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Images of Kai in Richard’s place on the photos Mel sent, his name on the police report, and his death certificate flash through my mind, causing my lips to tremble. I have to suck them between my teeth to stop them from giving me away.
The room around me is a distant blur as I try to figure out a way out of this that doesn’t have me confronting Kai’s dead body. Richard’s death hurt my heart, but Kai’s would devastate me.
I only come to at the feel of a warm hand against my cheek, and blinking back into the room, I notice Mel crouched in front of me. She’s staring up at me with concern—fake or genuine, I have no idea—but I instantly fear that I’ve given away my true feelings for Kai.
"Shhh." She strokes my cheek while she attempts to soothe me. "Everything will be okay. I plan to eliminate all three of them, and once I’ve seen it through, I’ll come and get you. You only have to be around them for a few more days. Can you do that for me?"
Numbly, I nod my head, earning a proud smile from her.
Getting to her feet, she places one last kiss against my lips. “I promise I’ll come for you soon, baby. Then it will just be the two of us. We’ll find a remote cabin somewhere where no one will bother us, and we’ll spend the rest of our days there—happy and in love.”
Oh, yay. Just what I’ve always wanted—to live in the middle of nowhere with a crazy person.
Before I can make my mouth move to form words, she’s slipping down a back hallway and disappearing from view. The second I’m alone, I stop fighting my body’s natural reaction and allow the fear to course through me. My hands tremble as I shake uncontrollably, and I stare unseeingly at the grimy floor of the bar as I go back over the last half hour.
“We’re here.” Kai’s voice makes me jump. I’d forgotten entirely about the earpiece.
“She’s gone,” I say in an unsteady voice.
“Dumped the tracker, too,” Kai informs me—having presumably quickly checked.
Sighing heavily, I tell them, “I’m coming out now.” However, I don’t make any effort to move. I allow myself a minute to fall apart. As if sensing I need the time to gather myself, the guys remain quiet on the other end of the earpiece; none of them kicking in the door of the bar. One minute turns into five, which turns into ten.
When I’m ready, I slot all the broken pieces back into place and pick myself back up.
“That’s our girl,” Hawk soothes in my ear. “Come back to us. We’ll take care of you.” His comforting words are the glue I needed to heal myself again. As I slide out of the booth, I set my jaw and lift my head before striding out to the awaiting car.
I refuse to let Mel hurt Kai. Or Hawk. Or Wilder. I won’t let her tear me down mentally and drive doubts into my mind. And I sure as hell amnotletting her take me to live in the freaking wilderness alone with her!
Chapter18
HAWK
Igroan as the blaring of my alarm starts up a pounding headache behind my eyes.What an excellent start to the day.The four of us sat up way too late last night while Em recounted her meeting with Mel and we all brainstormed ideas.
This shit is getting so far out of hand. When Em first showed up in my kitchen, I thought for sure her stalker was just some college creep, and Kai would have sniffed him out in a week and gotten rid of him, and Emilia would disappear back to her life as though her presence had been nothing but a weird dream.
I could never have guessed the psycho stalking her was a virtual ghost—one who is easily evading our team of trained professionals tasked with the job of finding her. How is that even possible? I know it’s not because of a flaw in our system. I even had West update our software and search through it for blind spots, but he found nothing significant.
West is the most intelligent person I know regarding computers and technology. He’s upgraded all of our systems, installing programs he created that give us the edge against rival security companies.
I remember when he set it up; he boasted that the computer program could find anyone literally.
Well, apparently, it can find anyoneexceptMel. Her skill set has outsmarted even him. I’ve tried to keep Hadley out of most of this, even asked West to see if he could do something to help us catch her. I’m at a loss as to what to do next, which pisses me off. This entire company that’s built on protecting people, yet there’s not a single damn thing I can do to protect the woman I’m falling in love with.
The incessant tinkling of my alarm stops, the quiet of the room rushing back in as I relax back against the mattress and pull a still-sleeping Emilia tighter against me.
When the noise immediately starts back up again, I realize it’s not my alarm but an incoming call. Cursing out whatever asshole is calling me before the sun has even risen, I grab my phone from the bedside table and bring it to my ear.
“What?” I hiss out angrily, careful to keep my voice low so as not to wake Emilia.
“Sorry to bother you, sir, but there has been an, uh, incident.”
“What incident?”
“Well, umm, we have just received notification from the authorities that Compton was found murdered in his home early this morning.”
Fuck.He’s a top-priority client, and his death will undoubtedly make front-page news. News that won’t reflect well on Nocturnal Enterprises. Still, there’s no reason to disturb me at such an ungodly hour.
