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Chapter Eleven
Kurt watched helplessly from the vehicle as Ruby left him and Neal, her back stiff and her manner unbending.
He’d never felt so inadequate. He looked at Neal and saw the same uncertainty in his face. “I didn’t get a chance to warn you, Storm, but her house was tossed.”
“Someone broke in… are you sure?”
“Well either she’s the worst housekeeper in the world or someone went through her stuff and left everything in a shambles.”
“Jesus. That’s all that poor woman needs. She can’t cut a break. Look, I’m going to go and see how she’s handling this newest stress. Thanks, bud.”
“No problem. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Will do.” Kurt opened his door and gave Neal’s arm a friendly slug before heading in the same direction that Ruby had taken earlier.
He arrived in time to hear her wail and then the thump as her body collapsed on the floor.
Breaking in only took a credit card and know-how and seconds later, he approached the body of the woman who’d given him nothing but a bad time from the moment he’d met her.
Making sure her breathing was fine, he checked her vitals and calmed down. Stress from the earlier attack and lack of food and water could cause this type of reaction. Throw in the fact that she was pregnant, and he figured she just needed a friend to help when she woke up.
Gently, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her through the house until he found her room. There, he laid her on the bed. Taking care when he removed her shoes, he covered her with a fuzzy throw he found folded on the back of the wing chair.
If she didn’t recover consciousness soon, he’d be taking her back to the hospital. Whichever way, he had no intention of leaving her until her husband appeared.
Quickly, he scoped out the rest of the house to see what Neal was talking about and found the shambles he’d expected. Jesus! Knowing that from where he’d found her, she wouldn’t have seen this mess yet, he felt furious on her behalf. Why the hell was this happening to the woman? Men attacking her and breaking into her home.
When her husband finally appeared, he intended to have a few words with the dude. She shouldn’t be left alone at a time like this with all the bullshit happening around her. It wasn’t right.
Returning to the bedroom, he found Ruby stirring and knew she’d soon be awake. Not wanting to frighten her, he stood in the corner, waiting to soothe her when she opened her eyes.
He never expected her to whisper words that would open a huge crack in his fortified heart. Poor pregnant lady. He’d heard sadness before, but the heart-wrenching tone of her loving words brought him a soft feeling he hadn’t experienced in a very long time. Only one other person had ever been able to engage these deep emotions in him, and she was a woman too… his Molly-mom.
Years ago, Molly had found her life-long partner and had written to Kurt about her joy. Deployed overseas when the man of her dreams had appeared, they hadn’t met. His name had been Wade and according to Molly, he’d won her heart. They’d moved in together, planned to marry, until he’d found out about the cancer growing in his kidneys.
Whether he didn’t believe in Molly’s love being strong enough to see him during the coming torture, or he didn’t want to put her through the pain of watching him wither away, Kurt wasn’t sure. One morning, the man disappeared, and they never heard from him again.
Kurt hadn’t read the letter that Molly still cried over, but he’d seen her eyes and heard the pain, and because he loved her, it dug deep.
Yet, since she never showed revenge or anger for Wade’s behavior, neither did Kurt. All he knew was that the woman hadn’t looked at another man to replace him. Once when he’d teased her about her single status, she’d become serious and every word she uttered dripped with her truth.
“Honey, for some women there’s only one man who can touch their soul. I seem to be that woman, and for me, Wade had been that man. When your time comes and you meet the one girl who makes your heart spring open, don’t ever cheat her from being with you for every moment you have a breath left to breathe.”
He’d promised her then not knowing exactly what it all meant… until eavesdropping on another woman whispering words of love to her unborn child in a voice so filled with emotion, he had trouble speaking.
If he hadn’t seen the fearful reaction she’d had upon awakening in a different place, he might have slipped away without her knowing he’d heard. But fear played a huge part in the stress that Phil had ordered to be kept away from her.
He slowly approached her side of the bed and crouched down so she could see for herself that he intended no harm. “Hi, Ruby. I’m sorry for your worry, but everything’s okay.”
“Why – why are you here?”
“I know you said your husband would be back tonight, but after you left my partner and me at the car, Neal informed me that your house had been trashed. I came to warn you. That’s when I heard you fall.”
“How did you get in?”
“Hmmm.” He rubbed his hands over his knees before admitting, “I broke in to get to you. FBI agents are trained in these circumstances. You had collapsed. I wasn’t sure if you’d hurt yourself in the fall, I had no way of knowing if someone else had snuck in and waited to hurt you. I couldn’t take the chance. I had to get to you.”
“I-I’m okay. I don’t really know what happened. How long was I out?”
