Chapter 15
15
D ay turned to night. By the time Kade returned, his attitude had undergone a major adjustment. He could only hope she could find it in her heart to forgive him.
The second he walked in the door, she stood up and clicked the TV off. “Dinner’s in the fridge.”
He realized that Bree needed actions, not words. It would take time, but he had every intention of doing right by her and his child. “I’m sorry about earlier. About everything I thought or didn’t realize.”
“Me, too,” she said, some of the stiffness releasing from tense shoulders. “By not telling you right away, I put you in this position.” She shook her head. “I should’ve known better. You’re a better person than I gave you credit for because I was afraid.”
“You were right, though,” he said. “I never should’ve believed you were capable of lying to Zeke about something this important. It just never occurred to me that he would be the one to deceive me, considering our history.”
“He said he was trying to protect you,” she said. Those words stung because they had an air of truth to them.
“I didn’t want to have a child of my own,” he admitted. “Things started to change after we were together. I started to look at my life differently. But that didn’t mean I was ready for more than us getting to know each other and maybe seeing where it could go.”
“Okay,” she said, still defensive, and he didn’t blame her one bit.
“I’m trying to be a better person,” he said. “And I’m already head over heels for that little girl.” He had feelings for Bree, too.
“That’s a good place to start.” She looked tired. Like she’d been fighting sleep.
“Think you can get some rest?” he asked.
She nodded, then paused. “Will you stay with me?” He figured she wanted him next to her out of a need to feel safe rather than out of any desire for him.
“Absolutely.” He walked over to her, linked their fingers, and led her to the bedroom.
“I need to brush my teeth. Will you stand at the door?” she asked.
“Yes.” Kade was surprised to realize the thought of raising a baby with Bree didn’t scare the bejesus out of him. The hole he’d felt in the center of his chest for months had filled.
Rinty strolled in and curled up on the carpet near the bed. Bree finished brushing before washing her face. She’d pumped enough milk to feed half the nursery. He saw the jars in the fridge and had been helping transport them to the hospital. Was she stocking the fridge just in case she didn’t get to be around to watch their daughter grow up? Trying to provide everything she could in case the bastard got to her?
“Your turn.” She held out a new toothbrush.
He took the offering and brushed. She stood right beside him, her hip against the counter. The thought of their child growing inside her brought warmth to places that had long since been cold in Kade. She was the light to his dark and deserved so much more from him than he’d given up to this point.
After finishing up, he took her into the next room.
“Come on, boy,” Kade urged Rinty to hop onto the foot of the bed.
Kade lifted the covers, and Bree slid into the sheets. He followed, and she curled her limbs around him. He looped his arm around her and held her tight. Her unique scent, flowers and spring air, filled his senses. All he could think was that he’d finally found the place where he belonged. Home.
It didn’t take long for Bree’s steady, even breathing to tell him she’d fallen asleep. He stayed there, not quite ready to budge, breathing her in. Before he realized it, it was five thirty, and the morning sun would peek through the miniblind slats soon enough.
Kade slipped from the covers and into the adjacent room, leaving the door open. He threw on his jeans and brewed a fresh pot of coffee.
After taking a few sips, he made a call to his boss. The call was short. Kade apologized and explained that his priorities had changed after learning he would be a father. Brendan had taken the news well and joked that he’d rather know now instead of after Kade got settled on a rig. Brendan also brought up the fact that Kade needed a well-paying job now more than ever with a kid on the way, a fact that had kept Kade awake already.
He had money saved. There hadn’t been much to spend it on while at war, and he’d socked half of his paychecks away with the dream of buying the bait and tackle shop.
Brendan had ended the call, wishing Kade the best. He’d take all the well wishes he could get. Surprisingly, he wasn’t freaked out about the baby. He was stressed about time and money—and the fact he’d sold off most of his belongings.
Hours passed while his mind churned. This was the kind of situation Kade would’ve confided in Zeke about. The two would’ve gone out for beers. Zeke would’ve given Kade holy hell about not using a condom—one either slipped off in the heat of the moment or they were going so many times he’d forgotten—and then the good-natured teasing would begin. Zeke would tell Kade everything would work out. The pressure would lift like early morning fog on a sunny day.
The cavern in his chest reopened every time he thought about his buddy.
Kade had been a damn good soldier. Maybe he could call his S.O. to see if it was too late to re-enlist. Joe Mercer would take Kade’s call in a heartbeat. He’d told Kade if he ever needed anything to give him a shout. He glanced down at his ankle. Maybe not.
Re-enlisting would only keep him away from Bree. Plus, she might see that as him running away. With the ordeal she’d been through, he needed to physically be here in Saddle Junction for her. The ranch came to mind. How could he run an operation that tossed nonwinners away like yesterday’s news, gone and forgotten? Running Sturgess Ranch was out of the question.
What about a new name? What if you took care of all the horses and changed the operation? The ridge had been the spot to go to when Kade was down or needed time to think. Could they call the place, Rescue Ridge?
Running the ranch could keep him in Saddle Junction. Turning the operation around could give him a purpose. It was the complete opposite of the way Beaumont had run the place. That alone might be incentive enough.
Also, he’d had a front-row seat to Chloe having to take care of the trailer, the kid, and pretty much everything. She said she didn’t mind. It was probably Kade being selfish, but he wanted to be around to see his kid grow and help his sister.
Would the others agree to changing the ranch operation?
Going back into the military would be living a life he’d walked away from. He’d served his country, been damn proud to do it, but it was time for a change. He’d check the Want Ads or whatever people did when they looked for a job nowadays if the ranch idea fizzled out when he called a meeting. He’d been out of the market for work since graduating high school.
He poured another cup of coffee and pulled his laptop out of the backpack he’d brought in from the truck along with the shotgun. He sipped the black brew and booted up the computer at the kitchen table.
Bree had been through a lot in the past few days. Hell, months. He needed to show her how serious he was about being there for her and the baby. She most likely wouldn’t trust him right away. Trust would take time. Time was something Kade had in spades.
First things first, he needed a permanent place to live. He checked out one of those real estate apps that had all available homes listed. He could rent a small place and fix it up. A small voice in the back of his mind picked that moment to pipe in, What about the bunk house?
He dismissed the idea as premature.
How far away from Bree and his child did he want to live? He could stick around at his sister’s place for the time being. Or, hell, maybe he could talk to his buddy about buying this cabin. Kade didn’t need a lot of room. This place wasn’t fancy, but it was plenty big enough for three people and had everything he needed: a kitchen, a bathroom, and a decent living space. It was already furnished. There was cell service and internet. Some adjustments for a little one would have to be made.
Hadn’t his buddy mentioned he never used the place anymore? When Kade really thought about it, he might be doing his friend a favor by offering to take the place off his hands. He’d talk to Bree first. Feel her out. See if this was an option that could benefit both of them. If not, there were other places Kade could rent while he considered his next steps. Figuring out employment was another priority.
Bree screamed.
His heart lurched, and he set the laptop aside and quickly pushed to his feet. Kade was next to the bed a few seconds later as Bree bolted upright. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and Rinty stood at attention next to Kade.
“I was there. I was in that awful barn.” She gasped for air. “And he threw me against the wall before everything blacked out.”
“You’re all right,” Kade reassured. He kneeled beside the bed and took her hand in his. Her body shook. “You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her wide, fearful eyes were a shot straight to the heart. He understood nightmares. He understood battling an invisible enemy—the enemy inside his head.
She blinked at him. “He has a half-moon ankle tattoo. It was the last thing I saw before I blacked out. I didn’t remember that before.”
Kade slid into bed beside her. She climbed on his lap, buried her face in his neck, and cried. He held her tight to his chest, wishing like hell he could take away her pain. Hot tears dropped one by one onto his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be. You did nothing wrong.” He just held her, thinking how right she felt in his arms.
“Thank you.” Those two words spoken so softly broke what little was left of his fight. Like it or not, Bree shattered the casing around his heart and bathed his darkness in light. With her, he started to believe he could have a life, a real life with a family of his own.
Would she want the same after his accusations? Would she trust him after he’d been clear about not wanting a family of his own? His home life had done a number on him.
In his opinion, parenthood would be the worst thing he could do to a child. No one deserved to be stuck with him. Even now, he could look into his baby sister’s eyes and see the hurt he’d put there beyond the number Beaumont had done to her. Kade couldn’t be what others wanted or needed him to be.
Kade would always want to be somewhere else. He would always be just a little bit self-destructive. And he would never be able to live with himself if he put that kind of hurt in someone else’s eyes again.
“Coffee?”
Bree walked into the room the next morning, wearing only Kade’s black T-shirt. Pink was still his favorite color on her, but she looked good in anything. He’d managed to distance himself from his self-destructive thoughts for the time being.
“Yes, of course,” she said.
“Right.” She could finally have caffeine. He walked over to her and kissed her. “There’s milk in the fridge.”
“Did you buy that for me to put in my coffee?” Her smile could light the world in a blackout.
“Yep.” He moved to the fridge, pulled out the quart, and held it up.
One of those genuine smiles he loved about her peeked out. “I missed caffeine.”
“I’m sorry about making you kiss me while I have coffee breath,” he said, one corner of his mouth curving.
“Are you kidding me right now? You tasting like coffee is the highlight of my morning.” She walked over to him and pushed up to her tiptoes.
Kade set the carton on the counter and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her body flush with his.
He sighed against her mouth. “I immediately texted Travis last night, letting him know what you remembered. “
“That was a good idea.” She gave him a quick kiss before picking up the white carton and pouring a glass. “I’ll be here, drinking coffee. And eating…” She walked to the fridge and opened the door. “Blueberry parfait. I still can’t believe you remembered.”
“How could I forget when you made those sexy-as-hell noises while you ate it.” He moved to the kitchen table where he’d left his phone. Still no message from the deputy. “Maybe we should give Travis a call now that you’re awake.”
Travis picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Kade. What’s up?”
“Are you up?”
“No. It’s cool.” Travis yawned. Based on his groggy tone, he’d been asleep. Kade felt bad for disturbing his friend.
Rinty sauntered in and walked straight to Bree without giving Kade much of a second glance. Traitor.
“I texted last night but didn’t hear back. Bree thought of something important to the case. She remembers seeing a half-moon tattoo on the guy’s ankle.” He watched her out of the corner of his eye to make sure she was okay. It couldn’t be easy talking about any of this or hearing any of the details rehashed. One of the many traits Kade admired about Bree was her strength. But she was human.
And his friend had gone radio silent.
“Travis…?” His friend’s quiet set Kade’s radar on high alert. “What is it? What’s going on?”
“I need to make sure I heard you right. Are you saying Bree saw a half-moon tattoo on the ankle of the man who assaulted her? The man who wore tan work shoes. Correct?”
“Yes.” Kade waited for a response but a heavy sigh came across the line.
“Federal agents have gotten involved in the case since my contact in San Antonio and I linked it to those others in the state. The Feds cautioned us that we could be dealing with someone in law enforcement based on the profile of the killer and the other crime scenes.” He paused and cleared his throat. “My boss has an ankle tattoo of a half-moon—I’ve seen it myself—which under normal circumstances I might chalk up to coincidence, but Carr’s gone missing.”
“Dammit.” Kade had never trusted the sheriff. There’d always been something off about the man. This was unthinkable. Kade locked gazes with Bree.
“My contact in San Antonio gave me the idea to check Carr’s vacation days against the dates of the prior murders.” Travis blew out a sharp breath. “They match up, Kade.”
A line creased her forehead, and her head was tilted to one side, listening. She could tell something big was brewing. She bent down closer to Rinty, and he nuzzled against her. Smart dog.
“Do you need to go outside, sweet boy?” she asked, her voice trembling ever so slightly.
Kade hated the fact that he was about to shatter her sense of security. He shook his head, and she cocked a brow at him. He moved his mouth away from the cell and said, “Not a good idea. I’ll take him in a second.”
“Oh.”
“Call me if you hear anything else,” Kade said into the phone.
“I’d like to send someone to keep watch over her. Where are you?” The best defense was a good offense. Travis had the right idea.
“You know I trust you, right? And we go way back…” Kade couldn’t risk anyone else knowing their location, not even a friend.
“Uh-huh. What are you candy-coating?” Travis asked.
“I don’t want you to take it the wrong way when I say that I’m not going to tell you where we are. You aren’t the problem. I just can’t risk anyone else in the department finding out. We have no idea if someone has been covering for the sheriff.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to have backup, Kade. I’d like to offer my assistance. Bree’s safety is important to everyone in the community and especially me.” If Travis’s feelings were hurt, he didn’t show it.
“I appreciate the offer. I’ll keep it in mind.” Kade felt no need to argue his point. He ended the call, closed the laptop, and turned to Bree. “We need to get out of town.”
“What just happened?” Bree suddenly wished she could’ve heard both sides of the conversation between Travis and Kade. Because how could she leave her baby in the hospital and disappear?
“It’s bad news. It’s the sheriff.” Kade was already up and urging Bree toward the bedroom. He grabbed his shotgun on the way.
“Sheriff Carr? He did this to me?” She glanced down at her ankle.
“In the hospital, he came inside the room. You were still under the influence of those drugs. I was holding your hand, and you tensed the second you heard his voice. I should’ve realized what was going on. I’m sorry I failed you. It won’t happen again.” There was so much anguish in his voice. Given his military background, he would take something like this personally.
“You saved me, Kade. If not for you, I wouldn’t be alive right now.” An icy shiver raced down her back at the thought.
“I let you down in so many ways—”
“Maybe we should let the past go. We can’t change it. Let’s focus on our next step. And then the next.” All she could think to do was pop up on her tiptoes and kiss him. He closed his eyes and held her tight. He kissed her back. Hard. Hungry. And it awakened a need from deep inside her they didn’t have time to address.
He pulled back first and linked their fingers as he led her the rest of the way to the bedroom. “It won’t take long to pack up. Grab a few of my sister’s clothes. You two are close to the same size. Grab anything you think you might need and be ready for anything from camping to a hotel.”
“Okay.” Bree filled a small suitcase and grabbed a few toiletries from the bathroom, stuffing everything she could fit inside it.
“We’ll let Rinty do his business on the way to the truck.”
Bree’s mind was still trying to wrap around the fact that a man sworn to uphold the law could do such a thing to her and, worse, to so many other women. Granted, he’d always seemed a little odd. He wasn’t married and lived in a house on his aunt’s estate. But that didn’t necessarily mean he was a twisted psychopath capable of such a demonic act. “What else did Travis say?”
“That Carr has the tattoo. In his job as sheriff, he could move around the state easily, making it easy to find and watch a target,” Kade said, “study a person’s habits.”
“How would he be able to go unaccounted for?” She put a hand on her heart, trying to force it to calm down by sheer force of will
“The murders match up to his vacation days.”
“The Reaper,” she said in almost a whisper. A sick feeling settled over her. The thought of how close she’d come to dying. The thought of the other women who weren’t so lucky. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Kade was by her side a second later. “Are you okay?”
“I will be.” She was also beginning to believe there could be a future with Kade.
“You’re sure everything’s good?” Kade mumbled something low and threatening about the sheriff.
“I am,” she said with more confidence than she felt.
Suitcase in one hand and shotgun on the other arm, he said, “Stick as close to me as humanly possible when we walk to the truck. Okay?”
“Is it safe to go outside? Maybe we should stay here.”
“Carr saw me at the hospital. He knows I’m helping you. My buddy owning this place is no secret. It’s only a matter of time before Carr guesses correctly. Our best bet is to get you out of Texas until the FBI catches him. They know who they’re looking for. They’ll get him.”
Bree trusted Kade. He’d been in hostile situations before and was most likely pulling on that knowledge now. His sense of calm kept her from panicking. “How can we leave her?”
“Aurora will be fine,” he said. “My family is keeping watch over her. They won’t let anyone slip past.”
Bree hesitated. A noise outside got her moving. “Let’s go.”
“We got this. Okay?” he asked. She nodded before touching her hand on his broad back as she followed him to the back door. Rinty stuck by their side, and she fell more in love with that dog every minute.
“Keys are in my right front pocket. Unlock the doors when I say it’s okay,” he said, his voice reassuring but focused and as steady as his heartbeat. Bree’s was wild in her chest.
She fished keys out of his pocket, palmed them, and waited for his signal.
Kade opened the back door, and she followed him outside with Rinty at their side. Their new companion seemed to understand the gravity of the situation on instinct, and she figured it had to do with his military training. Rinty’s ears perked up, his body alert and rigid.
As the three of them rounded the corner of the house, Rinty froze. His snout pointed toward the tree line not twenty feet away from them.
A low growl tore from his throat.