It works. He pleads with her to leave before it’s too late, but trusts her to peek through the curtains while he restrains the dog.
“It’s Luke,” she sighs. “It’s not them. You can put the gun down, we’re alright.”
She doesn’t open the door until he hands the gun over, which takes longer than she’s comfortable with. It’s only a miracle that Luke somehow manages to wait patiently for the first time since she met him.
“You good?” she asks, waiting until Wade nods reluctantly.
Sweat breaks out across his forehead and he’s unsteady on his feet. That’s enough to tell her he’s not ready for guests, though she doesn’t have much choice. The moment she opens the door, it’s clear Luke has no intention of staying on the porch. He shoulders past her into the house as if there’s a hidden threat.
“I don’t remember inviting you in,” Kara mutters.
“Everything okay in here?”
“Fine. Yes. What’s this about? You didn’t get my message?”
“Oh, I got it.”
“Then why are you here?”
He hesitates, giving Wade a once-over. Kara’s heart breaks all over again when he shrinks into himself. It’s a submissive gesture that Luke hasn’t earned, but appeasement is the default behavior.
“Good to see you up and around,” he directs at Wade. “Feeling better?”
There’s no answer. She watches Wade’s fists clench and eyes dart down to the floorboards.
“He’s doing fine, we both are,” she steps in front of Wade. If she has to be his buffer, she will. “You’ve got thirty seconds to get to the point.”
“A few of Silas’s men were spotted one county over. You wanted to know. Asked me to tell you if we came across them, so I’m telling you.”
Wade’s on high alert in an instant and she doesn’t even have to turn around to feel it. The hair on her arms stands on end, and her tunnel vision for revenge takes over.
“Where? How far? Are they dead yet? What happened?”
“About half an hour east of here. No specific location or landmark. They could be dead for all I know, but my men didn’t do it. They just reported back.”
“Get them to mark where on a map and bring it back here. Please.”
“I will not. You can’t go off chasing down—”
“Oh, so you want to be helpful but not helpful enough to actually be useful, is that it? Why even tell me then?”
“Because I was worried, and it’s a good reason to check on you,” he says evenly. “And I left a crate of supplies on the porch.”
She hates that he uses gifts to make it okay to barge in. She’ll only seem like an asshole now if she doesn’t thank him. “Well, there’s no reason to worry. If you can get that map, I’ll take it. Otherwise, we need some privacy.”
Luke pauses, incredulous that she’s kicking him out even after he brought food and news of a possible sighting. He clearly expected to win some points today. Then he spies the purple bruises on her wrists and everything plummets south.
He grabs for her with a familiarity they haven’t established. “Did he do this? He’s been hurting you? I knew it.”
She rips her arm away, but it’s too late. Wade’s already got the other man shoved up against the door, nostrils flaring as he growls not to touch her. His hand closes around Luke’s throat and lifts until his feet thrash against the floor.
Wade is weak after his ordeal, but he’s got several inches in height on Luke, and his rage offers more than enough bottled-up adrenaline to make up for what his biceps lack. It’s not a fair fight, though. Luke gets the upper hand with a knee to the groin, forcing Wade to stumble back, before responding with a fist to Luke’s chin.
She does the only thing she can do, grabs the shotgun and lets the sound of it cocking bring everything to a halt.
She doesn’t point it at Luke, but she thinks about it.
“I saidwe are fine. What you think is happening is not happening. I can handle this. It’s in your best interest not to touch him again.”
