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Pence offered to run out to the construction site to get Vivi and Kali. He didn’t want the women driving with worry. He was right. Just thinking about something happening to Kali put a heavy weight in my gut.
I never thought I’d have a second chance at a family, not after what happened to my Katie. I resolved myself to the fact that I would die an old, bitter, angry man.
Then my brother called.
The one man on the planet I never wanted to hear or see again threw me a lifeline and he didn’t even know it. The brother I grew up admiring then destroyed my childish dreams in a matter of minutes. When I left, I never gave him another thought.
Until he called.
Now, I had almost everything I wanted within my grasp, all because of the man I loathed. A murderer. Since leaving New York, I never thought about what happened. I couldn’t. Then some years later, my future slipped through my fingers again.
Some say, ‘third times the charm,’ but I wasn’t willing to gamble on that. Maybe I was cursed, doomed to walk this earth alone. I could fool myself all I wanted, but the fact was, Kali and her kids weren’t safe around me. I knew that now.
Everyone I loved died. I couldn’t let that happen a third time.
It didn’t matter how much I loved Kali and God help me I did. I fell so quickly for her. Her soft nature, gentle smile and warm heart. So much love was in her and she took me into her heart and never thought of the consequences.
Getting up, I kissed Tanner on his head, then placed him in the small playpen. Covering him, I patted his back, memorizing the little face that looked so much like his mother. Doing the same with Talia and the twins, I quietly closed the playroom and headed for my office. Shutting the door behind me, I sat at my desk and dialed his number.
He needed to know what I was about to do.
It was for the best. They were safer without me.
“Kansas,” he said, when the line connected.
“I’m out.”
“What do you mean?”
“I won’t put them in danger, Montana. Find someplace else to protect them.”
“What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter. Just do it,” I said, hanging up, then snapped my phone in half so he couldn’t call me back. I knew my brother. He would and when he couldn’t get ahold of me, he would start calling the others.
Grabbing my helmet, I left the clubhouse, got on my bike and left. I needed the open road. The wind in my face. I needed to find absolution because if I stayed, death would come again and this time, I would let him take me.
Eleven
Kali
“Where could he have gone?” I asked Trigger and the others, worried. When Pence showed up at the new house, I immediately knew something was wrong. Wasting no time, Vivi and I jumped into our vehicles and followed Pence back to the compound. Only when we arrived did I find my kids and Mrs. Worthington, but no Kansas.
He was gone.
It had been five hours since anyone had seen or heard from him, and I was getting more concerned by the minute. I knew what happened. The fire chief and Justin Conroy came by and gave me the latest update. Apparently, it wasn’t sabotage or deliberate, like everyone thought at first. The damn stove was just installed incorrectly. That was it. A simple mistake. While concerned about the damage, none of that mattered to me. All I cared about was that my kids were safe. That Mrs. Worthington was safe.
Houses were replaceable. My family wasn’t.
“No clue,” Blackjack replied, looking at Keys, who shrugged.
“Did something else happen that you’re not telling me because he wouldn’t just up and leave?”
“He was with the kids in the playroom. Then he wasn’t. I don’t know where he went,” Trigger replied.
“Trig’s right, Kali.” Judd added. “I was in the garage when I heard his bike start up. Saw him peel out of the compound. No one was with him.”
“Have you tried calling him?”
