Out of Turn

CHAPTER THREE

I launched myself at Kade without a second thought to the pain that doing so produced in my ribcage. His arms encircled my waist and he lifted me off my feet. I hugged him tightly, my excitement and joy at seeing him felt like a dam had burst inside.

We stood there like that for a long moment, my arms wrapped around his neck as I breathed in his scent, savoring the feel of him after months of his absence. Which reminded me…

“Where the hell have you been?” I asked, pulling back. Kade loosened his grip as well and my bare feet touched the floor.

“Is that any way to greet me?” he retorted, following me inside my apartment. “You leave a bloodcurdling scream on my voice mail and don’t answer your phone when I call you back, which meant I was worrying what kind of shit you’d gotten yourself into the whole way here.” He flopped down beside me on the couch. “And you owe me for a speeding ticket,” he finished. He frowned, glancing around the apartment. “It’s fucking hot in here,” he complained. “Your air broke?”

“My air is expensive.”

“Screw that shit,” Kade said, getting back up. He started closing the windows. “I don’t look good in sweat stains.”

I watched him close all the windows, then turn on the air-conditioning. I couldn’t help smiling. God, it was so good to have him here again. If he wanted the air on, I didn’t have it in me to stop him. And he probably was warm in his jeans and black T-shirt, though I doubted Kade could look bad in anything, sweat stains or not. His black hair was thick and a bit longer than when I’d last seen him, a lock falling over his brow when he returned to the seat beside me. I resisted the impulse to push the strands back. He fixed me with his gaze.

“So you want to explain the phone call now?” he asked.

My smile faded. Oh yeah. The phone call.

“And what’s with the road rash?”

He was looking at the scrapes on my elbow and the underside of my arm from when I’d hit the concrete.

“I kinda got hit by a car,” I said, my voice small.

Kade just looked at me. “Well, that’s new. How the fuck did you get hit by a car?”

“William Gage is out of prison,” I explained. “Blane thinks—”

“Blane?” Kade stiffened at the mention of Blane’s name, his expression turning cold. “That didn’t take long. So you and him are back together?”

I shook my head and gave a bitter laugh. “No way. Not after—” I stopped, suddenly acutely uncomfortable. Did Kade even know why Blane and I had broken up? “Just… no,” I finished, unwilling to go into detail about how Blane had accused me of sleeping with Kade. I could feel my face get hot. “But I guess Gage is set on making me pay for helping send him to jail. He sent a shooter to the bar last night and a car today. I got lucky both times.”

Kade’s eyes glittered with an unnamed emotion, his lips twisting into the one-sided smirk I knew all too well. “So I see you’re still a shitload of trouble.”

I grinned at what might be considered an unusual term of endearment. “Why be boring?”

“So you just have the scrapes then?” he asked, sliding closer to me and inspecting my arm.

“Bruised ribs, sprained wrist,” I said. “No permanent damage.”

“On the outside,” Kade said quietly, his eyes meeting mine. “How are you otherwise? Still pulling guns on anyone who surprises you?”

I stiffened at the reminder, my smile fading. I remembered what Blane had said about PTSD and hesitated. “I… have trouble sleeping,” I said, looking away from him. “I had a flashback today when they had me strapped down in the ambulance. It was so strange. One second I was there and the next I was back in that shack…” I couldn’t finish. Clearing my throat, I said, “I don’t feel… normal anymore. It’s like something inside is frozen. Like I’m waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

I lifted my eyes to his and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Have you talked to anyone about this?” he asked.

“I am now.” And at the moment, I couldn’t imagine having this conversation with anyone else. There was no one right now who I trusted to be this vulnerable with, who understood anything about what I was going through.

Except Kade.

A moment passed, then another. Kade slotted our fingers together, his hand closing over mine.

The door suddenly swung open and Blane walked in, carrying a paper bag. He stopped short, taking in Kade and me sitting together on the couch.

Kade was on his feet immediately, his stance protectively shielding me.

If I’d thought the heat in my apartment had made it hard to breathe, that was nothing compared to how it felt now.

“Long time no see, brother,” Kade said, but his voice held no warmth, only warning.

“I didn’t know you were in town,” Blane replied, the hint of a question in his careful tone.

“Did my secretary forget to e-mail you my schedule? So sorry about that.”

Kade’s sneering flippancy made me wince. I should do something to help fix this. I was the problem between them. I got to my feet and stepped to the side of Kade so I could see Blane.

“I called him,” I said bluntly, thinking fast. “Because of… Gage. Thought he might be able to help.” No need for either of them to know I’d called Kade because I’d wanted to get rid of Blane.

“She says Gage is trying to kill her,” Kade said. “Is this true?”

“I don’t have any proof, but yeah,” Blane said.

“And you’re the one who’s supposed to be protecting her?” Kade said dubiously. “Which is why she got hit by a fucking car, right?”

Blane’s jaw locked tight at that and I flinched. He didn’t reply.

“You know,” Kade continued, taking a couple of steps toward Blane, “it seems to me that she might be safer with you not around. Seeing as how you’re doing such a bang-up job and all.” His thin-lipped smile would have made an alligator seem friendly by comparison.

I wanted to cry at how Kade was talking to Blane, his voice full of anger and contempt. I’d never heard him speak to Blane like that. He’d always been… not exactly deferential, but even his ingrained sarcasm had been tempered out of respect for Blane.

“It wasn’t his fault,” I interrupted, resting my hand on Kade’s arm. “He told me. I ran off without thinking, which was stupid. Blane’s not to blame.”

Both men were looking at me now and I swallowed, shifting my weight nervously. Blane’s gaze moved from mine to where I was touching Kade. I dropped my hand.

“I got your medicine,” Blane said, ignoring Kade and setting a bag down on the table. “And something for you to eat. Kung pao. Your favorite.”

“Thanks.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Someone has to stay with you,” he said. “It’s not safe for you to be alone right now.”

The already thick tension in the room increased tenfold at Blane’s pronouncement. I couldn’t imagine Blane staying here with me. I couldn’t handle that.

“You’re not staying,” I said firmly. “I understand that you want to help, but that’s just not going to happen.”

“Kat, this is serious. He’s already tried twice in as many days. God knows who he hired. He knows more criminals than any defense lawyer in town, and that’s saying something.”

“She said no.” Kade’s voice was silk-covered steel.

Blane’s attention turned to Kade. “You’re going to stay? Watch out for her?”

Kade gave a careless shrug. “If she wants me to. I don’t treat her like a misbehaving toddler, unlike some people. It’s her decision as to whether she wants protection.” He raised a wickedly arched brow. “Unless you think we’ll be too busy fucking?”

That statement went off with the force of a bomb and I drew a sharp breath, sure that they were going to attack each other, but Blane didn’t take the bait.

“I was wrong,” Blane said quietly. “I was wrong to not trust you and wrong to not trust Kathleen. And I’ve paid for that mistake in more ways than you could possibly imagine.”

“Well, maybe you’ve paid enough for you, but I don’t know if you’ve paid enough for her.” This time there was no mistaking the cold menace in Kade’s tone.

Blane’s gaze drifted from Kade to me. “I’ll go,” he said. “Just please. Be careful.”

My heart broke inside at the pain in Blane’s voice and the haunted agony in his eyes.

Neither Kade nor I said anything as Blane left, the door closing behind him.

Kade glanced at me. “Well, that was awkward.”

The unexpected remark broke the tension, making me give a little laugh in spite of the pain Blane had left in his wake.

Kade dug into the paper bag. “Chinese food. Just what the doctor ordered.” He pulled out a prescription bottle. “And exactly what the doctor ordered.”

My stomach growled as the aroma of kung pao filled the room. It looked like Blane had gotten enough for two people, which gave me a moment’s pause. Had he thought we’d sit here and eat dinner like we used to? Yeah, that wouldn’t have been uncomfortable or anything.

“You on a diet or something?” Kade asked as we sat down to eat.

“No, why?” I shoveled a forkful in my mouth.

He eyed me while he chewed. “You look like a stiff wind could blow you away,” he said bluntly.

I shrugged, my cheeks heating. “Haven’t been hungry lately, that’s all.” But that didn’t seem to be the case now. I ate as though the food was trying to run away.

“Ah, the breakup diet,” Kade said, watching me plow through the kung pao. “Let me guess, more vodka than food in your freezer, right?”

I swiped a napkin across my lips, avoiding his eyes. “Maybe,” I mumbled. A thought occurred to me. “If you and Blane aren’t speaking, then how’d you know we broke up?”

“Oh, we had a lovely heart-to-heart a few months ago,” he said with a smirk. “I believe I told him what a fucking moron he was and he accused me of sleeping with you.”

Now this was awkward.

Suddenly my appetite was gone and I tossed down my fork. “I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen,” I said. “Blane said… awful things…” My eyes saw nothing as my mind replayed that horrible scene in Blane’s office. I shuddered, pushing the memories away. “And that was it. I haven’t seen him since. At least, not until last night.”

“So this is my fault,” Kade said.

I couldn’t decipher the look on his face. “No, it’s not,” I said firmly. “I told Blane the truth and he chose not to believe me. If he can’t trust me about something that serious, then he doesn’t love me. Maybe he never really did.”

And that was the first time I’d voiced that fear aloud. It had swum darkly in my mind for weeks and I’d been afraid to face it. Doing so now, uttering those words, felt freeing in a way. I could handle it. I didn’t fall apart at the thought that Blane had never really loved me.

“I don’t know if that’s true—” Kade said, skeptical.

“It doesn’t matter, does it?” I broke in, interrupting whatever he was going to say. I didn’t want to hear anyone defend Blane, not even Kade. “What’s done is done and there’s no turning back.”

“Princess, listen to me,” he said, reaching over and lightly grasping my tightly fisted hand. “People make mistakes. Trust me. I’m the king of fucking up. But I don’t believe that Blane never loved you, and I’m willing to bet he still does.”

Anger flashed through me and I jerked my hand away. “If he loves me so damn much,” I spit out, “then why did it take him three months and someone trying to kill me for him to come talk to me? Apologize?”

Kade put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Hey, I don’t know why he does what he does. I’m just saying. Don’t get your panties in a twist.”

I was immediately embarrassed about lashing out at him. “I’m sorry,” I said, pushing my fingers through my hair. “I’m not mad at you. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Hey, no apology necessary. Give me your worst. I can take it.” His telltale smirk was back.

I thought about asking Kade why he’d chosen to be absent all this time, too, but decided against it. I didn’t want to bring up that painful argument we’d had the last time I’d seen him. It was too nice having him here, his easy company making me forget the gnawing anxiety in the pit of my stomach.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kade said abruptly. “Go see a movie, do something.”

I hadn’t seen a movie in months. That actually sounded pretty good. Normal.

“Okay,” I said with a smile. “Let me grab my shoes.” I set our plates in the sink and slid my feet into flip-flops.

“Princess, as much as I enjoy the view, I’d appreciate not having to beat the shit out of someone tonight.” Kade’s long-suffering drawl had me glancing at him in confusion. He pointedly looked at my chest. I looked down.

Oh.

My cami with no bra left little to the imagination. I hadn’t even thought about it and now I was embarrassed. I had the kind of breasts that made my going without a bra extremely noticeable, not to mention tacky, but the thought of putting one on over my bruised ribs had me thinking twice.

“I’ll just throw a shirt on over this,” I said.

“Ribs hurt?”

I nodded.

“Let me see.”

That had my alarm bells jangling, but I didn’t resist when he lifted my shirt on my injured right side and raised my arm. I held the fabric to cover my breasts while he inspected the bruises that I knew would look worse in the morning.

“That has to hurt like a sonofabitch,” he observed. His fingers gently touched me, brushing over my abused skin.

I couldn’t answer. His nearness and his touch made my breath freeze in my lungs. I watched him, but his eyes were fixed on my injury, his dark brows drawn together in concern. I waited for him to make some sexual innuendo as usual, but he surprised me.

“You’re lucky you didn’t do more than bruise them,” he said, dropping his hand and moving away. “You don’t have any padding. Your ribs are right under the skin. And trust me, a fractured rib is a total bitch.”

My breath finally came back and I dropped my shirt, giving him a wan smile. I was absurdly disappointed, which made no sense at all.

After I’d shrugged into a short-sleeved button-down shirt that I left unbuttoned, I followed him out the door. The shirt sufficed for modesty’s sake.

Kade opened the door of his Mercedes for me. “You got a new car,” I observed, sliding into the leather seat. Of course, the car was black. I doubted he’d ever buy a different color. It just… suited him.

“Got sick of the old one,” he said before shutting the door and rounding the car to get in the driver’s seat. It even had one of those new ignitions that you start by just pushing a button instead of turning a key.

Kade’s two-door Mercedes coupe had seats that blew honest-to-goodness cold air on your ass. The interior was amazing, a little Mercedes-Benz etched into each windowsill lighting up when Kade opened either door. The engine was a gentle purr as Kade drove and I would’ve bet my next paycheck that the car had cost six figures.

Even if I didn’t have money, it was nice to be with a man who did.

“So where’s the Lexus?” he asked as we headed toward downtown.

I’d been dreading this. “I’m really sorry,” I said, “but I had to sell it.” Kade had bought me that car and it had hurt to let it go, but sometimes life necessitated doing things you didn’t really want to do.

“Why?”

I couldn’t tell whether he was mad—Kade was infuriatingly difficult to read—and I really didn’t want to tell him why. But I wasn’t going to lie, either.

“I-I just… had to,” I stammered, looking away from him. “It was kind of expensive, you know? And I needed the money, so…” I shrugged, hoping he’d fill in the blanks.

“So you sold the car and used the money to go back to school?”

“Yeah.” I looked over at him. “Thank you, by the way. I hated selling it, but it helped pay my tuition.” Something occurred to me then. “How did you know I’d gone back to school?”

Kade’s reply came easily. “Saw the books in your apartment.”

Oh. Well, that made sense.

It was the height of the summer season, so we had our pick of movies. The latest superhero flick was my choice and Kade bought the tickets. I offered to pay for mine, but he just shot me a look, so I shut up. Movie tickets were expensive, so I wasn’t all that bothered when he paid.

“I need popcorn,” he said once we were inside. He headed for the concession stand and I followed in his wake.

“We just ate!”

“You can’t watch a movie without popcorn. It’s a rule.”

“Whose rule?”

“Mine.”

I laughed and stood next to him as he ordered a jumbo popcorn (extra butter), two Pepsis, and two boxes of candy. I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t protest the cost. Good lord, it was more expensive than if we’d gone to a sit-down restaurant somewhere. On the rare occasion I went to the movies, I smuggled my snack and Pepsi in my purse. It had been years since I’d splurged on honest-to-God movie theater popcorn.

So if you went to the movies with a man and he paid, did that make it a date?

The errant thought flitted through my mind and I hurriedly shoved it away. How ridiculous. Kade Dennon wasn’t the kind of man who went on dates. He was the kind of man who walked into a place, crooked his finger, and a dozen women came running, hoping for a chance to be in his bed. Dates were unnecessary.

Besides, he was… Kade, a drop-dead (sometimes literally) gorgeous man who had danger and sex oozing from his pores. He killed people for a living and enjoyed doing so. And when he wasn’t hunting someone, he was hacking into something, usually highly secure, which was coincidentally, highly illegal.

He could definitely do better than me, just a bartender from Rushville, Indiana.

Kade made us sit in the very top row and stuck me in the corner seat.

“Why are we sitting way up here?” I groused. I liked to sit somewhere in the middle and close to the front.

Kade rolled his eyes as he sat, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. “Have I taught you nothing? Like I want someone sticking a knife in my back. Or yours.”

Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. I sighed, suddenly tired. I’d briefly forgotten that Gage was trying to kill me.

“Here, you hold this,” Kade said, handing me the popcorn. He dipped his fingers in the bucket and extracted a handful, munching on it as his eyes scanned the theater.

I realized he wanted his hands free in case something should happen. Kade wasn’t wearing his holster—the theater prohibited weapons—but I knew he had a gun on him somewhere as well as a knife that made me shudder to remember the last time I’d seen him use it.

Kade had killed a man in cold blood because he’d hurt me, threatened to kill me.

It wasn’t something a girl forgot.

The movie was decent and I lost myself in it for a couple of hours. I had the feeling Kade only half paid attention, but that was fine. To my surprise, by the time the movie was over I’d eaten my box of candy and made a pretty big dent in the popcorn, too, though Kade hadn’t eaten much more than a few handfuls.

It didn’t escape my notice that Kade was trying to get me to eat. His carefully hidden concern was sweet, though he’d probably make me walk back to my apartment if I said so.

“That movie sucked,” Kade said as we sauntered back to his car.

It was late, the heat of the day finally fading with the onset of night. The moon was full, dispersing the darkness with its silvery wash of light.

“I liked it,” I said, somewhat surprised that he hadn’t.

“That’s because it had a happy ending and the hero got the girl,” Kade said, opening the passenger door for me.

“Well, yeah. I like happy endings, so sue me.”

Kade’s smile held more than a trace of bitterness. “There’s no such thing as a happy ending.”

He shut the door before I could reply. When he got in his side and started the car, I said, “That’s not true. Life is full of happily-ever-afters.”

“Name one,” Kade said.

I thought. “My parents.”

“Both dead.”

Ouch. “Well, they were happy before that,” I argued. “It is possible and it does happen.”

Kade just glanced at me before looking back at the road. “If you say so.”

Staring at his profile, faintly lit by the glow from the dash, I began to doubt myself. Maybe he was right. Maybe there really were no happy endings.

I rested my head against the seat, turning my body more fully to face him. I watched him as he drove and if he noticed, he didn’t say anything. The darkness gave me courage.

“Why did you leave?” I finally asked, hoping I wouldn’t regret the question.

Kade’s eyes flicked briefly to mine. “I told you why.”

He’d told me he hadn’t wanted to stay and watch me marry Blane, that it would be a huge mistake for me to do so.

“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t come back,” I persisted. “Even after…” My voice faltered. “After Blane and I had broken up” was what I left unsaid.

Kade was silent, his only reaction the tightening of his grip on the steering wheel.

I cleared my throat and ventured out onto that shaky limb again. “I could have really used a friend.”

Kade still didn’t reply and I didn’t have the courage to say anything more. An awkward silence descended.

After a few minutes, we pulled into my lot and he turned off the car. He shifted to face me and suddenly the inside of the car felt much smaller. The air between us was heavy, pressing on my chest. I wondered if I’d said too much, had again made myself stupidly vulnerable to a man who had the power to hurt me.

“Don’t depend on me, princess,” Kade finally said. “I’ll disappoint you every time.”

He went to get out of the car but my hand flashed out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, stopping him. The look he gave me had me rethinking that move, but I swallowed hard and gamely held on.

“Stop saying things like that,” I said. “You’ve been a friend to me, saved me, more times than I can count. I hate it when you talk about yourself that way.”

“I’m not the hero, princess,” he said roughly. “Hell, I’m not even the good guy. Don’t try to pretend I’m something I’m not.” He untangled my fingers from his shirt and got out of the car.

I was out, too, by the time he rounded the car to my side.

“So am I staying or going?” he asked.

Apparently our conversation was over and Kade wasn’t going to tell me why he hadn’t come back.

That hurt.

I’d thought, perhaps irrationally given his absence, that Kade would be there for me when the chips were down, that we were really friends. But now he wouldn’t even say why he’d come back only when I’d asked him to. Would he have ever stepped back into my life if I hadn’t made that phone call?

Had I done it again? Did I care more about Kade than he did about me? I remembered how Kade had helped Blane when he’d gotten back from deployment.

“Made me go out, do things. Normal things. Go to a baseball game, see a movie, have dinner. He didn’t pity me and he didn’t baby me,” Blane had said.

I suddenly wondered if that was what going out tonight had been about. And here I’d been hoping Kade had just wanted to spend time with me. What had I thought? That he’d come back because he’d missed me? What a pathetic idiot I was. Foolish, foolish Kathleen.

The thought had me slipping back inside my armor. I wished I hadn’t let my guard down so much with him. It seemed I was doomed to allow men to keep hurting me.

“No, I’m fine,” I said stiffly, wishing I had pockets so I’d have something to do with my hands. I felt awkward now, anxious to go inside.

Kade tried to catch my eye, but I glanced away. My earlier good mood had plummeted.

“Still have your gun?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, well, I’m gonna bug out then,” he said. For the first time this evening, he seemed awkward, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking away from me.

“You’re leaving again?” I couldn’t stop from blurting out the question. My insides froze in dismay to think of him leaving again so soon.

He shook his head. “Nah. Got a new place. It’s… not far from here.”

I nodded wordlessly, relieved.

“I’ll probably leave in a day or two,” he said. “I have some business to take care of.”

My stomach was in a hard knot again and I didn’t speak.

“I’ll stop by first, say good-bye.”

I cleared my throat. “Um, yeah. But, I know you’re busy, so, you know, if you don’t get to it…”

If he didn’t “get to it”—what? It was fine? Okay? I wouldn’t care if I didn’t see him? My throat closed up again.

“You should… ah… call Blane,” he said out of the blue.

“What?” I was sure I’d misheard.

“You guys should talk, patch things up.” He still wouldn’t look at me as he said this.

“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black?” I said. “You didn’t seem like you were in any mood to ‘patch things up’ with him earlier.”

Kade looked at me now. “I’m still pissed.”

“So am I.”

His lips twisted at my sharp retort.

After an awkward moment, I said, “So, I guess I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Guess so.” Kade’s face was unreadable.

“Thanks for the movie.” I walked past him, noticing his hands were clenched in fists, but he made no move to stop me and said nothing more.

My steps were slow as I climbed the stairs to my apartment. When I reached my door, I glanced back at where Kade still stood in the parking lot, watching me. The sight of him reminded me too vividly of how he’d looked in Denver after he’d stuck me in a taxi bound for the airport.

I couldn’t take seeing him get in his car and leave, so I hurried into my apartment. It was blessedly cool inside for a change, but I knew I needed to turn the air off. Mechanically, I went from window to window, opening each one wide. A slight breeze wafted in, which was nice, but it still got warm fast.

I brushed my teeth and washed my face before climbing into bed. I didn’t bother changing, it was too hot to wear much, so I just shucked my shorts and the shirt I’d thrown on over my cami and lay on top of the sheets. I glanced at the bureau across the room. All my textbooks were stacked neatly on it. None of them had been in the kitchen or living room where Kade might have noticed them.

Huh.

As I lay there, I realized it was the first day in a long time that I hadn’t had a drink. I decided that was a Good Thing. I was even mildly concerned about Gage and the threat he posed. At least, enough to make sure Blane’s gun was fully loaded and within easy reach on my bedside table.

Which didn’t help me at all when I was jerked awake sometime later by someone’s hand covering my mouth.

My eyes flew open and I saw a man standing over me. I screamed, but the sound was muffled under his hand. I struggled, trying to pry his hand off me, only to freeze when he leveled a gun to my forehead.

“Don’t make a sound,” he said. “Scream and you’re dead. Understand?”

I nodded ever so slightly, my eyes glued to the gun.

He slowly removed his hand and I took a deep breath, my brain working frantically.

“Now here’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “You’re going to slowly stand up…”

He moved back and I did as he said. My gaze flicked to my bedside table. The gun was gone.

“Now walk into the living room.”

I could feel the gun pointed at my back as I walked. My hands were clammy with sweat and my heart raced.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Are you going to kill me?” I’d reached the living room and saw the door to my apartment standing slightly ajar. He must have jimmied the lock and broken in.

The man grasped my arm, turning me back around in front of the couch.

“No. You’re going to kill yourself.” He motioned with the gun. “Sit.”

My knees gave way and I sat heavily. Sweat trickled down between my breasts. The moonlight filtered through the open windows.

“I’m not going to kill myself,” I said.

“Of course you are. I get a bonus if you do.”

I could see the man more clearly now and he wasn’t much to look at, though it was clear that meeting him in a dark alley would be inadvisable. Medium build with dark hair, his grip on the gun was steady and sure. I was willing to bet this wasn’t his first time at murder.

“I could give a shit if you get a bonus,” I gritted out, anger beginning to burn away the fear. How dare this bastard invade my home? “Tell Gage to go fuck himself.”

“Now is that any way for a lady to talk?” he mocked. “But dressed like that, I’m guessing you ain’t no lady. I’d give you a test drive myself, but the things they can do with DNA nowadays…” He shook his head forlornly, as though lamenting that he couldn’t rape me before killing me.

“You should leave before I kill you,” I threatened. Rage was making me tremble.

He laughed. “That’s a good one. What you’re really going to do is take this gun”—he held up my gun—“put the barrel inside your mouth, and pull the trigger.”

“You’d have a better chance of getting me to suck your dick,” I spat.

“Okay, let’s try this,” he said. “I suppose you know your friend—what’s her name, Alisha? Well, she got home a little while ago, romantic weekend getaway, you know. They must have had a real nice time, too, because she let him sleep over tonight.”

My blood ran cold at his words.

“So you either do as I say,” he continued, “or I’m going to go over there and put a bullet in both their heads.”

I swallowed. “How do I know you won’t do that anyway?”

He shrugged. “Because I said so. It’s messy, it’ll make noise and attract attention, and I’m only getting paid for you, sweetheart.”

I didn’t see any way out of this. I couldn’t let him go kill Alisha and Lewis. And I’d sent away both men who could have protected me, so no one was coming to the rescue.

In retrospect, probably not the best decision I’d ever made.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’ll be quick and painless. You won’t even know what hit you.”

Gee, thanks, now I felt all better.

He holstered his gun and racked the slide on mine. Standing in front of me, he reached for my arm—

Tigger suddenly jumped up on the couch, startling both the guy and me. I used the split second of distraction to slam my arm into his, knocking the gun away. He fired reflexively, the bullet embedding itself in the couch.

I threw myself at him and we both went down. The gun flew from his hand and I fought dirty, shoving my knee into his groin and pressing my forearm against his throat. He grunted in pain, but his hand found my hair and yanked, forcing my head back. I lost my leverage and he threw me off. His fist crashed into my side and I screamed in pain from the agonizing blow against my bruised ribs.

He scrabbled to get on top of me, but I rolled, throwing my elbow out and catching him in the face. My gun was just a few inches away and I reached for it. He grabbed my waist, pulling me backward—

Then suddenly I was free. He was off me.

I leapt for my gun, grabbing it and rolling onto my back in one quick movement, then froze.

Blane had the man in a headlock and was squeezing his neck, slowly suffocating him. The man struggled, but he was no match for Blane. A few moments later, his body went lax and his eyes rolled back in his head. Blane dropped his body to the floor and stepped over it. He crouched down next to me.

“Kat, are you all right?”

I couldn’t answer, so I just gave a jerky nod.

He reached out and carefully took the gun from my grip, ejecting the chambered round before setting it aside. He took me in his arms and pulled me onto his lap. I curled into him, my hands fisting his shirt.

I was shaking like a leaf, the fear and adrenaline leaving me an exhausted mess. It felt so good to be in Blane’s arms again, which was a bizarre thought, considering the circumstances. I inhaled, the familiar scent of him comforting in ways I didn’t examine too closely.

“Did he hurt you?” Blane asked.

“Hit me. Pulled my hair,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Blane’s hand cupped my head and I felt his lips brush my brow, then he tucked me back into the crook of his neck. I sighed, my eyes slipping shut.

Blane’s arms tightened around me. “I can’t lose you,” he murmured. “Not like this.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I remained silent.

“Well, this wasn’t what I was expecting.”

At Kade’s voice, my eyes shot open. He stood in the open doorway, gun in hand. His gaze took in the man on the floor and every part of me folded into Blane’s lap. If I could have made myself smaller to fit inside Blane’s pocket, I probably would have.

“Nine-one-one call on the scanner,” Kade said. “Neighbor heard shots. Cops are on their way.” His eyes locked on mine. “What happened?”

“He broke in. Told me to kill myself,” I said. “Said he’d get a bonus if it looked like a suicide.”

“Fuck.”

I agreed with Kade’s sentiment, as did Blane, judging by the way his muscles contracted around me, holding me even closer. My body felt like liquid against his.

“Why the fuck haven’t you taken care of this?” Kade exploded, shoving his gun in the back of his jeans.

I started, his anger taking me by surprise. “What—”

“Not you. Him.” He jerked his chin toward Blane. “Why is Gage still alive?”

“I don’t go running around killing people just because it suits me,” Blane ground out.

“So you’d rather that he keep sending people to kill Kathleen?” Kade’s furious outrage made me wince. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

It seemed time to move out of the line of fire between the two of them, so I eased myself off Blane’s lap. He stood and helped me to my feet.

“She could be dead right now,” Kade continued, berating Blane. “But hey, at least you could sleep at night, right?”

Blane had Kade by the throat before I could even blink. He shoved him up against the wall and a framed photo crashed to the floor, its glass shattering.

“Where the fuck were you, Kade?” Blane accused. “What, you don’t bother protecting her if she’s not mine?”

“I didn’t think you’d be a fucking moron, again, and not take care of it,” Kade hissed.

Both of my hands covered my mouth as I watched them argue, and I backed up until I hit a wall. The two men blurred in my vision.

“This is all my fault. This is all my fault,” I kept repeating in broken whispers. My knees gave out and I slid down the wall to the floor. I stared at them as both Blane and Kade kept throwing accusations at each other. Kade had gotten free of Blane’s hold and it looked like at any moment they were going to come to blows.

But Kade’s eyes flicked to mine and he seemed to remember himself, tossing one last accusing look at Blane before crouching next to me. I looked up at him.

“It’s not your fault, princess,” Kade said gently. “None of this is. Come on, let’s get some clothes on you.”

He helped me to my feet and I blindly followed him to my bedroom. A few minutes later I had on shorts and a T-shirt over my cami. Kade slipped flip-flops onto my feet and took my hand.

“We’re leaving,” Kade told Blane once we’d returned to the living room. I couldn’t stop looking at the dead guy on the floor, his eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling.

“Where are you going?”

“Kathleen’s coming with me,” Kade replied. “Get this shit fixed with Gage, or I’ll take care of it myself.” The threat underlying his words was obvious.

“Kat…,” Blane said.

I tore my gaze from the dead guy.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Are you going… with him?”

I glanced at Kade but couldn’t read anything from his face. I couldn’t tell if he wanted me to say yes, no, or didn’t care one way or the other.

But I could feel his hand in mine, and it was warm and strong.

“Yeah.”

And that was the last thing I said to Blane before walking out the door with Kade.