“Like I ever stopped.”
“I’m serious, Pappy. You’re the only one I trust to keep her safe. Don’t let me down.”
“Do you want me to take her somewhere else until this is sorted out?”
I shook my head as I looked around. “Let me talk to her about this first. I can’t just drag her away from here without an explanation.”
“You know, there’s one thing you need to consider.”
“What’s that?”
“This may not be about who you are now.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Look at all this information.” He grabbed the folder from my hands and pointed to the page with my military record. “Only someone with a lot of pull would have this much intel on your military history. You have to consider that this is someone from your past tracking you. And if that’s the case, what do they want with you?”
“Money to keep quiet?”
“I have no clue, but whoever it is, they know too much and whatever they want, you have to find out before they come after Kate. Judging by these photos, you aren’t the only one stalking her.”
I threw the folder down on the table and walked to the window, staring out at the street and wondering where the hell this fucker was hiding. I hadn’t seen a thing.
“Shit. I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming.”
“As much as you’d like to believe otherwise, you’re only human.”
“I don’t get involved with people for a reason. I ran into you and suddenly I’m seeing your ass on a regular basis and now I have a woman that I can’t get out of my head.”
“You know, you could bring this to Sebastian. He would help you. Whoever this is knows that you worked with us or they wouldn’t have dropped this on our doorstep.”
“No, I’m not bringing anyone else in on this.”
“You may not have a choice. If they know about you, they might know about my part in your escape and that puts everyone who helped you in danger too.”
Pappy had helped me at a time when I didn’t think anyone would be on my side, and he probably shouldn’t have been. But he was there for me and there was no way I would let this shit fall down on his head. He had already risked too much for me.
“Give me some time. If I can’t figure this out, I’ll let you know. For now, let’s keep this low key. If we go at this too hard, too fast, we could have a shit storm raining down on us.”
“Fine, but just remember there are more people involved than just you. I don’t want to see any more people caught up in this than necessary.”
I nodded and walked him to the door. “I’ll talk with Kate as soon as she gets back.”
“Looks like now’s your chance.” He nodded toward Kate, who was getting out of her car. “Want me to stick around?”
“No. I have a feeling she’s not going to be too happy with me when I tell her what’s going on.”
Pappy gave me a chin lift and headed for his truck, smiling at Kate as he left. I wanted to punch him for even looking at her, but I needed him to help me when I left. Kate walked in and gave me a kiss. I grabbed the bags and took them to the kitchen, unloading the food on the counter. I didn’t want to say anything and burst the bubble we had been living in. While it wasn’t the most ideal situation, Kate and I had come to have something that I never thought we could ever have. I would kill to have more with her, but I had a feeling that after I told her this, she would want nothing to do with me.
“Kate, there’s something we need to talk about.”
Kate crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the counter. “Let me guess, someone’s after you.”
When I looked up at her, seriousness written on my face, she paled a little. “Seriously? I didn’t think..what happened?”
I handed her the folder and watched as she leafed through the pages. “Someone has been watching me. They know about you.”
The anger on her face told me that she was not going to take this like I hoped, which would be for her to just let me handle this without getting her upset. With every flip of the page, her face hardened a little more. “Why would anyone care about me?”
“I already told you, Kate. Having you in my life is dangerous. I have to find out who sent this.”
“Well, if you go away, won’t they leave me alone?”
I tried not to take offense that she jumped to me leaving so quickly, but I had kind of hoped that she would want me to fight for us. “If they’ve been watching me, they know that I’ve been watching you for a while, which means they know that you’re important to me. I want to take you away from here for a little bit. At least until I can figure out what’s going on.”
She shook her head vigorously at me. “No. I am not giving up my life. When I agreed to this arrangement, you promised me that you would protect me.”
“It’s not as simple as pretending this isn’t happening. I don’t know what these people want from me. It could be as simple as money or it could be a lot worse. I don’t like that you would be here alone while I’m off figuring shit out.”
“Well, while you figure it out, I’ll be here going about my life. I didn’t sign up for this. We talked about this and we agreed to keep me out of this side of your life.” She threw the folder on the table and walked over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water.
“You’re already involved. Whoever sent this has connected us.”
“Garrick, I like you a lot and what we have is..amazing, but this is beyond all that. I won’t give up what I worked years for so that you can go off and play mercenary. I never wanted this part of you to be anywhere near me and that hasn’t changed because someone sent pictures of me. You go figure out what’s going on, but I’m staying here and living my life.”
I took a deep breath to calm myself. She didn’t get how quickly this could turn bad. “I can’t protect you if I’m not here.”
“And how would I be safer if I was with you?”
“Are you comfortable with someone following you around? Because that’s what has to happen if you stay here.”
“And if I go with you, anywhere we go, people would see me with you. A killer. Tell me how that’s safer for me.”
I wasn’t sure that it was, but I didn’t want to leave her behind either. I wasn’t ready to give her up just yet. Kate had shown me what it could be like to be with someone and truly care about them. Even though I knew this would come to an end someday, I really had hoped I had more time with her.
“Kate, I’m just trying to do what I can to make sure this doesn’t touch you.”
“It already has. The minute someone put me in a file folder with you, I was involved. But I don’t want to give up everything I worked my ass off for because you decided to stalk me.”
That fucking hurt more than I wanted to admit. Here I was getting all broken up about this shit coming down on us and how it could tear us apart and she was already throwing my ass out the door. I normally didn’t take shit from anyone, but this woman had me wrapped around her finger and I’d do anything she asked of me. Even if she did want me to walk away.
“You’re right. You shouldn’t have to give up anything for me. I’ll get this sorted out and make sure nothing ever comes back on you.”
“I would appreciate that.”
“I’ll let Pappy know to look out for you. That’s non-negotiable. I won’t be able to do this if I’m worrying about you.”
“Fine.”
The woman I had been infatuated with had turned to steel in front of me. She really didn’t want me in her life and I had to accept that I wasn’t good for her, no matter how much I wanted her. I went to the front door and grabbed my black leather jacket and pulled it on.
“I promise, I’ll make this right.”
She nodded, but didn’t make any move to kiss me goodbye and I took that as my cue to leave. Walking away from her, I knew I had fucked up in a major way, but I would make this right for her and make sure she would never have to wo
rry about my actions touching her. I called Pappy within two minutes of leaving Kate’s house.
“How did it go?”
“A kick to the balls would have hurt less. I’m going to get out of here and figure out who’s behind this so she can live the life she deserves.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute and I checked to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. “I don’t get it. You’re obsessed with her. Now you’re walking away?”
“Pappy, you know my job is dangerous. I’m not some suburban house husband and my job is definitely not anything she needs in her life.”
“Look, I know that I told you we should never see each other again after I helped you bust out, but I was wrong. It’s been good to have you around again.”
“I’m not the same man I was then. I can’t just pretend that I haven’t done all the shit I have the past couple of years. That’ll only come back on me ten fold. If I stick around, she’s just going to get dragged further into this shit storm. I need to make this right for her and the only way I know to do that is to walk away.”
Pappy sighed into the phone. “If that’s the way you want it, I won’t try to stop you.”
“Like you could. Just watch out for her. She’s not exactly aware of the dangers around her. Or maybe she’s just too stubborn.”
“Yeah, I’ll watch out for her. Do you want me to give her a message?”
“Nah. There’s nothing that she wants to hear from me. She made it pretty clear that she would prefer I get out of her life.”
“You have to give her time to adjust. This is all pretty new to her. She may still change her mind.”
“Well, while she’s thinking about it, I have work to do. I don’t have the slightest fucking clue where to even start.”
“Call me if you need anything. You know I’ll help in any way I can.”
“Just keep her safe so I don’t have to worry about her.”
“You know I will.”
CHAPTER TEN
Kate
WHEN HE WALKED out the door, I almost broke down in tears. I didn’t want to say goodbye to him and I didn’t want to have to pretend like he didn’t mean anything to me, but I had a decision to make and I chose myself. It was one thing to sacrifice for someone that I would have a future with. It was an entirely different thing to put my life on hold and risk everything for a man that told me that he would never give up who he was for me.
Those photos of me had freaked me out. I had known for months that Garrick was watching me and as scary as he was, it was nothing compared to the fear of knowing that someone that wanted something from him was watching me. I knew that I would have to be extra careful. With Garrick out looking for whoever this was, I wouldn’t have him to watch my back. As much as I trusted Hunter, he wasn’t Garrick.
I got back into my routine just as I had the last time he left. I was just as sad, but I forced myself to put on a happy face and pretend like my heart wasn’t breaking. How could it be anyway? I liked to think that I understood him, but that didn’t mean I really knew him.
The weeks passed and I didn’t hear anything from him, but I also didn’t feel in danger in any way. I saw Hunter around from time to time and he would call and check up on me, but that was the extent of it. Maybe he wasn’t really watching me that closely after all.
I was closing up the clinic for the night when Cole came jogging up to me. “Hey, Kate. How’s it going?”
“Good. I’m just done with work and I’m headed home.”
“I don’t suppose you want some company?”
“I take it Alex is having a girls night?”
He smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Yeah. She left me on my own for dinner. I was just about to head down to the Mexican restaurant when I thought I’d stop in and see if you wanted to grab something to eat.”
“Sure. I don’t feel like cooking anyway.”
While eating, I mentioned that my faucet was leaking and Cole insisted that he could fix it for me. He followed me home and went to the kitchen sink, inspecting the leak that had developed.
“I just need to grab some tools out of my truck. I’ll be right back.”
While he got his tools, I grabbed a quick shower. When I came back down, Cole was finishing up and putting his tools away.
“Wow, that was fast.”
“I told you it wasn’t a big deal.”
“So, what’s Alex been up to lately?”
“Not much. She likes to stay home and take care of the house. I don’t think she’s really ready for more.”
“It’s been years. Maybe it would be good for her to get out more.”
“I’m not pushing her. I know you’re a doctor, but you didn’t experience it the way I did. I saw every struggle that she had to overcome. If she wants to hide out in the house for the rest of her life, there’s no way I’m pushing her out of her comfort zone.”
“And what if no one had pushed you?”
“I’d probably be rotting in my bed, but Alex isn’t me. She’s not refusing to get out of bed or do things around the house. She goes outside and does gardening, takes care of the house, and she’s been taking cooking lessons online. To me, that’s more than could be expected of most people that have been what she’s been through.”
“I’m not trying to push the issue, Cole, but she hasn’t even been to a counselor. It might really help her to get past her issues and improve her quality of life. I’m just suggesting you take baby steps.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, but I had a feeling he was just trying to get me to stop talking about Alex. “So, have you heard from Knight?”
“No.” I tried not to sound disappointed as I answered. I didn’t want Cole to know how upset I was by his absence. “He said he would be gone taking care of things. I don’t know where he went and I don’t care,” I lied.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Why do I not believe you? You really don’t care that he just left?”
“Why would I? He brought his world colliding into mine and that’s not something I’m okay with. He made his choice to live his life the way he does, and I made my choice to not be a part of it.”
“Well, I think that’s a good idea. It’ll be good for you to move on with someone who can devote himself to you.”
“Oh, come on, Cole. You never liked him and you didn’t want me with him. Don’t pretend like you’re happy because you want me happy.”
“You can’t really think that-”
He stopped talking when his phone started beeping like crazy. He whipped it out and pressed something on his screen and his face went hard. When he looked at me, I knew that something was wrong. Time moved in slow motion as he pushed to his feet and reached forward, yanking me from my chair and flinging me to the ground. I slid across the kitchen floor and slammed into the lower kitchen cabinets. Cole flew across the room as the windows shattered, spraying glass all around us. Cole covered my body with his, pushing me up against the cabinets. There was a loud popping sound and I heard Cole cursing, but I refused to look. My eyes were squeezed tight in terror.
“Kate. Kate!” I pried my eyes open to see Cole staring at me in urgency. “Here.” He thrust a gun into my hands and I cringed at the heavy weight in my hands. “You get into that corner and hide behind the door. If anyone comes near you, you point and shoot.”
“Are you fucking kidding me,” I screeched. “I can’t shoot someone.”
“Kate, This isn’t a joke. These people aren’t here for tea and scones. If they come, you shoot to kill.”
“Are you leaving me?”
“I have to go take them out and clear a path to get us the fuck out of here. You stay low.”
He was gone before I could beg him to stay. I couldn’t believe he left me. I didn’t know how to use a gun. Why would he assume that I would have it in me to kill someone? The gun shook in my hands as I stared down at it, but I finally brought myself out of my daze and moved to the corner where he told me to hide, pulling the do
or open to hide me.
My legs started to go numb as I sat in silence. I heard the occasional pop and grunt and I flinched every time, but no one came for me. After what felt like an hour, I finally heard boots across the floor and was relieved that Cole had come back for me. Pushing open the door, I was stunned to see that it wasn’t Cole standing in front of me. In fact, I had never seen this man before in my life. He had a thick, greying beard and his teeth were crooked and yellowing. I laughed in my head, thinking that this man couldn’t be more cliche if I had seen him in a slasher movie.
But then he advanced on me and my heart seized. He was just steps away when he pulled the knife from his pants and that’s the moment my brain came back online. Lifting the gun, I squeezed the trigger and jolted when the gun kicked back against my hand. I watched in horror as he flinched back as the bullet struck him and then continued toward me. Shaking my head in fear, I fired again, but it still didn’t stop him. I scrambled to push myself further back, but I was already at the wall.
“It’s going to take more than that to stop me,” he grunted and swung his knife at me. I held up my arm to block it and screamed when it slashed into my arm. He pulled back the knife, swinging toward me again, but I raised the gun quickly and fired as he swung the knife, just barely missing as his body jerked and blood sprayed me. The shot rang out loudly in my mind as the man collapsed against me. Bile rose in my throat as his dead weight covered me. I couldn’t move and I felt blood trickling over my body.
“Kate! Answer me!”
But I couldn’t. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t make the words leave my mouth. The body was removed from me seconds later and Cole stared down at me along with Hunter. When had he gotten here?
“Where are you hurt? Is this your blood?” Hunter shoved Cole aside and knelt down beside me, running his hands over my body. When he saw that I was still clutching the gun, he gently removed it from my hands and handed it to Cole. “She’s good. I don’t see anything other than this cut on her arm. It’s deep. We’ll need to stitch it up, but I’m not seeing anything life threatening.”
Knight_A Reed Security Romance Page 13