AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I cut it off. It was an irresponsible thing to say, since I was leaving. “It was wonderful,” I amended.
“So why are you crying?”
“I’m just feeling really emotional. I blocked it for so long. I ran away from it, buried it in a concrete bridge piling. And now it’s all broken open, and I get to feel all the feelings, all at once. And you have only yourself to blame, big guy. You insisted.”
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said. “I want to help. I want you to be free.”
“You and me both, pal.” I bent to kiss him, just for wishing it, which was a sweet sentiment, if useless. “Let’s get moving. I need to get back to town. I have things to do.”
His frown came right back. “Kat. It’s not safe.”
“Shhhh.” I grabbed his hands, and squeezed them. “I know you mean well, but I am done with this song and dance. If you keep me here any longer, I will be forced to consider myself a prisoner, and you as my enemy. Neither of us want that.”
“Stay with me in town, then,” he urged me. “My townhouse is well located. There’s a private bedroom, bathroom, and office, just for you. A king-sized bed in my room, with me in it, ready to sexually service you at a moment’s notice, a domestic staff who—”
“I don’t want to be a kept woman. Not here, not in your townhouse, not anywhere at all. I can pour my own cereal and fold my own laundry.”
“That’s not the point. It would just be so much easier to secure you there.”
I shook my head. “I’m going home. I have business to attend to.”
He gave me that smoldering look as I climbed off his still-erect dick and headed toward the bathroom. Under the shower, I dissolved into laughter, or maybe it was tears, I could hardly tell anymore. It was so hard to push back against his power and charisma, but I was ready to do the right thing, the difficult thing. Even if it hurt me.
I had my unshakeable principles, too. And my mind was made up.
CHAPTER22
Ethan
Kat had been waylaid by Angela while finishing her coffee. It appeared Angela had adopted her, the way she had adopted Frey, Shane, Holly, and me, and as such, had strong opinions to share. In this case, vociferous disapproval of Kat’s decision to leave the safety of the Mountain House and go back to the city.
I left her to Angela’s tender mercies, since I agreed one hundred percent with Angela. Not that it earned me any points. My housekeeper had let me know in no uncertain terms that she thought I had buried my balls under a rock by capitulating to Kat’s demands. That I should put my foot down. Insist on her safety. Be the boss.
But I couldn’t be Kat’s jailor. It was getting creepy and unsustainable. My only other option was a 24/7 security detail, which was a cumbersome, complicated, expensive solution, and Kat wasn’t going to like it.
But it was that or cut her loose. And I could no more do that than I could chop off a limb.
I shamelessly took advantage of the fact that Kat was trapped in the sunroom by my housekeeper’s scolding, and went to the security room to consult with Mick.
Mick spun his chair around from the bank of security monitors. “Taking off?”
“Yes. But I need something from you,” I told him. “One, find four good people for a rotating two-man security detail on Kat while she’s in the city. For now, I’m calling Trey and Shelby to come down with me for today, but I need more men.”
Mick looked shocked. “She’s not staying here? Is she out of her mind?”
I shot him a look, and he rolled his eyes. “Right. I’ll come up with more men. Anything else?”
“Yeah. You have a stash of smartphones in here, right? I want to give Kat one with our numbers in it.”
Mick leaned over, opened a drawer, and pulled out a high-end smartphone with a charging cable wrapped around it. He handed it to Ethan. “There you go. Already activated and charged up. Top of the line. All standard apps pre-loaded.”
I opened it up, and inserted my own number into the list. “Have you found anything else in that research I asked for?”
“No, but I’m still poking around. She’s definitely hiding something.”
The tragic story Kat had told me last night was still in the forefront of my mind, but I wasn’t going to share it with Mick or anyone else unless I had a damn good reason to. I headed back out to the terrace, and found Arch Dorne’s number on my phone.
Arch was a die-hard Unredeemable. I’d served with him in my second tour in Afghanistan. I’d been forced to retire after I took a gut wound in the course of saving his life. Just as well, in the end. I would never have started up MasterTech if I’d stayed busy with the Rangers. And MasterTech had been good for me, and my family.
