CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Fallon
“HOW ARE YOU FEELING?” KYE ASKED AS HE CARRIED OVER A tray laden with soup, mashed potatoes, tea, and, of course, a milkshake.
God, he was so damn adorable. Something about this tattooed mountain of a man making everything the doctor had suggested just melted me. “I feel like I could’ve gone to work.” Kye opened his mouth to speak, but I kept on going. “But I’m not going to be mad at a day of spoiling.”
“A week,” Kye argued.
“Kyler …”
“Meet me in the middle. Three days.”
I huffed out a breath. “I like my routine. I want to take the girls to school, go to a job I love, spend my evenings with you.”
“Evenings like last night?” Kye said, a smile stretching across his face.
“Don’t be cocky,” I warned, but I couldn’t help the smile teasing my lips at the memories of last night.
Kye’s grin went slightly off-kilter in that way I loved. “Who, me? I’d never.”
“Sure,” I muttered.
A ringing phone cut off our conversation, and Kye shifted to pull his cell out of his pocket and hit the icon for the front gate speaker box. “Hello?”
“It’s me.” Trace’s voice crackled over the intercom. “And I’ve got someone with me who has an interesting development.”
I reached over and wove my fingers through Kye’s, wanting him to know I was there.
“Way to be cryptic, asshole,” Kye muttered.
I heard a voice chuckle in the background. Deep and husky. “Nothing like brothers.”
I frowned while Kye scowled. “Come on up.”
The moment he disconnected the call, he stood, giving my hand a squeeze before releasing it.
“Who do you think it is?” I asked softly.
Kye shook his head. “I have no clue.”
I could see the energy crackling below Kye’s surface. As if he couldn’t have stayed still for all the money in the world. Looking up, I met his gaze and held it. “Whoever it is, whatever it is, we’ll deal.”
“Together.”
“Together.”
A swift knock sounded, and Kye crossed to the door, punching a button on the security panel before opening it. He held it as a parade of men entered the house. Four I recognized, and one I didn’t. Trace, Dex, Anson, and Gabriel led the way, while a mysterious man brought up the rear.
He was tall, just an inch or so shorter than Kye, and broad, with dark hair and scruff lining his jaw. But what stopped me dead were his piercing, dark blue eyes.
Trace moved deeper into the living space. “How are you feeling, Fal?”
“Very pampered,” I said with a small smile.
Trace chuckled. “Glad to hear it.”
“You gonna tell us what’s going on?” Kye muttered, shifting so he was between the stranger and me.
I tried to figure out who the man might be. He wasn’t in a uniform of any kind. Instead, he wore worn cowboy boots, dark jeans, a flannel, and a thick jacket. He looked like a rancher, but that didn’t make sense.
The man extended a hand to Kye. “I’m Hayes Easton. Sheriff out in Wolf Gap and the surrounding county.”
I was familiar with the area with its stunning scenery of mountains and a breathtaking lake, but I didn’t have the first clue why he’d be here.
“Let’s sit,” Trace suggested. “Hayes, this is my sister, Fallon.”
Hayes dipped his chin in greeting but didn’t approach, which told me a couple of things. One, he’d seen Kye’s move and didn’t want to appear threatening. And two, he didn’t want me to feel uncomfortable. He cemented that bit when he spoke.
“I’m so sorry about what’s happened to you, Fallon. If I can help in any way, know I will.” There was understanding in those dark blue eyes. The kind that spoke of experience. That only piqued my interest more.
Kye settled next to me, gently pulling me into his side. “So, what does a sheriff from six hours away have to do with this case?”
Everyone went silent for a moment. Dex shifted, shadows swirling in his hazel eyes. Anson’s expression had gone carefully blank. And Gabriel dropped his gaze to his shoes.
It was Trace who spoke, meeting Kye’s eyes and not looking away. “Hayes has a case that looks like it might intersect with ours. Someone stabbed your birth father. Rex is dead.”
Kye went unnaturally still for a long moment. I burrowed deeper against his side, placing a hand over his heart. “Same MO?” Kye croaked.
“Similar,” Hayes answered. “This one looks a bit more violent. Overkill.”
Kye’s throat worked as he struggled to swallow. “It doesn’t make sense. He had nothing to do with that fight ring.”
“The profile is changing,” Anson said quietly. “The unsub’s devolving as his rage builds. You and your birth father look alike.”
Kye reared back as if he’d been slapped, and I grabbed his hand, holding on with everything I had.
Anson waited for a moment as Kye pulled himself together. “My best guess is that your father was a surrogate for you. When the unsub killed him, in his mind, he was really killing you.”
My hand spasmed around Kye’s as fear dug in. “Was any evidence left behind?” I croaked. “Anything that will tell us who he is?”
Hayes scrubbed a hand over his face. “Some items are still being processed, but no prints so far. No DNA. And we think he took the knife with him.”
I looked at Anson. “What about you? Anything?”
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Here’s what I’ve built so far. A white male, somewhere between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five. Considerable strength. Knowledgeable with computers. There’s trauma somewhere in his life. And something in the past month triggered this.”
My head swam. That was practically half the population. It didn’t exactly make things easier.
“You need to take precautions,” Trace said.
“Anchor Security is coming tomorrow. Holt’s arranging a security detail for all of us,” Kye said.
Hayes’s brows lifted. “You know Holt Hartley?”
Kye nodded. “Anson is friends with one of his brothers.”
“No shit,” Hayes said with a grin. “I’ve known him for years. And his company does amazing work. That’s exactly who you want.”
Kye dipped his head to look at me. “See? We’re going to be just fine.”
I wanted to believe him—wanted to so badly—but I was terrified. “Promise me.”
He brushed his lips across mine. “I promise.”
My hand fisted in his tee. “And you’re not running?” It was a secondary fear. But a fear, nonetheless.
Kye dropped his forehead to mine. “You and me against the world, Sparrow.”
“You and me,” I whispered.
“Enchanted!” Gracie begged as Kye scrolled through movie options in the screening room while my mom knitted in the corner seat nearest a light source. Since she’d brought them over for dinner and movie time, I’d sensed them relaxing a little, trusting that we weren’t going anywhere.
“Oooooh, yeah,” Clem agreed.
Kye winced. “You guys don’t want to watch Spiderman or something?”
Gracie’s nose wrinkled. “He turns into a spider? No, thank you.”
Hayden laughed. “He doesn’t turn into a spider. He just has superhuman abilities.”
“Spider abilities?” Gracie asked skeptically.
“Kind of,” Hayden hedged.
“Nope. No, thank you,” Gracie muttered.
Hayden laughed, shrugging as she turned to Kye. “I tried to help you.”
“I appreciate the valiant effort, but Enchanted for the eighty-seven-millionth time it is,” Kye said, resigned.
I pawed through all the candy we had stored down here in a mini concession stand. “Are we seriously out of strawberry Sour Patch Kids?”
“Sparrow, do you honestly think I’d let us be out of your favorite candy?” Kye asked, exasperation coating every word. “I’ve got three mega packs in the garage.”
“Oh.”
He laughed as Mom started to rise. “I’ll get them.”
I held out a hand. “I’ve got it. I need to move after lying around all day.”
The meeting with Trace’s team had lasted a while, and afterward, Kye and I had snuggled on the couch while he processed the fact that his birth father was dead.
There was a whole stew of emotions: relief, guilt, fear.
It would take time for him to come to terms with it all.
But I wasn’t sad that Rex Blackwood was no longer walking the Earth.
“Anyone need a drink?” I asked as I headed for the stairs.
“Strawberry bubbly water, please,” Gracie called.
“Me, too!” Clem cheered.
I climbed the stairs, relishing the feeling of moving my muscles. Tomorrow, I was forcing Kye to go for a walk, even if we had to bring the bodyguards. I pulled drinks from the fridge and set them on the island, then went in search of my beloved candy.
Stepping into the garage, I shivered. The temperature had definitely dropped today.
Flipping on the light, I crossed to the shelving unit on the far side of the garage and grinned.
Kye had stacked doubles and triples of all my favorites: strawberry Sour Patch Kids, gummy bears, and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
My husband was the best.
I reached out for the colorful package but stilled as I heard a squeak. I turned, but it was too late. Someone jerked me back, a hand covering my mouth. No, not just a hand, a rag. And it tasted … sweet?
I sent my elbow flying back. The person grunted but didn’t release me.
“Not this time, Fallon. This time, he’s going to know what it’s like to lose everything.”