Her Midnight Wedding (Keeper's Kin Book 2)
Page 26
When they finally parted, some time later, Kade pulled her close against his body and gave a long, satisfied sigh.
Felicity giggled, savoring the feeling of his body—surprisingly warm—against her. “What do you think, cowboy? Was it worth the wait?”
“Without a doubt, yes.” His voice rumbled in his chest, smooth and reassuring, everything she needed to hear. “The best things in life always are.”
She rolled over the other direction, taking her wine from the nightstand and drawing a long sip. Their clothes were a rumpled mess on the floor, but the little black box that had toppled from the pocket of his suit caught her eye. She picked it up, passing it to Kade as she poured herself another glass.
He took it, turning it between his fingers. “What’s this?”
“From Thaddeus.”
Kade grunted softly. “I honestly didn’t think he’d come. He sure wasn’t as enthusiastic about this weddin’ as everyone else.”
“What do you think it is?” She quirked a brow as she drank.
“No idea.” It wasn’t sealed, and the top came free with only a little tugging. A small silver key waited inside, nestled atop cotton padding. Kade picked it up, turning it between his fingers. It was too small to belong to a house or car, but it was smooth on both sides, lacking even so much as a maker’s mark.
“What could that be for?” Felicity asked in a murmur.
Shrugging, Kade put it back in the box. “Beats me, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually. Birch is nothing if not cryptic.”
“And serious. And grouchy,” Felicity added.
“And on to me.”
She paused. “What do you mean?”
He sobered, studying her face for a long time before rolling onto his back. “I told you I saw his file on me while I was in Nashville.” He stared up at the ceiling, stone-faced and still. “Saw a lot of things in his office, some I wasn’t too comfortable with. But two things stick with me. He had my file handy, and he knew what I could do before I did it. He wasn’t a lick surprised when I suggested...”
Felicity stroked his hair, encouraging him to continue.
He shook his head. “Well, anyway, he already knew, and everything was written in there. Whether or not he turned it in, I don’t know. But sooner or later, it’s comin’.”
“And we’ll deal with that when it happens.” She leaned forward, kissing his brow.
“But that ain’t it,” Kade said. “That’s not what bothers me. He was the one who issued the contract on Brady, Filly. He was the one who changed the report and sent it on like that. Knowin’ I had the situation under control, knowin’ I was gonna do everything I could to see that hunt resolve without outside influence. He called for the hit. And he did it in a way that anyone who handled that first altered file would know he’d done it.”
That sounded contrary to the meticulous Keeper’s nature. “Why would he make it clear he was tampering with it?”
“I don’t know. Unless he was tryin’ to use it as a message.” He blew out a sigh, frowning at the open rafters of the roof. “But who was he tryin’ to communicate with? The only lead I got is the name of the Keeper he was workin’ with.”
“Then that sounds like a good place to start.” She stroked the lines of worry between his brows until they faded. “But for now, I think you’d better remember that this is your wedding night, and your new bride is sitting right next to you, completely nude.”
That drew a smile, and he peered at her from the corner of his eye. “What are you suggestin’ I do about that?”
“Oh, I might have a couple suggestions.” Felicity shifted, drawing a leg over him and straddling his hips. “That is, if you’re ready for round two?”
The wicked gleam in his hazel eyes answered even before he spoke. “Absolutely.”
EPILOGUE
* * *
THADDEUS RAN A finger over the surface of the wedding invitation, taking in every nuance of the texture. The thick card stock, the glossy print, the finely embossed details of their names.
Sentimentality was dangerous for a Keeper. The clarion call of immortality was what lured people in, more often than not, but he’d lived long enough to know there was no such thing. Everyone died, eventually. All they did was delay the inevitable, ensuring their end would be violent and agonizing instead of the precious, peaceful end that came with slipping away in one’s sleep.
Yet he couldn’t help it. He’d had dozens of charges through the years—perhaps more than a hundred—but few managed to touch whatever small shred of humanity remained within him.
Thaddeus didn’t know whether to thank him or revile him.
A rapping at his door brought his attention back to his dark, crowded office. The door opened a crack, spilling light into his sanctuary. He preferred the warm incandescent light of the lamp on his desk to the sickly gray-green of office fluorescents, and he squinted against the glare.
“Someone is here to see you,” the receptionist said, her voice soft, as if she knew she was interrupting something.
“I don’t recall having any appointments.” He tempered his response; she was only doing her job, and he tolerated Matilda better than the others who worked the front desk.
“I understand, sir, but he’s quite insistent.”
Thaddeus sighed. “Very well. Send him in.”
The receptionist nodded, slipping out and leaving the door open just enough to let a halo of light surround it.
He opened the top drawer on the left-hand side of his desk, sliding open a small black box. One last time, he allowed his fingers to trace the surface of the invitation. Then he lowered it into the box, leaving it atop the sepia portraits and newspaper clippings that were all that remained of his family.
Matilda returned, ushering in a young man in denim and a faded tee, a tan cowboy hat on his head. Then she closed the door.
They regarded each other in silence for a long moment. The man cleared his throat. “Thaddeus Birch?”
The old man’s eyes dipped toward the plaque at the front edge of his desk, his name emblazoned on the front.
The stranger nodded. “Heard you were looking for a new hunter.”
Thaddeus pushed in the drawer and it closed with a solemn, final click. “I’m listening.”
* * *
Kade and Felicity’s story will conclude in Her Midnight Hunter.
The next book is coming in spring of 2018.
Curious about Kade’s life before Felicity?
Sign up for my email newsletter to receive your free copy of The First Hunt, a novella chronicling his journey to become a hunter!
* * *
Other Titles by Beth Alvarez
PARANORMAL
Death of the Sun
Born of the Moon
Keeper’s Finder
Her Midnight Cowboy
The First Hunt (Newsletter Exclusive)
FANTASY
Gale’s Gift
Of Blood and Rain