by Beth Alvarez
“Well someone’s in a good mood,” she giggled, wrapping her arms around his middle and giving him a squeeze. She pushed the door shut with her foot.
“No, you just make the mornin’ a little easier.” He leaned close to kiss her.
Felicity smiled, reaching up to cradle his jaw and meet him halfway, her fingers brushing the bandana tied around his throat.
He winced and pulled away.
“What was that?” She caught him by the arm to keep him from moving. He tensed, her fingers just missing the blistered flesh on his bicep. She swept his bandana out of the way, concern furrowing her brow. “Kade, what is this?”
“A little kiss of sunshine,” he grumbled, righting his bandana and pushing her hands away before she could get an eyeful. “Courtesy of Nick Foster, yesterday afternoon.”
“Nick?” Her brown eyes widened. Concern brimmed in them, making guilt swell in his stomach.
“Yes, and I don’t wanna talk about this right now. Not with Owen in the house. You understand?” Kade didn’t like taking a commanding tone with her, but he didn’t have the time or energy to fight with her over what secrets his brother ought to be privy to. He still had to drive back to the ranch to sleep.
Anxiety lit her eyes and she nodded, though it was a slow and uncertain agreement. Concern washed through her and he caught the edge of the waves, a distinct impression of mingled understanding and worry filling his mind.
He gave his head a twitch.
She touched his cheek. “Is everything okay?”
“It will be. We’ll talk about it later. Where’s Owen?”
“Upstairs.” Felicity pointed up the open staircase. “Still sleeping, I think. I don’t mean to complain, but do you know why he’s here?”
“Oh, I know why he’s here,” Kade growled, stalking toward the steps.
She slid between him and the bottom stair, stretching out her arms to block his path. “Wait a minute. I heard that temper in there. You’ve got a long fuse most of the time, but you’re a bear when you’re hungry.”
He rolled his eyes. “I ain’t gonna hurt him. I just wanna get him out of here as quick as possible.”
Felicity tucked in her chin, giving him a hard, reprimanding look.
“I ain’t gonna put a finger on him. Promise. Now let me get this over with, before your sewin’ team shows up and kicks me out of the house.” He stole a kiss before gently rerouting her arm, letting himself up the stairs.
Truthfully, he would have preferred to send Owen packing without having to discuss anything. That he’d shown up out of the blue was agitating enough. That he’d asked for money left Kade feeling like he’d rolled through a patch of nettles while naked.
Or through sunlight, he thought with a scowl. If he had a chance, once he’d had a word with Owen, he’d have Felicity look at the burns. He didn’t expect she could do much, but having them wrapped with gauze would help. At the very least, it would keep his shirts from rubbing the raw flesh while he worked.
Kade opened the door to their guest’s room so forcefully, he might as well have kicked it.
His brother sat bolt upright in bed.
“Let me ask you one question.” Kade stalked to the edge of the bed and pushed up his hat with his thumb. “Do I have dollar signs on my forehead?”
Owen squinted against the light that poured in from the hall. “What?”
“Let’s be real, there’s more to why you’re here than wantin’ money. You really think I believe you came to me for a loan? Knowin’ what I do for a livin’ out here?” Kade snaked his thumbs under his belt. “Give me the real story. Why are you askin’ me and not Dad? And why are you drivin’ his Jag when last I heard, you traded your Mercedes in on a Porsche?”
“Pam has the Porsche.”
“And?”
“And she’s sleeping with an attorney who has a lot more experience than me, okay?” Owen snapped, throwing back the blankets. He slid off the bed and rubbed his eyes, grabbing his bag by the straps and and tossing it onto the pillows. “She decided she wanted more than half, and she’s probably going to get it.”
Kade scoffed. “If you’re thinkin’ that’s gonna earn you some sympathy, it ain’t. You still haven’t answered my question. Why me?”
“Because I asked Dad, and he said no.” His brother jerked a pair of jeans from the bag, shaking them out and pulling them on over his boxers. “I don’t want a handout, just a loan. Our—my—assets are frozen until this is resolved. I need cash to put down a deposit on an apartment and get a car so I can return the Jaguar.”
“She’s takin’ your house, too?”
“We sold the house before all this started. We were looking at moving to New York, or so I thought. We’d set up in an apartment. She’s staying there with her boyfriend.”
Shaking his head, Kade raised a finger. “Wait a minute, back up a bit. You asked Dad?”
“Yes.”
“And he told you no?”
“Yes,” Owen repeated, lower.
Kade nudged his hat up again, scratching his forehead. “Now why the blue blazes would Dad turn down his golden boy’s cry for help?” He couldn’t recall a time in his life where Owen hadn’t been handed anything he asked for. He admitted he’d been spoiled, too, but not to the same extent. Once Kade had been grown—and proved himself a disappointment when he abandoned college—he’d never been given anything else.
Owen exhaled slowly, glowering at the bed. He peeled off his white undershirt, tossing it to the floor beside his feet. Even the plain black tee he retrieved from his bag had a red designer logo embroidered on the breast, one more reminder of the vast difference between their lives. “Because of you.”
“Me?” Kade jabbed himself in the chest with a thumb. “You’re tryin’ to peg this on me?”
“He said if I wanted money, I had to talk to you.” Owen smoothed his rumpled hair and turning to face him with a shrug.
Blinking twice, Kade burst into laughter. His brother’s face darkened and Kade waved a hand, wiping his eyes. “That divorce done addled your brain, ’cause it sounds to me like you plain misunderstood what Dad said.”
“What-”
“You’re supposed to be mendin’ fences, instead of makin’ yourself look like a fool by comin’ all the way to Holly Hill. Coulda done that by phone, big brother.” He shook his head, chuckling. “He really said that? Dad did?”
“I don’t know why,” Owen said, deflecting from the rest of the conversation. “It was out of the blue. He’d asked me to come visit while you were in Nashville, but with selling the house and all...”
“You always got an excuse, don’t you? Just admit you didn’t wanna see me. Ten years on and nothin’ has changed.” Kade shrugged.
His brother studied him for a long time, his eyes pinched at the corners.
Kade lifted his hat to run his fingers through his hair. “Well, now. A bit of honesty after all. Much as I’d like some more of that, I ain’t got time for it today. I’m starvin’, and so long as Filly’s workin’ on her dress, I ain’t gonna get any food here.” It wasn’t a lie; he just needed access to Felicity, not the kitchen. Owen could take from it what he would. “You want money? Fine. But you gotta stick around a couple days, and you gotta earn it.”
“I’m not helping you with cattle.”
“’Course you ain’t. I wouldn’t trust you with spurs, much less a cowhorse. You’ll be right here. Helpin’ Felicity with weddin’ things, and helpin’ Emmett fix up the house for peak season. She’ll feed you. Put you up. They won’t admit it, but they need the help. And so long as she’s workin’ on her dress here, she ain’t getting it from me.”
Owen stared at him in a mixture of confusion and dismay. “I’m not a handyman.”
“Don’t need to be.” Kade shrugged. “They’ll find a use for you, even if it’s just housework. You do what Filly needs, make her happy, and I’ll give you your money. Ten grand. No need to pay it back. No need to talk to Dad. Deal?”
“Deal,” Owen replied without hesitation.
Kade offered his hand and his brother clasped it. Unable to resist, Kade squeezed hard, reigniting an age-old silent war. Owen tightened his grasp, gritting his teeth when it only made Kade squeeze harder. They battled for a long moment before Owen exhaled sharply, shaking his hand free.
Kade couldn’t resist a smirk. “What’s the matter, big brother? Getting soft?”
“One week,” Owen said, raising a single finger. “Then I’m on my way back to Nashville to drop off Dad’s Jag.”
“Fine by me,” Kade said with a shrug, turning back to the door. He didn’t want Owen sticking around long enough to find out what went on in Holly Hill, anyway. “If you need me, Filly’s got my number.”
“Where are you going?”
Kade didn’t dignify him with a response.
* * *
“Got somethin’ for you.”
Felicity turned, ready to warn Kade away from the kitchen, and blinked when he pressed a phone into her hands. “What’s this?”
“Present.” Kade caught her by the wrist, pulling her into the living room with him. “Owen’s on the phone with his lawyer. We got a couple minutes, and there’s somethin’ I need to talk to you about.”
“His lawyer?” She didn’t resist when he directed her toward the couch. She sat down, watching him pace the floor like a caged animal. All the curtains were open. Every time he passed the open window, she winced. The sun was on the other side of the house, but she couldn’t help worrying.
“He wants money. Asked me for a loan.”
Felicity didn’t see why that was a problem. “You’re going to give it to him, right?”
The ugly glower Kade gave her said otherwise. Then he closed his eyes, breathing deep. “I said I’d make him a deal. He’s gonna help you ’round the Hilltop House while he’s here. The bakery, too, if you need him. Work him hard. I want my money’s worth.”
“Kade, he’s your brother.”
He turned on the heel of his cowboy boot, folding his arms over his chest. “I am not in the mood for a lecture.”
“It doesn’t look like you’re in the mood for much of anything,” she muttered.
“This ain’t about me, Felicity,” he growled, and that he used her full name made her sit back and frown.
He shook his head, resuming his pacing but keeping his arms crossed. “Owen’s got bad timing. I don’t wanna be givin’ him anything right now, not while someone might be watchin’. I’m over a barrel, and I don’t want him knowin’ what I got in my pockets.”
“What are you talking about?” Felicity rose, laying a hand on his arm.
Kade recoiled, hissing in pain.
She started to speak but he raised a hand, then lifted the bandana tied around his throat. An inch-wide stripe of pale blisters and charred flesh ran from his collarbone to just under his chin.
“Kade!” she gasped, laying fingertips beside the wound.
“Like I said, you got Nick to thank for that.” He folded the bandana down again. “He knows. Penny told him. Showed up at the bunkhouse with a mirror and got me pretty good.”
Felicity caught him by the sleeve, turning him to unbutton his shirt. He didn’t fight her, though he refused to meet her eyes as she stripped off his clothes and inspected the matching burn that ran up his arm. “That needs to be cleaned and dressed. Why would he do this?”
“Extortion.” He shook his head, scowling. “He knows more than he oughta, Filly. About the Keepers. About me. About what I’m hunting.”
She froze. He wasn’t hunting. He’d given that up, hadn’t he?
“I mean it,” Kade said, giving her a sidewise look. “It’s my find. If it needs taken out, it’ll be my kill. This is my territory now. I got every right to defend it.”
“And what does Thaddeus think about that?” She led him to a chair, far from the windows.
He sat down without any fuss. “He doesn’t know.”
She frowned, motioning for him to stay put. “Let me get the first aid kit.” She slid around the corner into the kitchen, retrieving the box of medical supplies from a cabinet.
If Thaddeus didn’t know what he was up to, it couldn’t possibly end well. She’d interacted with the Keeper little, but the few instances she had made it clear he wouldn’t appreciate deviation from a situation he thought was under control.
“Thank you,” Kade murmured when she returned, twisting in his chair so she could reach his arm a little better.
Felicity knew it wasn’t necessary to treat him as she might anyone else. He was impervious to infection, but she swabbed the injuries with antiseptic anyway. She wasn’t sure if it would help it heal faster, but it seemed worth a try.
He winced when she cleaned his neck, and she whispered apologies before retrieving a roll of gauze. She wrapped his arm first, figuring it would need it more. With the multiple layers he wore to block out the evening sun, it would rub enough to drive him crazy. When she saw there was enough gauze left, she wrapped his neck, too.
“So what are you going to do about Nick?” she asked as she taped the bandages.
“What can I do?” Kade retrieved his shirts from the couch where she’d tossed them. “He said he wants half the bounty, or he’ll tell everyone about me. I can’t risk that, Filly. You see what he did with just a little pocket mirror.”
“I never thought you’d be afraid of a human.”
“I ain’t,” he replied hotly. “But like I said, I’m over a barrel. I’m not in a position to fake bein’ normal forever, and what other options do I have? It’s Nick. Someone I know. Someone important to people I care about.”
Felicity swallowed. “What would you have done before?”
“I don’t know.” He stared at the floor, pulling on his shirts. “Never been in a position like this. S’why I don’t get involved.”
Except for me. A pang of guilt struck her heart and she hid her face. She was the reason he’d stayed. The reason this had happened.
“It ain’t like that,” Kade growled.
Her heart skipped a beat. Ever so slowly, she turned to face him, her brow furrowing.
She hadn’t said that out loud. Had she?
His eyes flashed to her face and he spat a curse, twisting away.
“Kade?” Felicity tiptoed closer. “Did you...”
That didn’t make sense. It didn’t seem possible.
Yet he was a vampire, and she’d helped him kill one of his own kind. Who could say what was possible? She swallowed hard, willing herself to clear her mind and focus on a few simple words. Can you hear me?
He twitched, avoiding her gaze.
“You can, can’t you?” She couldn’t help the strange sense of wonder, or the cold chill of discomfort.
“Not all the time,” he replied, his voice choked. “Not with everybody. People I’m close to. You. Some of the boys. Just stray things. Like... like static.”
“How long has this been going on?” she asked, softer.
Kade swallowed, staring at the floor. “It started when I left. When I was back in Nashville. Around some people I knew.”
After he’d killed Drake du Coudray, Thaddeus told her they’d be watching for new abilities—some sign Kade inherited power from the vampire he’d slain. Until now, she hadn’t thought he had. “And you never mentioned it?”
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I’m always going to worry about you.” She stopped a foot away from him, crossing her arms.
“Well you shouldn’t,” he replied dryly. “It ain’t your responsibility. I told you before, I made these choices. I gotta live with them.”
“And I have to live with you, silly.” Felicity tried to smile, but it didn’t stick. “Have you told Thaddeus?”
He shook his head. “I ain’t stupid. He don’t play favorites. As soon as I get myself labeled a hazard, the hunters are after me.”
The thought wrenched her heart. “Are you a hazard?”<
br />
A pained look drifted across his face and she knew with absolute certainty that he’d seen everything in her head. Visions of him losing control, surrendering to a blood frenzy as he had when he’d killed du Coudray. The thought of Keepers arriving at their doorstep to take him away. Fear of losing him. His ashes in a jar.
Instead of speaking, he gathered her into his arms and sat on the couch, pulling her onto his lap and catching her mouth for a deep kiss.
Tears pricked her eyes and Felicity hugged him tight, unwilling to let go.
They were supposed to have a wedding. A happy ever after. Now that seemed farther away than ever.
“Near as I can figure, the best thing I can do is lay low.” Kade rested his forehead on her shoulder. “The hunt comes first. Solve the werewolf problem, make sure there won’t be any other hunters here, where they might find me out. Keep my territory clear. Then we’ll take care of Nick. One thing at a time.”
Felicity nodded, struggling to compose herself. He hadn’t tried to reassure her; that shook her worse than anything. It scared her to know all her fears were valid, but at the same time, he hadn’t lied to her. He’d acknowledged them, then moved on to a solution. That was Kade’s way, and in some ways, that was more reassuring than anything else he could have done.
No matter what, he was still Kade. Her vampire. Her midnight cowboy.
“I can’t help you with the hunt,” she said, swallowing against the tightness in her throat. “I might be able to help with Nick, though. Penny’s working with me. She has to know what he’s up to. Sooner or later, she’ll slip up.”
“Just be careful.” That Kade didn’t try to dissuade her spoke volumes. “I don’t want you doin’ anything that might put you at risk.”
She couldn’t help a laugh. “Says the man planning to go kill a werewolf.”
The corners of his mouth twitched, not quite a smile.
Felicity stroked his unshaven cheek, sighing to herself. “So if Thaddeus doesn’t know you’re hunting, how are you planning on getting the supplies you need for the job?”
“Well,” Kade said slowly, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose. “I think I got a rough idea where to start."