by Cynthia Eden
Bree slowly walked toward him.
“I watched Sheldon die. I could have stopped it. Could have picked up the phone and dialed nine-one-one, but I didn’t. That sonofabitch had killed Brittney. He killed her because she laughed at him in bed. Can you believe that shit? That’s what he said…what he muttered at the bar when he was drunk off his ass. He’d gotten mad. Squeezed her neck to stop her laughing. He killed her, then he let me face a murder trial. He set me up by wrapping my shirt around her throat. I could have gone to jail. Could have lost my life.” Kace shook his head. “I decided it was only fair for Sheldon to lose his life.”
She tried to keep her breathing slow. Easy. But she failed.
“I’m not a nice man. I tried to warn you about that before. I didn’t grow up easy. And to get power, to keep power, I’ve done things…” Now he looked at his hands. “Kill or be killed. Isn’t that the law of the jungle? It’s the law of my world, too.” His hands fisted and fell to his sides. He slowly lifted his head until he was staring at her. “You can pick up the phone, and you can call in the FBI. They can haul me away, and I’ll give them this same confession, too. They’ve been working for years to bring me in. Couldn’t get me on other crimes, couldn’t find where my secrets were buried, but for you…for you, I’ll confess. I don’t want to be the same man with you. I don’t want to be the monster, but I’m afraid I don’t know how to be anything else.”
“You saved me today.”
“I killed a man for you. Because that’s what I’m good at.”
Bree shook her head.
“Don’t make me into a hero. Franco was dead, Bree, the minute I found out that he’d tried to hurt you.”
“Kace—”
He surged toward her. Grabbed her. Pulled her against him. “Look at me, baby. Look at me. Even if I’d gone into that cemetery and he hadn’t been armed…if he hadn’t been about to shoot you, I would still have ended him. He wasn’t walking out of there alive.”
“But…you let Abby walk out alive.”
“I don’t kill women.” His eyes blazed. “Didn’t kill her, but her life is still over. If the cops hadn’t arrested her there, I would have made sure they found evidence for others crimes. I would have made sure that she was locked up and tossed away, with no chance of getting out ever again.”
Her gaze searched his. “What do you want me to say?”
He didn’t respond. Maybe he didn’t know.
“You told me before that you were trying to go legit with your businesses. That’s why Franco said he was setting you up. You were changing everything, and he didn’t have a place in that new world. He wanted to rule in the dark, but you weren’t staying in the shadows any longer.”
Kace gave a slow nod. “But you’re a Fed, baby, and when it comes to right and wrong…”
“I’m not here to arrest you for any crimes you committed in the past. I was sent here to find out if you were the New Orleans Strangler. You’re not. You’re not.”
“But I’m a criminal. And you’re…you.”
Her eyes stung with tears. “You said you loved me.”
“I do. Why the hell do you think I’m confessing? Because I don’t want you living with what I am. I’ll go away…for you.”
“And I’d lie to protect you!” Bree’s words erupted as an angry scream.
He blinked.
“Don’t you get it? You matter. You. You matter to me more than anything else. When my parents were murdered, I had nothing. No one. All I could think about was getting revenge. Finding the killer who’d hurt them. Making him pay.” A wild laugh escaped her. “You wanted Sheldon to pay. You punished him. I wanted the man who killed my parents to pay. If I’d had the chance…” This time, it wasn’t a laugh that escaped her. It felt like a sob. “I would have killed him, too.” A tear slid down her cheek. “We’re not so different, Kace. I knew that, felt that, from the beginning. You did, too. You told me we were the same.” He’d been right. “You think I’m scared of any darkness you carry? I’m not. Because I’m the same.”
He wiped away her tear. “We’re not the same, Bree. You’re a thousand times better than I’ll ever be. And I’m terrified that if you stay, if I’m the selfish bastard I’ve always been and I try to keep you with me, I’ll just drag you down.”
She licked her lips. Tried to steady her heart. “It’s not your choice.” Her chin lifted. “Being with you is my choice. It was from the beginning. I read the files on you. I knew all the suspicions. And I still chose you because people aren’t just good or bad. We’re all more than that. You are more than that.”
“Baby, I’ll never be worth you.”
“Don’t! Don’t you say that! Because I love you, and you don’t say that about—”
He kissed her. Hot and hard and deep, and she could feel his emotions crashing over her. The desperate hunger. The hope. The fear. The love. So much love. Powerful and consuming and complete.
They weren’t perfect, would never be. But he was exactly what she needed. He was the man she loved. The only one she wanted. His secrets, his twisted past—everything. He was hers. If she wanted to be with him, she had to accept it. Just as he had to accept her.
“You can’t…you can’t do it if we’re together.” She pulled her lips from his, but still tasted him. The heavy length of his arousal pressed against her, and she wanted to arch into him and forget everything else. But this had to be said. She’d made her choice. He had to make his. “I can’t be an FBI agent while you’re—”
“I may kill again.”
Her breath caught. Not what she’d expected or wanted to hear.
“I’m going to find the sonofabitch who killed your family, Bree. I’ve already got people working on it. You are a part of me. You’re mine, and I protect what’s mine.” His gaze pinned her. “I’ll find him, and I’ll kill him.”
No, I will.
“But I’m done with the life I had before. My businesses are all legal, and…the cops I have on my payroll—”
“Kace…”
“It’s for protection, baby. I need to know which enemies are coming for me. But if it means I can keep you, if you’ll stay with me, I won’t cross lines. I can leave my past behind.”
Sometimes, the shadows from his past might try to reach out to him. She knew that. Wasn’t naive enough to believe it wouldn’t happen. And if those shadows came, they’d deal with them, together. They could deal with anything, if they were together.
“You are what I want. You are what matters. For you, I’ll be more,” Kace promised her.
“You are more. You are everything.” She stared straight into his eyes. “I will fucking love you until I die.” She gave him the same words he’d given to her.
His smile lit up his face. His dangerous face became so handsome and sexy. Then he was kissing her again. Shoving her clothes off even as she pushed his away. The need to be skin to skin overwhelmed her. They’d survived a nightmare, but they had each other. No, the future wasn’t going to be easy. But if she’d wanted easy, she never would have fallen for Kace Quick.
She kicked away her shoes. He yanked down her jeans and underwear. Then he was lifting her up and sitting her on the edge of his desk. Bree gave a husky laugh. “God, I love your desk.” It was quickly becoming her favorite spot.
His hands were on her thighs. He pushed them apart, and she expected him to plunge into her. Instead, Kace went to his knees before her. He pulled her toward him and put his mouth on her.
Her head tipped back as her palms slapped against the desk’s surface. He licked her, sucked her, and pushed two fingers into her eager sex as she moaned his name. He was feasting on her, driving her wild, and she loved every single second of it. His tongue lapped at her, he stroked her clit, and her thighs quivered because her climax was so close. She was going to come against his mouth. Right there.
Right—
There.
“Kace!”
And he kept kissing her, tasting her pleasure. Th
e orgasm rolled through her, contracting her delicate, inner muscles, and before it ended, the head of his cock was against her body. He stared down at her. So much hunger burned in his eyes.
“Condom,” he gritted out. “I need—”
“Birth control is covered.” This time, she wanted him. Only him. “I’m clean.”
“Me, too. Me…” He pushed into her. “God, I love you.”
She arched toward him as he sank deep, filling her. For a moment, they just stared at each other. He braced himself on his hands, making sure to keep the weight off her body as he pounded into her, over and over again.
She was slick and so sensitive. Her nails raked over his shoulders. She kissed him frantically, and she came again, her body primed for him.
He was with her. She felt the hot burst of his release inside of her. Her legs tightened around his hips, and Bree held on to Kace with all of her strength.
Just as she’d always hold on to him. When you found someone in this world worth loving, you didn’t let go. You fought like hell to stay together.
No matter what.
***
Bree’s nightmare came again. Kace hadn’t been sleeping. He’d been in bed with Bree, thinking about how lucky he was that she’d survived. The bruises around her neck infuriated him, and he wished that he’d made Franco’s death slower.
So much slower…
Then Bree whimpered. He felt the tension sweep into her body. Her fear.
He didn’t want Bree afraid. So Kace pulled her closer. He wrapped his body around hers. “It’s okay, baby. You’re safe.”
Her eyes didn’t open, but her body relaxed. She turned toward him. Snuggled closer. Mumbled softly.
“What was that, baby? Say it again.”
He kept holding her even as tension snaked through his body. He hadn’t lied to Bree. When he’d told her that he would kill the bastard who’d turned her life into a nightmare, Kace had meant those words.
His hand slid down her side. Touched the scar that marked her. He would make her nightmares end.
And though he’d told Bree that he’d turn his back on the past, Kace knew that if anyone ever threatened her again…if she was put in danger because she was close to him…
I’ll destroy the bastards.
Because nothing mattered more than she did. Nothing ever had, and nothing ever would.
Chapter Twenty-One
“It’s not going to help, Kace.” Bree squared her shoulders and looked straight ahead as the elevator rose, heading for the top floor in the pricey hotel. “You think I haven’t talked to psychologists before? You think I haven’t tried to remember more about that night?”
He caught her hand in his and brought Bree’s fingers to his lips. Kace pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Sarah isn’t just any psychologist. You know that.”
Sarah Fontaine—formerly Sarah Jacobs— was one of the absolute best profilers in the country. Kace had hired her to help him find the man who’d murdered Bree’s family.
“I know all about Sarah. Everyone does. When your father’s Murphy the Monster, the guy at the top of the FBI’s Most Wanted List, there isn’t an agent alive who won’t know who you are.”
The elevator dinged. The doors opened.
“She’s going to try getting into my head,” Bree muttered.
“Is that a bad thing? I rather like your head.”
She stepped off the elevator. He followed right beside her. “In my dreams, he says it’s what I wanted. What if—”
He kissed her. “You aren’t the bad guy, Bree. That’s me, remember?”
“That crap’s not funny. You’re legit now.”
He was. Mostly.
He guided her toward the penthouse. A guard waited outside, but the guy recognized Kace and opened the door for them. When he stepped inside, Kace saw Jax first. The infamous Jax Fontaine.
The tattooed guy had supposedly given up his wicked ways for Sarah. Kace might have to ask the fellow for some tips.
Or not.
Jax shook Kace’s hand. “You convinced her to come.”
“She wants closure. It’s time.”
Jax offered his hand to Bree. “Sarah knows killers better than anyone I’ve ever met. She already has some ideas for you but…”
“But I’m not sure you will want to hear what I have to say,” a stylish brunette announced as she headed toward them. Dark eyes assessed first Bree, then Kace. A slow smile curved her full lips. “I’m Sarah.”
Bree stiffened. “I’m Bree Harlow.”
“Agent Harlow,” Sarah said, inclining her head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I have a few friends at the FBI. They tell me that you are expected to do great things.” A pause. “I hear you also work at profiling.”
“Nothing like you. I’m just getting started.”
“Yes, well,” Sarah gave a slow roll of her shoulders. “I started very young. Kind of have to, when you find out dear old dad is a killer.”
“Do you know where he is?” Bree’s voice held a crisp edge.
Sarah’s smile stretched. “I have no idea.” She began to hum a little as she turned away. “But I suspect he’s always closer than I’d like.” Sarah made her way to the couch. Sat down. Crossed her legs. Jax immediately took up a position behind her. A rather protective position, Kace noted. What did the guy think? That they were some kind of threat?
Bree didn’t move, so Kace didn’t, either.
“You’ve profiled your monster,” Sarah said as her gaze stayed locked on Bree. “I know you have. You must have worked on his profile a thousand times over the years.”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you tell me what you think?”
But Bree shook her head. “I want to hear something new. I want to get out of my own head and look at this case from a new angle. There’s no way he killed my family and just stopped. Never hurt anyone else. That doesn’t happen. He has to still be out there. Still be—” But she broke off.
“Hunting?” Sarah finished.
Bree nodded.
“Yes, I think he is still hunting. I don’t think he’ll ever stop on his own. Men like him have to be stopped.”
Jax’s hand moved to her shoulder.
And Bree slowly crossed the room. She sat in the chair near Sarah. And Kace—he decided to take up his own protective position right near her. If things got uncomfortable for Bree, he’d take her the hell out of there.
“After I came to New Orleans, my dreams changed,” Bree blurted. “In the dreams, after I found my parents, he spoke to me. He said…he said that I’d gotten what I wanted. That I was free.” Her hands fisted in her lap. “I didn’t want that. I never wanted my parents to die. I loved them.”
“You were suspected in their murder,” Jax said. The guy never pulled his punches.
Kace flipped him off. “Watch your ass.”
Jax just shrugged. “She was. So, let’s hit the elephant in the room.” A pause. “Did you ever ask any boyfriend or anyone to off your parents?”
“No.”
“You wouldn’t have needed to ask,” Sarah noted, her voice soft and sad. “This person would have done it on his own. This person would have wanted to separate you from the ones you loved because he wanted you for himself.”
Bree gave a brittle laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. He had the chance to kill me, only he didn’t. He marked me.” She rose, lifted her shirt, and showed Sarah the scar. “Everywhere I go, no matter what I do, I carry his stupid mark. And I hate it.”
Sarah nodded. “He wanted to own you. To possess you.”
And Kace wanted to tear the bastard apart. I will. I’ll find you. It will happen.
“It’s been years.” Bree lowered her shirt. Sat back down. Reached for Kace’s hand. “I keep looking for him. I’m stronger now. I’d kill him if he came after me again, but he’s never been there. I’ve never seen him. I’ve—”
“I think he’s always been there, Bree.” Sarah’s face showed
her worry. “I think this man has made a point of staying with you. He would always want to know what you’re doing.”
Bree’s hold on Kace’s hand tightened. “I would know.”
“He wasn’t face-to-face with you the night of your parents’ murder. You never saw his face, but you felt him. You remembered his voice. You remembered his smell.”
Bree shuddered.
“He knew all of that. So he stayed away. Deliberately. You didn’t see him, but whenever he wanted, he’s seen you.” Sarah leaned forward. “That’s my take because a man like him, a man who killed your family, marked you with his knife, and then let you slip away…he’s a man who planned everything. He’s a man who saw something he wanted, and he made sure that the object of his desire was alone. You’ve been alone, haven’t you, Bree? All of these years?”
“Yes. I don’t let friends close. As for lovers…” Her gaze flickered to Kace, slid away. “I don’t stay with them.”
“You do now,” he growled.
Sarah nodded. “This is the same profile you developed, isn’t it, Bree? You always feared he was watching you. You feared he would target anyone you got close to, so you kept them away. To protect them.”
A nod.
“What changed?” Sarah asked.
“I met someone that I didn’t want to keep at arm’s length.” Again, her gaze slid to Kace. “And I met someone who wasn’t going to shy away from any danger that I might bring to him.”
“Because Kace is as dangerous as the killer you fear has always been in your shadow?” Sarah’s words were careful.
But Bree gave a hard, negative shake of her head. “He’s not dangerous. Not to me.”
“I sure as hell am to the man who hurt you.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Count on it.”
“I can fight my own battles.”
“That’s what changed,” Sarah murmured. “You got tired of running. You came into your own and decided you had a man worth fighting for.”