Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
How had he not seen it right away?
Now that he was looking for it, it was so obvious that this was his Kate.
Of course, she was older now, no longer in her late teens.
Her body had filled out a little, her hips curvier, her breasts fuller.
Those stunning blue eyes of hers were the same, her blonde locks were longer than when he’d last seen her, and her plump, pink lips were still as kissable as he remembered.
No.
Not his Kate anymore.
He’d lost that right a decade ago when he dumped her.
And not just ended a relationship abruptly, completely out of the blue as far as Kate was concerned but done in the most cruel way he could.
Most of what he’d said that day was fuelled by the rage simmering just beneath the surface.
His fear was that he wouldn't be able to control himself around the woman he loved and would wind up hurting her.
Killing her.
So when she’d excitedly informed him that she was pregnant and they were having a baby, he’d snapped.
Told her to abort it, that he wanted nothing to do with a kid, and that it was over between them.
When he’d informed her that he never wanted to see her again, she’d sobbed, asked him how he could be so cold, and then thrown the engagement ring back in his face before running out.
Now it felt like that engagement ring, worn on a chain around his neck, was burning against his skin.
Kate was back.
Here.
At his home.
Standing before him with eyes widened in shock, her hands zip-tied behind her back, and four weapons still aimed at her head, ready to fire if she turned out to be a threat.
His Kate was no threat, and yet … how in the hell was she there?
Back then, she’d known he was in the military, of course, but he’d never told her about the experimental drug program. They’d signed NDAs, and while he would have told her after the wedding, he’d never gotten that chance.
“It’s her,” Steel said from beside Kate.
Because Lion saw everything, he noticed that his team leader’s grip on Kate’s arm loosened slightly, still keeping her close, but now more holding up the woman then preventing her from attacking, understanding that this was the woman from his past he’d never been able to let go.
Kate would never attack them. Yet … she was there.
No one but Eagle knew where they lived, and what reason would his Kate have for contacting the billionaire former SEAL owner of Prey Security? How would she even know to do so?
Seemingly unable to speak, Lion just nodded.
While he’d never spoken Kate’s name to any of the members of the team, never talked about the fiancée whose heart he shattered into a million pieces, they weren't stupid. If nothing else, the fact that he’d refused to leave the facility where they’d been caged for three years before finding Kate’s engagement ring that had been taken from him when they were first imprisoned, was enough to clue them in.
“Leo, why are you … why are they … are you going to kill me?” Kate asked with a whimper, and the fact that his girl, who he loved just as fiercely today as he had a decade ago when he left to protect her, thought he would ever hurt her, much less kill her, cut through his chest like a knife.
Only he had hurt her.
In the worst possible way.
“No,” he said simply, and the four remaining weapons lowered slightly. No one put them away, though, because she was still there, somewhere she shouldn’t be, obviously looking for him, even though she shouldn’t have been able to find him.
Did Lion honestly think that Kate was a threat?
Absolutely not.
But this wasn't just his home, ten other people now lived there, and he wouldn't put their lives on the line for a woman he used to know.
Even if it was his Kate.
Taking a step toward her, he hated the way her breath hitched, and she shrank back a little, clearly not believing him when he told her that neither he nor anyone else was going to kill her.
“Please, Leo, I just need your help,” she whimpered, tears tumbling down her cheeks in a steady stream.
If this were a decade ago, he would have pulled her into his arms, kissed away those tears, cradled her close, and whispered soothing nonsense into her ear until she was ready to tell him what was wrong.
Then he would have done whatever it took to make it better for her, make her smile, slay her dragons, make her feel safe, protected, and loved.
Now he stood there helplessly, unsure what to do. What to say. How to act.
Everything had changed between them, yet for him, nothing had.
He still loved her as much today as he had that day eleven years ago when he came home to find his little sister’s best friend all grown up.
Grown up into the most stunning woman he’d ever laid eyes on, beautiful inside and out, sweet and funny, smart and caring, she was everything, and he’d fallen hard and fast. Then, after the best year of his life, he’d ruined it all by signing up for that damn experimental drug program.
A program that ultimately cost him everything.
His future, the woman he loved, and the child whose death he’d caused.
Given the fact he’d dumped her and told her to terminate her pregnancy, Lion couldn’t think of a single reason why Kate would come to him for help. Why she’d come to him for any reason.
Yet here she was.
“How did you find me?” he growled, the shock and raging emotions inside him making his words come out harsher than he’d intended, causing her to flinch and cower.
Never before had his girl cowered before him.
Kate had always been confident in herself.
She’d known who she was from a young age and never allowed herself to be persuaded by the crowd to be anyone else.
Back a decade ago, he’d believed that his girl would quickly move on, find someone worthy of her, someone she would be safe around, someone she could build a life with.
At the time, he hadn't realized how bad things would get, that Dr. Gardner was insane, that he was going to be kept in a cage for three years, or that the enhancements would work, just not in the way they’d originally thought.
Gaze darting from him, to Steel, who was still holding her arm, to the others who were yet to remove their masks, Kate trembled, but she met his gaze squarely when she answered.
“I was looking for you, trying to find you any way I could. Then, out of the blue, I got a call from a man named Eagle who told me you were here. He gave me this address, and I drove straight here.”
Eagle had told her where to find him?
Why the hell would his boss give out this address to a random woman from his past, when not even the rest of Prey’s employees, who had actually been there, knew the address? Hell, not even the five other Oswald siblings had this address.
“Eagle Oswald gave you this address?” he repeated, clearly incredulous if the confused half nod Kate gave was anything to go by.
Could he believe that?
If he didn't, what was the alternative?
As far as they were aware, Dr. Gardner had never known his location.
If he had, he would have turned up there.
Therefore, there should be no reason that the scientist’s mother should have the address.
Even if she did, there was no reason to believe that Kate would be involved with the woman.
Plus, they were still uncertain what role River Gardner had played in the drug program anyway.
“Call him,” Steel ordered. “Call Eagle and find out if she’s lying.”
“I'm not lying,” Kate objected, a slight hint of indignation in her tone. Of course, there was. His girl was honest to a fault, something that used to drive his little sister crazy when they were all kids, because Kate could never lie if the girls were caught breaking the rules.
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” Steel said, making it clear that if she was then the opposite was true.
Something Kate obviously picked up on because she shrank in on herself.
Pulling out his cell phone, Lion couldn’t take his eyes off his Kate as he dialed their boss’ number.
If Eagle didn't confirm her story, he didn't know how he was going to face what was coming next for Kate. She’d found her way there, looking for him.
If it wasn't because of Eagle, they were going to have to get the information out of her any way they could.
Including torture.
The thought of his girl going through that …
Lion gulped as he waited for the call to be picked up. As much as he couldn’t stomach his girl being hurt, even if she was a threat to him and his family, he had to put the people he loved first. Ahead of everything. Even Kate.
Please don’t be lying, Katie-Bear. I don’t want to have to hurt you all over again.
March 13th
1:40 P.M.
Kate didn't know what these men would do to her if Eagle didn't confirm her story.
What Leo was going to do to her.
Of course, she wasn't lying, and Eagle would confirm that, but knowing that the Leo she remembered was now involved with these men dressed all in black who might not be ghosts haunting a house, but were dangerous nonetheless, was terrifying.
Had she ever really known Leo at all?
Because standing there, looking at him so comfortably pointing a loaded weapon at an innocent woman, the coldness in those eyes she used to love so much, it felt like she never had. Like the boy she’d fallen in love with had turned into a man she never would have glanced twice at.
While he listened to the man on the other end of the phone, Eagle, she assumed, Leo’s gaze never left hers.
The intensity of the stare was too much, and she shivered under it.
It felt like a weight, pressing down upon her, and it was only because she was there for a reason that she didn't completely crumble.
The stakes were too high to break.
“You're okay,” the man beside her rumbled, and her head snapped up to meet his gaze, breaking the connection Leo seemed to be forcing her into.
Something had changed, but she didn't know these people well enough to know what exactly.