Chapter 26
K ane snapped his head to the bedroom door as Beth walked out, a bit wobbly on legs that looked incredible below the hem of his T-shirt.
He crossed the small living room and reached her in three strides. Grasping her shoulders, he shielded her body with his. Nic and Linc didn’t need to gawk at the beautiful, hot mess in his clothes.
She glanced toward the windows. A sliver of sunlight peeked through a gap in the drapes. A car honked from the front of the house, followed by the grinding of a garbage truck. “Where are we?”
“Just outside of DC at another safe house. Tell me how you feel.”
“Like you have some explaining to do.”
Dark circles marred the skin under her eyes. She smelled like the fire from last night, but her snark hadn’t taken a hit. And thank God she wasn’t hiding under the covers in a dark bedroom like his mother had after her trauma. Beth was tougher than that, but if last night had broken her, he’d be here to help put her back together.
Linc cleared his throat behind them. “I’m headed out to do a perimeter sweep.”
“And I’m on guard duty,” Nic said.
Kane hooked his thumbs in the front pocket of his jeans as he watched them leave. He’d been sick with worry since he’d gotten Beth into bed a few hours ago. His own slumber had come in short bursts as he lay next to her, only leaving to check in with Nic and Linc who took turns sleeping on the couch and keeping watch from the SUV parked in the driveway.
If there was ever any doubt she was a target, there was none now.
“Tell me how you’re feeling.” He used the tone he’d employed last night when he’d told her to stay put.
“I’m fine.”
So much for listening to him today. “That’s a bullshit answer and you know it.”
“I’ll give you real answers after you give me some.” She shifted, switching her weight from one foot to the other and winced.
“Shit, Beth. You shouldn’t be standing with your feet all cut up like that.”
She slapped him on the shoulder as he lifted her in his arms. “I can walk, Kane. Put me down.”
He set her on the couch. “You’re hurt.”
“But you’re not.” She fisted his long-sleeve black T-shirt in her hand. “How are you not hurt? Or dead?”
Kane’s adrenaline kicked in as she pressed him for details. She was riled up and he was burning to expel pent-up energy. They both could use a good fight. Hopefully, at the end, she’d realize she wasn’t a black widow.
He knelt in front of her and grabbed her ankle. “I thought you didn’t want me dead? ”
“I don’t.” Her leg jerked as he ran his finger along the bottom of her foot. “How bad does it look?”
“Better. I cleaned up the cuts and put antibiotic ointment on them.”
“Thanks. What happened last night?”
“All six hostiles who engaged with us are connected to the Diablo cartel. No sign of Chavez though.”
“Do you think their goal was to take me?”
“Yes, whoever is messing with you, whether it be the stalker or Chavez, is done playing.”
Determination shot through her eyes. “Tell me everything.”
“Ryan saw a van pull into the cul-de-sac at the same time of the explosion, which was my truck blowing up. I really liked that truck. My favorite shotgun was in there.”
“Thank God you left your cowboy hat at my parents’ house. Its demise would be a tragedy.”
“Cause I’m sexy in it, right?” He grinned, remembering her comment about how she admired how he could go from hardened warrior to charming country boy in less than a second. If acting like a bigheaded cowboy made her laugh, he’d boast about himself all day.
“Too sexy for your own damn good and arrogant as hell.” She sighed as his hands slid up her ankle and massaged the bottom of her calf. “Keep talking about what happened, and don’t stop what you’re doing to my leg.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He’d do anything to coax that soft sigh from her again. “All six hostiles are dead, a couple of them by your gun. How do you feel about that?”
“I’ve been training to defend myself for two years. I’ve always wondered if it was enough to save myself in a real situation. Now I know, and it’s oddly comforting, yet I’m horrified. Does that make sense?”
“Perfect sense. ”
She bit her lip. “What does it say about me?”
And there it was. The doubt. “I’m no therapist, but I think it says you’re a survivor. If you didn’t doubt what defending your life in exchange for another’s did to you, then you wouldn’t be human.”
She pulled her leg from his hands and tucked it underneath her. Leaning back into the cushions of the oversized couch, she studied him. “Are you human? Because what I witnessed last night was not of this world.” She shifted her knees and sat up straighter. “Christ, Kane, you didn’t have a gun. Those cartel guys fell and didn’t get back up. And you did nothing but stand there…but you didn’t just stand there. You looked surreal, like some sort of godlike warrior blessed by the heavens and created in hell.”
“So you think I’m a god?”
“Nice try to distract me with humor, but it won’t work this time.”
No, it wouldn’t, but he couldn’t share the full extent of what he was capable of. If she got captured by Chavez and they questioned what her Project VIPER boyfriend could do…
He squeezed his fingers into fists. “The less you know, the better. Trust me.”
“I do trust you. You put your life before mine last night—twice—and didn’t die. That’s a first.”
“So you trust me to keep you alive, but you don’t trust me not to die?”
She waved a finger. “Oh no you don’t. This isn’t about me. We’re talking about the superpowers you joke about. But are you really joking? Did Scarlett really make you into a cyborg or something?” She shook her head. “God, that sounds as crazy as me being a black widow, but I know what I saw. How is it possible to kill a man without moving an inch? ”
And he regretted killing all of them. He should have left one of the bastards alive to interrogate. But mercy, even for the benefit of the greater good, hadn’t been on his mind. Pure anger, fueled by what he’d seen them do to Jenna and what he knew they would do to Beth, fueled the intensity of his V-Strikes.
Beth stared at him, her breath puffing in short pants. “And I know those men didn’t drop dead because their heart stopped beating at the sight of you looking so beautifully deadly.”
His mind stuck on the beautiful part. Only somebody as beautiful as Beth would see that in his lethal body. Right now, he’d die if he didn’t show her how heavenly things could be between them.
No regrets.
He didn’t want not taking a chance to be the biggest, beautiful regret of his life. Now he knew what Scarlett meant when she’d said fight for her. Fighting for Beth’s life had been easy. Fighting for her to believe she wasn’t cursed was the real battle.
“I wish I could tell you about what I did last night and at the liquor store, but?—”
Realization lit her eyes. “You used your cyborg voodoo magic to take down the hoodie guys too? I knew something was off.”
If she was being sarcastic, he’d laugh his ass off at “cyborg voodoo magic,” but she was serious. Short of seeing the V-Strikes stream from his leg, she’d witnessed him at his deadliest. His need to tell her the truth burned his insides. Maybe if she knew how much power flowed through his body, she wouldn’t be afraid he would die. Then again, maybe if she knew the perilous situations he faced because he’d been created to have that power, she’d be even more scared.
He opened his mouth to say that if he told her the truth, he’d have to kill her, but shut it. She didn’t need flippant. She needed honesty, and he wouldn’t lie to her. “I killed those men with my, uh, technology.”
“But you didn’t kill the ones in the liquor store.”
“No, they weren’t trained mercenaries like Chavez’s men.” He sat back on his heels. “They were stupid kids.”
“How did you kill the mercenaries?”
“It’s classified.”
She leaned forward. “Well, declassify it.”
“I don’t have that authority.” His leg jittered, egging him to appease her curiosity.
“I bet Edgar does. He has the clout to make things happen fast ’cause he’s the admiral.”
“It’s not that easy. I don’t even know if he can authorize that.”
She grabbed his wrist. “Use this fancy watch and call him. Or phone home to headquarters or whatever the hell lingo you use. Or maybe write a letter to Santa. It’s Christmas Eve, for Christ’s sake. I deserve a present after all I’ve been through. You told me back at my townhome that I’m part of the VIPER family since Scarlett is my bestie, but I’m not. I’m treated like the weird out-of-town cousin who’s staying for a week and has to follow everyone else’s schedule.” She looked around the sparse living space. “And would it kill VIPER to at least put a Christmas tree somewhere? There is nothing festive about white walls and worn furniture.”
Desire spread in his core. God, she was gorgeous when she was worked up. “You’re right. You do deserve a present, but I can’t give you that.” He’d be asking Edgar for permission to reveal not just his secrets but the team’s as well.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s only fair that you tell me your secrets since I told you mine.”
He’d gladly share if he could, but his superpowers weren’t the only secret he was keeping. Sometime during this conversation, everything he’d been questioning about his relationship beliefs boiled down to one truth. If Beth knew they both feared his demise, but for different reasons, she’d never let go of her black widow belief.
He touched her leg and rubbed a slow circle above the cut he’d bandaged last night. “I can’t share that one. Pick something else you want to know.”