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“A pattern of escalation?” I squeak, unable to wrap my head around what he’s saying. “Why do I not know about any of this?”
He shrugs. “You were done with the guys, and Hadley didn’t want to freak you out.”
“So she sent you,” I finish, my mind reeling. “Why did this psycho not go for Richard earlier? Why wait until now?”
He shrugs, not seeming to have an answer to that one. “I’m guessing the ring was the trigger. Perhaps before then they didn’t think he was a threat.”
“And you think he’s dead?”
He grimaces. “I’ll look into it, but I doubt he’s just walking around with a missing finger.” He hesitates before stating, “The fact that whoever this is also sent you his finger is concerning. It shows not only an escalation of violence, but that they want you to see how far they are willing to go for you.”
My mouth suddenly feels like sandpaper, and I gulp down the rest of my wine, desperate for the alcohol to numb me from the terror currently rocking me to my core. My gaze once again drifts to the window as I lean my head against the wall and just stare at the clouds, not really seeing them.
This morning I woke up and went to work like it was any other day. Where the hell did it all go wrong? How did what was supposed to be an ordinary Wednesday end up with a severed finger, a possibly dead boyfriend, and a creepy ass stalker? And that doesn’t even touch on the fact that Richard was going to propose.Propose.
As if he could read my thoughts, or maybe I was muttering to myself, Kai asks, “Would you have said yes?”
Sighing, I turn my head to look at him, frowning as I try to navigate through my feelings. “Maybe.” I wince, because that is not the indecisive answer Richard deserved. He deserved way better from me than the half-assed effort I put in. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but no matter how much I wished I could be madly in love with him, I just… wasn’t. It’s a head-over-heart matter, and I’m honestly not sure who would have won out. My head says he ticks all the boxes and I’d be a fool not to marry him, but my heart screams for passion, heat, and excitement.
And more concerningly, for the only two men who have ever made me feel that way.
“I think the fact your answer isn’t an immediate yes is an answer in itself,” Kai says softly.
Not long later, the pilot speaks over the intercom, letting us know we are beginning our descent. Fifteen minutes later, we are hitting the ground and rolling to a stop. Kai grabs my bag, along with a bag of his own things he must have packed when I was in my frenzied state earlier, and we exit the jet to a waiting car.
Ah, I’d forgotten how the other half lived—no commercial flights and waiting for the bus when you have money.
A driver meets us at the car and takes the bags from Kai, putting them in the trunk while Kai ushers me into the back seat.
“So,” I begin as the driver climbs in behind the wheel, and we start moving. “Was everything else you told me a lie?”
“I didn’t want to lie to you,” he insists, his voice soft and sincere, tinged with regret that’s mirrored in the deep contours of his brow. “It was necessary for my cover. We didn’t want anyone tracing me back to Nocturnal Enterprises or Hadley if anything like this was to happen.”
“So you were expecting…this?”
He gives an easy shrug of his shoulder. “You hope for the best and plan for the worst. I genuinely hoped, for your sake, that it would be all over when you graduated. However, I made sure to have an exit plan in place just in case.” I simply nod, unsure how to respond to that. “But I told you the truth when I could.”
“So you were in the Marines?”
“I was. I enlisted the day I turned eighteen and served for six years. When my tour finished last year, I got a private security gig at Nocturnal Enterprises. It was only meant to be a short-term thing until I worked out my next move, but they’ve been an excellent company to work for, and I’ve gotten to know Hawk, Hadley, and her guys pretty well.”
“And you really do hate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” My lips quirk as I remember our first conversation. The first time I met him, I was stuffing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into my mouth while I ran out the door, late to meet Mel for a shopping trip. I’d somehow managed to smear jelly on my face and had no idea until he kindly pointed it out. Talk about making an excellent first impression. Not that it seemed to bother him, finding humor in the situation while I wished for the ground to swallow me whole.
He smiles with a glint in his eye as if he recalls that first meeting too. “I really do.”
The car slows to a stop, and I frown as I look out the window, squinting through the darkness to see where we are. “Ehh, where are we?” I ask when I realize we are in some back alley. I’d just assumed we were going to Hadley’s.
Before Kai can answer, headlights flash through the front window, momentarily blinding me until they are switched off.
Kai steps out of the car, and a second later, a grinning blonde pops her head in.
“Hadley,” I gasp, more relieved to see her than I’d ever been before.
“Hey, girl, how are you holding up?”
She slides into the backseat beside me, and I throw my arms around her. That’s when the tears start, like her presence is the wrecking ball that smashes through the dam holding my emotions at bay.
Wrapping her arms around me, she lets me fall apart as I sob into her shoulders, today’s events finally hitting me.
