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The shadow’s arm rose to deflect her attack. He was definitely real, not a dream.
Robert.
Flesh and blood after her brother. She had to stop him.
That single thought screamed inside her head. When his hand closed over her wrist, the one with the knife, the one thing she’d mastered in self-defense class flashed back.
She dropped the knife and seized his wrist with her free hand. Pure adrenalin gave her the strength to twist her back to his chest and plant her feet. Using his own weight and forward momentum against him, she bent at the waist and heaved him over her shoulder.
He landed flat on his back with a loud thump. The breath whooshed from his lungs. She heard a strangled gasp and squatted down, scrambling to locate the knife. The bite of the blade had her reaching with her other hand for the handle. Ironically, a rush of temporary relief shook her knees even more.
She braced her free hand against the wall for support as she rose with the knife extended in front of her. Slightly crouched, she swept her hand back and forth along the wall until she located the light switch. One flip and she’d confront Robert face to face. Her heart clogged her throat, but she forced her fingers to move.
The hallway lit up. Kendra nearly dropped the knife again as her other hand flew to her mouth in astonished horror.
Colton?
He lay on the floor in front of her, squinting in the bright light. Then his gaze fixed on the nine-inch blade in her hand, and he scooted to sit against the wall.
What was he—her gaze narrowed before she spun around and hurried inside Noah’s room. Assured he was unharmed and still sleeping soundly, she returned to the hall to find Colton picking himself up off the floor.
Dizzying relief gave way to anger. He’d scared the living daylights out of her! “What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.
His green eyes narrowed. His attention dropped to the hand at her side and then, without a single word, he strode toward the kitchen. She rushed after him and he whirled to face her. She jerked the knife up in automatic warning. “Stay there. I asked you a question.”
His gaze caught hers and held. The challenging glitter in his eyes held her immobile as he took a deliberate step forward and slowly reached to close his hand over her fingers on the handle. Heat from his touch radiated up her arm and through her entire body. She tried to pull away and his gaze darkened in tandem with the tightening of his grip.
“Threaten me again, and you’d better be damn sure you succeed the first time.”
The chill of his clipped warning effectively chased down the heat tingling along her spine. Her bravado wavered. She relaxed her hold enough for him to take possession of the knife.
He turned to set the blade on the table while she explained, “I didn’t mean it, I thought you were—” She broke off abruptly, but he pounced on her slip-up.
“Thought I was who?”
She swallowed. “I didn’t know it was you.”
“Would that have changed anything?”
She studied the chipped polish on her toe nails. “I wouldn’t have gotten the knife.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s real convincing.”
Kendra took a breath to apologize. Wait a second—why was she the one feeling bad here? She met his gaze dead on. “What was I supposed to do? It’s after ten and as far as I knew, you went home hours ago. When I saw you coming from Noah’s room, I panicked. I had to keep him safe. I grabbed the first thing I could think of.”
A frown darkened his expression. “It’s not like I would’ve hurt him.
She huffed, s
tepping around him to walk toward the sink. Noticing his measured look from her to the knife as she passed, she rolled her eyes and faced him again.
“I didn’t know it was you, okay? Besides, even if I had known it was you, I don’t know you. Like this.” She made an all-encompassing gesture with her hands. “I didn’t expect you to be the cat-burglar type, breaking in during the middle of the night. How was I supposed to know what you were doing in his room?”
Colton braced his hands on a chair, and they faced off across the table.
“It was a reflex. His door was open, and I stuck my head in to check on him. I guess when I saw him sleeping I wondered if he’s as innocent as he looks—”
“Of course he’s innocent! How dare you even suggest otherwise.”
