Kayla entered the apartment and immediately called for Steve. It only took a few seconds to realize that he had not returned.
Sighing she sank to the couch, her mind still reeling from the information she had received from Roman and Shane. The ISA would have left Steve there. That one thought kept repeating in her mind.
Kayla had been under no illusions regarding the ISA's willingness to use dubious methods to accomplish its missions. They had kidnapped Marlena, had lied to Kim about Shane, and had used Kim to get close to Lawrence just for starters.
But, somehow, she had always believed that they were at least on the right side. After all, Shane was a high-ranking member of the agency and she knew he was a good man. She had a hard time believing that he would continue to work for an organization that would have left Steve to die.
But she was obviously wrong. And maybe Shane was not so innocent. After all, Shane had left Roman in Stefano's hands when he chose to rescue Drew instead. Roman's words echoed in her ears. "The ISA wasn't going to get Steve without Shane. It was all Shane's choice." Shane's choice. She knew she should be grateful that Shane had agreed to take the mission and she was. She even recalled Shane telling her in England that if she thought it was a hard choice, she didn't know him at all. But she couldn't help but wonder if Shane had not taken the risk, would he have ever told her the truth? Maybe this would have been like Roman and Shane would have kept it secret - would have kept her entirely in the dark.
Could she have possibly been so wrong about Shane? No, she told herself. Shane was a good man. The fact that he had gone after Steve despite the risks proved that. But Shane continued to work for the same agency that would have left Steve to die. Kayla had no idea how to reconcile those two facts.
The sound of a key in the lock shook Kayla from her thoughts. She looked up as Steve walked in the door.
"Steve," she said quickly. "I'm so glad you're home."
Steve looked at her with a serious expression. "You might not feel that way in a few minutes, Kayla."
"What are you talking about?" Kayla asked, confused by Steve's tone and demeanor.
Steve slowly walked across the room and sat on the couch, leaving some distance between them. He ran his hands over his face and then unconsciously adjusted his patch.
"Steve? What is it?" Kayla could tell there some was something Steve was reluctant to tell her. Then it hit her. He must have heard about Shane's arrest. He was probably trying to find a way to tell her.
"You heard, didn't you?" Kayla said. "You know Shane's been arrested."
"Yeah, I know, baby." Steve's tone was flat.
"How did you find out?" Kayla asked, still trying to understand her husband's reactions.
"I . . . uh . . . I ran into Roman a little while ago." Steve shifted uncomfortably. "He told me about it."
Now it was starting to make sense, Kayla thought to herself. "He blamed you for the article, didn't he?" Kayla asked quietly.
"You could say that," Steve replied, looking down. "Kayla, I-"
"He shouldn't have done that," Kayla interrupted. She stood up from the couch and paced around trying to keep her anger from getting the better of her. "He had no right to accuse you of anything. He's no better than Kim."
"Kim?" Steve asked.
"Yes, Kim." Kayla let her frustration pour out. "She called not too long after you left and told me about Shane being arrested, that she was sure it was related to the article, and that she was sure you had deliberately tried to destroy Shane's life." Kayla looked at Steve. "Can you believe that? She wouldn't even back off after I told her you said you hadn't talked to Jack? She was out of control and-"
"Stop, Kayla!" Steve nearly shouted. "Just stop."
"Stop what?" Kayla's eyes were wide with surprise. "Kim had no right to say the things she did."
"Stop defending me, Kayla." Steve hung his head for a moment, then looked up at Kayla. She could read the anguish and guilt in his eye.
"What are you trying to say, Steve?" Kayla's throat constricted in fear of what the answer to her question might be.
"I'm the one who gave the information to Jack." Steve stood and walked to the other side of the room. "I'm the one responsible for Shane's arrest."
Kayla felt the air leave her body. She walked a few steps and again sank into the couch. How is that possible? She had defended Steve to Kim and to Shane. She had been so certain that he had been truthful when he said he didn't talk to Jack. Could she have possibly been that wrong?
"Kayla?" Steve's voice was timid and uncertain.
"Why did you lie to me, Steve?" Kayla looked at her husband. "Why did you tell me it wasn't you when I asked you this morning?"
"I didn't know." Steve looked deeply into Kayla's eyes. "I swear I didn't know. When you asked me this morning, I honestly had no idea it was me."
Kayla's confusion returned. "That doesn't make any sense. How could you not have known? And if you didn't know a couple of hours ago, then how do you know now?"
"Because of this." Steve pulled a small object from his jacket and walked over to Kayla. He held the object out and she could see it was a small tape recorder.
"Go ahead," Steve said handing the recorder to her. "Listen to it."
Kayla took the recorder from Steve and pressed the play button. She immediately heard Steve's slurred voice talking about how the explosions had shook the trailer he was being held in. She could also hear music and other background noise. She gave Steve a questioning look.
"It was the night Jack picked me up from the Heart." Steve sat down on the couch again, still keeping distance between he and Kayla. "I told you I didn't remember Jack being there and, even now, I still don't."
"How did you get this?" Kayla asked, staring at the recorder.
"After I left here, I walked around for a while, just thinking about everything that had happened. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I was with Jack for putting my life in his newspaper. I decided to pay him a visit and find out who talked and let him know I didn't appreciate it." Steve took the recorder back from Kayla. "Jack wasn't there. But this was."
Kayla leaned back on the couch, trying to understand everything Steve was telling her. "Why would Jack do this?"
"Why does Jack do anything he does?" Steve snapped. He took a deep breath before continuing. "He came by the apartment a few weeks ago. He said he just wanted to say hi, but it was clear he was fishing for information. When I called him on it, he said the paper was in trouble and he needed a big story. I guess he got it after all." Steve voice was filled with bitterness.
They sat silently on the couch for a few moments. Then Kayla felt Steve's hand take hers. She looked at him.
"I swear that I didn't know, Kayla. Please believe me, baby. I had no idea it was me until I heard this tape."
Kayla looked into Steve's eye. Just as she had known that morning that he was telling the truth, she knew it now. "I do believe you, Steve." She squeezed his hand. "I just can't believe this is happening." Then another thought occurred to her.
"Did Roman tell you about the ISA?" About how they would have left you to die?
"Yeah, baby, he told me." Steve hung his head again. "I didn't know that either, Kayla. I didn't know that the rescue mission was an 'unofficial' mission or whatever they're calling it." He looked at Kayla again. "Shane never told me -"
"He never told you the ISA was going to leave you there," Kayla finished the sentence, her anger returning. "He never told me either. After everything you did for them in the Jericho case, they were just going to leave you there . . . if-"
"If Shane hadn't taken the mission." Steve finished Kayla's sentence this time. "And now I've thanked him for that by putting him in jail."
"You didn't mean for it to happen, Steve," Kayla said quietly.
"Do you believe that, Kayla?" Steve asked. His question was tentative, as if he feared the response. "I need to know if you believe that or if you're just saying it because you think you have to support your husband."
Kayla was silent for a moment. She was sure that Steve had no memory of talking to Jack, but she knew how angry Steve had been at Shane over the police job. Did she think he had deliberately given the story to Jack?
"I do believe it, Steve," she said honestly. "I know that you would have never intended for Shane to get in this kind of trouble." She paused for a moment, then continued. "But you were so mad at Shane that night. Are you sure this wasn't just a way to pay him back? I know you didn't know he'd be arrested, but you knew the story could cause trouble for him."
It was Steve's turn to be silent. He rubbed his hand across his face and then stared down at his lap for a few moments. Finally he lifted his head and looked at Kayla. "I don't know how to answer that question, Sweetness. I don't remember anything that happened that night. But if I'd wanted to hurt Shane, I could've given Jack the story weeks ago and didn't." He sighed. "I know I didn't want this to happen. I know that much."
"I know," Kayla said softly. "You were drunk and you made a mistake, but Jack took advantage of the situation."
"I think you might be the only one who will believe that," Steve replied. "Roman doesn't and, from what you said, neither will Kim." He sighed again. "And I'm sure Shane won't believe it either. Not that I guess I can blame him."
Kayla reached out and took Steve's hand. She hated the idea that there was going to be more conflict in her family, but it looked unavoidable at this point. She knew she should call Kim and let her know the truth. Kim deserved that much. But her sister had made a lot of harsh accusations about Steve, and had said things that Kayla could not easily forget. Even if she was right about Steve talking to Jack, Kim had been wrong about a lot of other things. Kayla had no desire to face Kim's anger and accusations yet again. At least not right now. Maybe Kim would cool off when Shane got out of jail.
"We'll just have to deal with that as it comes," Kayla said. "It sounds like Shane will be arraigned on Monday. Maybe you can talk to him after he posts bail and goes home." She gave Steve a determined look. "We'll just have to try and make everybody understand it was a big mistake. And no matter what they think, I do believe you and I will be with you every step of the way. Just remember that."
"I could never forget it, Sweetness." Steve gave Kayla a sad smile. "Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me going." Then Steve sat up a little straighter and a note of determination entered his voice. "I am going to fix this, Kayla." "I don't know exactly how just yet, but I'm going to try to explain things to Shane. And, after that . . . I'm going to figure out how to make this right." He took Kayla's hand again. "I promise that Shane's not going to go to prison for saving my life. I'll make sure of that."
Kayla nodded and scooted closer to Steve. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his chest. They both knew the fallout from the latest revelations was not going to be easy. But they would weather the storm together, no matter what might come their way.