“How’d your date go?” Kate leaned against Michael on the porch swing with her legs crossed up over the edge as she eyed the lake. She brought the coffee mug to her lips and glanced over her shoulder, waiting for Michael to respond.

“Horrible. The whole time I was eating dinner, all I could think about was you. And when I went home, and you were gone . . .” He pushed against the ground, giving the swing a little more momentum.

“I thought about you, too,” she admitted.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. “I wish you didn’t go out. Why would you use yourself as bait like that? Why lie to me? Was it really your idea?”

She watched a sailboat pass on the tender morning breeze. Could Dustin be on that boat? Watching them? Until they captured him, she would never be able to breathe easy. She had allowed herself to get caught up in the moment with Michael the night before, but now she had to put her game face back on and focus on the danger at hand.

“Kate?”

She pulled her legs off the railing and set her feet on the ground, resting her cup next to the swing. “Why’d you decide to bring me here?” She was desperate to avoid the truth.

“Because the second I saw you with Ethan, I knew I had to have you all for myself. I want to keep you here for the weekend—keep you safe. Tucked away from all the Ethans and Dustins of the world.”

His honesty was surprising. And refreshing.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. But Kate, if I’m going to keep you safe, I need the truth.”

She stood and faced him. He remained sitting on the swing but brought the rocking motion to a halt. His bare feet pressed against the planks beneath his soles—veins slightly evident there. The man was always so tense—every part of his body.

“If I tell you the truth, will you promise not to flip out?”

“I can’t make that promise.” He cocked his head, his brows furrowing as he studied her.

Her shoulders sank forward. “Jake suggested I go on the date and not tell you.”

He shut his eyes as his lips pulled together. “Go on.”

Sure—and have you kill your best friend. But she knew there was no way Michael would let this go. “He explained to me the danger of letting Dustin remain on the loose for any longer. He told me the big picture. It’s not about me. Dustin is a threat to national security. He’s a danger, and if I can help bring down a traitor—”

“Let me handle Dustin,” he interrupted as his eyes opened. “Your safety should never be sacrificed. That’s non-negotiable for me.” He set his mug down and rose to his feet. His hands swept up to both her cheeks. “If anything happened to you . . .” He shook his head, released her, and took a step back. “I’m going to kill Jake. And Connor,” he grumbled and turned away from her.

“Please, Michael. Jake’s doing what’s right. And Connor was trying to protect me.”

Michael crossed the deck and leaned his forearms over the side railing, looking out onto the greenish water.

“Jake’s a Fed now. He may have to follow the rules, but I don’t give a damn about anything right now but keeping you alive.”

“That’s not true, Michael.” She lowered her forehead against his back and wrapped her arms around his body. “If Dustin gets away and hurts other people, and we could have stopped him . . . you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself. That’s not who you are, and you know it.”

His hand covered hers against his core, and he released a deep breath. “Maybe we can just stay here forever,” he said after a minute.

“Not a bad idea,” she said. Of course, she knew they were pipe dreaming. But she’d give herself one more minute to live in the fantasy world before they had to delve into something much uglier. “Is this another one of your getaways?”

Michael started to turn, so she dropped her hold and stepped back. He leaned against the railing and folded his arms. “After being in the Marines, sometimes I need to be alone. I need a place to silence the—” He looked down, but she reached out and rested her palm on his cheek, and he closed his eyes at the gesture.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Afghanistan. Or Iraq. That’s what I dream about when I get those nightmares.”

The buzzing noise of a distant boat and the soft sounds of the water lapping against the land became white noise as she stared at him.

“My men and I were on a routine mission. We were sent to gather intelligence in the Helmand province in Afghanistan. My platoon usually travels, does some recon, and makes sure that everything is safe before more troops come.” He opened his eyes, and there was so much pain evident there that she could barely stand to look at him. He was hurting so damn bad, and he needed someone so much more than she realized. “It was supposed to be deserted, but our information was inaccurate. I can still smell the smoke. I can still see the debris of the IED explosions all around me. We were sitting ducks. Surrounded. Almost everyone died.”

His tan throat moved as he swallowed. “An explosion blasted near me, knocking me to my feet, and then I felt the first bullet splice through my shoulder. I was on the ground, dust in my face as the boots approached me. The insurgent was dragging someone. A soldier. The guy had a knife to his throat, and I was the last person he would see before his throat was slit.”

Her heart slammed against her ribcage, hating the words he would have to utter next, and hating herself for making him relive the memory.

Two empty blue eyes were staring back at her, almost in a daze. “And then the guy took out his gun and shot me twice. Somehow, Jake got to me and kept me alive long enough until secondary forces swooped in to fight off the Taliban insurgents. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret that I lived. I just keep seeing his eyes—looking up at me with such horror. It should have been me.”

She couldn’t fight back the tears any longer. They rushed free over her face. He moved his thumb across her lips.

“Don’t cry,” he said and cradled her head against his chest. “Please, don’t cry.”

* * *

“Answer your phone.” Michael slammed his cell phone down on the couch and rubbed his temples. He had called Jake five times in the last five minutes, with no answer.

He glanced over at the bedroom. The door was shut, and he assumed Kate was still resting. He’d burdened her with his past, and she’d broken down as a result. He should never have opened his mouth given what she was going through right now.

Stupid.

She’d need to eat at some point, though. His cabin had coffee and granola bars, and that was it. He couldn’t risk going to the store, and he hated the idea of having a delivery man come to the house, but he had no choice.

He grabbed his phone and ordered a pizza online. After, he dialed Connor.

“Hey, man.”

“Shit, Connor. What’s going on? I can’t get hold of Jake. Is everything okay?” He ruffled his hair and walked into the small kitchen.

“Yeah. Jake’s working on some leads. He knows that if he talks to you, you’ll just flip out, which you have every right to do.”

“Where are you guys? My place?” He tried to keep his anger in check, at least for the moment.

“We’re close to you, actually. We’re staying at a hotel in Cornelius. Jake thought we should be nearby.”

Michael was quiet for a moment. “Is Jake still using Kate as bait?” He pressed his hand on the counter, trying to steady himself.

“No,” Connor said after what felt like too long. “He wants to keep a close eye on you and Kate. Give you some back-up.”

For some reason, Michael didn’t believe him. “Tell Jake to call me.”

He turned around when he heard the bedroom door open and ended the call, shoving the phone into his pocket.

“Something wrong?” she asked with a soft voice.

“Jake’s ducking my calls. Afraid of me, I guess.”

She gave him a weak smile and rubbed her arms as if a chill had snuck up on her. She was wearing some of his sister’s clothes—skin tight white jeans and a white T-shirt with no bra. Julia used the cabin every so often and had a few things stored there.

“I ordered pizza,” he said while scratching the back of his neck, trying to look away from her nipples, which were poking against the thin material of the shirt. This wasn’t the time or place to be getting a damn erection. Jesus.

She nodded and took a seat on the couch, clasping her hands on her lap. “I’m not hungry.”

“You need to eat. It’s getting late, and all you’ve had is coffee.”

“That’s not true. We split the granola bar you found in your cabinet earlier.”

“Yeah, well, that’s not enough.” He came up next to her and sat down and reached out for her hand. Her fingers were freezing, and her hand was shaking a little. “Let me grab you a blanket.”

“I’m fine. You can keep me warm,” she said while looking up at him beneath long lashes, her eyes puffy a little from crying earlier. He was pretty sure she’d had a tear jerker session as a result of a lot more than the heavy shit he’d laid on her—the woman was dealing with a whole mess of a situation, and he couldn’t begin to imagine how she must be feeling.

Michael tugged her against him and held her tight. She rested her head on his shoulder, and her hand slipped up to his chest. His heart was racing, and he knew she’d be able to tell beneath her palm.

It was part nerves about what was going to happen with Dustin, but also because of fear—he’d opened up to this woman. He’d never opened up to anyone. And he had no clue if he’d be able to continue to be this man—the man she needed . . . or if he’d wind up hurting her.

The thought of causing her any more pain was unbearable, but he didn’t know if he could trust himself. This was unchartered territory.

They sat in silence, holding each other until the delivery man sounded the buzzer at the gate.

Michael grabbed the 9mm he kept in his safe and tucked it at the back of his pants and then went to meet the delivery guy.

Fortunately, the guy appeared normal, and so he handed the kid a hundred. “Keep the change.”

The delivery man’s face cracked into a deep smile. “Thanks, man.”

Michael watched the kid enter his car and waited until he was out of view before heading back into the house.

“I guess you didn’t need your gun.”

He set the pizza down in the kitchen next to the bottle of soda and put the gun back in his bedroom. When he came into the kitchen, he found Kate peeking inside the pizza box. “Looks like someone is hungry, after all.” He grinned at her as she reached for a slice of pepperoni.

She rolled her eyes at him and slipped the pizza into her mouth.

He grabbed a slice, too, before reaching for his phone, hoping for a text, at the very least, from Jake. The sun was beginning to set. The gold light spilled onto the lake, and his concerns grew with each passing minute.

After finishing two more pieces of pizza, Kate spoke up again. “What’s the plan?”

He moved away from the back door and faced Kate. Before he had a chance to answer, his phone began to ring. “Must be Jake.” He grabbed his phone off the table by the couch. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you,” he answered with pained irritation.

“I’m sorry. We’re trying to get some stuff worked out. Can you head over to our hotel?”

“I don’t know if we should leave right now,” Michael answered, contemplating the risks involved in traveling, especially at the late hour.

“You shouldn’t stay there.” There was a pause on the line. “Michael, did you know David had a paternity test run at the hospital the day Kate was born? Something has been bothering me about him, and I looked into a few things last night.”

Michael looked over at Kate, wondering how she might react if she knew. And then there was a beep on his phone. “I’m getting a call, hang on.” He transferred to the other line. “Hello?”

“Hello, Mike. Or is it Michael now?” The voice was low but smooth around the edges. It echoed loudly from the receiver—he must have bumped the speakerphone button by accident. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Oh my God,” Kate whispered.

His eyes locked on hers just as the power went out. The last bit of sun hanging above the water filled the room with blue shadows.

He moved toward her, gripped with sudden alarm, needing to protect her. “What the hell do you want?” Michael growled.

“Judging by the swarm of officers at the nearby hotel, I assume you all have figured out who I am.” There was a deep and eerie snicker on the end of the line. “I guess the real game is about to begin.”

Before Michael could respond, the call ended.

“We need to leave,” Kate whispered, pulling herself tight against him.

“That’s what he wants. I need to call Jake.” But when he tried to call him back, he realized he didn’t have a signal. “Shit.” He blew out a heated breath. “Lost service. He’s probably using a jammer, which means he’s close.”

“So we should go, right?”

They couldn’t stay there, but if they left . . .

With quick steps, Michael kept Kate at his side as he moved from the semi-dark living room to the bedroom where he retrieved his gun. “I don’t want to take you out of here, but I guess we don’t have a choice.” Kate would be in danger no matter what he did—and it was all his fault. He should never have brought her to the cabin. He should never have fooled around with her last night when Dustin was out there, discovering his weaknesses.

They rushed outside, and he held his gun in one hand and the flashlight in the other. Kate pressed her hand against his shoulder, following his lead to the car.

He studied his Audi with the light, checking for any signs of tampering. “Stand back,” he cautioned as he unlocked the vehicle and turned it on. He pulled up the LCD screen and tapped a few buttons, performing a quick, systems check for interference. He couldn’t risk the car blowing up with Kate inside.

“All clear,” an electronic voice from the car announced.

“We’re good. Get in.”

She secured her belt and shifted in her seat to better face him. “I’m scared, Michael.”

“I know, but it’ll be okay.” He couldn’t look her in the eyes as he spoke, because he wasn’t sure if he was being honest. His gut was telling him that they were already screwed.

He kept his eyes trained on the thick wood surrounding them as he drove down the long driveway. They needed to get out of the dark, and fast.

He tightened his grip on the wheel with one hand and repositioned the other to grasp hold of the gun in his lap, even though he wanted to be holding onto her, instead.

Where are you, you son-of-a-bitch? His eyes flitted each direction as they drove down the back road. There were still a few miles to go before they reached safe—or safer—ground.

When he caught sight of two bright headlights flashing on from an upcoming side road, he immediately braked.

But he was too late.

The sound of the two metal objects crashing into each other was deafening. The airbags were like a harsh punch in the face as they exploded inside the car.

His Audi slid off the road, only to be stopped by a tree, which caused a secondary jolt of his head forward and back.

Kate’s screams shot through him. He tried to move, to free himself from the seatbelt, but the airbag was in his way. He searched blindly for his gun with a blood-streaked hand.

His hands slipped against the seatbelt buckle.

Get the fuck out. Get to her. His brain shouted desperate orders to his battered body.

When the buckle finally unlatched, he reached for the door handle and tried to fight his way free from the airbag. He tumbled out of the car and hit the ground with a large smack, the pain in his shoulder slicing through him.

He could no longer hear Kate, which made him more nervous. He started to get up when he saw boots closing in on him.

The same military-grade boots appeared in his mind. A memory of Afghanistan . . . of the Taliban insurgent who’d slit the soldier’s throat.

He shook the image free. He had to stop Dustin before he got to Kate. Where was his gun?

“You can’t save her. Not today, anyway.”

Michael started to push off the ground, ready to lunge toward Dustin. But the last thing he saw was a gun in his face. And the last thing he felt was an all-too-familiar pain.