Chapter 9
9
B ree tried to search out the sound of Kade’s voice. The only tether to reality was his strong, masculine hand holding her steady. “Kade.”
“I’m here, sweetheart…Bree.”
A few more blinks, and his dark features started coming into focus. That face, strong and chiseled. Those eyes, dark and intense. Those lashes, thick and black.
“Where am I?” She tamped down the panic rising inside her as she glanced around. The room was fuzzy, the lighting dim.
“You’re at Saddle Junction Memorial Hospital. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” His voice was laced with a mix of anguish and relief. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you awake.”
“How long?” A headache threatened to split her head in two. She pushed past the pain, trying her best to focus her thoughts.
He glanced at his wrist. “Ten hours, give or take.”
She tried to sit up, winced, and then eased back down.
A young brunette scurried in with Travis on her heels. “I’m Cybil, and I’m your nurse this morning.”
A kind face came into focus, and Bree couldn’t help but notice the relief on the nurse’s features. The fog coating her brain was starting to lift, and panic struck her as she remembered what had happened to her. She gasped, and her free hand immediately dropped to her stomach. “What about the baby? Is my baby all right?”
Kade’s grip tightened on her hand.
“Yes. The baby is just fine,” Cybil reassured her. “How about you? Is there anything I can get you to make you more comfortable?”
“My throat is dry. Water?” Getting that many words out was a struggle. She tried to shake the fog and the current threatening to pull her under. The room was quiet save for the beeping noises coming from the monitors.
“Sweetie.” Cybil touched Bree’s arm. “The doctor will be in shortly to talk to you. You’re safe now. This fella has been with you since you arrived. He found you. You’re going to be okay.”
Those last two words, repeated, brought on an onslaught of emotion that had been bubbling up. Bree released the sobs building inside her. She was safe. The man who’d told her she was as good as dead couldn’t touch her here. She gripped Kade’s hand tighter, linking their fingers. She was going to survive. The baby wasn’t hurt. And Kade was there beside her.
A cell phone buzzed.
“Sorry.” Travis pulled out his phone and checked the screen. “Dammit.”
“What is it, man?” Kade asked.
“Both crime scenes were set on fire. Any evidence we might’ve gotten from there is up in smoke.”
“I was there,” Kade said, fishing for his cell. “I took pictures.” He pulled them up and sifted through them one by one. “I assumed someone from your office had already examined the scene since her purse was missing.”
“My cell,” Bree said under her breath.
“Grabbed it for you along with your purse,” Kade said, pointing to the drawer where it was being stored.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’d be lost without them.”
Travis was all business now as he took a seat next to Bree and pulled out a notepad. “Do you have any idea who did this to you?”
Bree shook her head. “I never saw his face, and his voice wasn’t more than a whisper in my ear. He didn’t say much. Just that he planned to kill me.” She paused long enough for her body to recover from the shiver that rocked her. Talking about her ordeal couldn’t be easy for her.
Kade squeezed her hand to reassure her. She was safe. He wasn’t going anywhere until this sick bastard was castrated or behind bars. At that point, Kade didn’t care which one.
“The only thing I remember clearly was his boots. They were work shoes, the steel-toed kind.”
Travis’s eyes widened like he’d had some sort of epiphany, but he seemed to have second thoughts when he refocused on the pad of paper and made the note. Steel-toed boots weren’t the norm in this area. The only ones Kade had ever seen were worn by an out-of-town construction crew brought in to build the convenience store by the highway last year when he’d been home on leave. He made a mental note to ask Travis what his reaction was all about later.
“Do you remember what color?” Travis asked.
“Yes. Tan with black scuff marks.”
“Let’s back up. Tell me everything you recall,” Travis said.
“I was upset and wanted to find Kade. We’d had an…exchange earlier that was upsetting, so I wanted to clear the air.”
That statement tore at his gut. More guilt and shame nearly suffocated him.
She looked up at Travis. “What do you know about the person who did this to me?”
“Very little,” Travis said. “In all honesty, we know more about his victims, but a task force is being resurrected, folks who’ve been on the hunt for him eighteen months already.”
Bree looked like she needed a minute to let that sink in.
Chin up, she took a deep breath and continued. “I had a contraction that was painful enough to force me to pull over and wait it out. Weezie picked that moment to give me a hard time.” Weezie needed no explaining. The whole town knew Bree’s truck.
Bree blinked her eyes and tightened her grip on Kade’s hand.
It sounded to Kade like the man might have followed her for some time before making his move. Had he memorized her routines? Taken note of any time she’d be vulnerable? Of course, that was probably how serial killers worked. He remembered reading about a few over the years, like the BTK killer who’d referred to his victims as “projects.” Kade would’ve liked ten minutes alone in a locked room with that sicko. Show him what it was like to deal with someone bigger and stronger. But right now, all he could think about was the Reaper and how close he had come to losing Bree and the baby at the hands of the twisted individual. And how much it’s my fault she was in that position in the first place.
“Have you noticed anyone hanging around your street lately? Any strange vehicles parked on the road?” Travis jotted down a few notes on his notepad.
“No. Just you guys patrolling. My neighbors. Nothing that stands out.” Travis’s eyes did that thing again. Kade made another mental note to ask about it when the two of them were alone.
“Earlier, when you were talking to Kade, you said he’s done this before,” Bree said. Damn. Kade had hoped she’d been asleep during their conversation.
Travis nodded.
Bree stayed quiet for a long moment. “He was inside my house. He had to be. My back door was ajar one day. I didn’t notice until I was chasing a bee out of my kitchen. At the time, I chalked it up to a bad memory due to pregnancy hormones, but I’m certain a few items are missing—and I didn’t misplace them.”
“Which ones?” Travis asked, taking notes.
Bree listed her face powder, a deodorant stick, and her favorite lotion.
His mind still reeled from the news that Bree was pregnant—that nugget of information had rocked his world. So many unexplained events from the past few months clicked together in Kade’s mind. A wedding date that had come out of the blue. The reason Zeke had seemed so intent on rushing to the altar. Kade couldn’t think of a better reason to tie the knot in a blaze of hurry other than having a child on the way.
She glanced over at him, their gazes locked, and need welled up inside him as an ache hollowed out his chest.
It would be easy to forget that Bree wasn’t his to take care of while his protective instincts flared. It would be easy to pull her against his chest and tell her everything would be okay now. It would be easy to get lost in those dark-roast brown eyes of hers. Kade reminded himself that he was with the person his best friend intended to marry. He might’ve had one sizzling hot weekend with Bree, but she’d obviously loved his best friend. She was off-limits, and that wasn’t something he normally needed to remind himself of.
“Have you been in a fight with anyone?” Kade shot Travis a look. “Although unlikely, we have to take a copycat into consideration to rule it out.”
“No.”
“Could anyone you know wish you harm for any reason?” he continued.
“Her? You can’t be serious.” Kade probably shouldn’t interject his opinion, but who would want to hurt Bree?
“I know.” Travis brought his free hand up in the surrender position. “I have to ask. You’d be surprised how often a routine question can change the course of an investigation.”
Bree took a sip of water. “There’s no one I can think of. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone, I guess.”
Travis rounded out the interview with a few more questions. “I want to get back to the office and get this information into the database as soon as possible. If you think of anything else, you call me. Okay?”
Bree nodded and offered a weak smile.
“Are you staying in town indefinitely?” Travis asked Kade.
“Had a flight planned in a few weeks.” Bree’s hand tensed, and her eyes darted around. He squeezed her fingers. “But I already called to let my new boss know I’ll be here for a while.”
Travis stopped at the door. “I can reach you anytime?”
“Yes,” Kade said.
As soon as Travis was out the door, Bree said, “Are you planning to miss your flight because of me?”
“It’s no big deal. Being here for you seems more important, and we have a lot of family drama to sort out at the ranch.” Kade’s head still reeled from the baby news. Zeke and Kade had made a pact to have each other’s backs in high school. Kade had every intention of honoring the agreement. And yet, he couldn’t help but feel betrayed, considering he’d been tricked by his best friend. Zeke hadn’t given so much as a clue that he wasn’t the father. Again, the question of whether Zeke had known he wasn’t the father surfaced.
But this wasn’t the right time to ask.
The next couple of hours were a parade of doctors and people who wanted to check on Bree to see for themselves that she was okay. Kade kept watch, clearing the room when she couldn’t hold her eyes open so she could rest.
It was nightfall by the time the room finally quieted. He’d been twenty-four hours without a shower or a toothbrush. Thankfully, his sister had dropped off a few supplies earlier in the day when she’d brought good coffee and bagels. It was time to use them.
Kade moved to the bathroom, leaving the door open in case someone decided to stop by unexpectedly. As long as he was around, no one would get through that door uninvited.
He brushed his teeth and splashed cold water on his face. Looking in the mirror was the worst of bad ideas. There he stood, staring into tired eyes. He wasn’t exhausted from last night. That wasn’t what had jolted him out of bed in the middle of the night more times than he could count. If not for him, Zeke would be alive, finishing up plans to marry the woman in the next room—a woman Kade hadn’t been able to get out of his thoughts since their fling.
Stubble darkened his chin. A haunted face stared back at him.
So much for looking in the mirror. He reclaimed his seat and took Bree’s hand in his, where it felt right.
Another hour passed when a floor nurse, Harley, ducked her head inside. “I’m here to help with a shower.”
Bree opened her eyes. The sleepy smile she sent Kade’s way was a shotgun blast to the center of his chest.
“A shower sounds like heaven.” Her throat was still scratchy-sounding, which gave it a low, gravelly effect. And that was a shot somewhere else he didn’t need to think about right then.
Harley moved to her bedside. “We can do it right here or in the bathroom, whichever you prefer.”
“A real shower.” Excited brown eyes blinked up and then at him.
“Would you mind giving me a hand to get her in the bathroom?” Harley’s gaze fixed on Kade.
“Not at all.” His body was stiff from all the sitting anyway.
Kade bore most of Bree’s weight as he helped her across the room. He stopped at the bathroom door. End of the line. “I’ll be in the hallway if you need me.”
“Thank you.” Bree caught his gaze and held it. “For everything.”
After stepping into the hallway, he checked his phone. He must’ve dozed off earlier because he hadn’t heard his cell buzz. There were several messages from Travis. The gist was that all available personnel were on the hunt for the Reaper. A BOLO had been issued, and all law enforcement departments in Texas were aware of the recent attempt on Bree’s life. Considering signs pointed to this case being linked to the serial killer, the FBI had touched base to offer resources. Travis’s friend from San Antonio PD wanted to speak to Bree personally. Amidst all the chaos and news, Travis couldn’t seem to get ahold of Sheriff Carr. He asked Kade to call if the sheriff showed up at the hospital.
Kade called Chloe next. She picked up on the first ring.
“How is she?” his sister asked.
“Shaken. She seems a little disoriented. The drug he gave her seems to be wearing off, though. She’s awake and alert enough to take a shower. The nurse is helping her now. Baby seems fine, too.”
“That’s all very good news.” The relief in Chloe’s tone was palpable.
“It is.” He held onto the information that Bree’s child belonged to him. It wasn’t his news to share without discussing it with Bree. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything. You know that.”
“Stay indoors as much as possible. When you’re home, make sure the doors are locked and the alarm is set. Even when you’re awake.”
“This whole thing has me rattled, too,” she admitted. “I’ve been checking to make sure my car doors are locked. Did she say how he got to her?”
“Her truck broke down on the road and he kidnapped her, but she thinks he was inside her house before. He might’ve been watching her for weeks before the attack.”
An audible breath came through the line. “That’s really creepy.”
She didn’t know the half of it.
He paused a beat. “Suffice it to say if you see anyone suspicious hanging around your house or in the bar’s parking lot, call 911 immediately. Don’t second-guess yourself. Don’t confront the person, either. Just get to a safe place with other people around and call it in. Then text me immediately.”
“I will,” she promised.
“Good.”
“I’ll deliver dinner to the hospital. One of the other waitresses said she’d cover for a little while so I could bring you something to eat.”
“Don’t linger in your car and you should keep the rental for the time being, just in case you’d rather drive it than yours. Watch out for any suspicious-looking persons hanging around.” Was he being overly cautious? This was Chloe, and he’d made a life’s work out of protecting his baby sister. And you f ailed many times, the annoying voice in the back of his head pointed out.
“Got it, Kade. Don’t worry about me, okay?” Chloe asked. “What are you going to do about your furniture sales?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “I forgot all about that.”
“I’ll send Conrad,” she said. “Might be good to get him away from Beau for a little while in case the two of them are still hanging out together.”
“That would be a huge help,” he said. “Thank you.”
The door behind him opened, and the nurse signaled for him to come back inside the room. “She’s asking for you.”
The announcement shouldn’t make warmth spread through him like it did. He chalked it up to residual attraction to Bree and nothing more. The cuts and bruises on her face couldn’t mask her true beauty. She had that rare kind of smile able to light up even the worst day. He’d been an idiot to voice his desire to keep his life as uncomplicated as possible. No wife. No kids. No family.
He was paying for those off-handed remarks now. And so had Zeke.
The minute Kade walked into the room, Bree motioned for him to sit next to her. Her hair was pulled off her face, and her creamy skin practically glowed. Her eyes brightened when he sat next to her and linked their fingers. He shouldn’t have brought hers to his lips to kiss them, but that’s exactly what he did. He chalked the emotion hammering his chest to being grateful she was alive. Bree had always been smart and beautiful. Her heart-shaped face and full pink lips stirred the attraction he shouldn’t allow, along with another shot of guilt.
The nurse finished refilling a water mug and set it on the tray table next to the bed. “The doctor signed your release papers for tomorrow morning. Someone will be here early with paperwork.”
“Thank you.” The nurse excused herself as Bree tightened her grip on Kade’s hand. He could feel the tension radiating from her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I can’t go back home.” Her chin quivered, and she bit down on her bottom lip. “Not alone.”
“Would it help if I came with you for a few days until you get your bearings?” She needed to know where he stood.
Bree pinched the bridge of her nose and leaned her head against the pillow. “I appreciate the offer, Kade. I do. You already have enough on your plate with everything going on in your family.”
“Plans change.”