bidding.

Moira gripped her daughter’s shoulders, trying to reassure her that everything would work out for the best. “They are old friends of ours and I owed him a favor. She’ll forgive you. You’re doing the right thing, sweetheart.”

“Then why does it feel wrong?”

Walking past Thea to the small bar, Moira poured herself a drink. “If it was you or Oliver in this situation, I would do everything – EVERYTHING – in my power to make sure both of you were safe.”

Thea could only hope her mother was right because she was taking a huge risk ruining her friendship with Kadienne by doing this. Luring her to their home under false pretenses as a favor to her mother. She also wanted Kadienne safe, especially after the kidnapping, but Thea wasn’t sure this was the way to do it. Kadienne was vague when it came to talking about her family and only mentioned her father remarrying. She became very closed off every time Thea would bring up the word family.

“Living in the Glades is the last place Kadienne should be, Thea. Go wake her up, tell her breakfast will be ready soon. If Oliver is here, ask him to join us.” Moira ordered, already dressed for the day and finished her drink before going to make sure breakfast was on schedule.

Thea didn’t go to her room right away, wanting Kadienne to get as much rest as possible. Instead, she went to see if her brother was awake and knocked on the door, pushing it open since it was cracked. There he stood staring out the window in a long sleeved dark blue shirt and dark grey cargo pants. Oliver didn’t sleep much since coming back home from the shipwreck that killed their father. She was worried about him, but Oliver refused to open to anyone or talk about what happened on the island he’d been stranded on for 5 long years.

“Ollie, breakfast will be ready soon and Mom wants you to join us. We’ve having…a guest…” Thea informed him, giving him a hesitant smile once he turned to face her and leaned her head against the doorframe. “Or are you too busy to have breakfast with your family and my friend?”

Kadienne was still in the mansion, which meant Oliver’s plan to stay away from her wasn’t possible. “Not at all, I’ll join you guys.” He could tell something was bothering his sister, but couldn’t put his finger on it and walked over to where she stood. “Everything okay?”

One thing about Oliver was he could read Thea like a book and knew whenever she was upset. There was no point lying to him. She pushed him back gently and closed the door behind her to give them privacy before looking up at him with guilt-ridden hazel eyes. Oliver took her hand, leading her to sit down in one of the chairs and remained silent, waiting patiently for his sister to tell him what was troubling her. In a hushed tone, Thea came clean about what their mother had planned and how it revolved around Kadienne.

“So she has no idea this is going down today during breakfast.” Oliver surmised once Thea finished and let go of her hand, lowering his shaking head. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“I know, but…Ollie, it’s not safe for her to live in the Glades, not when she has a safer place to go…”

Oliver knew all about the Young family and how rich they were, much like them. He assumed there had to be some kind of falling out with Kadienne’s family and that’s why she wasn’t currently living in the lap of luxury. The whole purpose of speaking to her had been because of the Vertigo situation, but now things had become extremely complicated.

“Did you know who she was when you befriended her, Thea?” He asked quietly, wondering if he should give Kadienne a head’s up on who was coming to breakfast.

“No…not at first. But then Mom met her and…it didn’t take her long to make the connection. Apparently, we used to play together when we were little girls. Mom was good friends with Emma and Patrick until Emma died, so…” Thea couldn’t believe she hadn’t remembered Kadienne until after she had a discussion with Moira. “I’ve known for a while, I’ll admit that, but it doesn’t change the fact she’s my best friend and I’d do anything for her. I just hope she forgives me.”

“She will.”

“How can you be so sure?” Thea raised a brow at her brother, unaware of the connection he shared with Kadienne.

Shrugging, Oliver stood up with her and cupped the back of her head, hugging her in a loving embrace. “Because she’d be stupid to give you up as a friend. Now come on, let’s head down for breakfast. I’m starving.”

“I’ll be right behind you. Kadi is still sleeping and I have to go wake her up.” Thea kissed his cheek. “Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime.” Oliver followed her out the door, watching Thea head to her room and pursed his lips together tightly, heading down the stairs to go take his place at the breakfast table.

Things were about to get very eventful in the Queen household.

~!~

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you? Maybe she’s over the fact we got married and…”

Patrick pressed his finger to Brandy’s lips and replaced it with his own, softly kissing her. “As much as I’d love that, it’s not wise and Moira told me to come alone. She thinks it’ll go over better without you there.” He hated choosing between Kadienne and Brandy, but right now his daughter needed him more. “I’ll hopefully return with Kadienne sometime today.”

Plastering on a sympathetic smile, Brandy wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Do what you have to do, my love. I hope everything works out in your favor and she comes home without a fuss.”

“Thank you for understanding, darling. I’ll do my best to bring her home.” Patrick decided he wasn’t coming back without Kadienne by his side and would do whatever necessary to make it happen. Even if he had to force her.

Brandy watched her husband from the window, eyes narrowing thoughtfully and felt her bodyguard walk up to stand beside her. He was also her partner in crime…and secret lover. “So what happens once the brat returns?” He asked in her ear, sliding his hands up and down her arms.

“There are a lot of options to choose from. Patience, lover. Let the fly come into our web and then we will eat her alive.” Brandy promised with a devious laugh, pulling away from the window to jump in her bodyguard’s arms.

What better way to spend the day in the mansion than in bed with him?

~!~

Kadienne hopped out of the shower, needing one to wake up after Thea jolted her out of dreamland. Vigilante dreamland, to be more specific. It’d been happening for the past week and always started the same way – him in her room with them kissing, but it didn’t stop there. Kadienne had to forget about him because the dreams were cruel reminders and nothing more than a tease. She thought about drawing him out somehow just to see if more could happen between them and immediately nixed the idea. It was too dangerous; there was no future with the Vigilante, but Kadienne never felt such a strong connection with someone before.

Eyeballing the black and pink sundress on the bed Thea laid out for her, Kadienne contemplated putting her regular clothes back on. However, they smelled of sweat and needed washed, so she was left no other alternative. This was the Queen family and chances are, they were dressed to the nines for all meals, no matter how small. Sighing, Kadienne pulled the dress on, tying the straps around her neck since it was a halter style and zipped up the back, looking into the full length mirror Thea had in her room. It’d been a long time since Kadienne dressed up like this and felt a sense of royalty, even though she came from money to begin with.

Pulling her hair back in a ponytail, Kadienne took a deep breath and slipped her black flats on before heading downstairs. Oliver looked up as soon as she walked in the dining room where most meals took place, his breath temporarily stolen. She looked incredible, the dress clinging to every curve of her body and he secretly wished she would’ve left her hair down. Nobody else was in the room currently since Thea and Moira were talking about how best to reveal their surprise breakfast guest to Kadienne. It was Oliver’s job to keep her distracted long enough for them to figure it out. Once again, his plan to avoid her had gone up in smoke and Oliver gravitated toward her until the space between them disappeared.

“Good morning, Oliver.” She greeted, noticing they were alone for the moment and wondered where Thea was. “Where’s your Mom and Thea?”

“They’ll be along shortly.” Oliver pulled out a chair for her to sit down and pushed it in once she did, taking the seat beside her.

Once again, he was being warm toward her, but if the past several talks they’ve had together proved anything, it wouldn’t last long. “Thanks…” Kadienne took a sip of water to do something with her hands, not entirely sure why she felt so nervous.

Oliver could tell she sensed something wasn’t right and reached over to take her hand, squeezing it gently. “Something on your mind?”

“You mean besides the fact you haven’t said a word to me in a week until last night? Nothing much.” Kadienne replied coolly, taking her hand out of his and looked around the room, avoiding eye contact.

“I deserve that.” Oliver conceded, straightening the placemat in front of him and took a sip of water himself. “I haven’t found anything about the Vertigo and I didn’t want to bother you until I did.”

“You don’t bother me. You’re just very…you run hot and cold, Oliver. One minute you’re talkative and warm and the next you shut me out. It’s just very confusing.” Kadienne figured it was best to be honest with him. “I took your advice, by the way.”

Oliver furrowed his brow, not sure what she meant. “About?”

“The Hood.” She murmured quietly, making sure he was the only one who could hear her. “He – um – paid me another visit.” He didn’t need to know about the lip lock she shared with the Vigilante.

The kiss…Oliver noticed the way her cheeks flushed crimson and had to act shocked by her revelation regarding The Hood’s visit. “When?” He asked, keeping his own voice low.

Kadienne lowered her eyes to the table, clasping her hands together tightly in her lap. “The night I was…we…me and Thea, I mean…were kidnapped. He said he came to check on me when I asked him what he wanted. I remembered what you said and trusted him.” She couldn’t look at Oliver, doing her best to keep her cheeks from erupting in flames.

“I see…” Oliver eyed her, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder and watched her eyes snap up to meet his. “Did something else happen?”

Would telling him really make a difference? Oliver wasn’t interested in her and he’d made that clear several times. Kadienne liked him as more than a friend, but her connection with the Vigilante made her second guess those feelings. How could she kiss one man and still have feelings for another?

“Oliver, I…” Kadienne looked up at the door opening with Moira Queen, Thea and their surprise breakfast guest walking in to take their seats. “What the hell?” She immediately pushed the chair back, standing and was sure her eyes would pop out of their sockets.

“Hello sweet pea.” Patrick greeted his daughter for the first time since she moved out a few years ago.

“Dad…” Kadienne didn’t understand what he was doing here, looking at Thea who refused to meet her eyes and down at Oliver, both looking extremely guilty. “Thea…”

“I’m sorry.” Thea whispered, feeling ridden with guilt over doing this to her friend.

Moira had to do damage control. “Everyone please sit down and we’ll start breakfast…”

“No.” Kadienne backed away from the table, shaking her head rapidly. “Absolutely not. I’m not hungry and I…” She met Oliver’s eyes, coming to the harsh realization he knew exactly who she was and where she came from. “How long have you known?”

“This morning.” Oliver replied, already on his feet as well to stop her from running out of the mansion. “Kadienne…”

“And you.” Her attention turned to Thea, who still refused to meet her eyes. “How long have you known about who I really am? Why the hell is my father here?”

Moira sighed with a heavy heart. “I’m the culprit, Kadienne. You see, I’ve known your family for years and was friends with your mother, Emma. I miss her so much too. She was…”

“Stop.” Kadienne ordered, unable to hear anything said about her deceased mother and felt her entire body trembling in anger. “I-I have to go…” She couldn’t look at her father much less talk to him, not caring why he was in the Queen mansion.

“Kadienne, please…” Patrick frowned, not expecting this kind of reaction from his daughter and headed toward her, but she’d already left the room.

“I’ll go talk to her.” Oliver didn’t give anyone time to argue with him and took off out of the dining room, catching up with Kadienne just outside of the mansion. “Kadienne!”

“Leave me alone!” Kadienne shot back through tears, unable to contain them and didn’t stop walking until Oliver caught up to her in a jog, stopping in front of her.

“I can’t.” Oliver meant that in more ways than one, ocean blues burning down into acidic green. Her eyes weren’t emerald stones at the moment from how angry she was. “Don’t ask me to do something I can’t and won’t.”

“What does that mean?” Kadienne blurted the question out before she could stop herself, her breathing erratic. “You know what? Never mind, I don’t wanna know. I have to get out of here. I can’t be here right now. So if you can’t leave me alone, then take me some place else. Anywhere, I don’t care, but I have to get away from here…from him.”

Oliver knew she wouldn’t calm down until they were away from the mansion. Then maybe she would open up and talk to him. “Come with me.” He took her hand, not giving Kadienne a chance to push him away and guided her to the enormous garage where his bike was.

“W-Where are we going?”

Handing her a helmet, Oliver lifted Kadienne by the waist and set her on the back of his bike before getting on in front of her, firing the engine to life. “Hold onto me!” He called out, feeling her arms wrap around his waist and took off out of the garage away from the mansion.

Kadienne needed space and he was more than obliged to give it to her.

Chapter 10

The air flowed through her tied hair, strands of it coming out from how fast Oliver went on the bike. It was exhilarating, momentarily making Kadienne forget about all of her problems, including the unexpected short reunion with her father. She held onto Oliver tight the faster he went, pressing her cheek against his long sleeved shirt covered back and felt the muscles ripple against her. He was so warm; Kadienne never wanted it to end and could spend the rest of her days on the back of Oliver’s bike with him. Kadienne had no future with the Vigilante, but she could have it with the man currently saving her from dealing with her father. He was her savior and didn’t have to be; he could’ve left her alone when she demanded it instead of helping her escape. Eventually, the bike came to a stop on the outskirts of Starling City and Oliver put the kickstand on before dismounting, removing the helmet. Kadienne took her own off and grabbed his extended hand to help her off the bike, not used to mounting and dismounting yet.

“Where are we?” She asked curiously, looking up at him and let him guide her through the somewhat thick grass.

“Some place no one will find us.” Oliver replied, keeping hold of her hand and continued for a few minutes until they stopped at a clearing.

Kadienne tilted her head, confusion written all over her face. “Is that…?”

“An old park – yes.” Oliver hadn’t been here in a while, but it was one of his favorite places to be besides the Foundry. Obviously he couldn’t take her there, so this was the next best place. “Thea and I used to come here when we were kids.”

It didn’t take long for Kadienne to remember this particular park and felt a lump form in her throat, trying not to let the memories overtake her. “This is where I met Thea, isn’t it? My Mom used to bring me here…”

“Yeah, and some punk kid couldn’t stop picking on the two girls.” Oliver smirked, slowly turning to face Kadienne and took her other hand so he held both. “I didn’t bring you here to…convince you to talk to your father. This is actually one of my favorite places to come when life becomes too hard or I need an escape…”

“Tell me the truth. How long have you known about me?” Kadienne hoped he didn’t lie to her like everyone else had, Thea included. She supposed it was karma since she’d kept the truth from Thea about Vertigo being in Verdant.

“I suspected there was more to you than you let on, but I didn’t know who exactly you were until Thea came to me this morning. Then everything fit together. I was gone for 5 years on an island and…I had to forget a lot of things from my life…my childhood too.” Oliver explained, being as truthful with her as he could without exposing who he really was. “You didn’t want to talk to me about your family, even when I pressed you to do it.”

“For good reason.” Kadienne tried pulling away from him, but Oliver tightened his grip on her hands, preventing her from getting very far. “And I still don’t wanna talk about it.”

Oliver came to the conclusion he would have to open up to this woman before she told him anything. This wasn’t about finding out information regarding Vertigo either. He genuinely wanted to help her and knew Felicity would do the same thing if she were alive. Felicity was all about helping people and right now Kadienne needed him.

“You were right.”

No argument or prying? Kadienne wasn’t sure if this was a trap or not, but decided to take the olive branch Oliver extended as they began walking slowly. “About what?”

“How I run hot and cold; you’re right, I do.” Oliver admitted, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his cargo pants. “Opening up to people and being myself doesn’t come easily. And I can tell it doesn’t for you either.”

“No, I don’t.” Kadienne sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, folding her hands in front of her. “It’s hard for me to trust just like you.” She stopped to look up into his eyes, knowing she spoke the truth.

Oliver lowered himself to the grass, pulling Kadienne down by the hand beside him and folded his legs Indian style. Kadienne did the same thing while they looked out into the city under the sun. “Her name was Felicity.” The pain in his voice couldn’t be conquered. “She died…and I loved her. She never knew it either. I couldn’t get up the courage to tell her how I felt. Something inside of me is broken from being stranded on the island. I’ve tried repairing whatever it is, but Felicity…she helped shape me into a human being again instead of the shell I was when I came home. I meant what I said to you at your apartment, I know what it’s like to lose someone you care about and love. I’ve lost my best friend, Tommy, and her. I refuse to lose anyone else.”

“That’s just it though, Oliver, you can’t control what happens. You can’t control when someone dies. None of us can.” Kadienne understood why Oliver was so distant from her, especially after hearing about the woman he loved dying. “All we can do is live each day with our loved ones and hope we get another day with them. I’m sorry about her death. Do you mind me asking how it happened?”

“Shot in the head. Killed in her apartment in cold blood. No witnesses and her killer hasn’t been found either.” Oliver cleared his throat roughly, picking at the grass and took a deep shaky breath. “Your mother…is she the one who died from Vertigo? Is that why you got upset when I mentioned the drug?”

It was time to come clean to him just as he had. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t murder that killed her or a bullet to the brain. It was her own stupidity and selfishness.” Kadienne winced as soon as the words left her mouth, drawing her knees up to her chest. “She overdosed on Vertigo and…I found her. And there was nothing I could do to save her. Nothing.” Silent tears slid down her cheeks at the memory of finding her mother convulsing on the kitchen floor.

Oliver shook his head, turning to face her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, strictly for comfort. “The person who sold her Vertigo is the murderer. I’m sure she had no idea how dangerous it was to use.” He’d been injected with the drug before and the way it messed with his mind was astonishing. “You just have to remember one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“She loved you and she’s always here,” Oliver paused, touching her forehead with the tip of his finger. “And here.” He pressed a hand over her heart, their eyes locked together in a swirl of blue and green.

Kadienne could tell he truly believed that despite his own pain. “Is this when you’re about to pull away from me again?” She murmured, seeing all the different emotions radiating in his eyes and was thankful she was on her backside already because her knees weakened.

“Not this time.” He whispered, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand to wipe away excess tears. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Kadienne leaned into his warm touch, fresh tears filling her eyes. “Far from it. And you’re not okay either. I can see how much it pains you to talk about Felicity. You’re not over her and you may never be.”

Oliver swallowed hard at the harsh veracity she spoke, wanting to deny it and couldn’t. Felicity was the second love of his life aside from Laurel, who was still in his life as a best friend. Tommy’s death brought them closer together, but not in an intimate way. Oliver had pushed away and hurt Laurel too many times for them to ever go back to the way things used to be.

“I’m sorry, that was harsh. I didn’t mean to be a bitch.” Kadienne apologized, pulling away from Oliver to wrap her arms around her drawn up knees and stared straight ahead. “I guess you’re not the only one who runs hot and cold. I do too.”

“Tell me what happened with your father and why you don’t want anything to do with him.” He requested, not taking what she said to heart because he could tell how much agony she was in as well. They were more alike than he cared to admit. “Why you couldn’t sit down for a meal with the man and at least talk to him civilly. Because I don’t get that chance with my father anymore. I don’t get to talk to him about my day or how I’m feeling anymore. You still have that chance and you’re running away from it. So there’s gotta be a good reason for it.”

The subject regarding her father was bound to come up between them during this one-on-one talk and Kadienne was prepared for it. “He betrayed my mother. His dead wife. He betrayed her and me.”

“How?” Oliver pressed, his eyes moving from the grass to look over at her and hated how much anguish pulsated through her voice. “What did he do to make you move to the Glades? It doesn’t matter to me where you live, but you left your home – your mother’s home – for a reason.”

Kadienne opened her mouth to tell him and instead stood up from the grass, building walls around her heart again. “I want to go home.” It wasn’t a request as she walked away from him, doing her best to try more tears from falling.

She didn’t get far. Oliver once again stopped in front of her like he had earlier outside of the mansion and cupped her face in his hands to wipe her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “Don’t run away from me, Kadienne. It’s just us and you can trust me. I told you about Felicity’s death because I trust you with it. Running away from this won’t solve anything. It’ll just eat you alive until there’s nothing left and you’re a mere shell of the person you are now.” He pressed his forehead to hers and slid his hands down her arms to wrap around her waist, pulling body closer to his. “What you tell me doesn’t go anywhere else. I just wanna understand the disdain for your father.”

“He screwed my mother’s so-called best friend and married her.” Kadienne shivered against him, her voice shaky and soft, barely audible. “Her name is Brandy Highland…or was. Now she shares my last name and I hate my father for it. I know he has to move on and be happy, but why her? Why my mother’s best friend, who I considered an Aunt? It makes me sick every time I see them together because I know she doesn’t love my father. She only married him to get the family name and fortune. She’s a gold-digger and I couldn’t stick around the place I used to call home and watch it transformed to her liking. Changing everything my mother did and erasing her memory one day at a time. I couldn’t watch it happen. She’s done nothing except disrespect my mother’s memory and their so-called friendship by jumping into bed with my father. And I’ll never forgive him for marrying her and forcing me to watch it happen.”

Oliver committed that name to memory, deciding to do some research on Brandy Highland just to make sure she checked out. Truthfully, he understood why Kadienne felt so betrayed by her father and couldn’t imagine his own doing the same thing if his mother perished. He wondered if Brandy had anything to do with Emma’s overdose of Vertigo, if the woman did the drug herself. It was all speculation right now, but Oliver would not leave anyone out as a suspect.

“I’m sorry they put you through that.” Oliver murmured, pulling her into a hug and slid his fingers through her hair to try calming her down. She began sobbing gently during the explanation about her parents and he felt terrible for forcing the truth out of her. “I mean, it’s a free country for someone to marry whoever they want, but…your mother’s best friend is a little…weird.” It was wrong on all sorts of levels, but Oliver didn’t want to upset Kadienne more than she was.

“Yeah, and I already know why he came to your home today. He was gonna try convincing me to come home after the kidnapping and I’m not doing it. He’ll have to physically force me to go back to that hell hole with that bitch living there.” Kadienne would not budge or give her apartment up, especially not for her backstabbing father.

“Does he know where your apartment is?”

“I don’t know. Depends if he hired someone to track me down.”

Oliver didn’t want to take her back there, especially if Mr. Young had as much money as the Queen family did. Money talked in Starling City and people were forced to do things they didn’t want to all the time. He wanted to protect her anyway he could, wishing now he had his own place instead of living in the family mansion. There was another option though.

“You’re staying with me tonight. The mansion is compromised because of my mother.”

“And Thea.”

Oliver frowned at the mention of his sister, knowing she was coaxed into tricking Kadienne to sleepover. “Thea is innocent. Our mother can be conniving when she wants to be. Be mad at my Mom, but not Thea. She really thinks of you as one of her best friends.”

She snorted in response. “How can you be so sure?”

“Because she came to me this morning and told me what was going down at breakfast. And she felt terrible and guilty for luring you to the mansion. I promise, this wasn’t her idea it was our mother’s.” Oliver explained, running a finger down her cheek and kissed the crown of her head. “I just need to know if you trust me. I can take you somewhere he won’t find you.”

Kadienne appreciated the offer, but she wouldn’t run from her father either. “I can take care of myself, but thank you for offering, Oliver. Please take me to my apartment, I’m tired and drained.” She also didn’t get much sleep the previous night due to The Hood plaguing her dreams.

If she wouldn’t let him protect her as Oliver Queen, he would do it as The Hood. Maybe that’s what Kadienne wanted. Oliver didn’t give her any indication he wanted more than friendship from her, still not sure himself. Would he betray Felicity’s memory by moving on with another woman? With Kadienne? No! He couldn’t be with anyone while protecting Starling City! Oliver had to keep reminding himself of his obligations and how 99% of his nights were spent. They could be friends and he would even consider sleeping with her just to dull the loneliness, but he couldn’t be with her fully.

Something told him Kadienne had the same mindset.

Chapter 11

Oliver’s assumption was right, but it didn’t happen as quickly as he thought it would.

He kept a close eye on Kadienne, with the help of Diggle, neither of them wanting to see her harmed. While Oliver was out in the city saving it from criminals, Diggle stayed in a car across the street from Kadienne’s apartment building with tinted windows. Oliver planted the idea in Thea’s head to give Kadienne time to get over what happened, making sure she was paid for it too. It kept Kadienne in one place except when she had to go to the store and Oliver hated the fact she walked everywhere. It was easier to pick someone up off the street that way, especially at night. Protecting her ended up being a lot more challenging than he thought, but somehow Oliver pulled it off with his partner.

“Oliver, I know you care about this girl…” John stated a week later while they were in the Foundry, sparing with metal rods.

“No I don’t.” Oliver argued, the sound of the rods clinging together echoing off the cement walls and caught Diggle in the arm. “Stop losing your focus.”

John shook it off and continued sparring, this time catching Oliver in the jaw, remembering their first session when he’d been struck in the face. “I will when you stop losing yours.” He shot back, twirling the rods waiting for Oliver to continue.

Gritting his teeth, Oliver would admit only to himself he did have feelings for Kadienne. The talk they had at one of his favorite secluded spots in Starling City intensified them. She opened up and so did he, comforting each other in a way Oliver hadn’t experienced since Felicity. She was his comfort whenever he doubted himself about who he was and what he stood for as The Hood. Kadienne didn’t comfort him in the same way; she was straightforward and blunt, speaking the truth even if it was painful to hear. It was refreshing and intriguing, which made Oliver want to get to know her more. He tried convincing himself it was only to find a lead to whoever brought Vertigo back into the city.

It was an epic fail.

“What do you want me to say, Dig?” Oliver demanded, tossing the metal rods aside to end their sparring session and began hitting the wing chun wooden dummy. “She’s Thea’s friend and…”

“What did I tell you when you first brought me into your crusade? Don’t lie to me. And you’re doing it now. You can deny how you feel all you want, but you haven’t been this protective over someone since Felicity and you know it.” John was never a man to back down and frequently called Oliver out on his lies.

He was right and Oliver hated him for it sometimes like now. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t put her in danger like I did Felicity.”

“In case you don’t remember, that was on both of us, man. It wasn’t just you. I should’ve known better than to let her leave here with a target on her back. She was stubborn and wanted to go home though. We couldn’t stop her.” John reminded his partner, knowing Oliver blamed himself solely for Felicity’s murder when that wasn’t the case.

“I know, and we should’ve stopped her. We should’ve made her stay here with us where she was safe. Or at least stayed with her at her apartment. I knew better and I didn’t do anything, I let her go…” Oliver hit the wing chun wooden dummy harder, remembering the argument he’d had with Felicity the night she left.

What Diggle didn’t know was he tried forcing Felicity to stay in the Foundry with him. Diggle had gone home after being assured nothing else would go down that night and it left Oliver alone with Felicity. He planned on telling her how he felt and everything fell apart; it ended with them arguing and Felicity storming out. Oliver had been angry and didn’t go after her to give them both space, temporarily forgetting she was being targeted. It was a mistake Oliver had to live with for the rest of his life.

“So you’re afraid the same thing will happen with Kadienne? You gotta stop beating yourself up over this, Oliver.” John walked over to stand beside Oliver, folding his arms in front of his chest. “What happened to Felicity isn’t your fault or mine. She was murdered and the murderer is the only one to blame. You guys got into a fight; it happens. But it’s not your fault she died. She decided to get involved in this on her own, we didn’t force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. She wanted to help protect this city…”

“And we couldn’t protect her…” Oliver threw a punch at the wing chun wooden dummy as hard as he could, splitting one of the rods in half from the velocity of the strike. “Or find her killer…”

John placed a hand on Oliver’s shoulder, feeling how tense he was and couldn’t argue those valid points. “We will. It’s taking time and I know you’re not a patient man, but we WILL find who killed her and make them pay. I promise you. But keeping yourself bottled up and at arm’s length with Kadienne won’t protect her either. Being close to her and in her life will.”

Wanting to believe that with every fiber of his being, Oliver could only nod and walked over to the computer screen to check on Kadienne. “Who is that?” He pointed, ocean blues narrowing and turning to ice.

John smirked at the footage and shrugged, already hearing the jealousy in Oliver’s voice. “Looks like she met a new friend.”

“Mmmhmm.”

Oliver had to walk away from the computer before he smashed it and looked up at the ceiling, deciding it was time to make a rare appearance at Verdant. He didn’t trust anyone around Kadienne right now, not with her father out there looking for ways to lure her back home. Tossing on a white buttoned up dress shirt, leaving the top two buttons undone, Oliver made his way up the stairs to join the fray of customers…and Kadienne. John chuckled, watching how disheveled his partner was and wiped the sweat from his brow, keeping his eyes on the computer screen in case anything happened with the redhead.

It didn’t take long for Oliver to spot Kadienne, wondering why she wasn’t behind the bar. Then he remembered her managerial position and knew the perfect way to get her away from the guy she was currently conversing with. Being the owner of Verdant had its perks, after all. Clearing his throat behind them, Oliver smiled down at a surprised Kadienne and extended his hand to the gentleman, tightening his grip on purpose.

“Oliver Queen, nice to meet you.” No it wasn’t. “May I steal Kadienne away for a minute?” He didn’t wait for the man to reply and placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her away from him toward the stairs that lead up to Thea’s office.

Kadienne didn’t think anything of the exchange and went with Oliver, silently thanking him for getting her away from the creep. “Everything okay, Oliver?” She asked once they were alone, the thumping music vibrating the floor from below.

“Yeah…” Oliver finally noticed what she was wearing and had to keep his eyes locked on her face since the dress she had on hugged every curve of her body. “Just wanted to check in. See how you’re doing with the new position.” It made sense and harbored the perfect excuse for his real reasoning to pull her aside.

“Well I haven’t slit my wrists yet if that’s what you’re wondering.” She joked dryly, knowing he was referring to what happened with her father a week ago at the Queen mansion. “I’m fine, Oliver. And the position is never better. It’s a lot better than being stuck behind a bar.”

Joking about slitting her wrists bothered Oliver for some reason and he tried not to show it. He did care for her, Diggle was right, but that didn’t mean he would put her in the same danger Felicity had been the moment she became part of his crusade. That also didn’t mean he would let her end up with someone who was below her either. She deserved to be happy, but Oliver would make damn sure whoever the guy was didn’t hurt her or they wouldn’t make it to their next birthday.

“So what brings you in tonight besides asking me how I am?” Kadienne asked, breaking him out of his thoughts and could tell something weighed heavy on Oliver’s mind. “Everything okay with you?”

“Yeah, never better. Just wanted to check on my club and make sure Thea hadn’t burned it down yet.” It was his turn to crack a joke, trying to ease the tension between them. “Have you talked to her at all?”

Kadienne shook her head in response.

“You really should. I told you it wasn’t her fault…”

“I heard what you said and I know she was coerced into bringing me to the mansion. Still doesn’t make me any less pissed off at her for doing it in the first place.” Kadienne stated coolly, folding her arms across her chest firmly. “It’s gonna take me some time to get over it and then I’ll talk to her. She’s still my friend, but my trust is gone right now. And I don’t know how to talk to someone I don’t trust.”

Oliver heaved a sigh, not surprised by her attitude towards his sister. “You trust me though, so what makes me different from her?”

“You’re not the one who tricked me, she did. I know she’s your sister and you want to help her, but she made her own choice.” Kadienne’s tone held finality and told Oliver this conversation had reached its end. “I have to get back to work…”

Oliver caught her arm before she could walk past him out the door, their eyes searing each other. “Be careful who you talk to. Remember your father is still out there wanting you to come home.” He advised in a low voice before letting her go, turning to stare out the window down at all the customers Verdant had that night.

Taking his advice to heart, Kadienne didn’t talk to anyone else for the remainder of the night unless it was business related.

~!~

Unlocking her door, Kadienne stumbled in dead on her feet and kicked her flats off across the living room. She’d added a few things to her place now that she made decent money to spruce her apartment up a little. All she wanted at the moment was sleep, not bothering with a shower because she was afraid of collapsing from exhaustion. Yawning loudly, Kadienne pushed open her bedroom door and sunk down on the bed before dropping back, closing her eyes ready to fall asleep in that position.

A crash in her apartment made Kadienne snap her eyes open. She bolted upright in bed and reached in her nightstand for her weapons, trembling like a leaf. Someone was in her apartment uninvited and they were about to get a very rude awakening. Carefully getting to her feet, Kadienne stayed away from the closed bedroom door and heard another crash, this time in the hallway. Somehow, she was awake enough to lock her bedroom door before collapsing in bed, so it would give her at least a few seconds before the intruder came in. Sure enough, the door was kicked in and flew open banging against the wall, wooden splinters flying in different directions.

“Come quietly or I’ll make you regret it.” The man ordered, giving her fair warning and pointed a gun at her. “Miss Young, this way.”

“Go to hell.” Kadienne hissed, crying out when a gunshot rang throughout her room and the bullet whizzed past her to embed in the wall.

“The next one goes in your arm. Like I said, this way. Or maybe I’ll shoot you in the leg so you can’t run away from me.” He had a job to do and would fulfill it, no matter what.

Kadienne knew it was a long shot, but she’d already been kidnapped once this month and it wasn’t happening a second time. “No!” She threw the knife in her hand as hard as she could, nailing the intruder right in the shoulder forcing him to drop the gun.

“YOU BITCH!” He roared, holding his shoulder and scrambled to pick up the gun, deciding she was better off dead after that stunt. “You’re DEAD!!”

Before he could pull the trigger, something flew through the bedroom window shattering it and Kadienne took her eyes off the intruder to look at the new one, eyes wide. It was him. The Hood had come to her rescue again.

“GET DOWN!” Oliver shouted, shooting the gun out of the intruder’s hand and drew another arrow to nail him in his other shoulder.

The intruder went down like a sack of potatoes, not sure which injury hurt worse and looked up at the Vigilante of Starling City with cold eyes.

Oliver wasn’t done yet, storming toward the intruder and lifted him up by the front of his shirt, shoving him forcefully against the broken bedroom door. “Who sent you?” He ordered, using his voice modulator and pressed on the arrow, digging it deeper as the intruder yelled out. “WHO SENT YOU?!”

“I-I don’t know…” The intruder sputtered out, tears filling his eyes as the arrow went deeper into his flesh. “P-Please…”

“You’re lying! If you want full function in your arm again, you WILL tell me who sent you here!!” Oliver growled, eyes ignited a sharp blue through the green grease around his eyes that hid his identity. “TELL ME!!”

“I-I don’t know, I swear!! I receive jobs through my email and I do them! I swear, I don’t know who hired me!!”

“What did the job entail?” Oliver continued pressing him for information, hearing Kadienne’s soft crying behind him and wanted to comfort her, but first he had to focus on the intruder. “Did they tell you to kill her?”

“No, just to bring her to the Young mansion, by any means necessary. That’s it, I-I swear…” The man was on the verge of passing out from how much pain he was in, blood pooling down both arms.

Oliver pursed his lips tightly together and decided to put the man out of his misery, elbowing him in the face to knock him out. He slowly turned to where Kadienne stood, trembling from head to toe and knew this was her father’s doing. The man really was determined to get her out of the Glades, even if that meant kidnapping her in order to do it. Oliver didn’t know how to protect her without revealing who he was. With Diggle and Felicity, he had a pretty good judge of character with them and knew they wouldn’t call the police. However, he had no idea what Kadienne’s thought process would be if he revealed the truth.

Not yet, Oliver thought, deciding now wasn’t the time and came up with another plan to get her out of here for a while. “Pack your things. Oliver Queen will come pick you up in a few minutes.” He ordered, keeping his voice disguised and walked past her toward the window.

“Oliver Queen? You talk to him?” Kadienne remembered Oliver telling her the Vigilante had saved his life, but she didn’t know they were in contact.

“No. I sent him a message and he already received it. Do what I say if you want to stay safe and away from your father.”

Kadienne didn’t want him to leave, but her vocal cords weren’t working properly and all she could do was watch him jump out of her shattered window.

Then she did as she was told and packed a bag, hoping the intruder didn’t wake up before Oliver arrived.

Chapter 12

The moment Oliver showed up at her front door 10 minutes later, Kadienne tossed her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest, trembling from head to toe. Oliver immediately wrapped one arm around her and cupped the back of her head lovingly, his eyes murderous for what Patrick Young did to his own daughter. He would pay dearly for this, Oliver silently vowed and pulled back enough to grab Kadienne’s face, her red-rimmed emerald eyes locked on his.

“Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” Oliver knew the answers to these questions already, but he had to play the part.

“N-No…” It was the response to both questions, her hands reaching up to cover his and tears began cascading down her cheeks. “H-He shot at me…and I threw a knife at him and hit him in the shoulder. I-I thought he was going to kill me…and he would have if it wasn’t for The Hood showing up…”

Her crying would be the death of him. “I know, he left me a message telling me to get here as soon as possible because you were in trouble.” He rested his forehead against hers, drawing her closer to him. “I never should’ve left you alone, not with your father out there wanting you home.”

“I-It’s not your responsibility to keep me safe.” Kadienne mumbled, not bothering to pack up any belongings because the intruder was still out cold in her bedroom. “I’m sorry to involve you in this…”

Oliver pressed a finger to her lips, shaking his head. “Don’t do that. Come on, let’s get you out of here and somewhere safe.” The mansion was out of the question and so was the Foundry, but Oliver had another idea in mind on where to take her.

“Where too, sir?” John asked, his secret identity being Oliver’s bodyguard due to Moira Queen’s insistence. If she only knew what her son was truly capable of.

“The Marriott.”

Kadienne looked at him circumspectly after sliding into the backseat, wondering why he would take her to a hotel when the mansion had more than enough room.

“The mansion has been compromised because of my mother.” Oliver answered her unspoken question, reaching across the seat to grab her hand and squeezed it gently. “Trust me, this is the best solution.”

For some reason, she did trust him wholeheartedly and didn’t pull away from his touch, her eyes moving to stare out the tinted window. John looked in the rearview mirror at both of them, noticing how concerned Oliver was for the woman. Their hands remained entwined too. Oliver could deny it all he wanted, but he felt a deep connection with Kadienne and John saw it. Just as he saw the way Felicity and Oliver looked at each other whenever they knew the other wasn’t looking. His partner had fallen hard for the blonde IT girl from his family’s business, Queen Consolidated, and now he was falling for the only heir to the Young family. Oliver felt eyes on him and looked up to see John staring back at him through the rearview mirror, immediately lowering his eyes.

He would never hear the end of this once they were back in the Foundry.

~!~

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR MAN FAILED?! AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE TOOK A SHOT AT MY DAUGHTER?! THAT WASN’T THE PLAN!!”

Brandy physically cringed at the booming voice of her husband while he screamed at the top of his lungs into the phone. She knew about his plan to have Kadienne abducted and brought back home since she refused to come willingly. It didn’t bother her Patrick was taking such a brash approach, but there were other subtle ways of persuasion that could be used. She tried talking to him about it, but Patrick shut her down and reminded her Kadienne was HIS daughter, not hers. Basically, he told her to mind her own business and stay out of his plan. All the more reason Brandy wanted out of this marriage as quickly as possible.

“I DON’T CARE WHAT IT TAKES!! FIND HER AND BRING HER HOME SAFELY!! NO VIOLENCE OR SHOOTING AT HER!! AND DEAL WITH THAT DAMN VIGILANTE!!” Patrick hammered his thumb on the end button of his cell phone and tossed it on the bed, ripping his fingers through his hair almost violently. “Worthless!!”

“What happened?” Brandy asked quietly, sitting up on her knees to place a hand on his tense shoulder.

Patrick closed his eyes at the feeling of his wife’s gentle touch and reached back to squeeze her hand, slowly calming down. “The incompetence befuddles me. The man hired to bring Kadienne home took a shot at her tonight. The Vigilante saved her or else she would be dead right now.” His hands were shaking at the thought of losing his daughter – the only piece of Emma he had left in life.

“Oh god…” Brandy had to act concerned and appalled, stroking her husband’s back soothingly. “Is she alright? Where is she now?”

“They don’t know. Nobody does. She was gone by the time the police got to her apartment and now she’s in the damn wind.” Patrick growled, standing from the bed unable to handle being pampered by his wife at the moment. “She ran, which means it’s going to be harder to find her now. I could kill them…”

Kadienne would’ve needed help to leave her apartment, but by who? Maybe the Vigilante took her hostage and…Brandy couldn’t get that lucky. Then again, planting that idea in her husband’s mind would make him even more preoccupied than before. She smirked, sliding from the bed to wrap her arms around Patrick’s waist, kissing his bare back nuzzling it.

“They will find her. I just hope the Vigilante didn’t take her…”

Patrick hadn’t thought of that, whipping around to stare down at his wife wide-eyed. “Christ…what if she’s in danger with him? The police can’t nail him down…oh god…” He felt sick, sinking down to his knees and could feel hot tears burning his eyes. “No, no, no…”

It worked like a charm. “Sweetheart, we will find her and bring her home. There has to be a way to contact the Vigilante and bargain with him. He won’t hurt her since she’s his leverage, remember that.” This was fun tormenting Patrick to the point where it drove him to his knees.

He could only hope she was right and Kadienne wasn’t dead in a ditch somewhere in Starling City.

~!~

After checking into the Marriott under a false name, Oliver lead Kadienne to the specific room the hotel gave him. He paid extra to insure nobody on the staff would utter a word of them being there. Back in his crazy wild days before being stranded on Lian Yu, Oliver had a party in this very room and destroyed it, so he had a connection with the owner of the hotel. He paid for the damages and the owner didn’t press charges against him, both of them becoming friends. This was Oliver’s getaway whenever the mansion became too much for him to handle or the Foundry was compromised. Oliver had to start thinking of a different location for the Arrowcave, as Dig liked to call it, and maybe give it a tune up.

“Thank you.” Kadienne murmured once they were alone in the room, turning to face Oliver. “You really didn’t need to go to all this trouble…”

“Yes I did.” Oliver still had the mission to find whoever brought Vertigo into Verdant, but protecting Kadienne was first priority. When did that happen? “Why don’t you go take a bath or shower? It’ll relax you and I’ll order some food.” He suggested, already steering her in the direction of the bathroom. “Go on, you’re safe here.”

Kadienne cracked a small smile at him and closed the bathroom door behind her, seeing the garden tub staring back at her. It looked very inviting and big; she was tempted to ask Oliver to join her and immediately nixed that idea. He wasn’t interested and simply came to her rescue because The Hood told him too. She had to get it through her head, Oliver Queen would never look at her as anything other than a friend – his sister’s friend.

Nothing more.

Starting the water, Kadienne used the hotel bubble bath that smelled of melon and stripped out of her night clothes before stepping into the hot water. Her thoughts suddenly went back to the Vigilante and Kadienne could only wonder how he knew she needed saving. Was he following her? Did he enjoy the kiss they shared together as much as she did? If only she could get him to talk to her, maybe they could come to an understanding. Kadienne knew she was out of her mind; how the hell was she supposed to draw him out? To get him to come to her without any kind of danger? Knowing her father, he wasn’t done trying to get Kadienne to come home yet and would send someone else after her. Maybe she could use that to her advantage in order to get The Hood to come, only it would just be her waiting for him.

“I’m out of my mind…” Kadienne muttered to herself while washing her hair with the shampoo and conditioner the hotel provided.

However, the more she thought about this plan, the more convinced Kadienne became that she could pull it off.

~!~

“Just for the record, I don’t like going shopping for women’s clothes.” John grunted, handing over the bag that had everything Kadienne would need for a couple days.

Oliver smirked, handing over the money Diggle forked over to buy the items he requested and patted his shoulder. “Thanks man, I hope to never have to ask you to do it again. Any signs of trouble?”

“No, but I’m keeping my eyes and ears open. They arrested the guy and his name is Cameron Carrigan.”

One of the names on Dad’s list, Oliver thought, his eyebrows dropping and drawing together. “I want all the info you can get on Mr. Carrigan.” He ordered, lowering his voice just in case Kadienne decided to emerge from the bathroom.

“Oliver, what aren’t you telling me?” John demanded, seeing the concern in his partner’s eyes and looked down at the notebook Oliver procured from his pocket. “He’s on it?”

“Yeah and something tells me he’s connected to the Vertigo.”

“So how does that help us since he’s already in police custody?” Was John’s next question while texting his friend, Lyla, to see if she could help him out with the information Oliver needed.

Oliver pushed John into the hallway just as the bathroom door opened and closed the door behind him. “Leave that to me. He’ll be in jail locked up, so we don’t have to worry about him being on the streets. Doesn’t mean he can’t be interrogated.”

Nodding, John walked off to leave Oliver to take care of Kadienne while he made phone calls, not liking the possibility his partner was about to break into the police department.

“Who was that?” Kadienne asked as soon as Oliver stepped back inside the room, towel-drying her hair wearing her night clothes she came to the hotel in.

“My bodyguard, checking on things. Here, I had him go buy you a few things since you’ll be here for a couple days.” Oliver didn’t give her a choice, handing over the bag and smiled at the shocked expression on her face.

“Oliver…” Her tone was full of hesitance and disapproval, not able to accept the bag of clothes and toiletries. “I can’t…”

He closed the distance between them and placed the bag in her hands, sliding a finger down her cheek. “Yes you can. Now go change and then we’ll eat and try to get some rest.” There was no room for argument or discussion; Oliver had made up his mind and that was the end of it.

Huffing indignantly, Kadienne walked back into the bathroom with bag in hand and shook her head, not believing how stubborn the billionaire was. She quickly changed into the panties and bra -both were her exact size- along with a turquoise night shirt and matching cotton shorts. How did Oliver know what size bra she wore? Maybe he guessed since he used to be a huge playboy years prior, she surmised in thought, taking the new toothbrush out with toothpaste to clean her teeth. Then she brushed her hair, leaving it down before emerging from the bathroom 20 minutes later and felt the breath leave her body.

Oliver was on the bed leaned back against the headboard with just tan cargo pants on, shirtless. She’d seen him shirtless once before so apparently he didn’t mind showing off his scars to her. They just made him sexier, if that was possible. Kadienne tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to pry her eyes away from him and felt her cheeks flush crimson when his eyes moved from watching whatever was on the television to her. Oliver was having issues of his own since the shorts and night shirt didn’t hide her spectacular soft curves and legs that looked soft to the touch. Her eyes went to the tray with two covered plates on it and Kadienne felt her stomach rumble to life, suddenly starved. She wasn’t sure what for though, but food would have to be it.

“Come on, the food will get cold if we don’t eat it soon.” Oliver patted the spot on the bed next to him, his eyes daring her to try arguing. He would win again.

Kadienne slid into the bed beside him, keeping her distance for several reasons and took the plate he handed over to set it on the comforter in front of her. “Thanks…” How many times would that word be used? “I know I say it a lot…”

“It’s fine, but there’s no need. Now eat up.” Oliver winked before uncovering his own plate, both eating in companionable silence.

Once they were done, Kadienne felt much better and handed her plate over to Oliver to put on the tray. Then she snuggled down in the bed facing him, trying to fall asleep. It wasn’t happening, not with this gorgeous man lying next to her. Oliver had turned to face her, his hand resting on her hip where the night shirt rode up to show pure skin. Each stared into the other’s eyes, both in their own thoughts and Kadienne found herself moving closer to him. Oliver didn’t stop her, brushing a stray strand of red hair from her forehead and the smell of melon infiltrated his senses. It’d been so long since he’d been with anyone intimately and his body was screaming at him to take the chance, make the leap.

“Oliver…” Kadienne murmured his name softly, wanting more than anything to feel his touch all over her body and not just her hip and face.

“Do they bother you?” He asked in a low rumble, the desire coursing through his body turning his ocean blues dark.

He referred to his scars and Kadienne shook her head, sliding her tongue out to wet her suddenly dry lips. “No.” She replied, keeping her voice soft and low as well, her own eyes turning a dark forest green from emerald stones. “They’re part of you and make you the man you are.”

The kiss they shared when he was dressed as The Hood suddenly filled his mind and Oliver longed to feel her mouth on his again. Her answer cemented his need and he could no longer hold back what he wanted, hoping Kadienne did too. Or else this would be really awkward. Taking a chance, Oliver leaned forward to press his mouth against hers in a soft simple kiss and didn’t mean for it to go any further than that. Kadienne returned it with a fire he didn’t expect and felt her roll to lay on her back with him on top of her. It was crystal clear they both wanted and needed this, even if it only happened once. Both were prepared for the consequences, which was the last thing on their minds the moment their tongues met.

For the first time since Felicity’s death, Oliver could feel his heart slowly piecing back together because of the current woman in his arms.

Chapter 13

Why did his kiss feel so familiar?

That was Kadienne’s first thought the second his lips captured hers. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was oddly familiar about kissing Oliver. It was weird considering she’d never kissed him before, not to her knowledge anyway. Her second thought was Holy hell, Oliver Queen is actually kissing her! Just when she thought he wasn’t interested too. Just when she was about to summon the Vigilante to see if there could be something between them. Oliver had officially put a wrench in that plan when he decided to kiss her.

His lips felt amazing against hers; it was as if their bodies molded together in perfect unison with every movement. The deeper the kiss became, the harder her body pressed into the mattress as Kadienne slid her hands through his short cropped dishwater blonde hair to his strong neck and broad shoulders. She loved how the muscles rippled beneath her touch, feeling the deep scars embedded into his skin only turned her on further. Kadienne could only imagine the horrors he endured while stranded on the island for 5 years, but also meant what she said. They did mold him into the man he was today – someone good, decent and kind.

Reluctantly, Oliver was the first to break the kiss between them and looked down at the beautiful redhead beneath him, her lips swollen from his own. “I’m sorry…” He began apologizing through heavy breathing and was cut off by Kadienne smashing his mouth on hers again.

“Don’t be.” She mumbled against his lips, every nerve-ending in her body ignited and quickly turning into a raging fire only he could quench. “I want you…”

Her declaration was something Oliver hadn’t heard from a woman in what felt like ages. It made him feel alive, wanted and needed. “I want you too.” He avowed, his mouth hovering over hers to give them both a chance to regain oxygen in their lungs. “I didn’t bring you here to take advantage of you, Kadienne…”

“You can’t take advantage of someone who wants the same thing you do.” Kadienne pointed out, cupping his face to bring his lips down on hers again. “We both want this, so enough talking.”

Oliver couldn’t agree more, feeling her legs spread to let him settle between them and moved his mouth to her jaw, tracing it with his tongue and lips. Her moans and mewls were music to his ears, letting Oliver know he was doing the right thing. Kadienne arched her neck against the pillow, giving him full access to any part of it he wanted and turned her head to capture his mouth again. Her neck was a very sensitive area and Kadienne wasn’t ready for him to attack that part yet, so she improvised. With strong legs, Kadienne pushed Oliver to lay on his back and straddled his waist, their lips never disconnecting. It was her turn to break the kiss; Kadienne sat up and pulled the night shirt over her head, dropping the material to the floor. Oliver sat upright, kissing her again and slid his hands up and down her back, unfastening her bra. The kiss broke long enough for Kadienne to remove the material and her arms went around his neck, both of them groaning at the contact of skin on skin. Her nipples felt like little hard pebbles against his chiseled chest and Oliver felt goosebumps form all over her body from shivering.

“Cold?” Oliver had to ask, a seductive smirk playing on his lips.

Kadienne shook her head. “Impossible to be right now.” He was lighting her on fire, the blood in her veins feeling like molten lava. “I said no more talking.”

“Just had to make sure.” He purred, nuzzling her neck and lifted her up from the bed as he stood, turning to plant her back down with him hovering over her. “You’re beautiful. Lift up.”

Not having a clue what he had in mind, Kadienne went with the motions and quickly cottoned onto what he was doing. His thumbs hooked in the waistband of her shorts and panties, sliding them down her legs. He wasn’t surprised to discover they were silky, just as he suspected. Locking eyes with her, Oliver unsnapped his cargo pants and blinked when she stopped him, immediately thinking she’d had a change of heart. That was until she finished the job by unzipping his pants and pushed them down his legs, not staggered to see he went commando.

Oliver growled, lifting her by the waist again to press her tightly against his chest and kissed her feverishly, guiding her back down on the bed again. This time, he would stay in control and teased kissing her, instead lowering his head to her breasts that screamed at him for attention. Kadienne gasped, burying her fingers in his hair and was glad there was enough of it to grip, her world spinning off its axes. His mouth captured one nipple while his hand caressed and plucked at the other, giving both breasts piety at the same time. Then he switched them, not stopping the treatment and enjoyed Kadienne writhing in pleasure beneath him.

“O-Oliver…” Kadienne was on shaky ground, already feeling a pool of heat between her thighs and tried not to explode from what he was doing to her. “Oh god…”

“Relax Kadienne, breathe…” He coached against her skin, thoroughly enjoying making her as crazy as she’d made him.

“D-Damn hard to do that…” Kadienne stammered, her breathing extremely erratic and her heartrate picked up several notches in speed.

If she barely handled the foreplay on her breasts, Oliver didn’t know how she’d react once he began his exploration to her lower extremities. He smirked at the thought of her passing out from exertion, deciding to take the risk since this very well might be their one and only time together. Whatever happened past this moment in time was unclear and undetermined; neither were thinking about what the future held just the present. Releasing her nipple, Oliver slid his tongue down the valley of her breasts and moved her legs to drape over his shoulders, pushing her back down to relax against the pillow. Kadienne was sure he’d started a line of fire down her body wherever his tongue touched, her eyes drifting shut to relish in the sensation. The scruff of his facial hair tickled and left a slight burn on her skin – a burn Kadienne would gladly feel for the rest of her life as long as she was in Oliver’s bed.

“Now I really need you to breathe, Kadienne.” Oliver instructed in a low growl, smelling her strong arousal and became heady from the scent alone. He could only imagine how she tasted, about to find out.

“W-What are you – Ohh…” The question fell from her lips the moment Oliver’s mouth came in contact with her dripping sex, his tongue sliding up and down her slit teasingly. “Too long…Oliver…” She was on the verge of losing all control and spilling over the edge before they got to the actual screwing part of this dance.

Too long meant she hadn’t had sex in quite a while and Oliver could tell just by how tight her walls clung to his tongue. Didn’t mean he would stop the onslaught either, especially since he was convinced her essence was pure ambrosia. A woman could climax more than once and Oliver planned on making this woman do it multiple times before they were finished. He growled against Kadienne, sending vibrations throughout her body and planted a forearm across her stomach to keep her from bucking against his mouth. It made her squirm and writhe harder, her hands fisting the comforter as her lower half strained against his forearm.

“P-Please…” Kadienne breathed out shakily, sure her heart would leap out of her chest from how fast and hard it pounded against her cavity. “I-I can’t take it…”

Oliver pulled back long enough to respond to her. “Yes you can. Keep breathing.” Then he dove back into the fray to make the redhead climax for him so he could really taste what she had to offer, flicking his tongue repeatedly against her swollen clit.

How the hell was Kadienne supposed to breathe with him doing THIS?! Her fingers left his hair to grip her own, completely overcome with loads of sensations. The tight coil in her stomach was threatening to spring free and Kadienne fought it off as much as she could, breathing as Oliver requested. It was sharp gasps, but breathing nonetheless. Kadienne couldn’t recall a man ever making her feel this overwhelmed and actually taking time to pleasure her instead of the other way around. With trembling thighs locked around his face, Kadienne finally cried out as the hot juices flowed from her body into his willing greedy mouth, collapsing back on the bed while he lapped at her like a man dying of thirst. She was his oasis, or so it seemed.

Sweeter than any nectar, any fruit, any type of decadent dessert on the planet, Oliver thought, sucking down every last drop Kadienne gave. Not a single one hit the bed or left his mouth; it was simply too delicious to waste even a speck. Reluctantly, he pulled back to move back up the length of her body, pressing hot kisses in random places until his mouth found hers. Oliver could feel how hard her heart pounded against his chest and softened the kiss, trying to calm down her down so she didn’t go into cardiac arrest on him. He was far from finished with her and had only gotten started. So many women he had been with, but none of them compared to Kadienne, not even his ex-girlfriend he’d been with nearly half his life, Laurel Lance, prior to being stranded on Lian Yu.

“O-Oliver…” Kadienne whispered in a slight falter once the kiss broke, her voice shaky along with the rest of her body and caressed his face with her hand.

He smiled, kissing her hand resting on his cheek and gripped the back of her thigh to lift her leg up, his eyes remaining locked with hers. Smokey forest green mixed with smoldering dark blue, their bodies aching with need for each other. Oliver went slow, sliding inside of her receptive body and lost his own breath at how tight she was, gritting his teeth. Kadienne tried relaxing as much as possible because she knew tensing would make it hurt worse. He was a lot thicker and bigger than the previous men she’d been with, so it would take a minute or two for her body to become acclimated to him.

“Breathe…” Oliver whispered against her ear, nuzzling her neck and began suckling gently on her supple skin just below the lobe.

“I-I’m trying…” Kadienne replied, turning her head to capture his mouth with hers and gripped his face with trembling hands, enjoying the taste of herself on his tongue.

Once the burning in her walls subsided and Kadienne was fully stretched out, she managed to push Oliver on his back to once again straddle him. It was her turn to pleasure him, his cock never leaving her body during the movement. He felt incredible inside of her; her hips slowly began to move back and forth, testing the waters between them. Oliver groaned, not expecting her to switch positions on him, but he didn’t mind it either. He watched her head lower to his chest, raining kisses over it and paid attention to his scars, proving what she said earlier. They truly didn’t bother her. The gesture was sweet and loving; Oliver fought the urge to take control again, gripping her hips to start a slow steady pace. Once Kadienne was done worshipping his chest, she sat up and began grinding her hips, planting her hands against his pectorals and her nails dug into his skin the faster they went.

Oliver thought tasting her was the best it could get between them, but he was sorely mistaken. As much as he enjoyed having her ride him, Oliver wanted the control back and took it, bolting upright to wrap her legs around his waist, his mouth devouring hers for what seemed like the millionth time. He couldn’t get enough of Kadienne’s lips against his, his hands burying in her fiery red hair while continuing to thrust as hard, fast and deep as he could inside of her body. Kadienne held onto him, gripping his shoulders and went along for whatever this beautiful man wanted.

Flipping Kadienne on her back, Oliver had her right where he previously wanted and began powering in and out of her, their mouths detaching in order to breathe again. Passing out before each got their release would be a travesty and sucking oxygen out of each other wasn’t a smart thing to do. So Oliver pressed his forehead against hers, guiding her sex up and down the length of his thick shaft, bringing them closer to the razor sharp edge both wanted to topple over. They cried out each other’s names as an eruption formed between them, the climax far more intense than they thought it’d be.

As quickly as it happened, that’s how fast it ended. Oliver pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, cooling down from the intensity they just experienced together and guilt immediately took over. He never meant for this to happen, for them to sleep together. Kadienne was supposed to be used to find the Vertigo culprit and Oliver let her get too close, which resulted to this. He defiled Felicity’s memory by sleeping with another woman and felt tears sting his eyes, knowing she was probably rolling in her grave right now. Even if she was dead, Oliver had made a vow not to be with another woman as long as he lived and broke it.

Kadienne felt the distance instantly as Oliver moved off of her to sit on the side of the bed, pulling his clothes back on. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong and closed it, pulling the comforter up to cover herself. Maybe he was repulsed by her and regretted what happened between them. That made her heart crack down the middle, breaking in little pieces that fluttered to the pit of her stomach. Feeling nauseous, Kadienne slipped from the bed and grabbed her clothes to dress as well, neither of them speaking a word to the other.

Oliver wished he could explain how he felt, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt Kadienne. He was doing it enough already and didn’t want to add more fuel to the fire. A knock at the door saved him from the awkwardness and tension in the room as he stood up to answer it, already knowing it was Diggle checking on them. He stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind him and felt the overwhelming urge to leave, ordering Diggle to keep an eye on her. When Diggle asked why he was leaving, all Oliver told him was he had business to attend to at Queen Consolidated, which was a flat lie.

Drawing her knees up to her chest, Kadienne waited until Diggle left after informing her of Oliver’s departure and let the silent tears fall, not understanding what she did wrong.

Chapter 14

Being freed of the hotel room, where she dropped her guard and panties for Oliver Queen, was a blessing. Kadienne didn’t want to stay there after what transpired between her and Oliver, but his bodyguard, John Diggle, wouldn’t allow it. Not until he was sure it was safe. Kadienne left without a word and went straight to her apartment, locking the door and all the windows. It wasn’t a surprise to discover The Hood had both of her windows fixed that had been broken during the last break-in. Kadienne wondered if maybe it was time to start looking for a new place to live since she’d had several break-ins within the few months. Funny how it all started the moment she agreed to work at Verdant with Thea and…Oliver.

The memory of what happened between them surged through her mind, forcing tears to surface. His cold demeanor and the way he nonchalantly left without so much as a word to her stung deeply. Oliver was the first man Kadienne trusted in a long time and she regretted it. She regretted ever meeting him. Every assumption about him and how he thought of her was unfortunately correct. All he wanted was sex and nothing more. Hell, Kadienne was shocked he even wanted that much from her considering he could have anyone he wanted in the blink of an eye. Kadienne chalked it up to being in the heat of the moment with the subject they were discussing and Oliver kissing her.

What happened couldn’t be changed and Kadienne had to move on with her life. The sex was incredible and that’s all it was – great sex between two people who needed it. Kadienne was stupid to think something more would develop between her and Oliver. Even with the deep conversations and getting to know each other, their families knowing each other from back in their childhood days, none of it amounted to anything. She made a mistake by letting her guard down with the billionaire, the prodigal Queen son, and walked away with a broken heart. How could she be so stupid to fall for an unavailable man like Oliver Queen? She made a decision to sleep with the devil and paid the price for her inanity.

Looking up at the building with the Verdant sign on it, she sighed softly and put one foot in front of the other to walk inside. Kadienne would start looking for another job, but in the meantime at least this one paid the bills and let her live comfortably. She still hadn’t spoken to Thea since the incident at the Queen mansion with her father, keeping things strictly professional between them. Maybe now was the time to finally talk about what happened and try to get their friendship back on track. She didn’t see Thea anywhere, figuring she wasn’t in yet and went up to the office to start looking over the inventory for that night, trying to get her mind off of all things complicated in her life.

Unbeknownst to her, Oliver watched from below in the Foundry, having cameras set up in every corner of every room in his club. His eyes never left Kadienne for a second while she sifted through the paperwork. He could only imagine what she thought of him after he took off on her. Oliver needed time to process and think about what happened between them; he needed space. Sleeping with Kadienne didn’t defile Felicity’s memory or what they had because there was no relationship besides a deep seeded friendship. With Kadienne, he took a step he never did with Felicity and didn’t know how to feel about it.

Did he regret it?

No.

Did he want to do it again?

Yes.

Should he have left her high and dry right after they had sex?

Probably not.

Did he have feelings for Kadienne that were more than friendship?

The more Oliver watched her through the computer monitor, the clearer his mind became. Yes, he did. He knew it the moment Kadienne kissed him as The Hood and even more when he kissed her as Oliver Queen in the hotel room. It scared him how strongly he felt for the redhead and didn’t want to hurt her in any way or put her life in danger because of his need to protect Starling City. Oliver made a vow not to engage in any activity with Kadienne and broke it when he kissed her – when he allowed his emotions to overwhelm all rationality and made love to her. Now everything was complex, messy and Oliver had no idea how to fix it without endangering Kadienne.

After two days of silence with no signs of break-ins at her apartment or any thugs trying to find her, Kadienne was planted with a tracker and released. John made sure to do it discreetly; Oliver didn’t want her knowing she was being traced and followed by them. Pushing away from the computer, Oliver stood up to pull a buttoned up light blue silk dress shirt on and decided to upstairs to talk to her. It was the only way to get past the awkward silence between them. Oliver had to explain his actions; Kadienne deserved that much from him considering he could never reveal his other secret to her about being The Hood. He stood up and headed upstairs through the passageway nobody except Diggle and Felicity knew about, standing in the doorway of Thea’s office moments later.

“Hi.”

Kadienne tensed upon hearing his voice, shutting her eyes momentarily. Then she went back to going through the paperwork. “Thea’s not here yet.” She informed him in a clipped tone, keeping her back facing him.

“I’m not looking for Thea…” Oliver stepped inside and closed the door behind him, keeping his head on the door handle. “I came here to talk to you.”

“About?” Kadienne played dumb, making a checkmark on the page by one of the many items on the list for the club.

She wasn’t making this easy on him and Oliver didn’t blame her. “You should have a pretty good idea already.” Something told him Kadienne didn’t want to have this conversation at all.

“Mr. Queen, let me stop you right there.” Kadienne decided to treat him the same way he had her, slapping the paperwork down on the table loudly. “If this doesn’t have to do with Verdant or Vertigo, we have nothing to talk about. You’re my boss, so act like it and be professional for a change.”

At first, Oliver’s eyes widened and then narrowed to near slits, clenching his fists at his sides tightly. She called him Mr. Queen, not by his first name and that unnerved Oliver to say the least. It was clear she was hurt by what he did and this was her reaction. Yelling and berating her wouldn’t do any good; Oliver had to handle this delicately or else he would shatter whatever they had developed between them.

“Kadienne…” Oliver moved to stand in front of her, his ocean blues intense and filled with barely suppressed emotion. “I need to explain…”

She cut him off instantly. “No you don’t and you’re being very unprofessional to your employee. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get the club ready for tonight.” Kadienne walked past him, or started to, and froze as Oliver’s hand wrapped tightly around her upper arm.

“This isn’t over.” He promised in a low tone, making it clear they would have a conversation in the near future.

“Don’t touch me again, Mr. Queen.” Kadienne ordered, ripping her arm out of his grasp and stormed out of Thea’s office to go downstairs to the bar.

Oliver gritted his teeth, slamming his fists down on the desk and cracked it down the middle before heading back down to the Foundry.

~!~

Verdant was an interesting name to call a club.

Brandy would’ve chosen something more exotic herself, but then again this was Oliver Queen’s business. It didn’t surprise her. Such unoriginality could only come from a Queen, after all. Brandy snorted, stepping out of the long black stretch limousine and ordered the driver to stay put. She didn’t want an audience for the conversation she was about to have with her annoying stepdaughter. It was a miracle she convinced Patrick to stand down after the kidnapper failed to do his job in bringing Kadienne to the mansion. Then she went off the grid for a couple days; Brandy reasoned with her husband to let her have a talk with Kadienne instead of sending another man to fail. Granted, Kadienne couldn’t stand her and the feeling was mutual, but Brandy had to keep Patrick’s trust until the time to strike him down was right. She spotted Kadienne behind the bar stocking it with different types of alcohol, shaking her head.

“Kadienne.”

It wasn’t Oliver or Thea’s voice. Kadienne turned around, shock filling her eyes and expression at the sight of her stepmother sitting before her on one of the bar stools. What the hell was she doing here? How did she know where Kadienne worked? That was a dumb question she asked herself due to her father sending a kidnapper after her all to bring her home. So what, her father decided to send his whore of a wife to come talk to her? He was out of his mind if he thought this would actually work.

“Brandy.”

“It’s been a long time.” Brandy didn’t know what else to say, clearing her throat and set her purse on the bar counter. “Is it too early to request a drink?”

Kadienne pursed her lips tightly. “Sure, pick your poison.”

“Vodka on the rocks.”

Kadienne whipped it up in a flash, sending it toward her none too gently and raised a brow at Brandy’s quick reflexes to catch it before it spilled in her lap. “What are you doing here, Brandy?” She demanded, done with the games and idle chatter.

“Oh you know, just thought it was past due for us girls to have a chat.” Brandy crossed one leg over the other and took a sip of her drink. “To see where you work…”

“And to convince me to come home to dear old Daddy.” Kadienne finished for her, not stupid by any stretch of the imagination and folded her arms in front of her chest. “Which I’m not going to do.”

Brandy smiled coolly, expecting this type of reaction from her stepdaughter. “Look, I know you don’t like me very much…”

“That’s an understatement. I hate you.” Kadienne clarified, once again cutting her stepmother off. “You betrayed my mother who you claimed was your best friend.”

“No I didn’t. You can believe what you want, but I never once made a pass at your father while Emma was alive and kicking. Your father was on the verge of killing himself with booze until I came along and brought him back to life. And when he proposed to me, I couldn’t say no because I fell in love with him BECAUSE of my best friend’s death. So before you stand there spewing your poison at me, get your facts straight. We didn’t do anything to dishonor Emma’s memory. You’re just pissed off because you’re not the only woman in your father’s life anymore.” Brandy laid all the truth out for her stepdaughter, being blunt and brutally honest about her and Patrick’s relationship, which was none of Kadienne’s business, but she decided to humor the girl. “The reason I tracked you down is because your father wants you to come home to keep you safe. We heard about your break-in a few weeks ago and how the Vigilante came to your rescue. Living in the Glades is beneath you and, whether you like it or not, you are a Young and always will be. I’m here to tell you my husband, your father, is hurting because his daughter refuses to speak to him simply because he moved on with his life and got remarried again. Let me ask you something: Do you want your father to be miserable for the rest of his life and mourn over your mother to the point where it kills him?”

So many different emotions splayed across Kadienne’s face with every word that came out of Brandy’s mouth. Anger, pain, confusion, sadness and guilt were the top ones. Of course she didn’t want her father to die because of her mother’s death! Her mother was the one who overdosed on Vertigo; nobody forced her to do it. Kadienne loved her father and missed him as much as he did her, but she couldn’t get over the fact he married her mother’s best friend. It was a low-blow and Kadienne was convinced Brandy only married her father for the family fortune, not for love.

“So why didn’t he come to talk to me? Why send you?” Kadienne had to think of some kind of comeback, struggling to find the words after that long lecture from her stepmother.

Brandy snorted, finishing her Vodka on the rocks and pushed the glass back toward Kadienne, rolling her eyes. “Would you give him the time of day if he did? I mean, he did show up at the Queen mansion to talk to you, with the help of Moira Queen, and you ran off on him.” She pointed out, keeping her voice even. “He didn’t want to waste his time and effort, so I offered to come and talk to you in his place.”

“And he thought I would actually listen to anything you have to say?” Kadienne shot back, taking the glass and tossed it in the bin below the bar after dumping the excess ice out in the sink.

“You are though.” Brandy retorted, folding her arms in front of his chest and rested her elbows on the bar counter. “So stop making things difficult for your father and talk to him. I promise he won’t send anyone else after you to force you to come home. It has to be your decision; you are an adult now and he needs to realize that. But you know I’m right, the Glades is no place for a woman of royalty.”

Admitting her father actually sent that lunatic after her sent surges of anger throughout Kadienne, her fists tightening at her sides. “He pointed a gun at me.” She lowered her voice, not wanting anyone else to overhear their conversation. “He shot at me to scare me and then was going to kill me when I fought back. Does my father know that?”

Brandy nodded sympathetically. “You have no idea how terrible he feels about it too. I’m not condoning what he did either. I yelled at him for it.” That was a lie. “He felt he was out of options because you won’t even talk to him. I persuaded him to give you some more time and offered to come here to try convincing you to at least have a conversation with him. And trust me, the man he sent after you is paying the price for trying to kill you.”

Would it really kill her to call her father and talk to him? It was obvious sending Brandy to talk to her was her father’s last resort. For some reason, Kadienne began to feel guilty for cutting her father off and actually found herself listening to what her stepmother had to say. They didn’t have to like each other, but the last thing Kadienne wanted to do was hurt her father worse than she already had.

“Think about it.” Brandy slid from the barstool, tossing a few bills on the counter and fluffed her hair out over her shoulders. “I’m out of time and I’ve said all I needed to. I’ll leave you to think about what I’ve said and I hope you make the right decision, Kadi.”

All Kadienne could do was watch Brandy walk out of Verdant and indeed had a lot of thinking to do regarding contacting her father.

Oliver Queen was suddenly in the far recesses of her mind.

Chapter 15

“Hi, remember me?”

Kadienne looked up, currently behind the bar helping serve drinks because one of the bartenders had called in sick at the last minute and smiled at the well-dressed man in front of her. He was decked out in a full suit with a vest and tie, all black besides the grey specks throughout the tie. His eyes were the lightest of greens that reminded her of a shamrock and his dark hair made them stand out against his pale complexion. Kadienne immediately recognized him as the man she’d been conversing with a few weeks ago and Oliver had pulled her away to talk…No! She would not think about that lowlife while working in his club.

“Sort of.” It was a sheepish admittance since Kadienne came across a slew of people on a nightly basis. However, this man did stand out to her for some reason above the rest. “Glad you decided to return. What can I get for you…?” She trailed off, realizing she didn’t know his name.

“Ramsey.” He extended his hand, a soft smile curving his lips. “Ramsey Myer. I’ll take a scotch on the rocks.”

Kadienne shook it briefly, returning the smile and made his drink while he took a seat in one of the barstools available. Verdant was semi-packed for a weekday, so they were busier than usual. Neither Kadienne nor Ramsey had a clue they were being watched from a hidden camera within the bar that happened to be in the area Kadienne currently stood talking to Ramsey.

Oliver stroked his goatee thoughtfully while watching the scene unfold on the computer screen and could see Kadienne was interested in this man. Ramsey Myer. Why did that name sound familiar? He couldn’t pull his eyes away from the interaction, listening to every word since the cameras he installed throughout Verdant prior to opening were high-tech.

“So what brings you to Verdant?”

“I had some work to do in the Glades, decided to check it out and see what all the hype was about.” Ramsey replied nonchalantly, sipping his scotch. “What’s a beautiful woman like you working for a dump like this anyway?”

Oliver clenched his fist resting on the arm of the chair he occupied, blue eyes narrowing and icing over. Dump? Verdant had great music, a bold décor and caught the eye of anyone within the Glades, even going further into the city where Queen Consolidated, among other fortune 500 companies, resided. Not to mention, Oliver Queen owned it, which meant loads of money went into the product. Letting out a low guttural growl, Oliver continued watching and was thankful Diggle had taken the night off to spend with his nephew and ex-sister-in-law.

Now if Kadienne wasn’t so angry at Oliver and Thea for what they did to her recently, she would’ve defended the club in a heartbeat. However, that was not the case. “It’s a job.” She shrugged, not sure what else to say. “I mean, it pays the bills and keeps me off the streets.”

“Fair enough.” Ramsey wouldn’t push, not yet and watched her take care of other customers before giving him attention again. “If you want, I can put in a recommendation to my boss about hiring you into our company. It’s exclusive, top of the line and you’d make a killing.”

“Really?” Kadienne blushed, suddenly feeling shy and refused to meet his smoldering gaze. “Well…what kind of job is it?”

She wasn’t serious! Oliver had to stand up and walk away from the monitor before he threw it across the room, feeling his jealousy amplify. He immediately went to work on getting a background check on this Ramsey Myer and found…nothing. Not one single speck of data came up on him. Either he didn’t reside anywhere near Starling City or he was from some place far away to where the software wouldn’t pick him up. Or he was lying through his teeth to Kadienne. Either way, Oliver would put a stop to this, but wouldn’t pull Kadienne away from the man like he did a couple weeks ago. Unlike her, he had a sharp memory and remembered Ramsey, or whoever he was, talking to Kadienne while she was greeting customers throughout the club. Right now, he had to bide his time and wait – two things Oliver was not good at doing.

Ramsey smirked, leaning closer and slowly gave her a blatant onceover, sliding his tongue out to wet his bottom lip. “Let’s just say you’d be putting on one HELL of a show and getting paid well for it.” He reached across the counter to take her hand, gliding his thumb across the top of it. “We’d take very good care of you unlike this place.”

What the hell did THAT mean? Putting on a hell of a show and getting paid well for it? Oliver could feel his temper rising at the THOUGHT of what this job offer entailed. He didn’t like ANY of the possibilities sifting through his mind and had to do what he could to protect Kadienne. But how? Who would she listen to? Oliver had ruined his chance by being a coward and Thea lost Kadienne’s trust because of their mother. Turning his head, Oliver eyeballed the green hood encased and sighed, knowing he had no other alternative. If anyone could get her to see the truth and listen, maybe The Hood could.

“I – I don’t know…” Kadienne felt uneasy by this job offer, the touch of his hand on hers causing her stomach to bubble up with nerves. “What kind of show exactly?”

He could feel her trepidation and smiled warmly, continuing to caress her hand. “I’ll give you my card. Come by tomorrow and I’ll go over everything with you.” He stood from the barstool, releasing her hand and straightened his tie. “I have to go. Duty calls. Hope to see you tomorrow, Kadienne.”

Watching him walk out of Verdant, Kadienne took the business card he left her and slipped it in the back pocket of the black dress pants she had on. This could be her ticket to get away from Verdant and the Queen family once and for all. Even with a managerial position, she didn’t feel comfortable working for a man who broke her heart and used her for sex. Or his lying deceitful sister. There was a lot on Kadienne’s mind and a new job could be the start of something better for her life. She still hadn’t decided whether or not to contact her father either, contemplating it after Brandy’s abrupt visit.

Thea had watched the exchange from a safe distance and noticed the business card the man handed Kadienne. Did he offer her a job? She had to make things right with Kadienne somehow, but she had no idea how to do it. Her mother had bullied her into tricking Kadienne into talking to her father and it blew up in all of their faces. And now apparently she was angry at Oliver for some unknown reason. Over the past few weeks, Thea had kept her distance from Kadienne and they hadn’t said more than a couple words to each other. Enough was enough; she’d given Kadienne enough time to get over what happened and it was time to resolve things between them.

“Kadienne, my office now.” Thea ordered, not giving her a choice and walked off towards the stairs up to her office. This would be done privately, not around a bunch of prying ears and eyes.

What the hell did Thea want with Kadienne, Oliver wondered, still watching the monitor with mild intrigue. As far as he knew, Thea didn’t know anything about the Vertigo showing up in the club and hoped Kadienne continued remaining quiet about it. The only problem they had was Thea lying and deceiving her friend all because their mother wanted to help, in her own diabolical way. Maybe Thea was finally ready to talk about it. Oliver could only hope it went well because losing Kadienne out of Verdant wasn’t an option. He saw Kadienne throw a towel down on the bar counter and follow Thea up the stairs to her office, immediately regretting not putting a camera in that room. It was the ONLY one in Verdant that didn’t have a camera for him to spy. Whatever Thea wanted to talk to Kadienne about she wanted to do privately and he mentally cursed his lack of detail when constructing, or having Verdant constructed in his case.

Stepping into the office, Thea closed the door behind Kadienne and pointed to the chair she’d set up silently. Kadienne eyeballed her suspiciously, looking around the room to make sure she wouldn’t be bombarded by another surprise visit by her father. Noticing her friend’s demeanor, Thea felt a wave of guilt wash over her along with newfound hatred for her mother’s ridiculous ideas.

“I know you’re mad…”

Kadienne immediately stood up, shaking her head. “I’m not doing this.” She started for the door only for Thea to rush over to block her only way out.

“Please listen and hear me out. I never meant to hurt you or betray your trust, Kadi.” Thea pleaded, eyes full of sorrow and desperation. “I miss my friend…”

“You should’ve thought about that before deciding to lie to me about the REAL reason why you wanted me to stay over that night.” Kadienne was unwavering, folding her arms tightly in front of her chest and pointedly glared down at Thea to show how serious she was.

Thea had to think of something to say to make this right, but her brain wasn’t cooperating. “My mom put me up to it. I know it was wrong, is that what you want to hear? I KNOW what I did was really messed up and I screwed our friendship to hell, but…Kadienne, I was only thinking of you and your safety, honestly. After what happened to us being kidnapped, I feared for your safety living in the Glades…” Just the expression on Kadienne’s face told Thea she wasn’t doing a very good job explaining her actions.

“Roy lives here. Yet you’re not worried about him.” Kadienne retorted swiftly, raising a slow brow at the woman’s logic. “Or is it because he’s a man and I’m a woman living on my own?”

If Thea had any chance to get through to Kadienne, she would have to be brutally honest. “No. It’s because of who you are and who your family is that I’m constantly worried about you. You and I are cut from the same cloth, Kadi, whether you like it or not. Your family is royalty in Starling City just like mine. We’re cursed and there’s nothing we can do about it because there are lunatics out there who will try continuously to take advantage of us due to our names. It doesn’t matter that you left your family and started over with your own place. You are still Young blood and it will follow you, just like the Queen name follows me and Oliver, until the day we die. So yes, when my mother approached me with the idea of helping you reconcile with your father so you’d be SAFE and protected, I did it. Because I care about you too much to watch you get hurt or possibly end up dead. Hell, I love you like a sister and it doesn’t matter how long you’re mad at me, I’ll wait for as long as it takes until you decide to forgive me. But you at least deserved to hear my reasoning for what I did to you. And with that said, you are not leaving Verdant. If you want more money, I’ll give it to you…”

“What makes you think I’m leaving?” Kadienne demanded, finally cutting Thea’s rant off and stayed where she was.

“Don’t play dumb with me. I saw that guy hand you a business card and that usually indicates a job offer, at least in a place like this. Unless you were seeking other services…” Thea put the emphasis on the word other, watching her friend’s emerald eyes widen and nearly fall out of their sockets. “I mean, if that’s what you’re into it’s none of my business…”

“Thea Dearden Queen!!” Kadienne exclaimed in a high pitched voice, shaking her head back and forth so hard, Thea was sure it would fall from her neck. “How DARE you imply something like that!! I would never…”

She started laughing at Kadienne’s reaction, unable to keep the giggles in and stopped her friend from storming out again. “I know you’re not, I’m sorry. I just had to break the tension between us somehow. I know you’d never ask for THOSE kind of services. Though I am curious, what did he want anyway?” What she really wanted to ask was what happened with her brother because she saw their heated exchange earlier that day walking into the club with Roy.

Kadienne huffed indignantly, trying to get her cheeks to stop flaming up from embarrassment and lowered her eyes to the floor. “He said he had a job for me that would require performance. Told me to come to his business and he’d show me what he meant.” She mumbled, pulling the card out to hand it to Thea and bit her bottom lip.

“Performance? What the hell…?” The question died on her lips as Thea’s eyes grew to the size of potatoes and she immediately tossed the card in the trash. “No! You are NOT going to see him; do you hear me? I knew he looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him.”

“What are you talking about? You know him?”

Thea shook her head. “No, but I know someone who might. Stay here.” Then she left the office, closing the door behind her and left Kadienne standing there with a million question marks circling her head.

A few minutes later, Thea returned with a confused Roy and Kadienne was thankful she wasn’t the only one clueless. The Queen heiress ordered her friend to repeat what she’d said about the man’s job offer and it didn’t take long for Roy’s confusion to turn crystal clear. He walked over to the trash and took the card out to read the name, every part of his body tensed and coiled, his eyes narrowing to slits.

“I’m going to safely assume you know that guy too?” Kadienne presumed after a long silent pause between the three of them.

“Stay away from him.” Roy began shredding the card into tiny pieces and looked down at his shaking hands once there was nothing left to tear apart. “He’s bad – BAD – news, Kadienne. He owns a strip club on the outskirts of the Glades and…let’s just say, he thinks it’s funny to rape the women who work for him.”

“WHAT?!” Kadienne hadn’t meant to shout in surprise and looked between Thea and Roy, seeing the complete staidness adorning his face. “Christ, I knew there was something weird about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. He told me to meet him at his business to discuss what I’d be doing for him…”

Roy stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders and gently shook her as if trying to knock sense into her brain. “I know you and Thea are on the outs right now, but don’t do it. You won’t get out, not alive anyway. Any woman who has said no to him has ended up in a body bag. You need to notify the police immediately about this and get a restraining order against him along with any kind of protection they can offer. Any kind of protection you can get, take it and don’t take this guy lightly. He won’t stop pursuing you once he’s set his eyes on you.”

“How do you know all of this, Roy?” Kadienne asked, the question burning on her tongue and immediately saw the demeanor in his face change from exigency to sadness and culpability.

“Because I used to work for him.”

Chapter 16

All she could do was stand there stunned, not fully coming to grips with the bullet she just dodged.

Thea was in panic mode, pacing a hole in the floor of her office while Roy tried calming her down and Kadienne had a hard time finding her voice. Roy used to work at a strip club and Ramsey was his boss? Her brain was going a hundred miles an hour, so many questions erupting, but none left her mouth. Murder was a huge crime factor in the Glades and, unfortunately, so was rape. Did Roy help Ramsey lure poor women into his club to have his way with them? Kadienne finally stepped forward to step in front of Thea, stopping the woman in her tracks.

“You’re making me dizzy.”

“You’re not going home.” Thea asserted, her voice leaving no room for argument or compromise. “You’re coming back to the mansion and…”

Kadienne cut her off. “No I’m not. I’m not going to live my life in fear and I doubt he’ll come after me…”

“You’re wrong.” Roy chimed in, this time interrupting her. “He’s set his eyes on you. Did you hear what I said? Once he’s set his eyes on a woman, he doesn’t stop until he has her. You’re marked and you need to listen to Thea.”

Wow, he was really whipped; Thea had Roy wrapped around her finger and Kadienne didn’t know if she could fully trust what he said, not after what happened at the Queen mansion with her father. “How do I know any of this is true?” She didn’t know Roy well and just because Thea was sleeping with him didn’t mean Kadienne had to automatically trust him. “How do I know this isn’t just another trick to get me to the Queen mansion again?”

Thea gaped at the audaciousness and planted her hands on her hips. “I’m trying to keep you safe! Do you really think I would try to deceive you again? Kadi, this isn’t a joke. Roy knows what he’s talking about; he’s lived in the Glades all his life and if he says this guy is dangerous, you need to listen to him!”

Her shift wasn’t over yet for the night, but Kadienne was DONE. Finished. Between what happened with Oliver, Thea’s betrayal and now this…she was through. It was time to leave, go home, decompress and start a new day tomorrow. Kadienne would have to be knocked out or taken by force to the Queen mansion at this point.

“I’m leaving. And if you try to stop me, I will lay you out.” Kadienne promised in an even tone, squaring her shoulders and Roy pulled Thea away from the door out of the way.

“He’s telling the truth. Please Kadi…” Thea pleaded, not wanting anything to happen to her friend and looked up at Roy, silently begging him to do something to stop Kadienne from leaving.

Kadienne stopped in the doorway and kept her back to them, heaving a sigh. “I’m sorry Thea, but trust doesn’t come easily to me. I just need some space and time to myself right now.” Then she left, closing the door behind her and flew down the stairs out of the club.

Oliver saw her exit and grabbed his jacket, heading upstairs to talk to Thea and Roy. It was clear as day in the monitor Kadienne was upset, if the way she stormed out of Verdant was any indication. He barely made it into the club when Thea came rushing down the stairs in tears, immediately slamming into his body burying her face in his chest. Blinking, Oliver wrapped his arms around his sister and gave Roy a look that ordered him to explain what happened to upset her this much.

Thea beat him to it. “Ollie, we have to help her.” She sobbed quietly, talking loud enough for him to hear over the thumping music. “It’s Kadi, she’s in trouble…”

“What kind of trouble?” Oliver enjoined, pulling back enough to look down at Thea and wiped the tears away from her cheeks with his thumbs. “What happened?” He got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach it had to do with the man Kadienne had conversed with earlier at the bar.

He wasn’t wrong.

“Some guy came in to talk to her and offered her a job and Roy used to work with him! He’s bad news, Ollie. She won’t listen to me! I don’t know what to do!” Thea was hysterical and scared, her imagination running wild at all the horrible possibilities of what could happen to Kadienne being alone in her grungy apartment. “We have to help her.”

“Thea…”

“We can’t just let her be alone!”

“Thea!” Oliver rose his voice an octave, jolting her out of the hysteria and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them lightly. “I promise nothing will happen to her. You have to trust me.” He looked at Roy. “Shut the place down early and take her home.” His eyes went back to his sister. “Everything is going to be fine.”

Sniffling, Thea reluctantly let Roy guide her to the stairs to sit down while he began clearing Verdant out for the night as instructed. Oliver didn’t waste another second and went back down to the Foundry to grab his gear, quickly morphing into The Hood. Kadienne didn’t want anything to do with Oliver Queen right now, but somehow he knew she would listen to what The Hood had to say. The Vigilante of Starling City. Strapping on his quiver, Oliver covered his eyes with the green grease paint and tossed the hood over his head before heading out through the secret back entrance of the building. Hopefully, Ramsey Myer wouldn’t make an appearance at Kadienne’s apartment tonight and there would be no trouble in the city.

On any other night, Kadienne would’ve been ecstatic to have The Hood pay her a visit. However, after what happened with Oliver and Thea, she truly wanted peace and quiet with no visitors. Her wish wasn’t granted. Kadienne stepped out of the bathroom after taking a long hot shower to wash away the grime from Verdant. It also relaxed her body enough to fall asleep, even with a racing mind. Not bothering with clothes since she thought she’d be alone, Kadienne pulled her robe on after towel-drying her hair and pushed her bedroom door open, flipping the light on. It didn’t work. Was another fuse blown in the building? Kadienne tried it several times and nothing worked, causing another heavy sigh to escape her lips. Oh well, she was going straight to bed anyway and hopefully the power would be back on by the time morning rolled around.

“Hello Kadienne.”

She jumped, immediately backing away from the bed and noticed the dark figure standing in front of her window. How the hell did she miss him? Was she really that consumed in deep thoughts about everything that happened tonight? Frowning, Kadienne tightened the robe around her, not expecting The Hood to show up in her bedroom and swallowed hard, wondering what he wanted from her this time. Granted, she had initiated the kiss between them when they last saw each other and could feel the burning memory of it on her lips.

“What are you doing here?” She asked softly, pure confusion and a hint of intrigue in her voice.

“You’re in danger.” His deep low voice responded through the voice modulator Oliver had in his hands.

How did he know that? “I really don’t want to deal with this right now.” She sounded tired, frustrated and fed up, shaking her head. “Exit the way you entered if that’s all you came here for.”

Snarling at her ignorance, Oliver jumped over the bed to land in front of her fluidly and towered over her with narrowed eyes. “You’re not listening. You’re being stubborn and it’s going to get you killed.” He backed her up against the dresser, one of the only pieces of furniture she had in her bedroom and grabbed her upper arms with his gloved hands. “I’m not leaving until I know you’re safe and in your right frame of mind.” There was nowhere else for him to be that night since the city was surprisingly quiet.

“Why do you care so much about what happens to me?” Kadienne murmured, trying to look through the darkness to see who was under the green hood. “Who are you?”

Oliver actually contemplated revealing himself to her at that moment, but he worried what her reaction would be. No. It was too risky. “Nobody important or worth knowing.” He stopped her hand from reaching up to touch his face under the hood, his hand wrapped around her wrist. “Don’t.”

“You didn’t answer my first question.” Kadienne wouldn’t let him off that easily, tempted to push the hood back to reveal his identity. “Do we know each other?”

Oliver shut his eyes briefly, blocking out the temptation the best he could and released her wrist, taking a step back to give each of them space. “No.” He lied, not having a choice. “I don’t want you harmed. So stop being stubborn and listen to Thea and Oliver Queen. Stay with them until you’re safe again.”

Her emerald eyes turned acidic as Kadienne’s upper lip curled up in a sneer, the mention of the Queen siblings igniting a fire of rage inside of her. “Why should I? One lied and betrayed me and the other used me for sex! Lead me to believe we could maybe be together and got what he wanted from me before pulling the rug out! No, I don’t trust them and would rather take my chances being here alone in my apartment than accepting their help. Hell, for all I know Thea is lying to me and has her boyfriend in on it just to get me back to the mansion to see my father!”

“Kadienne…” Oliver frowned, hearing how much anger and pain radiated in her voice from what he did to her, feeling like the biggest dick on the planet currently. “I’m sure neither of them didn’t mean to hurt you…”

“Of course they did or they wouldn’t have.” Kadienne spat, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, but she couldn’t let them fall – not until she was alone. “Get out. I’m done with this conversation. You wasted your time coming here and-”

Oliver refused to give up trying to get through to her as The Hood. “No!” He growled through the voice modulator, once again gripping her upper arms and pulled her against him roughly. “I’m not leaving you here unprotected. You have to trust me when I say it’s not safe for you to stay here. I’m sure they didn’t mean to hurt you. Maybe you’re jumping to conclusions and you only THINK they hurt and betrayed you. Oliver Queen told you to trust me and you do, I can see it. So I’m asking you to trust me now when I say you can’t stay here.” Once this ended, he planned on making things right with the redhead, no matter what it took.

“Then take me somewhere. I do trust you. Only you.” Kadienne took his gloved hands, pure truth shining in her watery eyes. “I can’t trust the Queen family right now and if you care about my safety as much as you claim, then prove it. I’ll go with you.”

That was an offer Oliver didn’t expect from her and he was dumbfounded, not sure what to say or do. Where would he take her? The Foundry? He’d have to warn Diggle; Oliver couldn’t believe he actually considered doing this. Kadienne could tell she bewildered him and took advantage, leaning up on her tiptoes to softly brush her mouth against his. Not expecting it, Oliver tensed at first and then relaxed, his hand reached up to hold the back of her head, returning the kiss. He couldn’t pull away from her and the kiss deepened much like it had the first time. Once again, that magnetic pull towards this woman overwhelmed Oliver and he had a hard time denying anything Kadienne wanted.

She broke the kiss temporarily to push him to sit down on her bed and quickly straddled his lap, resuming the kiss before he could utter a word. Oliver groaned in her mouth the moment she straddled him and quickly noticed she had no panties on. Or bra. No clothes whatsoever under the robe. Kadienne moaned deeply as his hands slid up and down her robe covered back, goose bumps developing on her skin the longer their mouths were locked together. It wasn’t until Kadienne pushed the hood back to run her fingers through his hair Oliver broke the kiss in a panic and tried pulling it back on. Kadienne stopped him, still unable to see him through the pure darkness in her room and buried her fingers in his hair, softly kissing him again.

“I trust you. Now trust me.” She whispered against his lips, caressing the sides of his face with her fingers and pressed closer to him. “Please don’t push me away like he did.”

His heart broke at her soft plea and it wasn’t until he heard those words Oliver realized how badly he hurt her. He pushed her away because of his own demons and guilt over Felicity’s death. It was his way of protecting her, but in the process he had destroyed all the trust and belief she had in him. All he wanted to do was take her to bed and show her with actions instead of words how sorry he was for what he did. Even though he was the same man, Kadienne didn’t and it made Oliver realize he’d driven her into the arms of another instead of his own.

“I won’t.” He muttered, trying to disguise his voice the best he could and felt her arms wrap around his neck to hug him tightly, his arm encircling her waist to plant his hand on the small of her back. “But you have to understand we can’t be together, Kadienne. It’s too dangerous with what I do. You’re a target now because of fate, but being with me puts you in harm’s way. My enemies will come after you and I can’t let that happen.”

The way he spoke was so soft, Kadienne barely heard what he said and managed to hear every word, slowly pulling back to look down at his dark face. “You can’t control everything. You can’t control what happens…” Why was she suddenly getting a rush of déjà vu? “I know you carry so much on your shoulders and take responsibility for this city, but you’re only one man.”

“A man you don’t love.” Oliver proclaimed, looking up at her since she loomed over him a little while straddling his lap. “I’m not the one you want.”

“You don’t know that. You don’t know what I’m feeling.” Kadienne argued, keeping her voice soft and lowered her eyes, clasping her hands in front of her. “I want-”

Before she could finish the statement, gunshots rang through the air and Oliver immediately dropped to the floor covering Kadienne, shielding her with his body.

All Kadienne could do was hold her ears and squeeze her eyes shut, hoping they survived through this.

Chapter 17

The shooting stopped after a long stretch of time, bullets splayed all over the bedroom floor. Oliver could only imagine how horrible the rest of the apartment looked from the shootout. He could hear sirens in the distance, knowing the police would arrive in minutes to investigate. There was no time; he had to get out of there or he would be caught and that wasn’t an option.

“Kadienne?” He called out, pushing his body weight off of her and frowned when there was no response. “Kadienne!” Again, nothing. “Oh god no…”

Panic overtook Oliver as he brushed the red hair from her face, seeing a small gash on her forehead. He pressed his finger against her neck, feeling a strong pulse and shut his eyes briefly, relief flooding his body. She was just unconscious from hitting her head on something. Oliver surveyed the area quickly, cursing himself for being reckless and saw the edge of the bed sticking out. Why would it? He pushed the mattress a little to the side and discovered she’d been sleeping on 2X4’s. There was no frame for the mattress and Kadienne had nailed her head right on the corner of the one sticking out when Oliver dragged them down to the floor to protect her. The sirens were getting closer and louder…Oliver had to make a choice on whether to leave Kadienne here for the police to help or take her with him. He couldn’t leave her, especially with the lunatic strip club owner on the loose and targeting Kadienne.

“I’m so sorry…” Oliver whispered, caressing her face with the back of his gloved hand and vowed not to let the same thing that resulted in Felicity’s death happen to Kadienne. “I got you.”

Lifting her in his arms, Oliver placed her gently over his shoulder so he had both hands to work with and strode to the window, seeing his zip line was still intact. Good. With one hand on an arrow and his other arm wrapped around Kadienne, Oliver made the trip to the building across from her apartment, landing on his feet expertly. He looked down, not seeing any culprits responsible for the shootout and pressed the intercom button through his vest. Another fancy gadget Felicity gave him to do his job and keep in contact with what used to be their team.

“Dig, I need your help.”

“What’s going on?” John responded 30 seconds later, unaware Oliver had gone out into the city that night and rubbed his tired eyes.

How did he tell his partner what happened and who he had with him currently? “Meet me at the Foundry. I’ll explain everything then.” This was not a conversation to have over an intercom.

“Be there in 10.”

Nodding, Oliver made his way down the building with another arrow zip line and arrived at his bike, setting Kadienne gently on the ground. He had to wake her up somehow or else getting back to the Foundry on his bike would be very difficult. Oliver wasn’t taking any chances with her safety and lightly tapped her cheek, holding the back of her head. They were out of eyesight from the police, thankfully, so Oliver had time to get her to open her eyes. Then he had an idea – one that would make her despise him as The Hood as much as she did Oliver Queen. However, it would also keep her completely safe and near him so he could protect her without having to suit up. Pressing the intercom button again, Oliver ordered Diggle to change direction and gave him their location. He would follow on his bike, but at least she wouldn’t have to be woke up in order to get from point A to B.

“What the hell is going on, Oliver?” John demanded 20 minutes later, his eyes flared at the sight of Kadienne Young unconscious in his partner’s arms. “What happened?”

“Long story, don’t have time to tell you right now. Take her back to the mansion and don’t let her out of your sight. I’ll be there after I stop by the Foundry. Don’t let anyone see you bring her in either, especially Thea.” Oliver ordered gruffly, rising to his feet and looked down at the redhead beauty in his arms, softly kissing her forehead. “You’re safe now, Kadienne. I promise.” Then he handed her over to Diggle before hopping on his bike and fired it up, speeding away toward Verdant.

John shook his head, wondering if he’d ever tire of Oliver’s secret ways and opened the back door to gently place Kadienne inside, driving off moments later in the opposite direction.

~!~

Snapping her eyes open, Kadienne let out a sharp breath and bolted upright in bed, immediately regretting that move. A verve of pain shot through her head, forcing Kadienne to lay back down wherever she was and shut her eyes instantly. She groaned in discomfort, clutching her head and jumped when a hand planted on her arm, her eyes slowly opening this time to see who it was. The room was dark, but not pitch black and through her painful hazy brain and slightly blurred vision, Kadienne could see who was with her.

“Oliver…”

He nodded, keeping a stoic expression and remained lying in bed facing her like he had for the past 12 hours. “You’re okay. Everything’s okay. Here, your head has to be killing you. Take this.” It was an oxycodone from Diggle. “My bodyguard, John, stitched your head up and he’s almost certain it won’t scar.” Oliver made sure to keep his voice low, barely above a whisper.

Kadienne eyed him skeptically, trying to remember what happened and took the pill he handed her, swallowing it down with a glass of water he also procured. “W-Where am I? How did you…?” She was incredibly weak and settled back in bed against the soft pillow, looking up at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, this is my room. You’re at the mansion and before you say anything, I was contacted by the Vigilante to come get you at your apartment. Someone shot it up last night and the building has been condemned by the city. You…hit your head on something and it knocked you out.” Oliver explained quietly, once again withholding the truth and brushed a strand of red hair from the bandage on her forehead. “You’re safe now, you can relax and go back to sleep.”

Even with a head injury, Kadienne couldn’t forget what Oliver did to her and turned her head away from him, tears filling her eyes. “Didn’t know you cared.” The Hood sent Oliver to her again and she didn’t understand why when she specifically asked him to help her.

Why was he constantly going to Oliver Queen for assistance?

“Of course I care.” Oliver heard the crack in her voice and felt another pang of guilt pierce through him. “I care about you, Kadienne. And I know you care about me too. Hey, look at me.” He gently but firmly turned her head back with his strong hand until watery emerald met intense ocean blue. “I’m sorry…” One thing Oliver was not good at was apologies because he always thought he was right in whatever he did and said.

“For what?” Kadienne sniffled, unable to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks while staring at the man she’d fallen for. “All you wanted from me was sex and…”

“No I didn’t.” He rumbled softly, stroking her cheek with the pad of his thumb and tried finding the right words to say so he didn’t upset her further.

“Then what do you want from me?” Kadienne couldn’t stop herself from asking, a mixture of heartache and hope swirling through her emerald eyes. “I don’t sleep with just anyone and I thought…” No, she wouldn’t say anything else, not until she knew how Oliver really felt.

Before boarding the Queen’s Gambit with his father and his then girlfriend, Laurel Lance’s sister, Sara, Oliver was a huge playboy making headlines throughout Starling City every other night for his antics. All of them were trouble. Laurel was the love of his life and wanted a true commitment, something Oliver couldn’t give her. He didn’t take anything seriously and did what he wanted consequences be damned. Cheating on Laurel with Sara was one of the biggest mistakes he made, but that didn’t make him love the sisters any less. And he proved his love to Sara by saving her multiple times on the island, including letting a good friend -he also slept with- named Shado die. He was forced to choose between the two of them; Oliver didn’t and instead stood in front of the gun pointed at Sara, so the man holding them captive shot Shado instead, killing her instantly.

This situation with Kadienne was very new to Oliver; he hadn’t been in any type of relationship since coming back from the island. He slept with other women and tried building something with them, but something always got in the way. Helena Bertinelli was a psycho who wanted revenge on her father for her fiancé’s death, ultimately becoming The Huntress with Oliver’s help. He tried helping her to see killing and murdering people that worked for her father or helped him wasn’t justice. They didn’t see eye-to-eye on the subject and she was still out there trying to find a way to kill her father. Then there was beautiful McKenna who Oliver knew from back in his party days prior to the island. McKenna had been shot in the line of duty by, coincidentally, Helena. Instead of staying in Starling City and letting him help her, McKenna chose to move across country to her sister’s to rehabilitate her shattered femur and they hadn’t spoken since. Those women and failed relationships were one of the many reasons he hadn’t pursued anything with Felicity and looked what happened to her. With her death, Oliver gave up completely on finding happiness and focused solely on being The Hood protecting the city.

Until now.

“I don’t either.” Oliver wanted to know what she was about to say and heaved a sigh, sitting up to prop his head on his hand with his elbow digging in the comforter. “This is all…undiscovered territory for me. I haven’t had a decent relationship since I came home. I tried and failed at every attempt…”

Kadienne lowered her gaze from his, not saying anything for a few minutes and let the pain pill he’d given her work its magic. “You think we’ll fail too if you try being with me.” She surmised his thought process, carefully shifting to lay on her side to face him.

“Or something bad will happen to you like Felicity.” Oliver added truthfully, staying where he was even though he wanted to be as close to her as possible.

It still pained him every time he spoke her name. She could see it in his ocean blues; Oliver loved Felicity Smoak and nobody would ever be able to change that. To get him to a place where he could let her go and be happy with someone else. They would never work, not now and maybe not ever. Not as long as he held a flame for a dead woman. Kadienne took his free hand and squeezed it gently to let him know she understood what he was trying to say.

“No hard feelings, Oliver. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when you wanted to talk. Thank you for bringing me here.” Kadienne yawned loudly, releasing his hand and could feel the oxycodone working its magic, her eyes drooping.

Oliver frowned, not expecting to hear that and knew this conversation would have to be picked up at a later date. She was exhausted and needed as much rest as possible, especially with a head injury. The more sleep the better. He wouldn’t leave her side, not caring what happened in the city and kept his eyes on her. Her words bothered him as much as Oliver tried not to let them, they were instilled in his memory. No hard feelings…what did that mean? Oliver saw resolve in her eyes at what she said; she didn’t want to say it. Kadienne wanted to be with him, but something was holding her back. Then again, Oliver could’ve read all the signs wrong, including her cold demeanor towards him. Or maybe he didn’t explain his actions enough, which was also a deep flaw he had and one Diggle had pointed out to him several times.

“I’ll make this right. No matter what I have to do.” Oliver vowed, knowing she couldn’t hear him and leaned over to brush his lips against hers softly. “I promise.”

Giving up was no longer an option.

~!~

“What the HELL were you thinking?! You could’ve killed her and that’s not the plan!!”

Ramsey lowered his head, knowing he screwed up and clenched his fists in front of him. “I know…” He figured killing Kadienne would solve their problems and then they could get on with her plan to kill her husband.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Brandy was tempted to put a bullet in his head, but she loved him too much to do it. Love was a weakness and yet she let it control her on more than one occasion. From the moment they met, when she stumbled into his strip club and begged for a job, Brandy connected with him and they’d been inseparable. He stopped raping the girls who worked for him ever since they became lovers; it was one of her many demands. Ramsey was completely in love with her, no other woman comparing to the beauty Brandy exuded and he would do absolutely anything for her, including murder.

“There’s a plan for a reason because, if this goes south, we’re both screwed.” Brandy chastised, standing in front of him and felt his hands slide up the back of her thighs to grip her backside, pulling her closer to him. “Baby, not now – not when I’m mad at you…”

He smirked wickedly, massaging her cheeks beneath the robe she had on and untied it with his teeth, burying his face in her stomach up to her breasts. “You sure about that?” He growled, yanking her roughly to straddle his lap and captured a pert nipple in his mouth, suckling as hard as he could.

Brandy threw her head back, burying her fingers in his hair and could feel her resolve melting away along with her anger. “Mmm yes…” She hissed out, glad Patrick was gone for a week on another business venture to give the situation with his daughter some much needed space. “Killing Kadienne is off the table. Say it or you’re not fucking me.”

Grunting, Ramsey rolled his eyes and continued assaulting her breasts, not caring if he left a mark on her. It would be gone by the time Patrick came home and, even then, they barely made love these days. The old man couldn’t get it up and he was too concerned about his precious baby girl instead of the beautiful woman he called his wife.

“Say it!”

“I won’t kill her.” Ramsey promised, standing with Brandy’s legs wrapped around his waist and slammed her against the nearest wall. “Now scream for me, Brandy.”

She did, every thought draining from her mind, including her stepdaughter and the plan to end the Young bloodline forever.

Chapter 18

“Oliver…”

He twitched at the familiar voice, keeping his eyes closed and his breathing turned irregular along with his heartbeat. The memory of Felicity lying cold and dead on the carpeted floor of her apartment flashed through his mind. Her blood soaked the white fabric, staining it in permanent red. A color that used to be one of Oliver’s favorites whenever she wore it. Now all it reminded him of was her death. Even after calling the police, Oliver couldn’t leave her side until the door was nearly kicked in. It killed him to leave her there and he watched from outside the window as a coroner walked into the apartment to officially pronounce Felicity dead. Tears streaked down Oliver’s cheeks, trying to think of something – anything – to bring her back, to hear her sweet smart voice one more time. Never again would he see her radiant smile and the beautiful cerulean blues behind glasses stare back at him, guiding him wherever it is he had to go.

“Oliver…”

The voice was stronger and seemed to be right by his ear. Oliver snapped his eyes open and bolted upright in bed, sweat caking his entire body from the nightmare. It’d been a while since he had a nightmare about that night. Several months in fact, even before he met Kadienne. Maybe their inconclusive talk stirred up lasting emotions and feelings to force the nightmares to reoccur. Pushing the blanket off of him, Oliver swung his legs over the side of the bed to plant his feet on the carpeted floor and buried his face in his hands.

“Oliver.”

He jumped up, whipping around and felt his eyes shoot open at the sight of… “Felicity?” Her name came out in a half gasp, half choked whisper.

She looked as beautiful as ever, her semi-long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, blue eyes bright as the full lit moon outside and he could see his reflection in the lenses of her glasses. The dress she had on was red, rested just above the knee and Oliver couldn’t tell if it was long sleeved or not due to the tan overcoat she had on. Tentatively, Oliver walked around the bed until he stood in front of her and reached out, shutting his eyes the moment his hand touched her face. Her soft skin made his fingers tingle and every part of his body flooded with newfound grief, tears stinging his eyes.

“You’re not real.” He murmured, wishing with everything inside of him she was really alive. “Y-You can’t be here.”

Felicity smiled up at him, leaning into his gentle touch and let out a soft sigh. “I’ve missed you too, Oliver.” She proclaimed, placing her hand against his to lace their fingers together and never pulled her gaze from his.

“I’m so sorry…” He croaked, pulling away from her only for her hand to reach out to stop him, his eyes once again meeting hers. “I’m losing my mind or…”

Her smile never faltered. “No you’re not.” She stepped up to him to close the distance between them again and placed her hand against his bare chest over his rapidly beating heart. “This is the only way I could contact you, Oliver. I’m here to help you – to make you see the truth.”

“What truth?” He already knew he was responsible for her death. “What do you mean this is the only way? Where are we?”

“You’re dreaming right now. And I won’t let you wake up until you listen to what I have to say.” Felicity took his hand and guided him back to the bed, both of them sitting down on it.

“Why are you here? Why now?” Oliver asked barely above a whisper, trying not to tremble against her touch, but it was impossible not to.

Felicity scooted closer to him, taking both of his hands and knew they didn’t have much time. Someone could wake him up at any moment before she could get her message to him. “I’ve watched you ever since I died and I’m only going to say this once: What happened to me isn’t your fault. None of it is. I know you’ve been beating yourself up over what happened to me and you need to stop it. Nobody could’ve stopped it from happening and I don’t blame you for it. Because I don’t regret a single second we spent together, Oliver. From the moment you climbed into the back of my car needing help, you changed my life for the better. I enjoyed helping you save the city every night, you and John. Even after we found Walter, your stepfather, I didn’t leave the team like I was supposed to because I didn’t want to. You gave my life purpose, Oliver. I don’t ever want you to give up on that, on saving the city and on finding someone who completes you. Please don’t let yourself die along with me. You’re still alive and you need to live your life to the absolute fullest and that includes being happy. Life is precious, and I want so much more for you than what you currently have. Don’t die down in the Foundry.”

Everything she said forced hot tears to slide down Oliver’s cheeks and he could only squeeze her hands, shaking his head. “I should’ve been there for you. I should’ve protected you and I didn’t…”

“Oliver, everything happens for a reason and it was my time to go. And I can’t rest in peace knowing how much pain you’re in.” She reached up to caress his face with her hand, tears of her own forming. “I love you too much to let you die along with me. So please, move on and let me go.”

“No!” He growled, standing from the bed to put some space between them and clasped his hands behind his head, his arms digging into the sides of his face with his head down. “I love you too much to let you go! Don’t you understand that? I never got the chance to tell you how much I love you and I never will because this isn’t real! None of this is! You meant everything to me, I was in love with you and you were killed because of me! How am I supposed to move on from that? How am I supposed to let you go?”

“By remembering that I’m not here anymore. I’m not telling you to forget about me because I know you won’t. I’m telling you to let your guilt go and move on with your life. Be happy.” Felicity kept her voice soft, standing from the bed to move in front of him again. “Don’t spend your life waiting to die, Oliver. That’s not a way to live. The only way to move on is to let me go. And open your heart to the one who’s already captured it.”

Kadienne, Oliver thought, not surprised Felicity knew about her. “I’d give anything to go back…”

“But we can’t. There is no changing what happened to me.”

Of course he knew that! Why did she have to remind him? Grabbing the sides of her face, Oliver did the one thing he never had the courage to do when Felicity was alive. He pressed his mouth to hers, kissing her soundly and felt more tears trickle down his face, her soft hands wrapping around his wrists. Felicity returned the kiss, her own tears falling and broke it after a few precious moments, both of their eyes opening at the same time to stare at each other. Oliver thought he would feel even more grief from kissing her, but instead there was…nothing at all. He loved her and always would, but his heart had moved on without him realizing it. And it wasn’t until this very moment, in this dream, Oliver finally came to terms with what he’d been feeling for Kadienne this entire time.

“You’re always with me, Felicity. But you’re right, I have to let you go. I love you.” Oliver professed, slowly pulling his hands away from her face and could see her fading in front of him. “I’m just sorry I never said it while you were alive when it mattered.”

“Better late than never.” Felicity could see the change in him after their kiss and knew it was his way of saying goodbye to her. “I love you too. Goodbye Oliver.”

Once she disappeared in front of him, Oliver shut his eyes and felt the biggest weight lift from his shoulders – a weight he’d been carrying since her death.

It was gone now.

~!~

Jolting awake, Oliver opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling and took several deep breaths to calm his racing heart. That dream felt so real and vivid, his lips still tingled from kissing Felicity. Instead of feeling heartache and pain, all Oliver felt was relief and a sense of closure – peace. He felt a warm body next to him and turned his head on the pillow, seeing Kadienne sleeping beside him. A redheaded angel that swooped into his life and changed everything. Oliver shifted closer to her, needing to feel Kadienne against him and wrapped his strong arm around her waist, his head resting beside hers. He kissed her shoulder, smiling when she snuggled back against him and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the intoxicating scent. It’d been a long time since he actually snuggled with a woman in bed and felt pure tranquility.

Eventually, he fell asleep again.

When Kadienne woke up sometime the next day and felt an arm around her waist, it scared her. She didn’t know where she was or what happened, her head foggy from the head injury she sustained. Slowly, the memories flooded back to her and Kadienne realized who was holding her in his arms, looking over her shoulder at a sleeping Oliver. What the hell? When did he pull her into his arms? She had to admit, it felt incredible and the warmth of his body soaked into her, making it impossible to be cold. Even with a throbbing head, Kadienne didn’t want to be anywhere else and shifted a little to get more comfortable, staring straight ahead. She wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep without another pain pill, but didn’t want to wake Oliver up, so she laid there willing the throbbing to cease.

“You’re okay.”

Kadienne heard his sleepy gruff voice in her ear and slowly turned to face him, not pushing his arm away. “I didn’t mean to wake you.” She murmured, watching his ocean blues flutter open to stare back at her.

“Good morning.” Oliver tightened his arm around her, stroking the small of her back with his nimble fingers and could see the discomfort in Kadienne’s eyes. “You’re in pain.”

“Some.” Kadienne admitted, noticing a difference in his behavior and couldn’t put her finger on why or pinpoint the reason. He wasn’t distance like before and holding her this close sent her heart racing. “Oliver…”

Every time she said his name sent electric volts through his heart, something that only used to happen with Felicity. “Do you want another oxycodone to help with the pain?” He offered, wanting her completely relaxed because it would make the healing process go faster.

“Nothing I can’t handle. I don’t like the way they make me feel and I’ve slept enough.” Kadienne was tempting fate by staying in his arms this close and couldn’t fool herself into thinking they had a chance. “Oliver…” She tried again, closing her eyes briefly to get up the courage to say what was on her mind. “There’s something I need to tell you…”

“Nothing good can come from those words.” Oliver grunted, deciding actions would speak far louder than words when it came to the redhead beauty. “What is it? You can tell me anything, Kadienne.”

No she couldn’t, not about what transpired between her and The Hood prior to the shootout. “Have you heard anything about casualties?” She knew the place had been condemned and had no idea how to get all of her belongings out of it. “My stuff…”

“Is here.” He finished for her, a soft smile spreading on his face at her shocked expression. “I had some people go retrieve the majority of it besides your furniture. No offense, but it wasn’t worth saving. Everything is in a spare room of the mansion and you can go through it once you’re better. For now, I want you to rest and relax.”

Kadienne wasn’t comfortable knowing strangers had gone through her things, but she was in no condition to do it on her own. “Thank you.” She started to pull away, but Oliver’s tight grip prevented her from putting space between them.

“That’s not the only thing you want to say.” He could see it in her turmoil-filled eyes. “Talk to me. What’s on your mind?”

This was the second time The Hood had reached out to Oliver to take her away from a dangerous situation. “Do you know who the Arrow is?” She would not refer to him as The Hood or a Vigilante, coming up with the perfect name for him.

“The Arrow?” Oliver looked confused now, arching a brow and then realized who she was talking about, shaking his head. “No. No I don’t.” He lied, not ready to reveal his secret to her for her own protection. The Arrow sounded a hell of a lot better than The Hood or being called a Vigilante.

“Then why does he keep reaching out to you? He keeps coming to you whenever I’m in trouble…and I don’t understand why.” Kadienne confessed, so many questions swirling through her eyes and knew Oliver couldn’t answer any of them unless he knew who the Arrow was.

He could tell her the truth at that moment, but Oliver had no idea how she would react if she knew it was him. If he was the same person she’d kissed and shared intimate moments with. The Arrow…He tried not to smile at referring to himself with that name in his mind and sat up along with her, his arm still not leaving her waist.

“I told him to take me somewhere, anywhere except here. He knows I don’t fully trust you or Thea right now and, yet, he called on you to come get me instead of taking care of me himself.” Kadienne looked conflicted then, the memory of the kiss they shared pulsating through her mind. “I kissed him, Oliver.” It was another confession he deserved to hear, especially with everything that happened between them recently.

“Do you love him?” Oliver asked faintly, needing to hear the answer and sucked in a silent sharp breath, her eyes meeting his.

Kadienne bit her bottom lip, nodding gently because of her head injury. “I do. I slept with you and it was wonderful and I do have feelings for you, but with him I feel this deep connection I can’t explain.” She loved him too, but he was hung up on a dead woman and wouldn’t make things harder for Oliver. “And he’s saved me multiple times. I just wanna know why he keeps coming to you for help when it comes to me.”

“I don’t know.” That wasn’t easy to hear, but Oliver had nobody except himself to blame for her current feelings. “I wish I could give you answers, but I don’t have any.” He removed his arm around her and stood up from the bed, stretching his limbs before procuring another pain pill, handing it to her. “Take it. You can’t mask the pain you’re in.”

Once again, he went from warm to cold in seconds and Kadienne should’ve been used to the change by now, but she wasn’t. “Okay.” She took the pill, swallowing it down with water and laid back down in bed while Oliver headed toward the door. “I didn’t mean to upset you…”

He looked back at her, shaking his head. “You didn’t. Get some rest, Kadienne.” Then he was gone.

She suddenly missed the feeling of his arms around her and felt more alone than ever, deciding to leave the mansion as soon as possible.

Chapter 19

Walking up to the door, Oliver took a deep breath and rapped gently on it with his knuckles, hearing shuffling so he knew she was awake. “Speedy, it’s Ollie. I need to talk to you about something. May I come in?”

“One sec!” Thea called back, pulling on some pants and opened the door a minute later. “What’s up?”

Oliver didn’t want to have this conversation in the hallway and pushed her into the room, closing the door behind him. “Mom doesn’t know this and I don’t want it getting back to her…” Maybe that wasn’t the right way to start this off. “Kadienne is here.”

“What?!” Thea exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. “How?” Kadienne wouldn’t give her the time of day or listen to any kind of apology; Roy couldn’t even get her to listen. So how the hell did Oliver manage it? “Ollie, what’s going on between you two?”

“Nothing.” Another lie on top of the stack of lies he’d already told her. “She was attacked last night at her apartment. It was shot up and the building has now been condemned, so she has nowhere to go. I picked her up earlier this morning and brought her here.” Oliver decided not to mention the part about The Hood being involved in the situation.

“Oh my god…” Tears burned her eyes as Thea began pacing in front of her brother. “So she called you to come get her instead of me? She must really hate me for what I did…”

“She didn’t call me.” Oliver stepped in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Then how did you know she was in trouble?” Now Thea was confused and it showed in her tone of voice. “Ollie…”

He responded by kissing the top of her head. “Don’t worry about that. I just wanted to tell you she’s here safe and not in the Glades. The shootout will be on the news, or it already is, so I didn’t want you rushing over there to check on her. She’s in my room now if you want to go see her. I have some things to do, but I’ll be back later.” Sundown would arrive soon and it was time for Oliver to get back to protecting the city, something he hadn’t done much of the past couple weeks.

Thea had to be at Verdant in a few hours and she planned on spending that time with Kadienne, desperate to make things right with their friendship. “Thank you for telling me.” She hugged her brother and left the room to go to his.

Knowing Kadienne would be in good hands with his sister gave Oliver a sense of peace while he performed his duties to Starling City.

~!~

Hearing a knock on the door, Kadienne barely turned her head to see who walked inside and frowned at the site of Thea. Oliver must’ve told her I was here, she thought, avoiding Thea’s worried gaze and reached up to gingerly touch the bandage on her forehead. The oxycodone had kicked in, but there was far too much on Kadienne’s mind to let her sleep, not even with a head injury and pain medication.

“Ollie told me what happened.” Thea hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed, frowning at the thick white bandage. “What happened? All he said was you were attacked at your apartment and he picked you up. Since when are you in contact with my brother?”

“I’m not.” It was clear Oliver kept secrets from his family along with her, so at least Kadienne wasn’t the only one. She wouldn’t lie to Thea, even though they were at odds currently. “The Arrow saved me from the attack last night. My apartment was bombarded with bullets and something tells me it has to do with Roy’s good buddy, Ramsey.”

Thea had to fight the urge to defend her boyfriend. “Roy worked for him. They were never friends and, just so you know, he never helped Ramsey rape any of those women who worked for the strip club. He was a bouncer, tossed out idiots that took things too far with the girls and that was it. And who is the Arrow?”

“Most of you refer to him as the Vigilante or The Hood. I personally think those names don’t do him justice, so I came up with one on my own.” Kadienne sat up a little in bed, not sure if she trusted Roy after finding out his connection to Ramsey Myer.

Had Kadienne been in contact with The Hood on more than one occasion? Thea didn’t like the possibility because he was dangerous – a killer and no better than Ramsey Myer in her eyes. “So what does this have to do with my brother picking you up and bringing you here if you were with The Hood last night?” She folded her arms in front of her chest, trying like hell to keep the judgment out of her voice.

“Apparently, The Arrow contacted him and told him to come get me. I was knocked out during the attack, but I don’t remember how. All I remember is hearing gunshots and being tackled to the floor of my bedroom.” Kadienne heaved a sigh, folding her hands on her lap.

Since when was her brother in contact with the Vigilante? Thea had so many questions and not enough answers, especially when it came to her sibling. “The important thing is that you’re safe and unharmed…mostly. How’s your head feeling? Do you need anything?” First priority was taking care of Kadienne and then Thea would confront her brother about speaking to The Hood.

“You were right, Thea. I should’ve listened to you and came here last night after the encounter with Ramsey. I just…I’m so angry at you for what you did to me. But I understand why you did it and…I’m not angry anymore.” Kadienne thought long and hard about this, refusing to let their friendship suffer just because of a plan Moira Queen forced her daughter into. “I’m gonna call my Dad as soon as my head doesn’t feel like a thousand-pound weight is on it.”

Tears filled Thea’s eyes and she scooted over to hug Kadienne gently, letting a few fall down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I betrayed you. I never meant to hurt you, Kadi. I just wanted you to be safe and out of the Glades…” She sobbed quietly, feeling Kadienne’s arms wrap around her tightly and both girls were soon crying.

Once they calmed down, Kadienne patted the spot on the bed beside her and Thea took the invitation without question, their heads leaning against each other. It felt nice to have her best friend back, though Kadienne knew it would take time before the full trust returned. Tonight was the first step in the direction of forgiveness; Thea decided to close the club for the evening because she didn’t want to leave Kadienne alone in the mansion. Oliver made it clear their mother wasn’t to know Kadienne was there and Thea didn’t blame him given what Moira tried to do before.

“I’m going to be honest with you about something, Kadi.” Thea said a few hours later while they both indulged in a bowl of ice cream her brother’s bodyguard, John Diggle, brought up discreetly.

“What is it?” Kadienne felt a lot better, her appetite returning with gusto as she licked the spoon clean.

How did Thea say this without upsetting her friend? “I don’t want you talking to the Vigilante anymore. Kadienne, he’s dangerous and-”

“He’s never hurt me, Thea.” Kadienne cut her off, shaking her head and set the empty bowl on the nightstand. “I don’t reach out to him, he comes to me and…” She had to tell someone about the kisses they shared; Oliver didn’t count since she couldn’t go into detail with him. “We kissed…twice…”

Thea’s eyes grew wide as saucers, her mouth hanging open. “WHAT?!” She exclaimed, trying to wrap her mind around the confession and set her own bowl down. “Why? Why would you do something like that with a killer?”

“Because he’s not a killer. I truly believe he’s trying to do good in the city and never once has he hurt me or given me any indication he will.” Kadienne couldn’t lie to Thea any more about anything, including Vertigo being snuck into Verdant. She wouldn’t mention Oliver’s name, but Thea deserved to know the truth. “The first time he came to my apartment, he thought I was supplying the drug Vertigo.”

“Why would he think that?” Thea demanded, listening to the explanation and had to stand up from the bed to start pacing, not believing Vertigo – drugs in general – were brought into HER club. What the hell was going on? What else didn’t she know? “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner, Kadi? Don’t you think I had a right to know about drugs being brought into the club??”

Kadienne nodded, feeling like a hypocrite since she’d been angry at Thea for tricking her into coming to the Queen mansion to talk to her father. And here she was keeping this important secret from her best friend and boss. “He told me not to say anything to anyone.” Another lie. Why was she protecting Oliver from his sister’s wrath? “No…No, I’m sorry that’s a lie too. The truth is Oliver confronted me about it after The Arrow did. It was back-to-back nights and I was scared because I thought Oliver would call the police on me. Somehow, he found out Vertigo was snuck into Verdant and he didn’t want you knowing about it until he got to the bottom of who was responsible. He still hasn’t found out either. I’m sorry, Thea…”

Her brother was in HOT water with her now. Thea was livid and it showed in her blazing hazel eyes, her face scrunched up heatedly and turning crimson. “Oliver kept this from me?” It came out as a question instead of a statement. Thea shook her head in disappointment, scoffing. “Of course he did. Because that’s all he knows how to do is keep secrets from me. He claims it’s to protect me, but there’s something more going on with my brother. I can’t believe this…”

“Thea, he loves you so much and didn’t want you worrying about it until there was someone to blame. He was going to tell you…” Kadienne knew her attempt at defending Oliver was lame after throwing him under the bus, but keeping her friendship with Thea intact was more important and she was sick of lying.

“I’m not mad at you for this, Kadi. Granted, you should’ve told me about the drug…” She trailed off, switching gears and turned to stare down at Kadienne with narrowed eyes. “Why did you have Vertigo in the first place? Why did The Hood pay you a visit?” Piecing this puzzle together made her head throb.

Kadienne shut her eyes briefly and leaned back into the pillow, taking a minute to come up with the right words to say. “I found it in my purse when I got home that night. Someone planted it in my purse to frame me, but I have no idea who it was. Oliver was trying to help me figure it out and apparently keeps coming up with dead-ends. I swear to you, Thea, I don’t do drugs. Especially that particular one.”

She believed Kadienne with all of her heart and could see the sadness filling her friend’s eyes, sitting down on the bed to take her hand. “What aren’t or haven’t you told me?” Thea asked quietly, wanting to help anyway she could.

The one thing Kadienne never told Thea was how her mother died. Nobody knew the truth -Oliver had found out during their trip to the old park- except the authorities and her father had paid them off to keep everything quiet. Saving their family name and legacy was more important to Patrick Young than letting the public find out just what kind of trouble his wife was in.

“My Mom…that drug killed her.” Kadienne admitted in barely above a whisper, lowering her eyes to the bed. It was hard talking about her mother’s death and what really happened. “She overdosed on it. I don’t know where she got it from because my mother wasn’t a drug addict. At least I don’t think she was…” Maybe Kadienne didn’t know her mother at all.

“The tabloids said your mother died of an aneurysm.” Thea pointed out, feeling very confused and squeezed Kadienne’s hand.

“My father covered up what really happened because of our family name.” Kadienne wiped a few tears away from her eyes, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders now that she told Thea the truth. “So not only did he blatantly lie about how my mother died, but then he goes and screws her best friend and then marries her. I don’t like Brandy; I never have. She’s always rubbed me the wrong way and I don’t know why. And I know she married my father only for the family fortune, not because she loves him like she claims.”

“Was that the woman I saw you talking with last night?” Thea had walked into Verdant and spotted a woman sitting at the bar with Kadienne and kept quiet, not wanting to interrupt them. Now she wished she had. “THAT’S your stepmother?!”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god, she looks…”

“I know.”

“And she sounds…”

“I know.”

No wonder Kadienne left home and never wanted to return! Thea didn’t blame her and would’ve done the same thing had her mother moved on with a man half her age after her father died. Walter was older, mature and had known the family for years. He was trustworthy and Thea loved him like he was her father.

“I didn’t know any of this. If I would’ve…”

Kadienne stopped her from apologizing again, cracking a small smile. “I know you would’ve never agreed to do what your mother forced on you. I already told you I forgive you, but maybe now you understand why I’m against talking to my father. We haven’t spoken in a while. Maybe now is the time though with everything going on.” The Young mansion would be the safest place for her to be besides here, but Kadienne didn’t want to overstay her welcome. “My safety is on the line now.”

“You don’t have to stay there all the time. You can sleep over here whenever you want…” Thea decided a change of subject was in order, having contemplated how best to ask the next question. “About The Hood…”

“Arrow.” Kadienne corrected, narrowing her emerald eyes playfully at her friend. “What about him?”

“Hood, Arrow, whatever you wanna call him. You said he visited you a few times, the first being about the Vertigo. So what were the other visits about? And how did you end up kissing him?” Thea didn’t mean to fire the questions off, but her curiosity burned.

Thinking back to the second visit, Kadienne realized it would impact Thea as well since they’d both been kidnapped and nearly killed. “The night he saved us. He wanted to make sure I was okay after the kidnapping. And I wanted to thank him somehow for what he did, so I…I kissed him.” Her cheeks flamed red at the memory of how passionate that moment had been between them.

Thea could hear the nostalgia and longing in her friend’s voice, not liking it a bit because the Vigilante was dangerous. “What about the next time?” She asked softly, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself for the time being.

“The attempted kidnapping on my father’s marching orders. Only the guy was out of his mind and tried shooting me. Thank god The Arrow was there or else I would’ve been a goner for sure.” Kadienne had already come clean about Oliver’s involvement with The Arrow and she vowed to be completely honest with Thea from now on. “That was the first time he told me Oliver was on his way to get me – that he contacted him. Last night was the second, so your brother trusts him probably more than I do.”

What was the connection though? Why would Oliver talk to The Hood unless…? “Do you think my brother knows him? Like personally?” Thea blurted the question out before she could stop herself, both of their eyes widening with comprehension. “What if he does?”

Kadienne hadn’t considered that possibility until now, wondering if that was the sole reason why The Arrow couldn’t be with her. Because of Oliver Queen. “Certainly would explain a lot…” She was almost at a loss for words, not sure what else to say. “If that’s the case…”

“Ollie’s in danger talking to that lunatic. I know he saved our lives, but…he’s still a killer and a menace to this city.” Thea stood from the bed, already setting a plan in motion in her brain to confront her brother about this. “I need to call Roy. Maybe he can get some information regarding The Hood’s next target.”

“Wait, you wanna go after The Arrow?” Kadienne was sure Thea had lost her mind.

Thea shook her head. “No, I want answers and the only way I’m going to get them is to have my boyfriend follow Ollie around for a couple days spying on him.”

This would only end up a disaster, Kadienne feared, staring at her friend’s retreating form and laid back on the bed, closing her eyes.

Chapter 20

“Any news on who shot up Kadienne’s apartment building?”

Hanging from the bar of the salmon ladder, Oliver shook his head before going up another tier, sweat glistening all over the upper half of his body. “Not yet. Any of your contacts have an idea?” He hadn’t checked on Kadienne since last week, solely focused on finding who tried to kill her.

So far, no suspects.

John wished he had any kind of information because he was afraid Oliver was on the verge of going off the deep-end. “Look man, you’ve been spending a lot of time under that hood this past week. Why don’t you go home and check on things? Take a night off?” He suggested, setting his jacket down on the table.

Dropping down to his feet, Oliver squared his shoulders and began striking the wing chun dummy with his forearms. “I have more investigating to do tonight.” He felt Diggle’s hand on his shoulder and stopped the workout, shutting his eyes briefly. “I have to find whoever did this and make them pay.”

“And you will…AFTER you go home, shower and relax for a night.” John knew the other reason for Oliver avoiding the mansion. Kadienne. “You can’t let what Kadienne said get to you…”

“Why the hell not?” Oliver snapped, shrugging his partner’s hand off before continuing to hit the wing chun dummy as hard as he could. “She made it clear she has feelings for The Hood, not me.” That hurt him to hear, especially after the dream he’d had about Felicity telling him to let her go and move on.

“Why does it matter? It’s still you she has feelings for. So what if it’s The Hood, it’s still you.” John pointed out, not understanding why Oliver was so upset about this revelation. “I know the dream freaked you out…”

Oliver growled warningly, shooting a glare toward Diggle while continuing his sharp strikes. “Don’t! I never should’ve told you about that.” He grumbled that last part out, enjoying the rapid pace of his heart. “Felicity loved me for ME, not the Vigilante. If Kadienne only wants the Vigilante, even though she slept with Oliver Queen, then I need to stay away from her.”

“And let her pine over the man in the Hood?” John folded his arms in front of his chest disapprovingly. “Why not pay her another visit as The Hood and convince her to give Oliver Queen another chance?” It really disturbed him how Oliver referred to himself in the third person.

“I tried, she didn’t listen to me. I told her the Hood couldn’t be with anyone and had to be alone.” Oliver stopped, breathing heavily from how hard he’d hit the wing chun dummy and grabbed the bars attached to it tightly, gritting his teeth. “She begged me not to abandon her like Oliver Queen did. I didn’t mean to do it. I just…I was confused and didn’t know how to handle what happened between us or even talk about it. And now I’m paying the price because I drove her right into the arms of The Hood. Hell, I even tried telling her she didn’t love The Hood, she loved and wanted someone else, implying Oliver Queen, and THAT didn’t work either. So tell me Diggle, what else can The Hood possibly say to get her to listen and see reason?”

John remained quiet for a minute, mulling over his partner’s words and heaved a sigh. “You could try telling her how you feel as yourself – as Oliver Queen.” It was the only suggestion he could come up with. “You’ve fallen for her and you can’t deny it. Just like you couldn’t deny how you felt for Felicity. You were too late to tell her; learn from that mistake.”

Deep down, Oliver knew he was right, but the fear of being rejected weighed heavily on his mind. What if he couldn’t make her happy the way the Vigilante did? There was so much darkness in Oliver’s life and he never thought he’d find another light like Felicity Smoak…until he laid eyes on Kadienne Young. Leaving her alone right after making love wasn’t a smart choice, but at the time Oliver needed to process what happened – what he allowed to happen. If anything ever happened to Kadienne, he would never forgive himself and it would be another life taken on his conscience.

“Fine.”

“Fine?”

Oliver stepped away from the wing chun dummy and grabbed his grey t-shirt. He’d shower first before checking on Kadienne to see how she was doing. Luckily, there was a shower he installed within the Foundry prior to constructing and opening Verdant. Hopefully, Thea wouldn’t mind him pulling Kadienne from her job to take her for a ride on his bike to somewhere they could talk privately.

“We’ll take the night off.” He knew Kadienne was currently upstairs working the club and performing her managerial duties. “But we’re back to work tomorrow.”

Smirking, John shook Oliver’s hand and clapped him on the back, wishing him luck with Kadienne.

~!~

Besides a small sealed cut on her forehead, Kadienne was healed and back to normal day activities. She had a lot of energy to burn off after being bedridden for several days. Miraculously, Moira Queen didn’t discover she was staying at the Queen mansion until she recovered. She supposed that was Oliver and Thea’s doing, not questioning it. Now, however, it was time to leave and Kadienne still hadn’t made the call to her father. Maybe she could stay at a hotel under an anonymous name until she found another place to live. Once again, Oliver hadn’t spoken to her in a week and it didn’t surprise her in the slightest. All she wanted was another visit from The Arrow, to feel his lips on hers and a chance to convince him they could be together. Kadienne just had to figure out a way to get him to come to her and so far, she came up blank with ideas.

“Everything good over here?” Thea asked with a smile, wearing a gold and black dress that sparkled under the strobe lights.

“Yeah, busy.” Kadienne called over her shoulder while mixing another drink, helping out behind the bar because, once again, one of the bartenders had called off at the last minute. “I should be done here shortly and then I’ll start the inventory for the night.”

Thea waved her off dismissively. “I took care of it already. You can do it when we close…”

“Actually, I was hoping to steal Kadienne away for the rest of the night.”

Thea turned around the same time Kadienne’s head snapped up, both girls staring back at a freshly showered Oliver. Kadienne had to learn how to breathe at the sight of him in tight dark grey pants and a black long sleeved thermal shirt that clung to every muscle in his body. She could see the outline of his muscular arms and torso, remembering how incredible he felt on top of her during their romp at the hotel.

“Where have you been?” Thea demanded, planting her hands on her hips. Roy hadn’t been able to track him down because it was as if Oliver disappeared off the face of the earth! “I’ve been worried sick about you!”

“Sorry, had to go out of town for some business.” Oliver lied, the words rolling off of his tongue smoothly and kept his eyes fixated on the redheaded vixen behind the bar.

The dress Kadienne wore was dark red, had very short sleeves to the point of almost being sleeveless and hit mid-thigh, molding to every curve like a second skin. It was a hoop neckline and somehow the dress was both tantalizing and covered all the important parts. Her hair was down in loose fiery red curls that hung down to rest to the middle of her back and a few over her shoulders.

“I just got back tonight and figured I’d pop in to check on things.”

“Or maybe you’re lying through your teeth like you always do!” Thea snapped, unable to hold back her temper after the talk she’d had with Kadienne and stormed past him to the stairs.

Oliver’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline, staring after his sister’s retreating form and looked back at Kadienne, who refused to meet his eyes. What the hell had he missed? As much as he wanted to go after Thea to find out what was wrong with her, Oliver had one goal in mind and that was talking to Kadienne. Maybe she would make sense of his sister’s cold attitude towards him in the process.

“What do you want, Oliver?” Kadienne asked resignedly, not missing what he said about taking her away from her job for the rest of the night.

Either she had selective hearing or ignored what he told Thea. “The bartenders can handle it. I really need to talk to you. And I was hoping it could be somewhere more…secluded.” He walked around the bar counter to stand in front of her, extending his hand with pleading ocean blues.

No matter how hard she tried fighting it, Kadienne couldn’t deny she had feelings for Oliver. It was complicated being in love with two men and one was clearly out of reach. She was being split down the middle between Oliver and The Arrow, though Oliver had made his choice the moment he walked out on her after they had sex. Kadienne couldn’t forgive and forget or put up with the hot and cold demeanor Oliver had. Disappearing for a week at a time with no explanation. What kind of relationship could that result in? In spite of all the doubts, Kadienne found herself taking his hand and letting Oliver guide her out of the club, grabbing her black long coat since Starling City was on the verge of winter.

“I won’t be able to get on the back of your bike in this dress, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Kadienne asserted, pulling her hand away from his as soon as they were outside and shoved both of hers in the pockets of her coat.

Oliver nodded, already having a contingency plan since riding his bike was out of the question and gestured to the waiting black car parked in front of Verdant. She shouldn’t have been surprised he’d think of everything and she wouldn’t be able to come up with an excuse not to go with him. Shaking her head, Kadienne followed him to the vehicle and stepped inside after he opened the passenger door. Within minutes, Oliver pulled away from the club and headed into the night toward an unknown destination.

“So what’s going on with my sister? What did you two talk about?” Oliver asked, trying to make polite conversation and couldn’t get the look of pure disdain and disgust in Thea’s eyes out of his mind.

“Everything. I told her the truth, Oliver.” Kadienne confessed, knowing there was no point hiding it from him. “I couldn’t lie to her anymore.”

He stopped at a red light, slowly looking over at her and gripped the steering wheel tightly in his hands. “I told you not to tell her anything, Kadienne. There’s no leads on who brought the drug into the club. Now she’s going to get herself in trouble by trying to find out who it is.” He sounded frustrated, staring back at the road and slammed his foot on the gas as soon as the light turned green.

“She deserved to know and I couldn’t lie to her about it anymore.” Is this what he wanted to talk to her about? To grill and reprimand her about telling Thea the truth? “She knows you’ve been in contact with The Arrow too.”

That made things even more complex. “He’s the one who contacted me.” Oliver amended through gritted teeth, doing his best to hold back his temper much like Thea did a week ago. “She shouldn’t be mad at me for that. It was out of my control and I only did what he asked because of you.”

“She’s tired of being lied to, Oliver. Your sister isn’t as dumb as people think she is. She knows you’ve been hiding something. You disappear for weeks on end and don’t call to check in. And I never asked for your help and I don’t know why The Arrow has gone to you for it twice. What do you expect her to think?” Kadienne barked, defending herself and folded her arms tightly in front of her chest. “Screw this, take me back to the club now. I don’t want to be anywhere near you right now. You can be pissed at me all you want, but it’s your fault for lying to your sister in the first damn place!”

Tough, she was stuck with him for the remainder of the night or until they resolved all of their issues. “No.” He turned the corner, heading on the other side of the Glades.

“Oliver, take me back NOW!” Kadienne snapped, losing her temper this time and whacked him in the arm with her purse. “This is kidnapping!”

“You got in this car willingly. No it’s not. We have a lot to talk about and you’re gonna listen to what I have to say. So sit back and relax, we got at least 20 minutes before we get to our destination.” Oliver ordered, keeping his voice even and low, stopping at another red light and locked the doors just in case Kadienne tried making a run for it.

Unbelievable!! Kadienne wanted to claw his eyes out and stared straight ahead, pursing her lips tightly together. The moment they arrived at their destination, she planned on slapping him as hard as she could across his smug face. So what if she told Thea the truth about everything? Was it really that wrong of her to be honest with her best friend? Kadienne didn’t regret letting Thea in on everything and never would, knowing she did the right thing.

Oliver could feel the anger radiating off of her and sighed; this night wasn’t getting off to the start he hoped for. Maybe it wasn’t the right time to have this talk and he should just take her back to Verdant. Granted, he didn’t help matters by snapping at her over telling Thea the truth about the Vertigo and…The Hood. How the hell was he supposed to explain that one? One problem at a time, he thought, coaching himself mentally and kept driving toward their destination.

The rest of the drive was made in silence, the tension so thick in the air it couldn’t be cut with the sharpest knife. Not even a sword. They’d been doing this dance for over a month where they came together, but something always pulled them apart. Pulled Oliver away. He knew what it was and the sacrifice he had to make in saving the city from corruption and evil. Oliver was tired of being unhappy and alone; the dream about Felicity was a sign for him to be with Kadienne. Diggle was right and he didn’t want to die in the basement of his club as The Hood – The Vigilante – The Arrow. Pulling into the driveway, Oliver barely put the vehicle in park and made the mistake of unlocking the doors before Kadienne hastily got out, slamming the door behind her.

“Whoa – whoa, where are you going?!” Oliver demanded, catching up to her quickly and stepped in front of her to stop Kadienne from walking, staring down in her acidic eyes. “Kadienne, we’re in the middle of nowhere and it’ll take forever for you to get back to the city. Just come inside with me and talk. Please.”

“Why? So you can scold and berate me some more about telling your sister the truth? No thanks, I’ll pass.” Kadienne tried stalking past him only for Oliver to step in front of her again, this time yanking her against him to wrap his arm around her waist. “Let go of me!”

She had to be the most stubborn woman on the planet. It was no wonder Oliver had fallen in love with her and only admitted to himself when he was sure he had reclaimed his heart from Felicity. “Never.” He didn’t want to do it this way, but Kadienne left him no other alternative.

A second later, his mouth captured hers in a passionate searing kiss full of promise, need and want.

Chapter 21

Once again, the kiss felt familiar and Kadienne had a sense of déjà vu, unable to pull away from Oliver or break the kiss. Flashbacks of her kissing The Arrow filled her mind the longer they stood there in the cold, their mouths never leaving each other. Kadienne trembled, gripping the black leather jacket Oliver had on to pull him closer and felt his other hand bury in her hair. How could kissing Oliver Queen feel the same as kissing The Arrow? Kadienne was extremely confused and finally broke the kiss after several long minutes, her eyes slowly fluttering open to meet dark smoldering blue.

“I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to do that, but I had to get you to calm down somehow.” Oliver murmured, holding the side of her face and enjoyed seeing how swollen her lips were. “No. No, I DID mean to do it. And I’m gonna do it again once we’re inside warmed up. No arguments.”

Kadienne didn’t have the strength, heart or desire to pull away from him, letting Oliver guide her inside the small boathouse on the water. Inside, there was a roaring fireplace crackling with life, candles lit in the windows, tables and counters along with a full dinner set up. Oliver stood behind Kadienne, pushing her inside a little further and smiled at her shocked state, slowly peeling her long black coat off to hang it up alongside his leather jacket.

“What is all of this?” Kadienne asked in a stunned voice, looking around and embraced the warmth the fireplace gave off.

“Figured you’d be hungry and we could have a private meal before talking.” Oliver replied, his hand splaying on the small of her back and gently nudged her toward the table to pull her chair out for her. “It’s just us, nobody else.”

He was a billionaire, of course he could pull this off. “Why go through all this trouble?” Kadienne finally looked up at him, reaching up to caress the stubble on his face and had another memory flash through her mind with The Arrow.

“Because I wanted to. Now sit down please.” Oliver softly commanded, waiting for her to take a seat before sitting down across from her, scooting the chair in a little. “You look a million miles away. This isn’t too much, is it?”

“That’s a loaded question.” Kadienne retorted, feeling terrible for snapping at him the way she had and waited for Oliver to pour both of them some wine before taking a long swig of it. “This is too much for you to do considering we’re not together…”

Oliver didn’t let that deter him from his mission in bringing her here. “I’m hoping we can change that by the time the night is over.” He winked, taking a drink of his own wine and pulled both of the covers off of the plates. Steak and lobster with roasted red potatoes. “First, we eat and then we can talk.”

They ate in companionable silence with Kadienne sneaking glances at Oliver every couple minutes, trying not to think about The Arrow while with him. It wasn’t right. Kadienne had to remind herself she wasn’t with Oliver in a relationship, so she could think about whoever she wanted. However, judging by what he said in regards to changing how they viewed each other by the end of the night, Kadienne had a suspicion of what Oliver wanted to talk about. She finished her steak and lobster, only eating half of it and stood from the table to walk over to stare out the window at the water by the fireplace. A few minutes later, she felt warm hands on her shoulders and closed her eyes, leaning back against Oliver’s strong chest.

“You’re upset.” He surmised, speaking in her ear and slid his hands up and down her arms to try relaxing her. “What is it?”

“I – I don’t know. I think I’m losing my mind or something.” Kadienne touched the small cut on her forehead as remembrance of the last time she saw The Arrow.

Oliver caught that motion and turned her around to face him, seeing all the trouble coursing through her emerald orbs. “Talk to me.” He pushed her back to sit on the couch and joined her, giving the redheaded beauty his undivided attention. Nothing else mattered tonight except her.

“I can’t tell you this, Oliver.” How the hell was she supposed to explain that every time she kissed him, she thought it was The Arrow? Or the fact the kisses and touches he gave her felt just like The Arrow? “Definitely losing it…”

“Kadienne.” Oliver fingered her chin, refusing to let her look away from him and tenderly brushed his lips against hers, emanating a soft moan from her as a reward. “Tell me.”

He wouldn’t let it go until she came clean about what was on her mind, so Kadienne had two choices. Lie or tell the truth. “Every time you kiss me, I – I feel like – I mean – damn it!” Kadienne cursed, pulling away from Oliver and couldn’t meet his eyes with the next set of words that came out of her mouth. “I keep getting flashbacks of kissing The Arrow whenever I kiss you and I don’t know why. You’re two different people, but even your touch is familiar and it’s making me feel like I’m going crazy. Why is this happening? Why do I feel like it’s him I’m kissing and not you?”

Now that was something Oliver hadn’t expected to hear and he didn’t know how to respond. Did he tell her his secret or keep her in the dark and push her further away? Oliver didn’t know what to do, remembering what Diggle told him about telling Kadienne how he felt as himself and not The Arrow.

“It’s okay…” He cleared his throat gruffly, rubbing the back of his neck to give her a moment of reprieve from his kindness. “Kadienne, I brought you here to tell you that I’m done running. I’m done with it. I ran from Felicity every chance I got because the feelings scared me. I didn’t think I could be with her doing what I do and being who I am. She was with me every step of the way, devoted and it got her killed. Her devotion to me is what lead to her murder. And then you come into my life like a raging wind and I…I got scared again. Because I’m afraid you’re going to end up just like her being associated with me.”

“Felicity’s death isn’t your fault, Oliver. And what do you mean you couldn’t be yourself with her because of what you do and who you are? You run a nightclub, that’s not very dangerous…” Now Kadienne was really confused and eyeballed the man in front of her, noting how hesitant he became. “Oliver, you can’t be afraid of losing the one you’re with just because of something catastrophic that happened in your life. I think you’re not over Felicity yet and you may never be. You can never give your heart to a woman completely and that’s not fair to anyone you try to be with. Until you can fully let her go and move on with your life, you’ll never be truly happy. You’re in love with a dead woman…”

Oliver shook his head, intense blues locking on baffled emerald. “Not anymore.” He reached over to take Kadienne’s hand and laced their fingers together. “That’s why I brought you here. To tell you I’m not running away from this like I did with her. I’m not mourning her anymore. I will love her for the rest of my life, but she no longer has my heart. Someone else does. And I hope I have hers too and I’m not too late.”

Tears filled her eyes as Kadienne listened to every word Oliver said and knew he was talking about her. She had his heart? Since when? Where the hell was she when it happened? Because he left her high and dry in the hotel right after they made love and before that, ignored her for a week much like he had until he showed up at Verdant tonight.

“Why are you doing this to me?” She whispered, pulling away from him and stood up from the couch, finally letting the tears slide down her cheeks. “I – I told you how I felt about The Arrow and now you decide to bombard me with this! You’re being cruel and playing games with me, screwing with my mind! I can’t take this. I have to go…” Kadienne began storming toward the front door and Oliver jumped up to wrap his arms tightly around her waist, preventing her from leaving. “Please don’t do this…”

“There’s a reason you feel a deep connection to him, Kadienne. Because it’s the same connection you feel with me.” Oliver spoke in her ear, keeping his voice a soft low rumble and felt her sag against him, hating to see her cry. It killed him in all actuality. “Don’t leave. Let me make it up to you. Let me show you how serious I am and that this isn’t a game I’m playing.”

Kadienne torqued her head around enough to look up at Oliver and felt his mouth on hers, immediately turning in his arms to wrap hers around his neck. “Tell me why the connection is so familiar. Tell me I’m not losing my mind. Tell me why I feel the same connection with you as him.” She begged, the stubble on his face scratching her soft skin.

Another memory flashed through her mind, especially when Oliver backed them up until he sat down on the couch with her straddling him. What he wanted more than anything was for this woman to want him and not The Arrow. It meant a great deal to Oliver that she wanted the man and not the Vigilante behind the man. He recalled being in this same position with her as The Arrow, her soft hands cupping his face and sliding through his hair. It’d been pitch dark or else she would’ve recognized him through the green grease paint he used to try concealing his identity with the hood. Her pleas didn’t fall on deaf ears, but Oliver didn’t know what her reaction would be finding out he and The Arrow were one in the same. Did he trust her? Absolutely. So why was he holding back and keeping the truth from her if he completely trusted her?

His mouth left hers to travel across her cheek and down her jaw, finding the spot just below her ear that made her melt against him. “I need to know how you feel about me. Am I wasting my time here?” He breathed in her ear, massaging her sides with his strong hands.

Kadienne didn’t answer him at first, keeping her eyes closed as the memory of their time at the hotel together filtered through her mind. And then her brain did something weird – it melded together a picture of Oliver and The Arrow together. More memories came and went, all of them involving Oliver with his excuses to disappear on a whim and The Arrow telling her he couldn’t be with her or anyone. He had to be alone. It was cosmic the way it happened, how it all made perfect sense once Kadienne started thinking of Oliver Queen and The Arrow as one person…not separated.

“S-S-Stop! Stop!” She choked out, trembling from head to toe and jumped up from his lap, stumbling away from him. “I-It’s you. Y-You’re him…” Kadienne could see the guilt flash through his eyes, both of them breathing heavily and took another step back when Oliver rose from the couch. “It all makes sense now. T-The disappearing, the mysterious way you say things and why I keep feeling déjà vu every time I kiss you. The deep connection…and why you said what you do is dangerous. Who you are is dangerous. Because it’s been you all along. You’re The Arrow…”

“Yes.” Oliver didn’t bother trying to hide the truth from her anymore, his eyes watering. “You don’t have to be afraid, Kadienne. I would never hurt you.” He took another tentative step towards her, aching to have her back in his arms.

He was an unsung hero to the people of Starling City, including her. All Kadienne wanted to do was find a way to see The Arrow again and here he was in front of her this entire time. He’d saved her more than once and checking on her also made sense. How could she not see it sooner? Felicity’s death revolved around him being The Arrow because she more than likely worked with him to help the city. A partner like John Diggle.

“I’m not afraid.” Kadienne assured him, staying where she was and had to inhale and exhale slowly so she didn’t faint the closer he came.

She looked at him differently now than before and Oliver didn’t know how to feel about it. “Then why did you jump off of me and create distance between us?” He towered over her and felt her hands press against his rock hard chest, his top still on. “Why are you trembling?”

“Because of the way you make me feel. It’s overwhelming at times…” Kadienne admitted, looking up at him as the firelight reflected in his eyes and reached up to touch the side of his face. “You told me that night you couldn’t be with me; you couldn’t be with anyone. So what changed your mind?”

Oliver looked up at the ceiling, pulling her against him to wrap an arm securely around her waist, needing her as close to him as possible. “The truth?” Kadienne nodded in response. “I had a dream that opened my eyes and made me realize the mistake I was making in letting you slip through my fingers. I made the mistake of not telling Felicity how I felt because of what I do. I thought I was protecting her…and I couldn’t. Keeping her at arm’s length is what got her killed and I refuse to let that happen to you. I won’t make the same mistake again. So I brought you here to tell you how I feel…”

“And to see how I felt in return because of what I said about The Arrow.” Kadienne added, not meaning to interrupt him and saw the man in front of her in a whole new light. “You asked me if I loved him…and I said yes. But I also love you, Oliver. I fell for you, we slept together and you broke my heart by leaving me alone afterwards. And I didn’t understand why at first, but now everything is so much clearer. So I’m repeating what I’ve told both sides of yourself several times – you can’t control everything in life. I felt guilty for what loving two men, but this whole time it was just one man – you. Every part of you, all of you.”

Those were the words Oliver needed to hear her say and if he would’ve known all he had to do was reveal his secret to her, he would’ve done it weeks ago. He had her heart just as she had his. Oliver wouldn’t push her away like he did Felicity because keeping her close was the only way to insure her safety. Also, he didn’t want to die alone and didn’t plan to always be The Arrow, just long enough to save his city.

“I didn’t mean to cut you off. Tell me what you were going to say, please.”

He chuckled while feeling lighter than he had in years and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “You stole my thunder, but I’ll still tell you.” Oliver backed them up to sit on the couch again with her on his lap and brought her mouth down to his to softly kiss her. “I love you, Kadienne…”

Then the kissing resumed followed by a night filled with unbridled passion and ecstasy.

~!~

Kadienne bolted upright in bed, letting out a choked gasp with sweat caking every part of her body and looked around frantically. It took her a minute to remember where she was, touching the cut on her forehead and frowned. Oliver had come to Verdant and asked her to leave with him so they could talk, but she flat out declined. Instead of fighting her decision like he had in the dream, Oliver simply walked away and left her alone.

Only to make her have a very vivid and real dream about what could’ve happened had she gone with him.

There was no way Oliver Queen was The Arrow…was there?

Standing from the bed, Kadienne looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was a little after 5 AM. She’d gotten off of work at 3, came back to the mansion to shower and fell asleep at 4. One hour is all she slept – one hour to have that dream. Kadienne had to talk to Oliver, not caring what time it was and walked out of the bedroom, already knowing Moira didn’t visit this part of the mansion. She knew where Oliver’s room was and stood outside of it moments later, contemplating knocking on the door. Before she lost her nerve and went back to her room, Kadienne tapped on it with her knuckles only for the door to slowly creak open. A second later, she was yanked into the dark room and slammed back against the door with a knife at her throat, a highly alert Oliver towering over her with blazing blues.

Maybe this wasn’t a good idea coming to his room in the middle of the night to have a talk.

Chapter 22

It was pure nature.

Being startled awake kicked in Oliver’s old survival instincts from being stuck on Lian Yu, Hong Kong and Russia throughout the 5 years he was gone. Even through the darkness of his bedroom, Oliver could tell who he pulled inside and immediately pulled the blade away from her neck. What the hell was Kadienne doing at his door at 5 AM? He didn’t drop the knife and scrubbed a hand down his face, bare from the waist up. The moonlight outside was the only way to see in the room, though Oliver had learned long ago to adjust his eyes to darkness.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, placing the knife on the nightstand and slowly turned to face Kadienne, who remained against the door.

The nightgown she had on made her skin glow and look soft to the touch. It was simple, spaghetti strapped and rested on her mid-thigh. The color was a deep green that reminded him of her eyes…and Oliver had a connection with that particular shade, for obvious reasons. He knew he scared the hell out of her with the knife incident, but the moment his door opened without him answering it first, Oliver sprang into action.

“I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you alright?” He asked quietly, keeping his distance from the redheaded beauty and settled down on his bed. “What are you doing here, Kadienne?”

The dream. That’s all Kadienne could think about at the moment while staring at the man before her. His scars and the way he pinned her against the door with a knife – all of his disappearing acts…was he The Arrow? Was the dream a premonition of some kind or trying to tell her something? Or was she simply losing her mind? Kadienne managed to move her feet and walked toward Oliver, the nausea from nearly having her throat slit subsiding.

“I know it’s late, early, whatever, but…I just had this really crazy dream and I had to talk to you.” Kadienne took a seat beside him on the bed, clasping her hands in her lap to keep from touching him.

“What was the dream about?” Oliver inquired, interested in what she had to say and what the dream consisted of.

Kadienne couldn’t meet his eyes, inhaling a shaky breath and slowly let it out. “You. Us. Usually, I would brush it off and not talk about it, but…it felt so real. Too real.”

Quirking a brow, Oliver could only imagine what happened in a dream involving him – them – and he fought the urge to grab her hand, noting how trepidacious she was. “I can’t read your mind, so you’ll have to explain to me what you mean.” His voice was thick with sleep, a soft rumble.

Explaining it would make her sound like a lunatic. Kadienne wanted to test a theory, but she didn’t know how to do it without startling him again. “Don’t move.” She whispered, looking up at him and could see the confusion from her peculiar request in his ocean blues.

Oliver could only stare at her, staying perfectly still while she scooted closer to him until their arms brushed against each other. Leaning up, Kadienne pressed her mouth to his and softly kissed him, his hands planting on her sides firmly. Being kissed by a beautiful woman at 5 AM in his room would’ve normally been a good time for Oliver. However, there was an agenda behind this kiss considering she had declined his offer to talk earlier at Verdant. That still didn’t stop him from returning the kiss or pulling her to straddle his lap, both of them getting lost in the moment. Flashes of Oliver and The Arrow merging together as one filled Kadienne’s mind and it made her breathless, forcing her to break the kiss.

“What was that for?” Her behavior baffled Oliver to no end; the redhead was always full of surprises.

“It’s you.” Kissing him opened up all of Kadienne’s senses, her lips tingling along with curling toes. It was the same reaction she had when kissing The Arrow. “I can’t believe this…” She lowered her shaking head, her hands remaining on his broad shoulders. “I knew there was a reason…”

Now she was talking in fragments and Oliver couldn’t follow any of it, reaching out to lift her chin until their eyes met. “Kadienne, you’re not making sense…”

He would simply lie to her if she called him out on being The Arrow right now. All Oliver had done was lie left and right, what would make her any different? “I-It’s nothing.” It was her turn to lie to him as Kadienne extracted herself from his lap, standing on jelly legs.

Oliver could tell she wasn’t steady, standing with her and had just blatantly lied to his face. “Coming to my room at 5 in the morning and kissing me isn’t nothing.” He argued, staring down at her intensely since he was now wide awake. “You rejected me tonight when I asked if we could go somewhere and talk and now you’re here kissing me. Something is going on in your head, so what is it?”

The Arrow made it clear he couldn’t be with anyone and had to be alone.

Oliver was pining over a dead woman.

He had to be the Emerald Archer of Starling City.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m sorry to bother you, Oliver.” Kadienne tried walking away from him, but his hand on her upper arm made her stop.

“You didn’t bother me, but I’m curious what brought you here.” She was hiding something from him and it unnerved Oliver to say the least. Now he knew what it felt like being kept in the dark; it was terrible. “And what makes you think I want you to go?” Maybe they could talk now.

Kadienne slowly turned her head, looking up at him and allowed herself to be pulled into his arms, trusting him wholeheartedly. “But you said…” The words trailed off from her lips as Oliver caressed her mouth with his softly, tenderly. “Oliver…”

“This is what I wanted to talk to you about.” He admitted, the stubble of his facial hair once again tickling her skin and heightening her senses, her body slowly melting against him. “Much like you had a dream about us – I wanted to talk about us.”

“I-I don’t understand…” How could he say that and completely contradict himself as The Arrow by saying he couldn’t be with anyone – he had to be alone. “This is – this is so confusing. You’re confusing. Being warm and loving one minute and cold and distant the next. I told you before how I felt about that.” God, she had actually confessed how she felt about The Arrow to the same man who portrayed him. They were one in the same. “And I won’t be with someone I can’t have fully.”

Oliver released her, not comprehending what she referred to. “Kadienne, what are you talking about?” Since when was he unattainable?

“Felicity.” It was time to address the huge elephant in the room, the main reason Oliver had distanced himself from her. “You haven’t gotten over her death or your feelings for her. And she still has your heart six feet under. I can’t be with you knowing that. I won’t give my heart to someone who can’t return the favor.” Even though she already had.

“What makes you think I can’t?” Oliver shot back, his voice coming out a little forceful than he meant. Her words lit a fire inside of him, especially when they involved Felicity. “If you would give me the time of day, you would know that I wanted to talk to you about being together. You would know that I no longer harbor feelings for Felicity because they’ve moved onto someone else. And she no longer has my heart because the woman standing before me took it. But go ahead, run away and keep assuming what you THINK you know about me.”

“Just like you have whenever things have grown heated between us?” Kadienne didn’t appreciate his tone and folded her arms tightly in front of her chest. “And I don’t think or assume anything. I KNOW who you really are.” In more ways than one, she added in thought, emerald eyes narrowing. “And what brought on this sudden epiphany? What made you come to the conclusion your feelings and heart are mine?”

Did he tell her the truth regarding his dream about Felicity telling him to move on or keep it to himself and come up with another lame lie? “You said a dream brought you to me tonight. Well, you’re not the only one who has dreams that feel vivid and real.” Oliver cupped her face in his strong hands, resting his forehead against hers. “I had one too. The night I brought you here and fell asleep next to you. The dream was Felicity telling me to move on with my life, to be happy, with you. I fought how I felt about you ever since we met, Kadienne, but I can’t do it anymore. Do you understand?”

Tears filled her eyes at Oliver’s sweet words and Kadienne felt her stomach do several flip-flops. Now was the time to ask him if he was The Arrow. If there was ever the perfect opportunity to do it, it was at this very moment. This was the test she could give him to see if he’d lie to her. Because if Oliver truly loved and wanted to be with her, there could be no lies or secrets between them.

“Fine, then tell me the truth about who you really are.” Kadienne challenged, staring up at him knowingly and held his wrists, emerald eyes pleading with him to be honest. “Say it.”

Oliver wasn’t stupid, knowing exactly what she wanted to hear and still hadn’t made the decision on whether to reveal everything or not. Even if she did know he was The Arrow, it wouldn’t change anything; Oliver had to keep his personal life far away from his nightly activities. The less she knew, the safer she would be, so he had no choice except to lie.

“Say what?”

So he chose to play dumb, Kadienne thought, stepping away from him in disappointment. “Never mind, I know everything I need to. Good night, Oliver.” Before he could stop her again, Kadienne rushed away from his room and back to her own, tears of heartache sliding down her cheeks.

Oliver stood there long after she left, hating that he hurt her again, but it was for her own good.

Sleep would evade him for the rest of the morning, so he dressed and left the mansion to go to the Foundry, his own heart aching.

~!~

It was time to leave the Queen mansion.

Kadienne paced back and forth, flipping her phone around in her hand for the better part of an hour. What would she even say to her father after all this time? Once she made this call, there was no turning back and more than likely she’d be confined to the Young mansion for a while. Still, it was better than being under the same roof as a liar she was in love with. Until Oliver removed his head from his backside and started telling the truth, Kadienne wanted nothing to do with him. Staying in his family’s mansion would only enable him to get closer to her or vice versa, so leaving was the only option. Before Kadienne could stop herself, she dialed her father’s cell number and brought the phone to her ear, waiting for him to answer.

If he did.

“Hello?” A gruff voice answered after 5 rings, sounding a little out of breath.

Kadienne could already feel the tears building at the sound of his voice, missing it more than she cared to admit. “Hi Dad.” She murmured quietly, sitting on the bed to rub her temple where the small cut remained from her injury. “I heard you wanted to talk to me.”

“Kadi?” Patrick dabbed his forehead with the towel, having just finished his workout on the treadmill. “Sweet pea, where are you? Are you alright?” He saw what happened on the news to her apartment building and had been worried sick for the better part of a week.

“I’m fine. Been staying with a friend.” This next part was hard for her to say. “I’m ready to come home, if you still want me to.”

Patrick beamed, relief coursing through his body and nodded. “Of course I do. You’re my sweet pea, my only child. I’ve always wanted you under this roof where I know you’re safe.” Apparently, Brandy’s visit had done some good after all. “I know you don’t condone my marriage…”

“Dad, you can be with whoever you want. I was wrong to judge you…and her. I’m still not a fan of Brandy, but I’m willing to try getting along with her, for your sake.” Kadienne had to swallow a lot of pride to do this, to make this phone call and ask to come home. “I’ve missed you.”

“Same here, Kadi. I’ll send a car to wherever you are to come pick you up.” Patrick had some meetings to attend that afternoon or else he would’ve done it himself. “I promise; things will be different this time around. You’ll see.” He already had a plan to hire a bodyguard for her after all the attacks she’d suffered lately, one being his fault.

Kadienne didn’t want her father finding out where she was located, not wanting to cause friction between their families. “No that’s okay. I can find my own way and I’ll be there soon. I just wanted to call and make sure it was okay to come home first instead of just show up.” Most of her belongings were left behind at the mansion; she only took the necessities she would need to survive and left everything else.

It took a lot of willpower from Patrick not to argue with his daughter. He had to learn to respect her choices if this was going to work – if they were going to heal and move on. “Alright sweet pea, I’ll see you soon. If I’m not here, just walk in and make yourself at home. I have some meetings, but they shouldn’t take me too long. And then I’m taking you out for a hearty meal tonight to celebrate your return home.”

“See you soon, Dad. I love you.” Kadienne hung up the phone after hearing him reciprocate the notion and finally let the tears she’d been holding back cascade down her cheeks. “I hope I’m doing the right thing.” She spoke to the silence, taking several deep breaths and stood from the bed to start packing her things.

An hour later, Kadienne walked out of the Queen mansion through the secret passageway Thea showed her and headed toward her childhood home.

Maybe someday Oliver would finally tell her the truth about being The Arrow and they could finally be together, but not until then.

Chapter 23

The reunion between father and daughter made Brandy want to puke as Patrick held Kadienne tightly against him, actual tears falling from both their eyes. They were acting like crybabies and it made her sick she was married to a weakling. Brandy managed a smile, welcoming Kadienne with a handshake and watched Patrick guide his daughter into the mansion. She really hoped he enjoyed this time because it was officially borrowed. Now that Kadienne was back in the mansion, Brandy could carry out her plan of execution, end the Young bloodline and claim what was rightfully hers. She would give them a couple weeks to spend together while finalizing the plans with Ramsey and hop the first flight somewhere tropical once the Young family was dead.

Kadienne was oblivious to the danger lurking in her home, too relieved and happy to be back. She assumed her father would read her the riot act for leaving in the first place, but instead he welcomed her back with open arms and heart. All her life, Kadienne had been a Daddy’s girl from the day she was born, wrapped around his finger and received anything she begged for. She got special treatment being the only heir to the Young bloodline since her mother never gave her a sibling. Kadienne knew deep down her father always wanted a house full of rug rats, which made her wonder if he planned on knocking Brandy up. She hoped not, but wouldn’t disrespect her father or his wife if they did end up with child.

As promised, Patrick took Kadienne and Brandy out for a wonderful seven course dinner to celebrate her return home. She tried convincing her father not to do it, but Patrick was steadfast. Even Brandy agreed they had to go out to properly revel, so it was two against one. Kadienne was outnumbered and ordered to dress nicely – the way royalty within Starling City was supposed to. It was a wonderful night out, elegant and rich with good food and company. The women even shared a few laughs with each other and it did Patrick’s heart good to see it. Kadienne vowed to try making things work, to give Brandy a chance and so far, she lived up to it.

“So I think we should have a welcome home party for Kadienne.” Patrick announced, sipping his wine and smiled adoringly at his wife before turning his eyes on his daughter. “What do you think, sweet pea? It won’t be huge, but I do want everyone to know you are back where you belong. Also gives me an excuse to break out the fine china and crystal.”

“Dad, that’s not necessary…”

“Yes, it is.” Brandy interrupted with a smile, placing her hand on top of her husband’s squeezing it affectionately. “You deserve to be properly welcomed home, Kadienne. I’ll set everything up and have it ready in a few days.”

“There’s really no need…” Kadienne tried again, but her father cut her off this time.

“The wife has spoken and I happen to agree with her.”

Once again, Kadienne was outnumbered and had no say in the matter.

“Fine.” She conceded with great reluctance, shaking her head at the triumphant smile on her father’s face.

“Great!” Patrick grinned, feeling better than he had in a long time and held his drink up in a toast, everyone at the table taking a sip of their drinks. “Now then, we need to discuss another matter. Your job, more specifically.”

This was a fight he would not win. “I’m not giving it up, Dad. Don’t bother trying to convince me or berate me because it’s in the Glades either.” She folded her arms in front of her chest, daring him to challenge her on this subject.

Patrick had planned on demanding her to quit the low paying dangerous job, but one look in his daughter’s eyes had him backpedaling. “I just want you to be safe, sweet pea.” He decided to go another direction and take a different approach. “If you insist on keeping it, then I’m insisting you take a bodyguard with you from now on.”

“Dad…”

Brandy didn’t want them fighting in the restaurant and held her hand up before her husband could speak, also interposing Kadienne. “Your father is right about this, Kadienne.” She knew better than to call her Kadi after their last talk. “You’ve been attacked multiple times now and need protection. If you want to keep your job, fine, but you have to compromise with your father too and what he wants. I don’t think a bodyguard is a bad idea.” Besides, the only danger Kadienne faced was right in front of her and she was too blind to see it.

“And if I refuse?”

“Then I’ll send one to watch over you anyway.”

Silence loomed over the table for several long minutes before Kadienne spoke again. “Alright fine, but if they get in my way…”

“You won’t even know he’s there.” Patrick promised, a relieved smile spreading on his face. “Okay enough with the heavy, time to get back to celebrating.”

~!~

Aiden Dials looked around the club called Verdant where his client worked, dressed from head to toe in black with shades over his eyes. If people didn’t know any better, they’d assume he worked for the CIA or was some kind of federal agent. His eyes were glued on Kadienne Young, who was currently talking to the DJ about changing song selection and moved his eyes back and forth across the sea of people. The strobe lights were blocked by his sunglasses, so Aiden could see perfectly. If anyone tried to hurt his client, he would be on them like white on rice.

“Thank you for listening to my suggestions. Carry on.” Kadienne walked away from the DJ and down the few steps leading up to the platform, catching her bodyguard’s eye as she went past him.

For a bodyguard, he was small muscular wise and definitely nothing compared to Oliver’s physique. Great, she was thinking about him again. Aiden had short cropped black hair and citrine eyes, which was very unique. This was his first night on the job protecting her and she actually asked him if his eyes were real. He merely shot her a look and didn’t provide an answer, remaining stoic. At the very least, her father could’ve hired someone with a personality. They would be spending a lot of time together from now until Patrick felt she didn’t need protection anymore, which would never happen.

“Having fun?” She asked, sidling up to him with a grin and held her hands behind her back. “You know, you look really creepy standing here like this instead of conversing with people. Aren’t you supposed to blend in?”

“I’m here to protect you, Miss Young. Nothing more, nothing less.” Even his voice was stoic and robotic, his shoulders squared daring anyone to mess with his client.

Kadienne rolled her eyes, nudging him playfully. “I told you to call me Kadienne or Kadi. None of that miss crap. And you really should learn to smile, it could be good for you.” Winking, she walked away from him to continue doing her job.

Eyeing his client, Aiden shook his head and cracked the smallest smirk before quickly wiping it away, not responding to her comment.

“Okay, what’s going on with the CIA agent?” Thea demanded, catching Kadienne speaking with the man in all black. “Doesn’t he realize wearing sunglasses indoors makes him look like a douchebag?”

After leaving the Queen mansion to go home, Kadienne contacted Thea to let her know where she was so she didn’t worry. Thea understood and was happy for her friend to be back with her family. Maybe what Moira did was for the best, even if it didn’t turn out exactly the way she wanted. The end result was the same: Kadienne was safe and out of the Glades. One person she hadn’t spoken to since leaving the mansion was Oliver and she was fine with it all things considered. Thea still didn’t have a clue about them sleeping together or the fact her brother was The Arrow, two secrets Kadienne would take to her grave.

“My Dad hired him to watch over me while I’m in the Glades. Actually, wherever I go.” She sighed, feeling embarrassed suddenly and shook her head. “He’s my bodyguard and I hate it.”

“Since when do you agree to let anyone watch your every move?” Thea had to ask, pulling Kadienne to the side away from the music so they could speak in normal voices. “Not that I disapprove since we were kidnapped and you were attacked in your apartment…”

Kadienne shot Thea a playful glare, leaning against the wall with her arms folded in front of her chest. “Don’t make fun of me. This sucks, he has no personality, talks like a robot and even acts like one. I just wonder where the hell my Dad found him and what he was thinking.” It was a compromise she agreed to, so Kadienne couldn’t go back on her word to her father. “I was out of my mind when I agreed to it.”

“Aww don’t let it get you down. It’s not like you have to be friends with him or anything. He’s here to protect you and that’s it; keep it professional.” Thea could tell something else was bothering Kadienne, but didn’t want to push her to talk about it. “You know I’m here for you, right? Anything you wanna talk about, my ears are ready to listen.”

“Actually there is.” Kadienne was trying to find the right time to mention this to Thea and figured now would be good. “My Dad is throwing me a welcome home party at our place this weekend. I know the club is open, but I was really hoping you would come. You and Roy. I need all the support I can get and you’re one of my only friends.”

Thea smiled, thinking that’s what was bothering her and gave her a one-armed hug. “Of course we’ll be there! That’s really nice of him to do that for you and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. You really think it’ll be okay to have Roy come?” He wasn’t royalty like them and this certainly wasn’t his world, but he had attended a few parties with her at the Queen mansion.

“Yes, screw the rules. You two love each other and are together; you need to attend functions like this if he’s going to stick around for a while.” Kadienne pointed out, smiling softly at her friend. “I know I had misgivings about Roy at the beginning, but I can see how much he loves and cares about you. You’re lucky to have that in your life.” Two things she wished Oliver would be to her, even as The Arrow. “It is black tie though. My stepmother insisted on it.”

Thea chuckled, thankful Kadienne was finally coming to terms with her relationship. “How’s that going by the way?” She knew her friend didn’t care for her stepmother and Thea didn’t blame her a bit, especially with the way she carried herself.

“So far so good, no complaints surprisingly. She changed the mansion décor a bit, but it’s nothing I can’t get used to. I promised it would be a fresh start for all of us and I meant it.” Kadienne was genuine in everything she said and maybe one day she would learn to like Brandy, but she would never take the place of her mother.

“Good to hear.”

“Oh before I forget, my father is inviting Moira to the party as well.” Kadienne informed her, almost letting the information slip her mind. “Your entire family is invited.” She refused to say Oliver’s name, knowing it would be a dead giveaway since she was still getting over him.

Kadienne secretly hoped the invitation didn’t get back to him since he’d clocked in a lot of Arrow time ever since she left the Queen mansion.

That wasn’t a surprise considering Moira had tried helping Kadienne reconcile with her father. It took a bit of time, but ended up working in the end. “I’ll definitely pass the message along.”

They talked for a few more minutes and parted ways to continue running Verdant.

Aiden had moved closer to the girls without them noticing, overhearing the conversation. Nothing out of the ordinary; he was well aware of the welcome home party being thrown for his client. However, behind her smile held a lot of pain and heartache, that much Aiden surmised. He hoped whatever had Kadienne twisted inside went away soon because she was far too beautiful to be sad all the time.

“Aiden, everything alright?” Kadienne asked, snapping her bodyguard out of his thoughts and cracked a hesitant smile.

“Always, Miss Young.” Aiden replied, not believing he just thought of her as beautiful and shook himself mentally. Hell, bodyguard or not, he was still a man and couldn’t help noticing a beautiful woman.

Kadienne decided not to fight a losing battle with the name and touched his arm, walking past him toward the bar.

~!~

“Who the hell is that?”

Oliver had just gotten back from stopping a bank robbery and came back to find Diggle at the monitor, setting his bow and quiver down. Judging by his appearance and the way he carried himself, Oliver safely assumed Kadienne’s father had hired her professional protection. Not a bad idea, though Oliver wished it was him. Hell, he couldn’t get within 10 feet of her ever since she left the mansion to go home. Oliver was glad she made the choice on her own, but at the same time he got used to her being at the mansion. Now that she was gone, it felt empty and so did he. Maybe telling Kadienne the truth wouldn’t be a bad thing since she already knew who he was and hadn’t ran to the police.

“From the looks of it, Kadienne made a close friend over the past few days or she has a new bodyguard.” John quipped, leaning back against the chair while Oliver peeled his green hooded jacket off, tossing it to the side.

“Great.” He muttered, walking past John to the salmon ladder and jumped up to grab the iron bar, beginning to move up ignoring the burning in his muscles.

“Oliver, don’t you think you should talk to her?” John suggested, looking up at his partner and could see he was in ten different kinds of pain. Oliver had told him about his conversation with Kadienne, how it ended and John felt a sense of relief she finally figured out the truth. “She knows who you are. So just come clean about it and be with her.” Honestly, what was so hard about that?

Gritting his teeth, Oliver had questioned himself repeatedly over the past couple days and hopped down from the workout when his phone began to ring. It was his sister. “Thea, everything okay?” He wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel Diggle tossed him, listening to everything she said. “Tell Mom I’ll be there.”

“What was that about?” John asked after Oliver hung up with his sister, standing from the chair.

“There’s a party going down at the Young mansion this weekend…and we’re going.”

This would be the perfect, possibly only, time to talk to Kadienne and finally tell her the truth about everything.

No more lies.

Chapter 24

The bodyguard, Aiden, wasn’t an issue for Brandy; she predicted Patrick would hire someone to watch over his precious baby girl the moment she stepped foot back in the mansion. HER mansion. HER home. So far, Brandy played nice and even volunteered to plan Kadienne’s welcome home party Patrick was adamant about throwing. She had her reasons for doing it, one of them being she could throw a wrench in the celebration. Several ideas swirled through her mind, but ultimately it was Ramsey who came up with the perfect one. Kadienne’s job at Verdant had to be eliminated in order for their plan to go to phase 2 and the only way to do that was keeping her locked up in the house. The idea was devious and cut-throat, just how Brandy liked it. The best part was nobody would suspect her and Ramsey – all the blame would go straight to her stepdaughter. Not only would this plan effectively keep Kadienne close where she was an easy target to eradicate, but they would no longer need Aiden’s assistance as a bodyguard.

Before they knew it, the day of the party arrived and the mansion was bustling with life, all the hired workers busy making sure the decorations were perfect. Patrick had the bar stocked with the best alcohol and wine, only the best for his little girl. He had to admit, his wife did a fantastic job with the planning and couldn’t believe she threw the party together in such a short amount of time. Kadienne would be blown away for sure. Brandy gave order and direction, pointing out things she didn’t approve of and had to be redone. The color scheme was blue and green, much to Brandy’s dismay, but it was Kadienne who chose them so she had to go along with whatever the princess wanted. She still made the party her own, but the colors were something she would’ve never chosen.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the mansion, Brandy quickly made her way up the stairs to Kadienne’s room. She pressed her ear to the door, after looking side-to-side to make sure nobody was watching and opened the door a fraction to peek inside. The bathroom light was on and Brandy could hear the shower running. It was now or never to put the plan into motion. Aiden was also nowhere to be found and Brandy wondered what kind of bodyguard didn’t watch his client 24/7. Then again, he had to sleep as well and stayed up at all hours of the night because of Kadienne’s job. Smirking, Brandy couldn’t believe what luck she had and how easy this would be. She tiptoed over to the bed, making sure to keep her eyes locked on the bathroom door and lifted the mattress with ease to slip the clear baggy of pills beneath. Dropping the mattress back into place, Brandy made sure nothing looked out of sorts with the bed before making her escape, only to run into her husband.

“You scared me, Patrick.” Brandy placed a hand over her heart, not expecting him to be on this floor.

Patrick merely smiled, unaware of his wife’s devious actions and kissed her cheek lovingly. “This is splendid, my love. Has Kadi come down to see it yet?”

Brandy shook her head, once again playing the part of a dutiful wife. “I do believe she’s been sleeping the majority of the day because of her job. And now she’s getting ready.” She informed him, nodding when he said he’d check on her and rolled her eyes once Patrick turned his back.

“Did you talk to her?” Patrick was still hesitant about Brandy and his daughter communicating considering how much Kadienne detested their marriage.

“She’s in the shower. I have to go check on a few more things for the party.” Brandy excused herself to let Patrick talk to Kadienne and made her way back downstairs, letting out a huge breath of relief he didn’t suspect anything.

Deciding to give his daughter time to get out of the shower and dress, Patrick headed upstairs to the third floor where their bedroom was, having a surprise in store for Kadienne.

~!~

Stepping out of the shower, Kadienne wrapped the towel around her body before brushing out her hair and teeth. She contemplated getting a haircut prior to the party, but decided against it. It took forever to grow it out to the length she had now and Kadienne knew the moment it was cut; she would hate it. Better to leave it alone instead of looking like an idiot at her party. Walking out of the bathroom into her bedroom, Kadienne opened her closet and sighed at the selection, shaking her head in disappointment. She didn’t mind having a welcome party, but the problem was all of her clothes were outdated. Since when did she care what she looked like or wore?

Oliver, she answered in thought, tightening the towel around her a little more. Something told her he would show up tonight, but Kadienne had to stay strong and keep her word. Until he came clean to her about everything, including being The Arrow, she wanted nothing to do with him. That didn’t mean she missed him any less or it physically hurt her to be away from him. Even with his disappearing acts, at least she caught glimpses of him from time to time, but lately he’d been MIA.

What if he was injured or worse and she didn’t know it? What Oliver did for Starling City was incredibly dangerous and he could wind up dead at any moment. Did she really want to be with someone like that even if he told her the truth? Just as she slipped into a simple black dress, Kadienne heard a knock on the door to her bedroom and turned as her father walked in, holding a zipped up black bag in his arms.

“What’s that?” She asked, eyeballing the bag and watched her father unzip it, pulling out a beautiful elegant pale green gown.

“It was your mother’s.” Patrick smiled while looking at it, remembering the first time he saw Emma in this dress. It had sentimental value to him, which is why he preserved it all this time and now it would be passed down to their daughter. “She looked so exquisite in this. Wore it for our first date and I fell in love with her instantly.” He looked up at Kadienne, holding out the dress to her. “Now it’s yours, sweet pea.”

Kadienne felt her eyes burn with tears as she took the dress from him and held it up to her nose, breathing in the lingering scent of her mother. “It smells like her.” She surveyed, holding it up to her in the full length mirror with her father standing behind her. “Thank you, Daddy…”

That wasn’t the only gift he had for her. “Lift your hair up.” He commanded, waiting for her to do so before clasping an emerald necklace around her neck. “This was hers also.”

Now the waterfall of tears slid down her cheeks as Kadienne touched the beautiful emerald star pendant. “It’s gorgeous…” She whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment and felt her father kiss the crown of her head.

“She was my star and the moment you were born, you were hers. Her little star is what she always called you. Always remember that.” Patrick had to blink his own tears away because of how much Kadienne resembled his dead beloved. It didn’t make him want to push his daughter away, only to draw her closer and keep her near him at all times. “I love you, sweet pea.”

Kadienne turned, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and cried, burying her face in the crook. “I love you too, Daddy.” She missed him more than she cared to admit while she was gone and living in the Glades alone. “Okay, enough of this I have to get ready.”

“Take your time.” Patrick kissed her forehead before exiting the room, feeling another weight lift from his shoulders now that he finally got the chance to give Kadienne those two precious items.

Taking the black dress off, Kadienne replaced it with the breathtaking pale green one her father surprised her with. It was strapless, haltered, had a sweetheart neckline and hugged every curve of her body all the way down her feet. Luckily, the heels she had in mind to wear would not only match it, but would keep the dress from dragging on the floor. The color made her emerald eyes stand out, especially when she outlined them in thin black liner. Kadienne wasn’t a big fan of makeup, but she would make an exception for the party and applied clear gloss to her lips, making them shine. Just as she finished, another knock sounded at her bedroom door and Kadienne invited the hairstylist inside to do her hair. An hour later, it looked like a crown of red curls was on the top of her head with a few tendrils hanging down the sides of her face to frame it. She thanked the hairstylist, applying an emerald barrette on the top where the curls met smooth hair and slid her hands down the dress to level it out.

She was ready for the party.

~!~

“Did you do it?”

Brandy stood in the bedroom she shared with Patrick, staring out the window at all the guests arriving for the evening. “It’s done. I told you I’d do it. Are you losing faith in me, lover?”

“Not at all.” Ramsey replied, wishing he could be there with her, but it was impossible now that he’d made himself known to Kadienne. “Just stick to the plan and she’ll be in our clutches before you know it.”

“Don’t worry, I plan on it.”

“Brandy!” Patrick called out through the bedroom door and tapped on it before entering.

She hung up on Ramsey, quickly hiding the phone behind her back and held a glass of champagne, accepting a soft kiss from her husband. “Sorry, just needed a moment to myself.”

Patrick stepped back to admire the deep crimson red dress she had on, which went to mid-thigh and was strapless, a diamond broach on the side of her hip. “You look exquisite.” He breathed out, capturing her mouth in another searing kiss and was tempted to skip the party all together to have their own in here.

“Down boy.” Brandy teased, stepping away from him to fix her hair, which was pulled up and off to the side a little, a ruby necklace around her neck glittering under the lights planted in the ceiling. “We’ll have time for playing later. Right now, tonight is all about Kadienne. Did she enjoy the gifts you gave her?”

Patrick nodded, the biggest smile flittering across his face. “Yeah, we had a moment and then I left her to finish getting ready. Come on, I’ll escort you downstairs, my lovely wife.” He extended his arm to her, not seeing Brandy slip the cell phone in the purse she had in her hand and guided her out to head downstairs.

~!~

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all so much for coming to my daughter’s welcome home party!” Patrick announced in the microphone he borrowed from the DJ, keeping his arm around Brandy. “A special thanks to my wife for putting this together in such a short amount of time. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” He kissed the crown of her head before turning to the stairs. “And now without further ado, let us all give a loud and boisterous welcome home applause to my sweet pea and star, Kadienne Madeline Young!”

Her father was insistent on making her do a grand entrance down the stairs to enter her party. Kadienne appeared at the top of the stairs as a light shined on her, descending them one at a time to a thunderous ovation. All she could do was smile and secretly plot killing her father for making her do this. Patrick covered his mouth with his hand while watching her, not believing how much she reminded him of Emma in that moment. The dress and necklace, everything about her screamed Emma and he left Brandy’s side to help her down the rest of the stairs, immediately pulling her into his arms tightly.

“Welcome home, my beautiful girl.” He whispered in her ear, kissing her forehead and turned to allow the other guests greet her as the DJ began playing music to liven the party up.

Oliver had just walked through the front door as Kadienne descended the stairs for her grand entrance and felt his breath leave his body temporarily. She looked stunning in pale green, the color mixing well with her pale skin and fiery red hair. He missed her so much, craving to have her in his arms again even for a moment. That’s all he needed was just a chance to get her alone or on the dance floor to tell her the truth. It took a little while because so many people had stopped Kadienne to welcome her home, asking how she was doing and friendly questions of the nature. Eventually, he spotted her alone after talking with his sister and Roy Harper for a few minutes, deciding this was his window.

“Kadienne.”

Shutting her eyes at the sound of his voice, Kadienne slowly turned around with a glass of champagne in hand and had to learn how to breathe again at the site of him. A black tuxedo with a white undershirt and black vest did wonders for him. Why did Oliver have to look so handsome and alluring at the same time? Kadienne immediately knew this would be harder than she thought to be cold toward him, but first she would hear whatever he had to say. Probably another lie, she thought, a tight smile spreading her glossy lips.

“Oliver.” She greeted coolly, sipping her champagne to give herself something to do. “Glad you could make it.”

He knew what that implied and stepped up to her, lowering his voice. “Wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Oliver slid a hand down her arm to take her free hand, their eyes meeting for the first time in what felt like ages. “Dance with me.”

This was dangerous territory to tread on, not to mention a perilous game to play, but Kadienne couldn’t deny him. Every fiber of her being wanted to be with him despite his nightly activities being the Vigilante of Starling City. She set her champagne down on the nearby table and let him guide her to the dance floor, placing her hands on his shoulders while his arm wrapped around her waist to pull her closer to him, their eyes only for each other. It was as if the world disappeared and all that was left was just them, staring at each other, the longing and need in their eyes. Oliver took one of her hands from his shoulder to hold it as they began to waltz to a slow song, neither knowing the title of it or caring because at least they were together again.

“So, it’s nice to know I’m more important than SOME things.” Kadienne kept her voice low and soft to where only Oliver could hear her.

Oliver smiled at her wit, twirling her around before drawing her back into his arms again. “Always.” Now wasn’t the time or place to have the talk or say what he needed. “After this, I need to talk to you alone.” Away from prying eyes and ears.

“For what?” Kadienne could feel her heart accelerate as Oliver twirled her again and this time dipped her, their mouths mere inches from each other.

“The truth.” Oliver answered, pulling her back up and noticed the shock fill her eyes, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. “I’ll tell you everything, but not here.”

Was this another trick to try convincing her he wasn’t The Arrow? Or did Oliver really mean it? There was one way to find out. “Come with me.” The song ended just as they stopped dancing and Kadienne took his hand, guiding him through the crowd to the veranda overlooking their large property.

Nobody else was out there and the music was too loud inside for anyone to overhear what Oliver was about to say.

Chapter 25

“Well, Mr. Queen?”

Oliver cracked a smile, shaking his head at her reference. “Don’t call me that, please. Reminds me too much of my father.” He requested and looked out at the long stretch of land, resting his elbows on the veranda ledge. “You already know, so why do you need to hear me say it?”

“Because I deserve to hear it from the man who protects this city every night. The man who risks his life for people he doesn’t even know, including me.” Kadienne slowly walked toward him and stopped at his side, not taking her eyes off of him. “The Emerald Archer. The Arrow…”

He finally turned his head to meet her eyes and let out a heavy sigh full of so many emotions. Defeat. Reluctance. Acceptance. The redhead beauty wasn’t scared of him at all, only staring at him with such admiration and love, it took Oliver’s breath away for a second time that night. There was only one other woman he trusted with his identity, the other half of his life and he was about to take the same step with Kadienne.

“Knowing what I’m about to tell you will put you in danger, Kadienne. You need to realize that. You need to recognize the risks if we’re going to be together.” Oliver had to be blunt with her, refusing to let what happened to Felicity happen to Kadienne. Never again would he feel that kind of pain and heartache, not if he could prevent it. “Do you understand?” He whispered, reaching out to take her hand.

Stay strong, Kadienne mentally coached herself, taking each word he said to heart. “Yes.” She didn’t pull away from him and wouldn’t as long as he was completely honest with her. “I’m not going anywhere, Oliver. You won’t lose me because of what you do. Now say it. Tell me what I need to hear.”

Besides the fact he was in love with her, Oliver wasn’t ready to drop the L bomb on her yet and inhaled another shaky breath. “I am The Arrow.” He finally confessed and was rewarded with a passionate kiss, immediately enfolding Kadienne in his warm embrace.

“Yes you are.” Kadienne mumbled against his mouth after breaking the kiss and pressed her forehead to his, her arms wrapped around his neck. “I’m glad you came tonight.”

“Me too.” Oliver relished the feeling of having Kadienne in his arms despite her ultimatum to hear the truth from him or not being together. “I’m sorry I put you through so much hell. I had to make sure I could trust you though before telling you my secret. And…honestly, I purposely stayed away from you, or tried, for your protection…and my own inner turmoil about Felicity…”

She stroked the stubble on his face, content with staying out here on the veranda for the remainder of the party. “I know you loved her and her death really hurt you. But you need to stop blaming yourself for it. She was murdered and I’ve said this countless times to you as both Oliver Queen and The Arrow – you can’t control everything. I know you want to, but you can’t beat fate.” Kadienne softly brushed her lips against his, feeling him press her back against the ledge to deepen it a little. “And for the record, being with you is worth the risk.”

“I hope so…” He smiled sadly, not knowing what he’d do if something happened to her because of him being The Arrow.

Recalling Oliver telling her about some kind of dream he had that opened his eyes, Kadienne realized it took having vivid dreams of each other to bring them together. “Is this what you meant when you asked me to go with you that night at Verdant? To talk? Is this the talk you wanted to have with me?” She asked softly, trying to assure him with action instead of words she wanted every piece of him, The Arrow included.

No more lies, Oliver reminded himself mentally. “Yeah, but I wasn’t planning on telling you about being The Arrow.” He admitted, being completely honest with her for a change and could see the disappointment in her emerald orbs. “It’s better for you not to know, or was. You were protected by not knowing the truth about me, Kadienne. I’m curious, how did you figure out it was me?”

“A dream. A very real and vivid dream.” Kadienne replied, not angry at him for what he said because at least Oliver was being truthful with her.

“Tell me about it.” Oliver stroked her sides with his thumbs as the continued standing against the veranda ledge. “Take me for a walk on your property and explain.” The suggestion to get away from the party would be too inviting for her to pass up.

It worked. “Okay…” Kadienne guided him down the stairs attached to the veranda that lead to the backyard and huge garden, flowers of all colors resting on the bushes. “The kisses I shared with you and The Arrow were too familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why. I thought I was losing my mind…until I had a dream that picked up where you asked me to leave Verdant with you to talk. I did; you took me to some kind of cabin on the outskirts of the city and had dinner set up for us. It was really romantic actually.” She cleared her throat and continued, feeling Oliver lace their fingers together while walking through the garden. “I started having flashbacks and then thought of you and The Arrow…your face sort of melted together in my mind, as weird as that sounds, and you were the same person. You said the connection I have to you is the same as I have with The Arrow and when I asked why, that’s when my mind and thoughts sort of took control. I accused you of being The Arrow and you didn’t deny it, simply saying you would never hurt me and not to be afraid. And I wasn’t. I could never be afraid of the man who rescued me several times.” Stopping, she turned to face him and looked up in his ocean blues, smiling happily. “Now it’s your turn, tell me about the dream you had that made you change your mind.”

“Fair is fair.” Oliver dropped a quick kiss on her lips before they started walking again, this time her arm looping through his. “It was a dream about Felicity. And the more I think about it, I wonder if it was a dream to begin with.” Was it possible Felicity had reached out to him beyond the grave? Hell, anything was possible in the world they lived in; Oliver had seen things he himself never thought was possible until he got stranded on Lian Yu. “She told me I had to move on with my life and what happened to her isn’t my fault. That I had to stop blaming myself for it, much like you’ve been saying. I gave her life purpose and she didn’t want me giving up on finding someone who completed me. To not let myself die along with her because of my grief. I’m still alive and I need to live life to the fullest, including being happy. To…let her go…” That last part was hard for him to say because he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to do that completely. “She opened my eyes and made me realize what I have in front of me.” Squatting down in front of her, Oliver took Kadienne’s hands in his and made her eyes meet his. “You accused me of being in love with a dead woman…and although I will always love Felicity, I’m no longer in love with her. Because I’m in love with you.”

Tears swelled in her eyes at his heartfelt admission and Kadienne cupped his face in her hands, searing his mouth with another kiss. “I’m in love with you too, Oliver. I just didn’t want to be with someone who couldn’t reciprocate my feelings, but I was wrong in my assumption.” For some reason, a dead woman’s spirit opening Oliver’s eyes to the truth didn’t bother Kadienne nearly as much as she thought it would. “And just so you know, I fell in love with you as Oliver Queen before The Arrow. Whoever you are, whatever you do, I love all the pieces of you.”

That had been one of his biggest fears; she would only love one part of him instead of both. The Arrow instead of the man. “Good to know.” He pulled her up by the hands to press against him and kissed her, both of them on the verge of exploding if they couldn’t be together intimately soon. “Stay with me tonight.”

Only because Kadienne wasn’t sure how her father would react to having a man in her bed, she agreed. “Don’t you have Arrow stuff to do tonight?” She raised a brow when he shook his head. “Why not?”

“Tonight is all about you. And us.”

~!~

“Detective Lance?”

Quentin Lance turned in his chair to face one of the police officers in the precinct, raising a brow. “Yeah?” He was a rookie, in his 20’s and green as the grass outside.

“We just received an anonymous call about a potential drug bust, sir.” The rookie swallowed hard as Detective Lance shot up from his chair, demanding to know who it was. “Um – they didn’t say and gave a name on who to check…or raid, in this case.”

He was two seconds away from losing his temper with the rookie. “Well? Are you gonna stand there looking stupid or tell me the name?” He demanded, swiping his badge from his desk to clip it on his belt.

“Kadienne Young, sir.”

“Young?”

Quentin remembered that name, but couldn’t pinpoint where he’d heard it from before. Until he looked at a newspaper article splashed on the front with a picture of the Young family. They were having a welcome home party for Kadienne Young, Patrick Young’s only child. Didn’t she also work at Queen’s club, Verdant? Yes, he believed she did and that made Quentin hightail it out of the precinct with at least 10 officers behind him. The Young’s were about to get a very rude awakening if Kadienne did indeed possess the drug Vertigo.

He secretly hoped Oliver Queen was the dealer so he could book and lock him behind bars, still bitter about the boy killing his youngest daughter.

~!~

Everyone was having a splendid time, dancing and chattering with glasses of alcohol all around, mostly wine and champagne. Patrick didn’t want any hard liquor at the party, much to Brandy’s chagrin. She enjoyed a rum and coke from time to time, but abided by her husband’s request. Kadienne and Oliver were nowhere to be found for the better part of the party, returning with attached hands and eyes only for each other. Oliver Queen dating his daughter was something Patrick had no problem with considering they grew up together along with his little sister, Thea. Moira adored Kadienne, thinking of her as a second daughter and had been extremely close with Emma prior to her death.

“Enjoying yourself, sweet pea?” Patrick asked, shaking Oliver’s hand to let him know all was well as far as them being together went.

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, keeping a smile on his face. “Great party, sir.”

“No sir, just Patrick, son.”

“Then I insist you call me Oliver.”

Patrick smirked, nodding and took a sip of his wine. “Fair enough. You two should really get some food before it’s all gone. Excuse me.” He spotted security at the door having a heated discussion with someone and frowned as soon as he saw who it was. “Detective, what can I do for you?”

“Got an anonymous tip stating your daughter is in possession of a drug called Vertigo.” Quentin stated, pushing past security and Patrick with a warrant in hand to search the premises. “Police! Everyone stay where you are! This is a raid!”

“WHAT?” Brandy exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers and rushed over to her husband, who could only look at Kadienne. “Patrick, what is the meaning of this?!”

Patrick couldn’t speak at first, too shocked to move let alone speak and walked past his wife to stand in front of his daughter. “Please tell me you didn’t, Kadienne…”

“Dad, what are you talking about? What’s going on?” She’d been talking to Oliver about something, completely oblivious to the police showing up until Detective Lance announced they were being raided.

Oliver wrapped a secure arm around Kadienne’s waist as Detective Lance approached them, the smile no longer on his face. “What’s going on, Detective?” He asked in a somewhat demanding voice and felt his own eyes widen at the accusation tossed Kadienne’s way.

“I’m sorry – WHAT?” It was Kadienne’s turn to be shocked and she could only stare at the Detective with a dropped jaw. “I never touched the stuff! Who the hell called and told you this?”

“We’re not at liberty to say.” It was against the law and he didn’t know who the anonymous tipper was, thanks to the rookie. “So we can either tear the mansion apart, Miss Young, or you can let us search your room. Your choice.”

Kadienne had nothing to hide and didn’t want the mansion being torn to shreds because of a lying anonymous tip. “Of course, right this way.” They were about to feel really stupid after doing their search and not finding anything.

This was the second time, to Oliver’s knowledge, Kadienne had been involved in a conspiracy with Vertigo. The first time it’d been planted on her at Verdant and now…someone had called the police saying she had it at the Young mansion. Her home. What the hell was going on? Oliver could only stay by her side while she ascended the stairs with Detective Lance and the police force behind them. Opening her bedroom door, Kadienne allowed them inside and stayed outside to let the search commence, trembling against Oliver. Police always scared and reminded her of what happened when she found her mother dead in the kitchen – more importantly how they rushed in to attend to her and pronounced her deceased.

It didn’t take long for Detective Lance to walk back out…and he wasn’t empty-handed. “Care to explain these, Miss Young?” He jingled the bag of purple and green pills in front of her.

“T-Those aren’t mine! I swear, I don’t do drugs!!” Kadienne exclaimed, looking up at Oliver praying he believed her and felt his arm tighten around her waist. This had to be some sick joke! “Please, you have to believe me…”

“Detective…” Oliver had to do something, but felt powerless at the moment because he couldn’t tell the police about their first run-in with the drug. “I don’t think-”

“Queen, if you don’t let go of her and step aside, I will arrest you for accessory to this crime.” Detective Lance threatened, already pulling the cuffs out from his back pocket and opened them up, beginning to read her Miranda rights. “Miss Young, you are hereby under arrest for possession of the drug, Vertigo. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say will be held against you in a court of law. You have a right to speak to an attorney. If you can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?” He waited for her shaky nod and finished clasping the cuffs around her wrists before guiding her toward the stairs.

Kadienne looked back over her shoulder at Oliver, tears spilling down her cheeks and couldn’t believe their perfect night had turned into a nightmare. “Oliver…” She lowered her head as they walked past her stunned father and stepmother, unable to meet their eyes.

Oliver gritted his teeth, already making phone calls to do what he could to help Kadienne and left the mansion without anyone noticing, vowing to find whoever was behind framing his girlfriend.

Chapter 26

Oliver was the first one at the police station while Patrick and Brandy did damage control, taking care of their guests. He called Diggle since he had connections throughout the city and could possibly find a lead on where to start searching for the Vertigo culprit. Someone at the party snuck into Kadienne’s room and planted the drug; Oliver refused to think or fathom the woman he loved was capable of touching Vertigo. The drug killed her mother, why would she want to follow in her footsteps? Someone was trying to frame Kadienne and Oliver would not rest until he found and stopped whoever it was – at any costs.

His head snapped up when the door finally opened and Kadienne walked out, still looking beautiful as ever even with a tear-streaked face. “Kadienne.” He stood up to go to her, scowling as Detective Lance stepped in front of him to block her. “Your superior already told me I could talk to her, Detective. Please get out of my way.”

Quentin hated everything about Oliver Queen and narrowed his eyes, folding his arms in front of his chest. “Come to talk to your partner in crime, eh? Making her take the fall for your actions just like every other woman you’ve slept with?” Maybe that was hitting a little below the belt, but Quentin didn’t care.

“What are you talking about?” Oliver didn’t have time for this, just needing to have Kadienne in his arms and out of those handcuffs.

“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about, Queen.” Quentin squared his shoulders, not backing down from Oliver for a second. “Vertigo was caught in your nightclub a little over a month ago and yet, you didn’t report it. And now one of your employees is caught with it at her house. So you tell me why exactly I’m not putting YOU in handcuffs right now, drug dealer?”

“Excuse me?!” The audacity of this man baffled Oliver at times such as now. “I never…”

“Oliver, not another word.” A voice ordered from behind, forcing Quentin to squeeze his eyes shut while Oliver breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his ex-girlfriend and one of his best friends.

“Laurel, thank you for coming.” Diggle wasn’t the only one he called to help Kadienne.

Quentin shook his head, not believing once again Oliver had brought his daughter into their business. “Damn it Laurel, what are you doing here?” He rubbed his forehead while she stared disapprovingly at him and felt like he was being silently scolded.

“You know why, Dad. These charges against my client are preposterous and I won’t allow you to hold her without SOLID evidence.” Laurel admonished, holding a file in her hand that had all the information about Kadienne Young she needed.

Oliver tried not to smile, but it was hard not to since he enjoyed watching Laurel put her father in his place. “You can start by taking the handcuffs off of her wrists since they’re practically cutting into her skin.” He wanted to punch Quentin for tightening the handcuffs on purpose, walking around the detective to stand in front of a frightened Kadienne. “It’s gonna be okay, I promise.”

“Laurel, you’re making a mistake…” Quentin knew it was pointless trying to talk sense into his little girl, but had to try anyway. Queen always had this power over her that Quentin couldn’t destroy and it bothered him greatly. “There’s evidence piling up…”

“And until you get that solid evidence I asked for, my client is to be released immediately and sent home. Home confinement and electronic monitoring through the wearing of an administrative ankle device is what my client will do so you can keep an eye on her.” Laurel met Kadienne’s eyes. “That means you’ll have to give up your job at Verdant until this matter is handled or after we go to trial.”

Kadienne could only nod while the detective removed the handcuffs with great reluctance, immediately wrapping her arms around Oliver to bury her face in his chest. He cupped the back of her head, trying to calm her down as she cried against him. She was scared out of her mind being arrested for a crime she clearly didn’t commit and Oliver could feel his temper rising. If it wasn’t for Laurel, he would’ve taken the hard road and broken Kadienne out of the precinct as the Arrow. However, he didn’t want to make things more difficult for Kadienne and busting her out would’ve made her looked guiltier.

“We’ll come by tomorrow with the ankle device. Don’t even think about leaving town.” Quentin warned, his voice stern and gruff while shooting daggers of hatred toward Oliver. “Now get out of here before I change my mind and let you leave.”

“Dad…” Laurel’s tone held warning of her own, knowing he could get in big trouble for harassing her client. She turned to face Oliver and Kadienne with a softer expression. “Take her home. She looks wiped out and so do you, Ollie. Get some rest.”

Nodding, Oliver didn’t have to thank Laurel a second time and guided Kadienne out of the precinct toward his car where his bodyguard, John Diggle, stood waiting. Kadienne hesitated once John opened the door for them to get in the backseat, tears filling her eyes. Why was this happening to her? Who was framing her for Vertigo? Would they ever find the culprit or would she spend her remaining days locked inside the Young mansion?

“O-Oliver, I…” She was cut off by a searing hard kiss, his hands cradling her face and all Kadienne could do was melt into it, unable to stop the tears.

“Are you alright?” He immediately asked once the kiss broke, searching her eyes and could tell she wasn’t. “You’re innocent, I know you didn’t do this. And I promise, I swear to you, I will find out who is doing this and make them suffer, Kadienne. Do you believe that? Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” She answered without a hint of hesitation in her voice, having full trust and faith in this man ever since he came clean to her about his feelings. “I know you will. Because I believe in you.”

Oliver shut his eyes, pulling her into his arms to press his lips to her forehead and held her tightly against him. He hadn’t heard those words since Felicity…and it felt amazing to hear them again. To have someone actually trust in him wholeheartedly the way she did. He couldn’t let her down, giving Diggle a knowing look and knew his partner understood exactly what had to be done. Whoever this was trying to hurt Kadienne had to be put down…permanently. There would be justice for whoever was responsible for the Vertigo, just a different kind.

“Come on, we have to get you home. We’re on a clock unfortunately.” Oliver nudged her into the car and followed, immediately pulling her into his arms again as soon as Diggle pulled away from the precinct. “Everything is going to work out, Kadienne. You have my word.”

As both Oliver Queen and The Arrow.

~!~

“Oh thank goodness!” Patrick rushed to his daughter’s side as soon as she walked through the front door, pulling her away from Oliver into his arms. “My sweet pea, are you hurt?”

This was embarrassing to be coddled by her father, especially since she was a grown woman and in front of her boyfriend no less! “I’m fine, Dad.” She assured him quietly, feeling Oliver behind her. “I’m sorry the party was ruined…”

“Well I’ll admit, I was stunned when you were cuffed and taken away by the police. But maybe this will teach you a lesson…”

“A lesson?” Kadienne could feel her temper rising already, squeezing her fists tightly at her sides. “And what is that supposed to mean? How can there be a lesson learned here when I didn’t do anything wrong?”

Patrick didn’t want to have this discussion in front of Oliver Queen, but his daughter’s denial forced him to continue. “Young lady, bringing drugs into this house after what happened to your mother…”

She cut him off again. “I DON’T DO DRUGS!” Kadienne shrieked, feeling tears sting her eyes at the reality of her father believing the cops over her. Some things truly never changed. “This is why I left the first time! It wasn’t just because you married Mom’s best friend! You never believe me and always think and assume I’m getting into trouble, doing things I’m not supposed to do! No wonder I stayed away so long and, once this stupid ankle device is off, I might just leave again!”

Storming off up the stairs to her room, all Oliver could do was watch her and sighed heavily, blazing blues moving back to stare hardening at her father. “With all due respect, sir, if you don’t straighten up and start believing in your daughter, you will lose her again. And this time, it’ll be permanent. I’ll take my leave now.” He wasn’t planning on leaving the mansion, already thinking of a contingency to get around her father’s disapproval of him staying there with Kadienne.

All Patrick could do was watch the boy leave and glanced up at the stairs, wondering if maybe Brandy was wrong in her assumptions about Kadienne.

Cool dark eyes watched from the foyer doorway as a smirk splayed across her ruby red lips; Brandy’s plan was playing out perfectly.

~!~

Pacing.

That’s all she could do was pace back and forth in her room, keeping the door locked so nobody could walk in without her consent. Kadienne didn’t want to speak to her father or Brandy or anyone…except Oliver. He was the only one who believed her. Laurel Lance didn’t know her well and only took Oliver’s word as far as her innocence. Why would she ever touch the same drug that killed her mother? Did her father really think that low of her? Coming back here was a huge mistake; Kadienne should’ve stayed at the Queen mansion until she could find another place to live or maybe someone who needed a roommate. Now she was stuck – trapped – in this mansion and it suddenly didn’t feel like home anymore, just a prison.

Eventually, she managed to curl up in a ball in bed and fell asleep, her face streaked with tears. Oliver had little trouble climbing up to her bedroom window and snuck inside, looming over her still suited up. He had business to take care of in the city, needing to find whoever supplied Vertigo and, more importantly, who framed Kadienne. Setting his bow and quiver down, Oliver made sure the bedroom door was locked before pushing the hood off his head and unzipped the top, pulling it from his body. Then he joined her in bed, laying on his side to face her and fought the urge to wake her up, instead resting his hand on her comforter covered side. The moment he touched her, Kadienne opened her eyes and smiled softly at the sight of her boyfriend, immediately scooting closer to him.

“When did you get here?” She whispered, stroking his face with her fingers and felt his arm wrap around her waist to lightly caress her back.

“Not long ago.” Oliver had washed the grease paint from his eyes prior to arriving, but didn’t take the time to change out of his Arrow attire. “I’m sorry I woke you.”

Kadienne shook her head, leaning towards him and suddenly pushed him back to lay on his back, swinging her leg over to straddle him. “I’m not.” She was more than happy to have him here with her since she was trapped in the mansion and kissed him, needing a distraction from everything going on currently in her life.

He smelled like the falling rain outside, his hair slightly damp and his bare skin against the camisole and sleeping shorts she had on lit a fire inside of Kadienne. It was a fire only he could create and quench at the same time. They had just found each other and maybe it was too soon to be this intimate, but Kadienne learned long ago life was too short. What Oliver did for Starling City never guaranteed his safety and she could lose him at any given moment. Hell, she might be on her way to prison for a crime she didn’t commit, so waiting for the ‘perfect’ moment was out of the question – at least to her. Breaking the kiss, Kadienne sat up and pulled her camisole off, revealing no bra beneath, and let out a soft moan the moment her breasts pressed against his muscular scarred chest, her nipples instantly hardening.

“Kadienne…” Oliver rumbled, not wanting to take advantage of her since he knew she was extremely vulnerable right now. “We don’t…”

“Yes we do.” She cut him off, sliding her lips down his strong jawline and moved lower to his neck, wanting to worship every part of his incredible body. “I need you, Oliver. I need you to help me forget. I need to rectify what happened between us at the hotel. Please…”

How could he deny her sweet request? Oliver wanted to take things slow with her, but at the same time she felt marvelous against him skin-to-skin. Her plea did not fall on deaf ears either. He loved her, so why did he feel the need to wait? She was upset about what her father said – again his conscience was getting the better of him and making Oliver second-guess taking this intimate step with her. If he rejected her request, would she be upset with him? Kick him out of her room and end their newfound relationship? Oliver reached up to caress her cheek with the back of his hand, heaving a sigh and sat up as her legs wrapped around his waist, cloudy blue locked on dark forest green.

“I love you.” Again, the weight on his shoulders felt a lot lighter considering the burden he carried as far as protecting and saving the city. Admitting the L word and saying it to another woman did his heart good. “I need you to understand that…to believe it…because as much as I want to make love to you and pick up where we left off, now isn’t the time or place. I’ll do my best to…help you through this and keep you safe – your safety is my first priority and everything else has to come second.”

Wait, was he saying they couldn’t have sex until she was freed of her prison? “I love you too, Oliver.” Kadienne had to respect his wishes and felt self-conscious, trying to pull away from him only for his arms to tighten around her body. “I-I should put my shirt back on…”

Another sigh of relief escaped him. “No, I’m enjoying having you in my arms like this too much.” Granted, green leather pants weren’t the most comfortable to sleep in, but Oliver would do it for her. “I’m glad you’re not angry with me.”

“Why would I be? I want to be with you in every way, but…you’re right. Now isn’t the time or place.” As much as she hated admitting it. “I’m just glad you’re here with me safe. I need you with me every night after you’re done protecting the city and doing your heroic stuff, okay?”

Another sweet request and one he wouldn’t deny. “I promise. And if something happens where I can’t come to you, I’ll make sure Diggle contacts you.” He would give her a cell phone linked to just him and his partner, just in case. “I’ll always be honest with you, Kadienne.”

“That’s all I ask.” Kadienne cracked a small smile, their foreheads resting together and each let out a sigh of contentment.

The Vertigo mystery could not be solved any sooner, both wanting to get on with their lives and be together without any problems looming over them.

Chapter 27

“Now is the time to strike.”

Brandy took her time sliding the makeup brush across her cheeks, staring back at her lover in the vanity mirror. He was getting impatient; it’d been a week since their plan with Kadienne took place and kept her prisoner in the mansion. The plan was flawless, executed to perfection, but it was only one part of a much bigger plot. Killing her stepdaughter couldn’t happen overnight, not with Patrick staying home much more than he used to. As luck would have it, Brandy managed to convince her oblivious husband to fire Kadienne’s bodyguard, Aiden. One less obstacle to worry about. However, he wasn’t the only one Brandy had to watch out for. Kadienne had a new boyfriend and it happened to be one of Starling City’s celebrities who couldn’t be killed, not without generating unwanted and unneeded attention toward the Young family. Oliver Queen came to see his beloved every chance presented, which thwarted Brandy and Ramsey’s plan. She tried talking to Patrick about Queen, convincing him the man was nothing but trouble. All Patrick had done was kiss her forehead, told her not to worry about Kadienne’s relationship and walked away. That proved Brandy’s reach with her husband only went so far, infuriating her to no end.

Ramsey gripped her shoulders and slid his hands down her arms, the silk fabric of her shirt smooth against his touch. “Not having second thoughts about this, are you, my sweet?” He asked in her ear, feeling her tense slightly and stared at her through the reflection in the mirror. “Because there is no turning back and no point of return.”

“How many times will you ask me that? And how many times will I have to give you the same answer?” Brandy retorted, reaching up to cover one of his hands with hers. “I’m 100% in this with you, Ramsey. But we have to be smart about how we do this. We can’t just leap without having a solid plan to go forward.” The last thing she needed was Oliver Queen breathing down their necks.

A cold smile stretched his lips. “You didn’t have to say it, but I’m glad you did anyway. And what makes you think we don’t already have a flawless plan? Planting Vertigo in her room made her look guilty AFTER the fact Queen didn’t turn her in for having it at Verdant, which we fixed as well. I also have put in a contingency plan to insure she is stuck in this mansion for a long time to come. And she won’t make it to a trial, so there’s no reason to wait.”

“Even with Oliver Queen lurking around here all the time? What makes you think he’s not having this place watched? He already promised to find whoever is framing her.” Brandy pointed out, sounding a little frustrated and set her blush brush down, rising to her feet. “I really think we need to wait a little longer.”

Ramsey hadn’t thought of that, suddenly realizing Oliver Queen was the huge wrench in an otherwise perfect plan. “You’re right.” He conceded, stroking his chin pensively and snapped his fingers, the cold smile on his face turning diabolical. “There’s an easy solution to that problem, sweetness.”

Her eyebrow quirked, seeing the gears turning in her dangerous lover’s head. “Do I dare ask?” Brandy felt her stomach do a flip when he yanked her roughly against him, his fingers burying her hair and his lips were mere inches from hers.

“Oliver Queen must die.”

~!~

“Oliver, the evidence is stacked against her…”

If Laurel said those words one more time, Oliver would make her eat them. “I know that, Laurel. Don’t you think I know that?” He growled, the frustration clear as day in his voice and expression while staring daggers at his long-time friend and ex-girlfriend. “I asked you to help her. She didn’t do this…”

As much as Laurel wanted to believe him, the cold hard facts stared her right in the face and she couldn’t ignore them. “Ollie…”

There was a specific reason she had called him over to her apartment. She didn’t want to show him this at the precinct or in front of everyone with prying eyes and ears. The press could be brutal and had been to his family in the past, especially ever since he was found on the island and brought home. Before that, Oliver was crazy wild and tore through the streets of Starling City without a care in the world. Hell, he cheated on Laurel countless times and she never floundered in her love for him, remaining devoted. Even now with him being in love with another woman, Laurel still remained loyal and wanted to do everything in her power to help him. She couldn’t deny his new girlfriend looked extremely guilty and all the evidence pointed in that direction. If this went to trial, Kadienne would be ate alive by the district attorney and she would be facing prison time for having possession of Vertigo.

“What was so important you wanted me to come over here, Laurel?” Oliver demanded irritably, pacing in her living room while she set something up with her television. “I need to go check on Kadienne…”

“Just sit down…and watch.” Laurel ordered, popping in the DVD and pressed play, backing up from the television to sit on the couch pulling Oliver down with her.

It took a minute for the screen to clear, but when it did Oliver sat there stunned and confused. This wasn’t a regular movie. It was security footage from Verdant. Kadienne was in the back area, looking from side to side where the doorways were located and slipped something in her purse. Oliver could tell it was the bag of Vertigo he’d caught her with as the Arrow. What the hell was going on? How did Laurel acquire this footage in the first place? Did Thea believe Kadienne was guilty too?

Laurel turned to face Oliver with a frown once the DVD ended and took his hand, forcing his ocean blues to lock with hers. “The footage doesn’t lie, Ollie. That’s why I asked you to come here tonight. I know you want to believe Kadienne didn’t do this, but…it’s hard to argue after watching that. And Ollie, you’ve always been blind to the truth with people you love and care about. I know you love her, but can you honestly tell me she’s innocent after seeing that?”

“How did you get this?” Oliver asked quietly, pulling his hand away from her and scrubbed his down his face, trying to wrap his mind around what he just witnessed…what Laurel just showed him.

Was it possible Kadienne had lie to him this entire time? If that was the case, she deserved an academy award for best actress of the decade. No – NO! Oliver had to stand beside her because he knew deep in his mind and heart she was innocent. Someone was out to get her, framing her with Vertigo and he had to find who it was. Vertigo was the same drug that killed her mother…and Oliver knew Kadienne enough to believe wholeheartedly she didn’t do drugs.

“My Dad handed Thea a warrant to search your club…and took the security footage with him. All of it. He found this and told me to use it against Kadienne to put her behind bars. He believes she’s guilty and…I stole the video from him to show you.” Laurel lowered her eyes, having no limitations or restrictions when it came to helping her ex-boyfriend. He was the love of her life and always would be even if she wasn’t his. “He also believes you are part of this too, even though I know you’re not.”

Of course he did! That wasn’t a surprise to Oliver at all. Quentin Lance hated him for what happened to his daughter…both of them. Sara, Laurel’s sister and Quentin’s youngest, had gone on the Queen’s Gambit voyage with him and his father when it capsized during a vicious storm. Right before Felicity’s murder, Oliver found out the Queen’s Gambit had been sabotaged by a family friend and his best friend Tommy Merlin’s father, Malcolm. Oliver had gotten revenge for his family and himself by killing Malcolm Merlin, but in the process Tommy had been gravely injured, dying along with his father. Only a few weeks after that, when they thought all was well, Felicity was murdered and Oliver still to this day couldn’t who did it, who took her away from him.

“Ollie, did you hear what I said?” Laurel watched him stand and walk over, opening the DVD player to take the disc out. “What are you doing?”

“Taking this with me.”

Laurel shot to her feet, shaking her head. “You can’t do that! I could lose my job for showing that to you!” She exclaimed, knowing she would be in hot water with her father once he discovered she took the DVD in the first place. “Oliver, please listen to reason…”

“NO!” Oliver snapped, shoving the DVD in the case and slipped it in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. “You can say what you want and believe what you want, but I don’t have to agree with you. And I don’t. She’s innocent and I’m gonna prove it.”

“Money can’t fix this…” Laurel had no idea who Oliver truly was or what he did outside of being portrayed as a spoiled son of a billionaire and the CEO of Queen Consolidated. “I can’t let you leave here with evidence…”

Oliver turned to walk away, but Laurel stepped in front of him, the defiance burning in both of their eyes. “Get out of my way now, Laurel.” He wouldn’t ask twice. “I’ll give it back…once Kadienne is off your chopping block and the one truly responsible is found and put to justice.”

There was no way Laurel could take him down, not without hurting him. Her heart broke at the thought of hurting this man, even after all the times he cheated and hurt her. Maybe letting him take the footage wasn’t a bad idea; it could open his eyes to the harsh truth and reality of the situation if he watched it alone instead of with her. Once again, Laurel was justifying his actions and protecting him, putting her own career on the line in the process.

“Don’t destroy it. You have one week and then I want it back. Are we clear?”

“Crystal. Thanks Laurel.” Oliver squeezed her shoulder and walked past her out of the apartment, heading straight to the Foundry after texting Diggle to meet him there.

They had a lot to discuss and the clock was officially against Kadienne.

~!~

“Give me one good reason why you dragged my ass out of bed this late? Surely nothing is going on in the city.” John grumbled, a thermos of coffee along with a mug set in front of him on the nearby table. “Oliver…”

He didn’t care how late it was. This was important and soon Diggle would understand why. Without a word, Oliver handed over the DVD and could see all the questions swirling through his partner’s eyes. Diggle had an extensive background in the military, so Oliver hoped he could help figure out how the hell Kadienne was caught on camera with Vertigo. It didn’t make sense to him and there had to be a logical reason why she was on the footage instead of the actual culprit.

“What the hell is this?”

“Just watch it. Then we’ll talk.” Oliver had stopped at a store to grab a DVD player on the way to Verdant and already had it hooked up in the Foundry.

John didn’t know whether he wanted to sock Oliver in the jaw for waking him up to watch a movie or leave the Foundry altogether. He shook his head at Oliver’s insistence and took a seat in front of the small television, waiting for the footage to start. It didn’t take long for John’s eyeballs to grow wide as he watched the same thing Oliver did at Laurel’s, blinking to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Kadienne Young had brought Vertigo into the club?? After everything Oliver told him about her, more specifically her mother overdosing on the very drug she apparently brought into Verdant, John had a hard time believing this was the same woman his partner had fallen for. He remained silent until the DVD ended, the screen turning blue and finally turned to face a stoic Oliver.

“She didn’t do it, John.”

He wasn’t surprised to hear that; Oliver put his faith in all the wrong people – a lesson John had learned the longer they remained partners. The crazy part was 9 times out of 10, Oliver was right in his assumptions. “Okay.” What else was he supposed to say after watching clear footage of Kadienne’s crime? “How do you explain what I just saw? And more importantly, where did you get it?”

“Laurel stole it from her Dad to show me…” Oliver slumped down in a nearby chair, putting his head in his hands. “She didn’t do it. I know she didn’t. There’s no way she would be able to pull the wool over my eyes…”

“Just like the Huntress did, you mean?”

“Low blow, man.”

Oliver would never forgive himself for creating the Huntress, who was Helena Bertinelli and his ex-girlfriend…if he could even call her that. They weren’t together long and it ended with Helena warning him to stay out of her way or he would regret it. She wanted to kill her father; it was her revenge against him for putting a hit out on her fiancé and having him murdered. Putting himself out there only to get burned, Oliver vowed to never let it happen again…until he met Felicity Smoak and she changed the game. Still, because of what happened with Helena and Laurel, Oliver didn’t feel he was worthy of being happy or with anyone and it was one of the many reasons he hadn’t told Felicity how he felt. Now that he was ready to finally open himself up again to another woman, she was on the chopping block and being threatened to be taken away from him.

It wouldn’t happen, not unless it was over his dead body.

“Just stating the facts, Oliver. You’re blinded when-”

Oliver cut him off instantly. “No I’m not!” He growled, not believing Diggle was saying the same thing Laurel had earlier that night. “I’m not blinded and I’ll prove to you and Laurel she’s innocent, even if I have to do it alone!”

“The footage doesn’t lie…” John tried again, shaking his head sadly. “I know you care about her…”

“I love her.” Oliver corrected him stiffly, every part of his body tensed at the thought of Kadienne going to prison for something she didn’t do. “You said you’d help me, so do it. That’s not her in the footage and I don’t know how I know it, I just do. There has to be a clue somewhere – we need to find it and we don’t have a lot of time. So either walk out and don’t help me or fire up the DVD and let’s find who’s really responsible for the Vertigo. Are you with me or not?”

Diggle made a vow to Oliver to help him protect the city and join him on his crusade, to protect the innocent. “Alright fine. Innocent until proven guilty, as they say.” He pressed the play button and sat back in the chair alongside Oliver, both of them surveying the footage closely and carefully.

Neither would leave the Foundry until they found some kind of clue to point them in the right direction to save Kadienne.

Chapter 28

“The police ransacked Verdant and took all of the security footage.” Ramsey informed Brandy, folding his arms in front of his chest. “You said Patrick is on his way home, right?” He had no idea Oliver Queen had taken a certain piece, a vital part, of it for himself and Diggle to investigate.

Brandy didn’t want to answer him, but did anyway and nodded. “Within the hour he’ll be here.” She turned to face her dangerous lover, eyeballing him suspiciously. “What are you planning?”

“Worry not, my sweet. First thing is taking care of some unfinished business and an obstacle.”

Ramsey had followed Oliver for the past few weeks to survey what the man did on a day-to-day basis. He always had to stay one step ahead and had a feeling Oliver would end up becoming his enemy. That assumption had been correct and now he had to take care of the problem. Rarely did the man stay at the Queen mansion, so Ramsey would simply have to find an opportunity to strike and figured Verdant was the place to be. All he needed was one opening, Oliver Queen would be no more and then they could complete the plan, taking the Young fortune for himself. Brandy had no idea he planned on eliminating her once he had the fortune in hand, but until then he would humor her into thinking they would drive off into the sunset together.

She stood from the bed, eyes wide. “No! You can’t think to-” Could this man possibly be more demented and lethal? “Going after Oliver Queen is not the answer, Ramsey…” If this went wrong, the heat would fall back on her and the entire Young family. “Please, just give me a little more time…”

“No, it needs to happen tonight. Don’t worry, all you have to do is give Patrick the drug as well as Kadienne. Make sure downstairs is prepped and ready for 3 bodies to be dismantled.”

It would be great pleasure systematically destroying Kadienne in front of her father and boyfriend. Or maybe Ramsey would force Kadienne to watch him take apart her father and Oliver before finally ending her existence. He hadn’t decided how it would go down yet. Ramsey felt the hesitation oozing out of Brandy and grabbed her upper arm roughly, yanking her to collide against his body.

“Do you understand what I just said, Brandy? Don’t fuck this up or I’ll make you regret it.”

Brandy could only watch him stalk out of the room, the door closing behind him and sunk down on the bed, battling with her conscience on what to do.

Either disobey Ramsey and suffer his wrath or do what she was told and let him kill her husband and stepdaughter as they had planned for months.

~!~

John had a migraine the size of Texas from watching the security footage of Verdant – Kadienne version – for the 100^th time. Or maybe it was 200, he’d lost count after 50 and felt like his eyeballs would fall out of his skull. Good thing he was single or his girlfriend/wife would’ve had his balls in a vise from being gone as long as he was. It’d been 3 days since Oliver asked for his help to go through the footage and John hadn’t found anything that pinpointed Kadienne’s innocence. He’d give it one more watch and finally give up, letting out a loud yawn. Oliver was upstairs keeping Thea preoccupied since she was worried about her friend, trying to assure her everything would work out. Pressing play once again, John rubbed his eyes and downed the rest of his coffee, when something suddenly caught his eye.

“What the hell?”

Pressing pause on the remote, John rewound a few seconds and stopped, freezing the image, raising a slow dark brow. To his knowledge, Kadienne did NOT have brown hair and yet, in the footage, it showed she had a sliver of it in her fiery red hair. John found himself leaving his chair to get closer to the monitor, rubbing his tired eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating this. Sure enough, he watched the footage back in slow motion at the part where he spotted the brown lock of hair mixed with Kadienne’s fiery red tresses. And that’s not all he found either. There were TWO people in the footage, not just Kadienne as originally assumed. The tiniest blur showed there was one person set over Kadienne, transposed in other words. Someone had altered the footage to make it SEEM like Kadienne had been responsible for the Vertigo coming into Verdant.

Oliver was right; she was innocent.

“Son of a bitch…” He muttered, whipping out his cell phone and began to dial Oliver’s number when a call started coming in. It was Thea Queen. “Yes Miss Queen?” John answered, playing his role as Oliver’s driver and bodyguard to perfection.

“M-Mr. D-Diggle…” Her voice was incredibly shaky from her trembling body.

John was immediately on high alert, looking at all the security cameras and saw a few bodies down. “What happened?” He demanded, trying not to sound panicked or give away the fact he already knew something transpired at the club.

“H-How close are you to V-Verdant? M-My brother…something happened…” Thea couldn’t say it, tears streaming down her cheeks fearing her brother’s life.

“Not far at all, I’m on my way. Just stay calm and call the police. Everything will be fine, Thea, I promise.” John hung up with her and immediately rushed over to the computer, typing in some information that linked to a tracking device. Oliver often carried one in the bottom of his shoe or boot, depending on if he was hooded up or not. “I’ll never make fun of him again. Come on, load already!”

A few seconds later, it came up with the tracking device headed to…the Young mansion.

~!~

Oliver couldn’t remember what happened, his head feeling incredibly groggy and he could hear faint crying. His name was called repeatedly, the voice pleading with him to wake up. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it over the fogginess his brain refused to clear. The last thing he remembered was being at Verdant talking to someone and excused himself to use the restroom. Stars were the next thing and then darkness. Letting out a soft groan of pain, Oliver very slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the blurry figure hovered over him.

“Oh thank god.” Kadienne breathed out through tears, relief coursing through her body at Oliver stirring awake. “Oliver, please get up. We have to get out of here…”

It didn’t take long for Kadienne to figure out what happened to her. Her last memory had been of Brandy checking up on her with a cup of warm tea, something her mother used to do all the time whenever she became sick. They’d been on great terms even with the Vertigo incident and Brandy seemed to be on her side with everything. So Kadienne took a chance and trusted her stepmother, regretting it the moment the first taste of tea touched her tongue. It didn’t taste like tea at all; she’d been drugged and before she could utter a word to Brandy, Kadienne hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. She’d woken up an hour before Oliver and her father, who was curled up in the nearby corner, hadn’t gained consciousness yet. The moment Kadienne’s emerald eyes landed on Oliver, her hope of surviving this predicament lifted because at least they had the Arrow with them.

Knocked out and all.

“Oliver, please…” She hated rushing him to regain his bearings, but something told her they didn’t have much time to come up with a plan to escape. “I-I don’t know what’s going on and you have to get up. You have to help us…”

Swallowing hard, Oliver’s vision cleared up after several long minutes and revealed a terrified Kadienne, her cheeks streaked with tears. “Kadienne…” He rumbled in a soft mumble, slowly sitting up and gingerly touched the back of his head, feeling a small lump forming. Someone had struck him from behind at Verdant and brought him wherever Kadienne and Patrick had been taken. “Where are we?” Maybe she could help him make sense of the situation.

“I-I don’t know…” Kadienne answered truthfully, looking around the windowless room and touched Oliver’s arm, needing to feel some part of him to make sure she wasn’t dreaming he was with her. “I woke up here after being knocked out with tea…”

“Who gave it to you? And what is your father doing here?” Oliver didn’t have time to comfort Kadienne, not when all 3 of them were in danger. “Damn, my head…” How the hell was he supposed to defend the Youngs with an unstable equilibrium?

Kadienne lowered her head, sniffling and headed back over to where her father was to check on him. “Brandy. She came to my room to talk to me about what’s going on and how I’m being framed. Said she believed in me and everything would be cleared up soon. Then she handed me a cup of tea and said it would calm my nerves. My Mom…used to do it and I was stupid enough to trust her…” Biggest mistake of her life was coming back home and giving Brandy the benefit of the doubt. “I know she did this…”

Believing that too, Oliver wondered who Brandy’s accomplice was and slowly rose to his feet, immediately looking around the room to see if there was any way out. “This is a panic room.” He surmised after a minute, recognizing the layout because the Queen mansion had one just like it in their basement. “Is your father…?” He couldn’t bring himself to say the word and sighed with relief at Kadienne’s firm head shake. “Good. Is he hurt?”

“It doesn’t look like it. I wasn’t either, just knocked out. He was probably drugged just like us…” Kadienne assumed, keeping her voice quiet in case their kidnappers were somehow listening to them. “What are we going to do, Oliver? We have to get out of here…”

“I’m aware of that, Kadienne. And we will.” Oliver promised, walking over to squat down beside her and checked Patrick’s pulse in his neck to make sure he really was alive. “Do you trust me?”

She nodded without hesitation, fresh tears stinging her eyes. “Completely. You should know that.” Arrow or not, Kadienne loved this man unconditionally and if she had to die, at least it would be with him. “This probably is a stupid thing to say, but at least we’re together…”

Oliver stopped her, pressing a finger to her lips and shook his head. “Don’t think like that. Don’t say it. We’re gonna survive this, you just have to have faith in me and believe what I say.” He’d been through far worse than this on Lian Yu and during his 5 years away from Starling City. “Keep your head up and try to wake him.” He squeezed her shoulder, ignoring his throbbing head and could only hope Diggle hadn’t left the Foundry yet or he somehow figured out what happened at Verdant.

How could he be so confident they would make it through this alive? What did he know Kadienne didn’t? Kadienne touched her father’s forehead, frowning when he didn’t move an inch and wished he would wake up. What if he didn’t? What if the blow to his head or whatever he was drugged with put him in permanent coma? No, she couldn’t think like that! Oliver was right, she had to keep her head up and positive that they would survive this.

“I’m right here, Daddy. I’m not going anywhere…” Kadienne whispered, pressing her forehead against the side of his and let silent tears fall down her cheeks while Oliver continued investigating the room they were locked in.

Both Oliver and Kadienne’s head snapped up when the door opened and in stepped none other than Brandy and… “Ramsey?!”

He waved three fingers at Kadienne, a sick smirk lighting his psychotic face. “Hello again Kadienne.”

Oliver immediately moved to stand in front of her, blocking Kadienne from sight and vowed to kill Ramsey before the night was out.

And possibly Brandy too.

~!~

Roy had rushed to Verdant as fast as he could, having the night off since he’d worked the past 5 days straight. It wasn’t far away from his house, thankfully. Thea had called him in hysterics and he could barely understand her over the phone. All he understood was something had happened at Verdant and she needed him. That was enough for him to rush to her side. Pulling up to Verdant, Roy couldn’t believe how many police cars surrounded the club and felt his stomach twist violently.

“Move, I gotta get in there!” He ordered, pushing past countless reporters and annoying paparazzi on his way to the front entrance. “THEA!”

Her head snapped up at the sound of her boyfriend’s voice, currently seated in front of Detective Lance with Laurel on her other side. They were questioning what happened and Thea had given her statement several times, her eyes red-rimmed and swollen from crying. Quentin saw the young man demanding to get through and had a feeling he would knock down the officer blocking the door if he didn’t move out of the way. He waved his hand, silently telling the officer to move and Roy bolted over to Thea as fast as he could, dropping to his knees in front of her.

“What happened? Are you okay?” He cupped her face in his hands and pulled her tightly into his arms, feeling her sag against him as she started crying again. “Laurel…”

“Oliver was kidnapped tonight. The club was overrun by people in masks with machine guns and…Ollie was caught in the crossfires. We have no idea where he is and…we can’t get a hold of Kadienne Young or her father either.” Laurel ignored her father’s warning glare since technically she was breaking the law telling Roy Harper all of this. “They have to investigate and…”

“And what? Wait for the bodies to show up?” Roy growled, shaking his head at the piss-poor law enforcement Starling City had and forced Thea’s eyes to meet his. “Everything is gonna be fine, I promise.” Out of the corner of his eye, Roy caught sight of John Diggle, Oliver’s bodyguard, leaving the club and stood up, feeling the overwhelming urge to follow him. “Stay here, don’t leave until I come back.”

Thea blinked, stopping him by grabbing his hand and shook her head. “I need you right now, don’t leave me.” She pleaded, having nobody else to cry on and could see the determination swirling in her boyfriend’s eyes. “Roy?”

“I’ll be back.” He looked pointedly at Laurel, knowing they both had a silent understanding when it came to Thea. “Get her home if she can’t stay here.” Then he took off out of the club, stopping on the sidewalk to look one way and then the other, spotting John Diggle once again getting in a black car. “HEY WAIT UP!”

John slowly turned to see Roy Harper sprinting toward him, raising a brow and had no time to deal with this since Oliver’s life was in danger. “Get in.” He reluctantly ordered, already knowing why Roy wanted to go with him and seconds later sped away from Verdant.

“You know where Oliver is, don’t you?”

Glancing over at the boy in the red hooded sweatshirt, John was almost tempted to ask him if he knew about Oliver’s secret identity, deciding against it. “I have a suspicion. It’s a hunch more than anything. That why you’re tagging along?”

All Roy did was nod, folding his arms in front of his chest and hoped they weren’t too late to save Oliver from whatever mess he’d gotten himself into this time.

Chapter 29

Ever since Oliver found out about Brandy marrying Kadienne’s father, her deceased best friend’s husband, she was an instant suspect. Nothing could ever be proven she was involved in the Vertigo fiasco…until now. She stood beside Ramsey Myer, an abusive strip club owner who took pleasure raping the women that worked for him. Oliver knew all about it, having done extensive research and investigating on Ramsey Myer after setting his beady eyes on Kadienne. It was hard to believe Roy Harper had worked for this creep and everything he’d told Oliver was the truth. What was Brandy’s connection to Ramsey though? Oliver couldn’t figure that one out, staying where he was and let the adrenaline he felt surpass the pain in his head. They wouldn’t touch Kadienne unless it was over his dead body.

“H-How do you two know each other?” Kadienne was the first to speak, remaining by her father’s side crouched down and staring at her stepmother baffled. She did NOT expect to find out Brandy and Ramsey were together, not in a million years.

Ramsey kept the smirk on his face, wrapping a possessive arm around Brandy’s shoulders to pull her close to his side. “Do you really want to know the answer to that question, little girl? It might be too much for your mind to absorb. Or maybe you’ve already pieced the answer together and refuse to accept it. Allow me to open your eyes to the hard truth.” Sliding his tongue up Brandy’s cheek, he forcefully turned her head until his lips captured hers in a soft kiss. “Mmm delicious as always, my sweet.”

“Glad you approve.” Brandy murmured in reply, gazing lovingly at him before turning cool dark eyes on her stepdaughter and still unconscious husband.

Kadienne felt the chunks rising in her throat and managed to somehow keep them from spewing out of her mouth, feeling incredibly nauseous. “Why? If you wanted to be with him, why pursue my father?” She had to know the truth, no matter how much it would hurt to hear.

“Explain yourself.” Oliver ordered, keeping his voice low and neutral and clenched his fists tightly at his sides, daring Ramsey to make a move toward him. He didn’t miss the gun he had either, but Oliver had learned long ago how to disarm someone. “You owe her that much.”

Brandy had hoped Patrick would be awake for this explanation, but the drug dose she gave him must’ve been too much. “I have nothing against your father, Kadienne. But he is far too trusting and wears his heart on his sleeve; it was easy to take advantage of.”

“Answer the damn question!” Kadienne snapped, emerald eyes turning acidic as she slowly rose to her feet to stand behind Oliver while guarding her father. “Why did you pursue my father and marry him?” All this time, she presumed Brandy had married her father for money and power; it looked like her assumptions were spot on.

“Your family fortune, of course. Why else would I marry an old bag like him?” Brandy flipped her hair over her shoulder, giggling wickedly. “Of course, Ramsey came up with most of the plan, but I must say I played my part perfectly.”

It was Oliver’s turn to demand answers. “How do you know him? Do you know what he’s done? How dangerous he is?” He dictated in a growl, not taking his eyes off of Ramsey for a second. It would be a fatal mistake if he did.

There was no point hiding the truth any longer, especially since the last part of their plan was about to come to fruition. “Isn’t it obvious, Mr. Queen?” Ramsey slid his finger down Brandy’s arm, devouring her with his eyes before looking back at his prey. “How we met was in my strip club. She worked for me…and I didn’t have to force her into my bed like the others. She did it willingly; she was smarter than the others and knew when to simply bow down and do as she was told – to give me what was rightfully mine. And when I found out her deep connection to the prestigious RICH Young family, well…I had to exploit that, didn’t I? I ordered her to pursue your father after we disposed of your mother, Kadienne.”

“W-WHAT?!” Kadienne felt her chest constrict painfully, tears swelling in her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.

“You sick bastard.” Oliver hissed, not feeling an ounce of sympathy for Brandy because she willingly went along with this plan to eliminate the entire Young bloodline. It all made sense now. “It was you that made Emma addicted to Vertigo.” There wasn’t a reason to question it anymore. “You killed your best friend all for money…and Ramsey…”

“Vertigo is a huge moneymaker in my club, Mr. Queen. Though I’m sure you’ve finally figured that out.” Ramsey snorted, slowly turning the small 9 MM in his hand. “It was too easy sneaking it into Verdant too, though I did have help.” He eyeballed Brandy with a wicked smirk, reaching down to squeeze her firm backside through the thin dress she had on. “With all the commotion and lack of security, she just slipped right in and framed her stepdaughter to get the ball rolling. And it was even easier to alter the security footage to make it look like Kadienne was the one to bring the drug into Verdant.”

Oliver snarled, hoping Diggle was on his way to the mansion due to the tracking device hidden in his shoe. Ramsey had taken the rest of his weapons off of him, but neglected to check his shoes, which made Oliver confident in believing they would survive this. However, it was all up to Diggle and if he’d left the Foundry and even suspected his disappearance. His only hope at this point was his baby sister calling his bodyguard to tell him what happened and Diggle quickly putting the pieces together on where they were located. How Oliver longed for his quiver and bow just so he could send an arrow straight through Ramsey’s black heart. Ramsey was oblivious to the cavalry coming to the rescue, thinking he had everything and everyone exactly where he wanted them.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“And what about Kadienne’s party? I’m assuming you planted the bag of Vertigo in her room in order to keep her trapped in the mansion?”

Oliver had to keep them talking, eyes narrowing at Brandy’s nod and noticed she remained quiet throughout Ramsey’s explanation. Perhaps she was afraid of him? It still didn’t excuse the travesties and pain she caused the Young family, especially Kadienne. She would also pay for her crimes and possibly have an arrow sent through her heart as well as her despicable lover’s.

“It was the only way…” Brandy didn’t want to do it this way, but Ramsey had been adamant about Kadienne staying in the mansion. She was an easy target that way. “I’m surprised the police fell for it to be honest, but that was before I found out what Ramsey did to the security footage at Verdant. Then it made more sense on why they didn’t believe anything she said.”

Kadienne was right the entire time about her stepmother. Why she married her father and everything in between. “My mother loved you like a sister…and you betrayed her.” She whispered, feeling an overwhelming anger surging through her body and would’ve attacked Brandy if it wasn’t for Ramsey holding them at gunpoint. “I bet she didn’t even realize what you were giving her either…”

“Of course not. Emma trusted me wholeheartedly and was stupid for it. Her blind faith and trust in me made me sick.” Brandy spat, planting her hands on her hips and curled her upper lip in a sneer. “I told her it was medicine to help with her migraine headaches. Though it did help, the dose I gave her anyway. There are variations of Vertigo and Ramsey made sure he gave me a version that would mask the addiction while helping her so she wouldn’t become suspicious. Not that she would because – well, blind faith and trust as I said.”

Recalling her mother complaining about her lethal headaches, everything suddenly became crystal clear to Kadienne. “So the night she overdosed, she just thought she was taking medicine to quell a migraine. You purposely gave her a lethal dose and there was no chance saving her. You knew that. You knew help wouldn’t arrive in time and she would die as soon as she took it.” Tears slid down her cheeks in rapid streams, Kadienne not bothering holding them back. “Mom…”

“Mom.” Ramsey mocked nastily, laughing maniacally at how much torture they caused the only Young heir. “She’s dead, little girl. But don’t worry, you’ll soon be joining her along with your old man and Mr. Queen.”

Oliver’s heart went out to his girlfriend, wanting to pull her in his arms and comfort her, but now wasn’t the time or place. His first priority was protecting her and Patrick; there would be plenty of time for comforting and letting her cry on his shoulder later. Of all the nights not to have Diggle at side…Oliver took a step back when Ramsey took one forward, holding the gun up with his finger on the trigger.

“I think we’ve chatted long enough and its time to get down to business.” Ramsey looked over at Brandy, contemplating handing the gun to her so he could have a little fun with Kadienne in front of Oliver and Patrick, who was slowly stirring awake. “Kadienne, come to me or I will kill Oliver in front of you.”

“Kadienne…” Patrick’s weak voice called out, his eyes slowly opening and let out a rough cough. He heard every word from his wife and felt his heart plummet to the depths of his stomach. So she had used him this entire time, just as Kadienne warned and he ignored it like an idiot. “D-Don’t hurt my daughter…”

Ramsey snorted, waving the gun at Oliver and extended his free hand out toward Kadienne, ignoring Patrick’s plea. “Don’t think I won’t kill them and take what I want anyway, little girl. You can do this the easy way or-”

“Go to hell.” Kadienne hissed, refusing to follow any kind of order and screamed out when a bullet pierced Oliver’s shoulder, watching him crumble to the floor yelling in pain. “OLIVER!”

“I told you I would do it if you didn’t come to me.” Ramsey stepped over Oliver, snorting and towered over the Youngs, pointing the gun at Patrick next. “He’ll eat a bullet next if you don’t take my hand. Better think hard before making your choice.”

This man was crazy and Kadienne wanted nothing to do with him, unable to look at Oliver without crying. “P-Please don’t do this…” She whispered, deciding all she had left to do was plead for their lives, though it wouldn’t make a difference. Not with this lunatic. “D-Don’t hurt my Dad…”

“Then do as I say.” Ramsey planned on shooting him anyway, but first he wanted to have a little bit of fun with the fiery redhead. “Take my hand. I won’t say it again.”

Just as Kadienne shakily reached her hand up to obey him, Brandy screeched out as Oliver grabbed Ramsey from behind, his arms wrapped tightly around the man’s throat. “NO!” Brandy wouldn’t let him hurt Ramsey, grabbing the gun her lover had dropped and blinked when Kadienne rushed forward to kick it out of arm’s reach.

“I don’t think so.” So many times Oliver had protected her, it was Kadienne’s turn to return the favor. She plowed her fist forward, striking Brandy’s nose and sent the woman stumbling back, blood pouring out of her nostrils. “I’ve wanted to do that for a VERY long time.”

Brandy touched her nose with her fingertips and pulled them back, seeing the red liquid staining them, her brown eyes igniting in rage. “YOU BITCH!!” She shrieked, ignoring the fact her nose was probably shattered from that punch and tackled Kadienne to the floor, beginning to pound her with her balled up fists. “I’LL KILL YOU!!”

If Oliver thought a mere sleeper hold would be enough to stop Ramsey, he was sorely mistaken. He powered out of it, a lot stronger than Oliver realized and elbowed him in the face, sending Oliver stumbling back. The fight was on. Ramsey preferred doing this the hard way, an evil smile stretching his lips as Oliver charged at him, arms and legs striking with precision. Ramsey was gifted in martial arts and had a black belt, not a pushover by any means, but Oliver had survival training. He knew exactly what areas to strike on a body to make someone immobile.

“OLIVER?”

His head snapped up at the sound of Diggle’s voice and Ramsey took the opportunity, sending Oliver flying out of the panic room door. Then he went for Kadienne, who had Brandy down and bloodied from their own fight, wrapping a fistful of hair around his fingers to yank her up to her feet against his body. She would pay for touching Brandy, an angry snarl flowing out of his mouth. Kadienne screamed, struggling with every ounce of energy she had and could see Oliver slowly rising to his feet just as John Diggle and Roy Harper arrived on the scene. John wasted no time, tossing Oliver his quiver and bow while Roy had a gun in hand, all the weapons pointed at Ramsey.

He was outnumbered and lost, but Ramsey wouldn’t go down without a fight, yanking Kadienne to stand in front of him with his arm tightened around her neck. His eyes landed on the bow and arrow pointed at his heart and Ramsey laughed out loud, the sound echoing throughout the panic room. So Oliver Queen was The Hood – The Vigilante of Starling City? He cackled, sliding his nose up and down Kadienne’s soft cheek, groaning in her ear at how delectable she felt against him.

“I wonder if you taste half as good as the beautiful blonde I killed.” Ramsey locked eyes with Oliver, feeling Kadienne begin to tremble and ignored the guns both John Diggle and Roy Harper, his ex-employee, pointed at him. “I recall that particular blonde working for the Vigilante. And I thoroughly enjoyed making her pay for it by taking what I wanted and then spraying her blood all over her apartment. Such a shame, she was quite the beauty and had the brains to match as well. And now, you’re about to lose another person in your posse, Mr. Queen.”

“No I’m not.”

Ever since Felicity’s murder, Oliver had searched Starling City high and low for her murderer, not believing he finally found who took her away from him. He stood right in front of him and Oliver felt a sense of both vindication and sadness, trying not to let the anguish wash over him. Plenty time for that later. Without warning, Oliver sent the arrow flying from his bow and watched it pierce through Ramsey’s eye out of skull. He’d blocked every other part of his body with Kadienne’s, so going for the eye was his only option. Kadienne felt Ramsey’s hold on her cease, feeling the speed of the arrow against her cheek right before it went through the lunatic’s eye. She immediately stumbled back, bumping into Brandy’s unconscious bloody form and rushed over to where her father had stayed to check on him.

Patrick couldn’t believe his eyes or the fact his daughter was dating the Vigilante. Oliver Queen was the Hood. He immediately pulled Kadienne against him, letting her cry her heart out while Oliver and his team took care of the bodies. Brandy was still alive and would pay for her sins against the Young family by spending the rest of her days behind bars. Ramsey wasn’t so lucky. Oliver lowered himself on Ramsey’s side, setting his bow down and noticed something the man had on him he didn’t before his confession. Felicity’s necklace – he recognized it anywhere and ripped it from Ramsey’s neck, stuffing it in his pocket before his eyes moved to Kadienne and her father.

“Oliver, are you hurt?” John demanded, walking up to stand alongside his partner and planted a hand on his shoulder. “You’re shot…”

“Kevlar held. He didn’t get me.” Oliver wouldn’t have been able to shoot the arrow correctly had his shoulder really been pierced. “You need to get out of here before the police arrive. I’ll take it from here.” His eyes landed on Roy Harper, nodding a silent thanks in his direction. “Take this with you.” Handing over his patent weapon of choice, Oliver rose to his feet and kept his distance from Kadienne and Patrick.

A few minutes after John and Roy made their escape from the Young mansion, the SCPD arrived.

Chapter 30

Rain poured in gallons from the cloudy grey sky as Kadienne stood beneath a black umbrella, wearing a matching long sleeved dress. It was cold outside and her legs were on the verge of falling off, or that’s what it felt like anyway. Everyone surrounding her also wore black with umbrellas of their own as they said their final farewells to the coffin being lowered in the six foot grave. It was hard to believe Kadienne now considered herself an orphan, even though she was an adult. Silent tears slid down her cheeks, her grip on the umbrella handle tightening and it took all of Kadienne’s willpower not to run away from her father’s burial.

It’d been a week since her father’s untimely death. The night Brandy and Ramsey revealed themselves to be the culprits of bringing Vertigo into Verdant and framing Kadienne for it. It was all a plot to kill her and her father in order to gain access to the Young family fortune. In the process, they also discovered Ramsey was the one who killed Felicity Smoak, his description making her sick to her stomach at the very thought. An arrow through the eye ended his miserable existence, but truthfully, Kadienne thought he got off way too easily. Oliver had acted on both instinct and emotion, not that she blamed him.

Once the police arrived to apprehend Brandy for her crimes as well as take Ramsey Myer’s body away to the morgue, Patrick suddenly collapsed clutching his chest. The drug Brandy had given him to knock him out sent Patrick into cardiac arrest, it was too much for his heart to handle. Patrick had heart problems for years and never saw a doctor for treatment like he should’ve. All Kadienne could do was scream out for her father while Oliver pulled her away, letting the EMT’s do their job in reviving him. They failed and Kadienne screamed out again, hitting Oliver with her closed fists against his chest crying and sobbing, begging her father to come back to life. Patrick was pronounced dead and taken away to the morgue to join Ramsey, which made Kadienne completely break down. She cried so hard, she passed out from exhaustion and Oliver had been the one to carry her inside the mansion to her room.

Ever since that night, Kadienne hadn’t seen or spoken to Oliver and assumed he was giving her space and time to grieve. She needed him, but he also had a city to protect on a nightly basis, so Kadienne couldn’t be selfish either. After 3 days of crying and barely eating, she finally pulled herself together and managed to plan the funeral, doing everything online. Kadienne did not want to go out in public unless absolutely necessary, not wanting to face anyone. Luckily, in this day and age, a funeral could be planned over the phone and online, including ordering a coffin. Once the preparations were finished, Kadienne dragged herself into the shower to clean up and cried some more, missing her father terribly. Now here she stood in front of his closed coffin, watching it lower into the ground and the hard realization crashed on top of her.

Thea stood beside her, having done all she could to help and held onto Kadienne when her knees began to buckle. Chairs were set up around the gravesite for the burial, but they were all wet so everyone stood. Thea didn’t care, not wanting Kadienne to dive headfirst into the six-foot hole and sat down with her, letting her cry on her shoulder. Where the hell was her brother? Kadienne was his girlfriend and he was nowhere to be found in her time of need! She would kill him for this! Shaking her head in disappointment, Thea stayed strong for her best friend and rubbed her back soothingly, feeling a hand on her shoulder knowing it was Roy. She told him he didn’t need to come, but he did anyway for support – something her brother clearly couldn’t do.

Once the burial was over, Thea and Roy lead Kadienne to the waiting limousine, gently guiding her inside before closing the door. “Thank you.” She softly kissed his cheek and felt Roy pull her close, his head turning to catch her mouth.

“You’re welcome.” Roy murmured, watching the limousine drive off and in turn guided Thea to his vehicle to leave.

“Do you think Kadi will be alright?”

Roy nodded, his blue eyes sparkling knowingly and Thea stopped him from walking, raising a brow. “What is it?” He asked innocently, immediately looking away from his girlfriend as the suspicion dawned in her eyes.

“Don’t you ‘what’ me! You know something I don’t, so out with it. What’s going on?” Thea demanded, planting her hands on her hips and dared him to lie to her. She would rip his tongue out and shove it down his throat. “Roy…”

“Now that she’s gone, I can tell you.” Roy wouldn’t lose her, kissing the top of her head and revealed what was about to happen to Kadienne.

All Thea could do was gape at him.

~!~

“What’s going on?” Kadienne demanded, feeling the limousine come to a stop and frowned, her heart rate picking up a notch. “Driver, you need to take me home…”

The window partition lowered, revealing the driver to be someone entirely different. “I hope you don’t mind letting me drive you to your destination, Miss Young.” It was none other than John Diggle, Oliver’s bodyguard and partner.

“N-No…” Kadienne’s voice tampered off, not expecting this and turned her head to the side as the door opened, tears stinging her eyes. “Oliver…”

Dressed in a pure black suit, the top two buttons of his dress shirt undone beneath a vest, Oliver stepped inside the limousine and shut the door, his eyes locked on an astonished Kadienne. “Sorry I couldn’t make the funeral, but I promise there’s a good reason for it.” His eyes slid from her to where Diggle sat behind the wheel, nodding once silently telling the man to resume driving.

John pressed the button as the window partition slid back up, giving Oliver and Kadienne the privacy they needed.

“W-What’s going on? What’s the reason you had to miss my father’s funeral?” Kadienne searched his eyes, trying not to sound hurt, but it was impossible since she needed him more than anything today. “I want to understand…”

“And you will. I promise.” Oliver reached out to take her hand and scooted closer to her, reaching up to brush her tears away with the pad of his thumb. “I wanted to be there for you today, Kadienne. You don’t know how much and I was on my way, but something came up I had to take care of.”

“Something Arrow related?” She sniffled, trying not to start crying again, but it was pointless trying to hold back tears after she just buried her father.

Oliver smiled, shaking his head and brushed his lips against her forehead gently. “For once, no. You’ll find out why soon enough. We’re on our way there actually.” He made a mental note to thank Roy Harper for his secrecy and discretion, knowing Thea would’ve blabbed if he told her about this. “Just sit back and try to relax, I’m here now and I’m not leaving you again.”

The last thing Kadienne wanted to deal with was a surprise, but she was also mildly curious what he had up his sleeve. At least he was with her as she snuggled against his side, burying her face in the side of his neck to breathe him in. She loved this man so much and constantly worried about him every time he went out as the Arrow. Oliver’s arm tightened around her shoulders, resting his head on top of hers and enjoyed the feeling of her hand caressing the tiny bit of bare chest exposed near his neck and Adam’s apple.

“I love you.” Kadienne whispered, looking up at him the same time those ocean blues glanced down at hers and leaned up until their lips met in a soft kiss.

Oliver deepened it instantly, feeling her shift to straddle his lap and instinctively gripped her hips, the kiss never breaking. He could feel her hands undoing the buttons of his vest and shirt, not stopping her. Why would he? Even if they reached their destination, they could finish up in the limousine before getting out. Oliver slid his hands from her hips up her dress to massage her soft thighs, groaning as their tongues tangled together and Kadienne began grinding against his dress pant covered erection. It’d been a while since they made love and Kadienne needed him at the moment, silently begging him to make her forget about everything for at least a little while.

Pulling back to break the kiss, Oliver rose his hips up enough to procure his cell phone and sent Diggle a quick text message, instructing him NOT to open the door until he received another message saying it was alright. Then he tossed it to the side and cupped Kadienne’s cheeks, resuming kissing her. Once he was divested of his vest and shirt, Kadienne reached behind to slide the zipper of her dress down to pull it down her arms. She didn’t care if it was all the way off as long as her breasts were available for Oliver to pleasure with his lips and tongue. He smirked at what she did, reaching around to unfasten her bra with a flick of his wrist and pulled the offending material away, immediately burying his face in the warm fleshy globes.

“Oliver…” Kadienne moaned out, lulling her head back burying her fingers in his hair and continued grinding on top of him teasingly. “I need you…”

Her confession and sweet plead made his entire body quake with a need of his own to claim her for his own. “Then free me and I’ll give you what we both want, Kadi.” He rumbled huskily in her ear, having moved his mouth from her delectable breasts up to her neck, flicking her lobe with his tongue.

Not wasting a second, Kadienne unfastened the belt around his dress pants and pulled it off before unbuttoning his pants, sliding the zipper down. She reached inside while Oliver continued assaulting her neck and moaned at the realization he went commando. It wasn’t a surprise since he wasn’t a fan of wearing underwear, boxers or briefs. Kadienne discovered that the first time they had sex at the hotel right after she was attacked. Oliver let out a growl at the feeling of her soft hand wrapping around his dick, swelling more if that was possible. His hand clamped down around her wrist when she started stroking him, shaking his head gritting his teeth.

“If I’m exploding, it’s gonna be inside of your beautiful body. Now it’s time to rid you of these…” Sliding his hand up her dress, Oliver gave a quick yank to rip one side of her panties and did the same thing to the other side, showcasing his strength. “I’ll replace them.”

“Don’t worry about it, just take what’s yours.” Kadienne breathed, not concerned with her destroyed panties and pulled his cock out, immediately sliding her hot sex up and down his hard length. “Oliver…”

He loved hearing his name come out of her mouth in a breathy moan and thrust his hips up to begin filling her body, gritting his teeth at how tight she was. “Kadienne…” Maybe having sex in the back of a limousine wasn’t the best idea, but at least they had plenty of room to maneuver around. “I need you in a different position…”

Before she could protest, Oliver captured her mouth in another passionate kiss and lifted her off of him to guide her down on the floor. He quickly pushed his dress pants down and then thought better of it, taking them off altogether. It would give him free reign to do whatever he wanted to her – to take her how he desired. Kadienne pulled him back on top of her, their lips meeting again and gasped in his mouth as he plummeted in her hot depths again. Oliver hissed out, lifting her leg to drape over his broad shoulder and gave Kadienne time to adjust to him, not wanting to hurt her. When she began to move and gave her hips a gentle wiggle, Oliver got the message and started thrusting slowly in and out of her.

“Oh Oliver…” Her hands gripped his strong arms, trying to hold onto any part of his body and did her best not to lose complete control. “Mmm faster, please…”

Soon, the sounds of their flesh smacking together echoed around the limousine and Oliver sincerely hoped Diggle couldn’t hear them through the window partition. They were supposedly sound-proof, though it depended on the limousine and who made it. If not, it would be really awkward once Diggle opened the door to let them both out at their destination. He smirked in Kadienne’s neck at the thought, picking up the pace of his thrusts and lifted her other leg so both of them now draped over his shoulders. Kadienne had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming out in ecstasy, the feeling overwhelming and could feel the warmth spreading throughout her body. It wouldn’t be long now.

“O-Oliver, I can’t…” Kadienne lost her breath, unable to speak and could feel the hot coil within her form, knowing Oliver would go off like a geyser at any moment. “I’m…”

“Don’t fight it, Kadienne. Just let go, I got you…” Oliver coached, capturing her mouth again to muffle their sounds of passion the best he could and never ceased his thrusts. “I’m there too…”

Minutes later, they both erupted together as their climaxes crashed over them intensely, growling and screaming in each other’s mouths. Oliver filled her with his warm seed and Kadienne enjoyed the feeling immensely, never wanting to be disconnected from him again. It’d been hard without him around the past week, but whatever he was doing had to be worth being away. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his body sagged on top of hers, his face nuzzling her breasts. The sexual high only they could reach slowly ceased as they came down from it, each breathing erratically and trying to slow their pounding hearts.

“We’re here.” Oliver announced once he regained his voice, lifting his head up to look up at her with a grin. He felt the limousine stop shortly after they began the sexual bout. “I gotta let Diggle know we’re ready to get out…after we get dressed.”

“Where are we?” Kadienne asked while pulling her dress back on and slipped her arms through the sleeves, turning so Oliver could pull the zipper back up.

Oliver didn’t bother with the vest, buttoning his shirt and took her hand once they were both fully redressed, kissing the top of it. “You’ll see soon enough. Come on.” As if on cue, the door opened and he stepped out with Kadienne’s hand clasped in his, helping her out.

The rain had stopped, but the sky was still thick with clouds and nightfall would arrive soon. Kadienne looked around, confused at first and then suddenly recognized where they were. It was the old park they used to play together as children, the place Oliver had taken her after his mother and Thea tricked her into talking to her father. Or attempted. He went after her, they left and he brought her here where she confessed what happened to her mother. There was a sign stamped into the ground that said SOLD in red bold letters, confusing Kadienne more as emerald orbs looked up at him perplexed.

“I-I don’t understand…”

Of course she didn’t, but soon everything would become crystal clear and Oliver hoped she wanted the same thing he did. “I know. Let me explain.” He took both of her hands, fully facing her and softly brushed his lips against hers. “Kadienne, before I met you, I was nothing more than a fractured mess. I gave up on the idea of love because I thought Felicity was my only shot at it. Granted, I’ve had other relationships such as Laurel, but it didn’t work out because of my cheating ways. I learned a lot from her…and Felicity; they both brought out the best in me and I thought I would never find another woman to do that. Until I met you…or reconnected with you since we played together as kids.” Oliver took a deep breath, looking away from her out into the empty stretch of land. “Today, I finalized a deal to buy this property. I want to build a house here, to start from the ground up and build a future…with you. It shouldn’t take more than a couple months…”

“Wait, you want me to…live with you?” Kadienne blinked, feeling as though her heart would either give out from how fast it pounded against her chest or leap out to land in front of her in the wet grass. “Oliver…”

“I know it’s sudden and we haven’t been together long, but…I made the mistake of not telling Felicity how I felt and building a future with her. I failed her in every way…and I won’t do that with you.” Oliver squeezed her hands, drawing her closer to him and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you, Kadienne. I don’t want to just move in together and live with you. I want to marry you and make you my wife. So please tell me you want this as much as I do.”

This was the last thing Kadienne ever expected to come out of Oliver’s mouth and she was overwhelmed, tears streaming down her cheeks as the sky opened up dumping a new batch of rain on them. She was in love with this man as both Oliver Queen and the Arrow, not wanting to be anywhere else in this world. Here he was standing in front of her, proclaiming his love and asking her to not only move in with him once he built the perfect home for them, but also wanting to marry her. How could Kadienne deny him any of this? And why would she after everything they’d been through to be together?

“We were both fractured in the beginning and managed to piece each other back together again.” Kadienne caressed his face with her soft hand and brought his mouth down on hers, softly kissing him. “Yes to everything. I love you, Oliver Queen.”

Lifting her to press against him, Oliver felt her legs wrap around his waist and felt contentment wash over him, thankful fate had brought them together and ultimately healed their once fractured lives.

The End.