Chapter 55
55
C ate couldn’t believe this.
What did Oliver think he was doing? When he’d walked into the house, she’d been shocked and confused. She’d demanded to know what he was doing there.
And then he’d pulled out a gun.
Cate had retreated into herself. She’d had to. She couldn’t panic or he might shoot. And then what would stop him going after Ethan or her brother?
Now they were sitting on the couch in the living room, with her between Rhodes and Ethan. Oliver sat across from them, the gun resting casually in his hand.
He seemed so different. So . . . wrong.
“What is going on? Why are you here with a gun?” Cate asked.
“Well, I’m not here for you,” Oliver sneered. “Honestly, Cate. You have a big brain, use it. If it wasn’t for the fact that Rhodes loves you, I would have gotten rid of you a long time ago.” He turned to Rhodes, his body softening. “But my love cares for you so that means I have to as well.”
His love?
She felt Rhodes stiffen. Ethan drew her closer. He was practically vibrating with rage. She might not be great at reading facial expressions, but there had been no missing his absolute fury when he’d seen that gun aimed at her head.
He was in protector mode and Oliver better watch out. Any slip-up and he was dead.
Oliver had killed Kevin.
That part was confusing. He’d made Ethan drag his body down the driveway and into the garage.
There was a dead body in the garage.
“Your love?” Ethan asked.
“My love, Rhodes. I’ve been in love with him even since before I met him. It’s why I took this job with Cate. No one else would work with her. But it got me closer to Rhodes.”
“So it is you,” she said. “You’re the stalker. Or one of them.”
“I’m not a stalker,” he said sharply. “I’m an admirer. A secret admirer.”
“Were you working with Samantha?” Ethan asked.
“What? No! That stupid bitch took advantage of the situation. She decided to do all that herself. Although it worked in my favor, keeping the heat off me. Until I messed up and posted those photos of my love in New York with the bitch. Meanwhile, Samantha hired someone to run Cate and Ethan off the road. Then it became more obvious that there were two admirers.”
“You’ve loved Rhodes all this time?” Cate asked.
“Yes.”
“And you’re the blogger?” she asked.
“Yes.” He sighed dreamily.
“I’m surprised you didn’t try to get rid of Samantha,” Ethan ventured. “She was dating Rhodes.”
“He didn’t love her. I knew that. I could tell. But he needed her for his career. I would have gotten rid of her eventually. At times she proved useful. I got rid of Kevin because he was being a dick. He was going to make you pay a lot of money to get out of your contract. Now, that problem is gone.”
Dear Lord.
He was mad. Nuts. And she had to do something to save them.
“Would you like to sit next to Rhodes,” she said.
He narrowed his gaze.
“You’ve gone to all this work to be with him. You should get to know him better.”
“Is this a trick?”
“No trick. In fact, why don’t I make you a drink?”
“You’ll drug it.”
“With what? I don’t have any drugs. I’ll tell you what. I’ll make a drink and we’ll all take a sip. If it’s drugged, it will get us first.”
Oliver seemed to think about that before he nodded. “Put the big guy in these first.” He drew some handcuffs out and threw them at Cate. “Hands behind him.”
Ethan glared at Oliver as Cate handcuffed him. Then he moved to the seat Oliver had been in as Oliver sat by Rhodes, gazing at him adoringly.
She looked at Rhodes briefly, opening her eyes. She hoped he understood that she wanted him to keep Oliver occupied.
“So, Oliver, tell me everything you did to get close to me.”
It wasn’t much, surprisingly. But apparently, he was the one to try and break in. He’d wanted Rhodes to come back. He hadn’t been able to follow him that time like he had to New York.
She worked quickly, making up a mango and strawberry daiquiri. But with only a bit of strawberry so you couldn’t see that it was an ingredient.
She hoped it was enough.
She brought two glasses over, handing one to Rhodes. He took a sip when she nodded to him. Then she held the other glass up and drank from it, before giving Ethan some.
Oliver watched them for a long while. “What is it?”
“A mango daiquiri.”
“My favorite.”
She knew that. Cate stored a lot of stuff in her big brain. She sat on the arm of Ethan’s chair as Oliver began to drink. Rhodes let him get close to him. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for Oliver’s skin to go blotchy. He let out a gasp, the drink dropping from his hand as he reached for his neck.
“What . . . what did . . . you . . .”
Cate dove for the gun, ignoring Rhodes and Ethan’s yells. Oliver didn’t put up a fight. Ethan grabbed her, dragging her back. When he set her down, he took hold of the gun.
By now, Oliver was barely breathing.
“How . . .” Oliver gasped, staring up at her in shock.
“Enjoy those strawberries, asshole.”
Ethan searched out his girl.
She was in big trouble. She’d dove at a loaded gun. His heart was still in his throat as he remembered it.
What had she been thinking?
Sure, she was smart to think of giving Oliver strawberries, something he was allergic to. But that didn’t mean she got to risk her life like that.
Oliver was going to live, unfortunately. They’d gotten him to the hospital in time. But after explaining everything to the cops, it was now the middle of the night and Ethan was exhausted.
He just wanted to scold his girl and then hold her for the next month or so.
But when he walked into the bedroom, he found her packing.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“I thought I would get a head start on the packing.”
She looked pale, in shock, and he knew he wouldn’t be scolding her tonight.
“Why would you need to do that?” he asked.
“So we can go back tomorrow.”
“All right, we can go back tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you need to pack now.” He moved over to her and grasped hold of her hands gently.
She looked . . . vacant.
Like the woman he’d first met. Stuck behind a barrier. Scared to live. Protecting herself.
But why did she have to protect herself from him?
“What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Do not give me that, baby girl,” he growled. “If I have to put you over my knee and spank you until you tell me what’s going on, I will.”
It was an empty threat. Something he wasn’t proud of. But he was tired and worried.
“I’m just trying to make things easier for you!”
“How?” he asked in surprise.
“So that you can leave without a messy goodbye.”
“Leave? Why would I need to leave?” he asked.
“Because you won’t want to be with me anymore.”
He sat and drew her onto his lap, holding her there when she attempted to get off. “Why wouldn’t I want to be with you anymore?”
She stared into the distance. “Because the threat is over. You have a life in Montana. Why would you want to stay?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe because I would miss you? Because I want you. Because I love you.”
She was quiet for a long moment. Had she heard him? With a gasp, she turned suddenly. “You love me?”
“With all that I am. I want to be with no one but you. You are all I think about. I adore you, I love you, and I am not going anywhere.”
Tears dripped down her face. “I love you too.”
“So why would you think I would go anywhere?”
“I just . . . your life is there and mine is here . . . I just . . . I love you!”
He cupped her face between his hands. “Yes, I have a life in Montana. But that doesn’t mean that it’s more important than you. Where we live, what we do . . . those sorts of thing can be worked out as long as you want to be with me.”
“I do.”
“Good. Because all I want in this life is you. My precious, beautiful baby girl.”