Chapter 17: Rea's full name.

Both Rea and Gears stared at Karma and they stood there mutely. She looked slight and pale. She seemed like the last person on Earth Rea could picture hurting anyone.

"Water. I can get water." Gears rushed to the kitchen. He threw open one of the cabinets and fumbled for a glass. A plastic cup fell to the counter and bounced to the floor. Gears still had his eyes on Karma. The doc didn't pick up the lost cup. Instead, he filled the glass clutched in his hand. Water splashed over his fingers.

He hurried back to the bed. His friend's hands shook, and his eyes jumped to Karma. As if the whole thing was too much for Gears to deal with, he shoved the glass into Rea's hand. Water splashed on Rea's wrist.

The doctor turned away from Karma. He sat in front of Rea's computer monitors at the desk. The squeak of the chair was a clear sign Gears didn't know what to do. He was effectively passing this whole mess into Rea's lap. He would have to thank his friend for that later.

Rea handed her the water, making sure their fingers didn't touch. She struggled to sit up enough to hold the glass. He stopped himself from helping and rested his hands on his biceps.

In a strange show of modesty, she held his blanket close to her chest. Karma clutched the glass with one hand and the blanket with her other. She drank the whole glass before giving it back to him.

Once she handed the glass back to him, her hand flew up to the bandage over her eye. The other eye, which wasn't covered, ran all over his face. He could see the question. He fought the urge to comfort her. His fingers squeezed the water cup until he was afraid it might break.

"You have to keep the patch on so the swelling goes down. Do you know where you are?" Rea asked instead of soothing her. Touching her wasn't a good idea. He needed to keep his distance. He needed to think interrogation.

"Yes, of course, I do. I'm…" She faltered. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows came together in confusion. Some black-and-blue bruises darkened her brow.

"Do you know what your name is?" Rea would be as stern as possible. It fell flat.

Again, she half-smiled and nodded. When she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Panic filled her eyes. They bounced around the room. Tears gathered. Rea hoped she wouldn't cry.

"Your name is Karma. Check your arms if you don't believe me." Rea ran his hands through his hair.

What the hell would he do if she cried? Professional killers didn't cry. He couldn't question her like this. He would have to start after she was better. Maybe he would wait and see if her memories came back.

She lifted her arms. Her fingers traced the words tattooed on her flesh. The tears didn't fall. Instead, she smiled at the black cursive. Rea heaved a sigh of relief before he turned to Gears.

"I guess that answers the question of what she knows. This is great, Gears. Great," Rea spat out that last word.

He couldn't stand there and watch her with that half-mystified expression on her face. Rea turned away to walk back to his kitchen area when her voice stopped him.

"But you didn't ask me if I knew what your name was."

Rea tossed a quick glance at Gears. The doctor shrugged. Sighing, Rea turned around and braced his hip against his desk. Crossing his arms over his chest, he lifted one eyebrow.

"You got my attention. I'll play along. Do you know what my name is?"

"Absolutely. Your name is Joseph-Rea, Joseph-Rea MacBain, but you let me call you Rea."

The glass in Rea's hand slipped. The crash of it hitting the cement pierced the charged silence. As the shards sprinkled across the floor, he tried to get his shock under control.

Gears shot up from his chair. His eyes went wide.

"What's wrong?" Gears asked, but Rea couldn't speak. He stood there trying to process. How did she know his real name? His father had only ever called him MacBain in training. Gears called him Mac. The men who worked for him called him Boss-Mac. Who could possibly know his real name?

"What is it?" Gears insisted.

"That's my name." He barely got out the words. They came out in a strangled whisper.

"No, it's not. It's…" Gears frowned. "It's… I thought it was… something MacBain…" Gears paused again. "I never realized I didn't know your full name. I guess I never asked." His friend chuckled, but when Rea didn't laugh, he sobered. "Mac, are you feeling well?"

"Yes, it is. Joseph-Rea MacBain. MacBain is my last name. How could she know that? She knows my full name."

"It's no big deal. Maybe she has some type of gift like you do. It's a nice name, I guess. Don't worry about it. I don't think less of you because your name is Joseph-Rea." Gears paused. "And no one else will either."

Gears nodded like the gift thing was the answer. Rea hid his irritation. Sometimes Gears could be the dumbest smart person he'd ever met.

Still reeling, Rea looked around Gears at Karma. She settled herself in his bed. Her blanket kept falling as she moved. She tried to fix the blanket to cover her chest. Her shyness was almost endearing, almost. This was a killer. Rea reminded himself that she attempted to murder him. Killers were known to be conniving.

As soon as she noticed him looking at her, she smiled sweetly at him. The way she looked at him was odd as if she recognized him. Like they were friends. They weren't friends. He didn't have friends. He only had Gears, work, and more work.

She gave him an inviting grin and patted the bed as if he should join her.

"How do you know that?" Rea demanded to combat the warm feeling growing inside of him.

"Your father named you. He named you Joseph-Rea because he got the name from an Irish boxer he heard of who was young and healthy. It's a strong Irish name, your dad claimed. He liked the toughness of it. Your mom didn't want to call you that. She hated it. But your father made a big deal out of it because she got to name your two older brothers. Your father insisted it was his turn. That's what he picked. He wanted you to be a real Irish fighter like him. The only problem was, he thought you didn't live up to his grand fighting name."

Rea shook his head. No one knew that. No one. He needed to think. Gears stood like a statue. No help there. He stepped around the doctor and towered over the bed. When she tipped up her head and smiled at him again, Rea threw his body forward. He put his face inches from Karma. He tried in vain to read her expression. He wanted to uncover how she knew so much. He wanted to see into her mind and to see where she'd gotten that information.

To Rea's surprise, Karma didn't see the movement as an act of aggression. She didn't tip back or try to move away from his crowding posture. Her lips twitched into a slight smile. She seemed amused. He didn't know what to make of her reaction.

Intently, Karma's eyes studied him. They bounced over his face. Flecks of gold danced in her dark, enchanting depths. She reached up with her hand and slowly moved one lock of red hair away from his brow. His breathing became ragged as she dragged a finger across his cheek before letting her arm fall to her lap. Karma looked understanding and much too adorable. Who was this woman? How could she know all that about him? It was strange to feel like he knew her, yet not know her.

"Who told you that?" Rea's voice came out hypnotic. She would answer him. She would feel compelled. His gift would force the truth from her, just like it had forced the truth from so many men before her.

"You did, silly." Her smile turned broad. A dimple appeared on her left cheek.

When her smile disrupted her lips, she winced. Her tongue darted out and ran over the swollen area.

As they faced each other, he started to feel uneasy. He didn't like that she stared at him like they were the best of friends. He dropped his gaze from her face. Instead, he concentrated on the thin blanket covering her body.

"Is what she said true?" Gears moved to sit in the office chair. Rea heard the wheels roll across the cement.

"She thinks it's true."

"But is it really true? I mean, does your gift say she's telling the truth?"

Rea thought about how to answer his question. His gift was more of an unnamed gut instinct. Her answer was true to her, and her guess on his name was accurate, but it was hard to explain all that to Gears. The doctor part of his friend would never let this go. It wasn't like him to have an unsolved mystery. He wished he had the right words so Gears could understand.

"Yes, my gut says it's true, but this doesn't make sense. I was named after some boxer my dad was impressed with, but Mom used to call me Jo-Jo." Rea thought about how much it hurt when his mother died. He cleared his throat and swallowed. "Dad said Jo-Jo was not manly, so he called me MacBain. Dad said Mom ruined my name. No one called me Joseph or Rea, ever. Dad said those two names were too friendly. He also made sure I always protected my name and my identity. We moved to build new bases, and I never got to know anyone long enough to tell them my real name. After a while, I didn't care anymore."

Rea leaned further away from Karma, drained after talking about his father. He'd worked hard to bury as many memories of his father as he could. As for Karma, he didn't know what to make of her or the electricity between them. The warmth of her skin called to his.

Shoving away from her, he turned to face Gears. His hand gestured to Gears to get up. The doctor frowned at him and took a deep breath. They had known each other for so long he didn't have to speak a word. Gears rose and stepped to the side. Rea sat down with a hard flop and folded his arms. The chair made a squeak as the wheels rolled back.