Need. It burned so bright inside of me, blazing a path from my groin to my throat. I needed Katie—her presence, her smile, her eyes locked on mine with that happy expression on her pretty face. Needed it. I’d come back from making Rock’s death look like an accident to thoughts of getting her the hell out of there. Instead, the second I saw her standing in that kitchen looking so fucking sexy and fuckable, I’d become a goddamned beast with one thought on my mind—getting inside that hot, curvy little body. And when she’d admitted to cooking for the town? When she’d admitted that people knew where she was staying? That one thought had turned from one of lust to one of pure need to protect.

We definitely would not be going back to Bishop’s place.

Alder stood in the dining room staring out the front window toward the highway that ran perpendicular to Main Street. You could just make out the intersection, just see any cars that might happen to pass by, though what he was looking for, I didn’t know. Something bad, if the intensity of his stare was any indication. Shye sat behind the bar with a book, looking completely calm and patient. And distracted.

“You get everything handled?” he asked, not looking at me. Not asking specifics on purpose. The less anyone knew about what Bishop and I had been doing, the better.

“Absolutely.”

“Good. Finn called.” Alder said, his eyes still watching the street outside. “The sheriff passed the Jury Room about ten minutes ago.”

Which meant he was heading this way. No wonder Alder couldn’t look away from the view outside. “You think he’s going to stop here?”

“Don’t know. You sure you handled shit?”

As in, could the murder be pinned on me. “There’s always the unknown, but if he shows, it’d likely not be for me.”

“And my brother?”

“Less likely for him.”

“Which leaves us with Katie. What’s her relationship with him like these days?”

Fuck. Nothing to do but be honest. “He’s definitely the one who ordered the kidnapping, but I don’t know her side of things.”

It wasn’t often that someone caught Alder Kennard off guard, but apparently, I just had. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“We haven’t talked about him.”

“You planning on it?”

Not yet, but soon. “Of course.”

“Good, because I don’t like surprises. He’s in bed with the Soul Suckers, and we need to know how close Katie is with him so we can figure out how to handle her.”

He wouldn’t be handling her at all, but I understood what he meant. Didn’t like it, but understood it. Any relationship between her and her uncle made us all more vulnerable to the Soul Suckers, especially Katie. A fact I wasn’t unaware of. “I’ll take care of it.”

Alder nodded, still watching the outside world with stiff shoulders and a parade-rest stance. Waiting. Ready to fight if needed. “The Soul Suckers are going to come back for us. For Katie.” He paused, his voice dropping lower as he nearly whispered, “For my Shye.”

Definitely. A thought that made me want to destroy them before they got close to us. But Alder ran the show in town, so the decision to attack or not rested on his shoulders. “What do you want to do about it?”

He didn’t speak for a long moment, still staring out the window. Scowling as the sheriff’s cruiser flew by the end of Main Street along the highway at a speed well over the limit. Not stopping, not even looking, but making a point nonetheless. There was nothing we could do to keep him out of Justice. At least, not while he wore that badge on his chest. And breathed.

Alder relaxed slightly when the cruiser disappeared into the distance. “I’m sick and tired of this cat-and-mouse thing—they come in, they hit us, they run and hide. Meanwhile, we sit here and wait for the next attack and hope it’s not as bad as the night Leah…”

I didn’t need him to finish that statement. We hoped nothing ended up as bad as the night Leah had died in a fire set by the Soul Suckers. They’d tried—with Shye, with Anabeth, and recently, with Katie. We’d blocked all those attempts, but that didn’t mean shit. Luck ran out, and even the best-trained men and women lost sometimes.

I wasn’t losing Katie. “Every time they come back, they get a little bolder.”

“And every time they come back, the damage gets a little worse. But we haven’t lost another person on our side, so I guess I have to take that as a win.” He shook his head, finally tearing his eyes away from the street outside. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s time to act,” I said, not holding back now that he’d asked. Going all in, SEAL style. “I think the sheriff wants Katie for some reason, and I don’t think he’ll stop just because the crew who tried didn’t succeed. I think he’s also getting and passing on information about us and the people in this town to the Soul Suckers. He’s an asset in their pocket, one that gives them an advantage.” Balls to the wall time. “We need to level the playing field.”

If my comment surprised him, he didn’t show it. “And how do you think we should do that?”

My plan, my girl, my problem to face. “I’ll handle it.”

His gaze pinned me in place, his eyes hard. “That’s a hell of a hornet’s nest to stir up. You got thoughts on how you’re going to do that without blowback?”

“Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

“Well, you keep working on it until you’re sure, then you bring that plan to Deacon and me. I’m not watching another of my brothers get locked up.”

My throat tightened, those words setting me back on my heels as nothing else could have. Bishop had been like a brother to me for years, and I considered the guys in Justice practically family. Alder calling me brother meant there was no practically. “I won’t fuck it up.”

“I know you won’t.” He turned away from the window, eyes darting to Shye as if checking on her before returning to me. “What’s your immediate plan? I can’t imagine you left Katie in the kitchen just to shoot the shit with me.”

He was right about that. There was a hazel-eyed beauty in the kitchen who was in danger, and I would do anything to keep her safe. Even if that meant running.

“I’m getting Katie out of town.”

“I figured that would be coming.” He nodded, returning his stare to the world outside the restaurant. “I’d get Shye out of here as well, except…”

Except he had a business to run in Justice. Except the responsibility of being a Kennard didn’t end when shit got tough. Except he couldn’t abandon the town.

Neither could I.

“Where are you headed?”

“My cabin in the valley.” I caught the surprise flash across his face as he turned my way. “No one knows about it but Bishop and you guys, so I think it’ll be safer.”

“I figured you’d be going farther. Leave Justice behind.”

“I won’t abandon my brothers,” I said, making sure every word came with weight attached. With meaning. “We live together, work together, and fight together. But I need people here to think Katie’s gone. I need them to believe she isn’t anywhere near Justice so I have time to figure out a plan.”

Alder grunted before turning away from the windows altogether. “What’s your strategy?”

“I take Katie to my cabin and hide out for a few days. You spread the word that we’re down in Colorado Springs to see a doctor.”

“I can do that. Old Vol’s wife will spread that gossip far and wide if I get it to her.”

That took me by surprise. “Vol’s wife is a gossip?”

“Vol’s wife is the gossip. She means well, but she loves to be the one person in the room with information. Likes the attention, I think. I’ll make sure she knows you two are gone, and she’ll tell every man and woman she sees.” His brow dropped down over his blue stare. “Are you thinking someone’s selling us out to the Soul Suckers?”

“No, not directly.”

“But words travel.”

“Exactly. And fake ones go as far as real ones.”

“I’ll make sure they do. You take care of that girl. I let her come back, gave her this building so she could get started. I feel real fucking responsible that she’s now a target for all this.”

“This isn’t on you. I don’t see it that way, and I’m sure Katie doesn’t either.” I reached out, bumping his fist with mine. “I’m going to change my clothes and wash up in the restroom, then we’re headed out. I want her tucked away before the sun goes down tonight. Text me if you need anything. And tell Bishop not to go back to his house. He should stay at Anabeth’s for a few days.”

“Something we need to know?”

“Katie talked to a few people today and mentioned staying at Bishop’s with me. I don’t want anything meant for us to head his way.”

Alder nodded. “Good call. I’ll call him and make sure they’re somewhere else.”

I was halfway to the kitchen when his rough voice called me back. “Gage.”

“Yeah, boss?”

This time, he didn’t mince words. Didn’t break eye contact either. His gaze held mine, heavy and fierce. Protective. “Watch your back up there.”

I could only nod, knowing there was nothing to say. I’d be watching my back for sure. And Katie’s. I had to.