It all happened in slow motion. That was the only way Kade could describe it. He saw her jump up, saw her fly toward him. Watched her hand ball up and rear back. And yet it all happened so fast, he couldn’t dodge the first punch. It landed squarely on his chin. Pain ricocheted across his jawline. He’d forgotten how hard his Angel could hit.
He caught her fist before she landed a second punch and pulled her into a tight hold. “Calm down, Angel.”
“Calm down?” Her screech might possibly have burst ear drums. “How dare you tell me to calm down! When I get loose…”
“Kincaid?”
He ignored the questioning tone in Bailey’s voice and nodded to the officers who’d come running. “Everything’s fine.”
“Fine?” The spitfire in his arms struggled harder. “Since when do they let murderers join the FBI?”
“Murderer? What is she talking about?”
Kade felt for Bailey. He looked completely lost.
“He murdered my brother!”
The room went as silent as a grave. Kade’s lips thinned and he picked her up and started walking, her struggling and shouting for all she was worth. He only stopped long enough to ask where the office was. The girl behind the bar pointed in the general direction, and he nodded his thanks as he hauled Angel down the hall.
“What…” The owner stood when Kade walked in, Angel screaming obscenities at him. He had to be in his late sixties, early seventies, with a head of what looked more like white peach fuzz than hair. He reminded Kade of a brawler. He’d bet anything the man had been a fighter of some kind in his younger years.
“Out,” Kade barked when Angel managed to bite him. He was done with this nonsense. The woman had every right to be pissed at him, but she needed to understand how dire the situation was. A serial killer knew what she looked like, where she worked, and that she might very well be his next victim. She could be a drama queen later.
“Now, look here, son, this is my office, and I ain’t going nowhere, especially not when you’re manhandling my employee.”
“I’m not manhandling your employee, I’m manhandling my wife.”
“Wife? Angel, what’n the hell is he talking about?”
“I am not his wife!”
The devil in him couldn’t resist, even with the seriousness of the situation. “Now, honey bear, don’t be fibbing like that. You don’t want to have to do a full month of Hail Marys again, do you?”
Angel gritted her teeth and kicked backward, her foot connecting with his shin. He didn’t even grunt. “It wasn’t a real marriage, Kincaid, and you know it.”
“I think the priest would disagree with you.”
The sexy tone of his voice hadn’t changed at all. It made that traitorous part of herself she’d worked hard to tamp down swoon. Damn him. Why did it have to be him? Fate had a sick sense of humor.
“Can we please borrow your office, Mr…?”
“Just call me Pops.” Pops didn’t look convinced, and Angel had a moment of hope that he’d throw Kade out on his ass. “I’m not sure…”
“I’m Agent Kincaid of the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit. I need to talk to Angel about what she saw tonight. She’s only being difficult because it’s me.”
“Difficult?” Did he really just say that? How dare he? “I’ll show you difficult…”
“Ten minutes, son, and then I’m coming in to check on her.”
Angel let out a growl of frustration when Pops left and closed the door behind him, leaving her alone with the one man she hated more than anyone.
“Let me go.” The depth of her rage vibrated in those three words. Kade would be stupid not to understand it.
“If I let you go, are you going to behave?”
Angel wanted to say no, but she’d give anything to get away from him and how he made her feel. Being this close to him brought back memories best left buried, memories of how it felt to have him wrapped around her, his lips on her neck, his breath tickling her ear. Being near him was not a good idea. She’d rather keep her distance and let her anger shield all the pain and despair he’d left her with. Anything was better than reliving that. Especially in front of him.
“Yes.”
His arms dropped away and he took a few steps back, keeping his back to the door and effectively trapping her in here with him. They regarded each other silently for several long moments. It was Kade who finally broke the silence.
“Are you all right?”
All right? She let out a hoarse laugh. She’d come face to face with a serial killer tonight, and she’d rather be there with him than here with Kade. She crossed her arms and sat on the edge of Pops’ desk, trying to put even more distance between them. “What do you think, Sherlock?”
“I know I’m probably the last person you want to see…”
“You think?”
His eyes narrowed, but she could see him rein in his temper. It was a knack of his, and one that had managed to submerge him into the crime family her brother had gotten mixed up in.
“Now is not the time for theatrics, Angel. Do you even understand the kind of danger you’re in?”
“Theatrics?” Her entire body ached with the need to hit him. “After everything you put me through, you think I’m being theatrical? You don’t think I have the right to be angry? To hate the very sight of you?”
His sigh only served to fuel the fires stoking her rage.
“I wish you had died instead of Peter.”
He flinched, and she had a moment of self-righteous glee. The man could be hurt. His next words slapped all her anger in the face.
“I’m sorry about your brother.”
Angel closed her eyes against the wash of pain that surged up to drown her. She didn’t want his apologies or his sympathies. She just wanted him gone.
“I didn’t know until later what happened.”
Of course, he didn’t, she thought bitterly. He’d been too busy moving on to his next assignment, not caring about the broken pieces he’d left behind. There hadn’t even been a trial for him to show up to so she could confront him. The cartel killed Peter before he had a chance to so much as open his mouth.
When she opened her eyes, ready to lay into him, her breath caught. He looked so sad, his onyx gaze full of compassion and regret. Kade hadn’t changed all that much in six years. He’d filled out, becoming the man his youth hinted at. His face looked more rugged, but it only served to enhance his appeal. He’d always been beautiful to her, and that hadn’t changed. He was still the sexiest man she knew.
And when he looked at her like he was now, she always melted, but she made herself ignore it, made herself harden her resolve. She wouldn’t be fooled by him again. He was a bastard who’d left her high and dry, sobbing in the hospital with nothing left but a broken and empty heart.
“Can we get this over with so I can go home?”
“Of course, moye serdtse.”
“Don’t do that.” She knew exactly what that phrase meant—my heart. He used to call her that all the time. She’d looked it up after the first night they’d made love and he’d whispered those words to her when he thought she’d dozed off.
“What?” He cocked his head curiously.
“Don’t call me that. You don’t have the right to call me that.”
“I…”
“Just don’t, Kade. Please.”
Her soft-spoken plea nearly did him in. He wanted to console her, but knew it would be a futile attempt. She was too angry. The only option left to him was doing his job.
“All right, then, can you tell me what you saw tonight?”
She took a deep breath and stared out the only window in the small office. The flashing lights of the patrol cars blinked at them as Kade watched her gather her thoughts. “I was on a break. Jess had gone back inside, and I was about to when I had the bright idea to pick up some trash and throw it away. That’s when he pulled up and set that poor girl down…” Her voice trailed off, and Kade forced himself to stay where he was. She wouldn’t welcome any comfort from him, even though every instinct he possessed told him to hug her tight and reassure her.
“I think I made a noise or something, because he looked right at me.” She frowned, thinking. “I might have dropped the dumpster lid, I don’t know. It’s all starting to blur together on me.”
“Take your time. Close your eyes and think about the moment. Remember the sounds, the smells…”
“You don’t have to tell me, Kincaid. I do watch Criminal Minds.”
Sarcasm dripped like vinegar from her tongue. Kade refrained from making a snarky comeback. She used it to cover up how afraid she was. He understood that.
“It was the strangest thing. You think in that situation you’d scream or run, but I couldn’t. My feet refused to move, and we just stared at each other. It could have been minutes or an hour. Again, I don’t know. Jessie came back out to check on me, and when she started screaming, he left. Only he didn’t run. He moved slow and casual. That’s what really freaked me out. He didn’t care if I’d seen him or that he might be caught.” She rubbed her arms, her face pensive. “He just seemed so…carefree, almost blasé about the whole thing. It scared me.”
“Bailey said he might know your name?”
“Yeah, Jessie said my name before she saw him. That’s bad, isn’t it?”
He didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was, but he refused to lie to her. “Yeah, Angel, it’s really bad. He has your name, and he knows where you work. It won’t be difficult for him to figure out who you are and where you live.”
Her breath whooshed out and her head dropped.
“It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. I promise.”
Her head snapped up, eyes spitting fire at him. Such a temper. He’d rather have her angry than scared shitless, though.
“What did I just say, Kincaid?”
“Sorry.” He held up his hands in surrender. “Old habits.”
“Can you at least try to be professional, Agent Kincaid?”
“I can try, but it probably won’t last. Back to your serial killer adventure…”
“Did you honestly just call the most terrifying moment of my life an adventure?”
“Too soon for jokes, huh?” He smiled and saw her fight not to return the smile. “Okay, then, back to business. What do you remember about him? Short, tall? Was he white, black, Hispanic?”
“White, tall, but not as tall as you, maybe six feet or a little under. He had a five o’clock shadow. Dark hair, his eyes were blue. I saw them in the light. Pops always keeps it well-lit back there. He had on a green hoodie. It slipped off his head at one point. Jeans. Dark sneakers, I think.”
A knock sounded, and Kade turned to open the door. The owner of the bar and Bailey stood there, a mixture of morbid curiosity and concern on their faces.
“Is everything okay in here?” Pops eyeballed Kade warily.
“Everything’s fine.” Kade stepped aside so they could enter. “Angel was just telling me about what she remembers.”
“You good?” Pops, as he’d told Kade to call him, went over to stand by Angel, his arms crossed much like her own were. His stance breathed hostility.
“Yeah, I’m good, Pops.”
Kade gave the detective a brief rundown of everything she’d told him, while she and Pops spoke quietly.
“Do you think you can describe him to a sketch artist?” Bailey asked Angel after Kade finished filling him in. “I have one waiting outside if you’re up for it.”
“Yeah. I think I can do that.”
Kade watched her fidget. Her emotions were brimming like storm clouds in her expression, her movements, her voice. Shaken. That was the word he’d use. Seeing him hadn’t helped either. He wasn’t in much better shape himself. Coming face to face with her tonight had thrown him off his game. Add in the whiskey, and he was all over the place.
Angel had changed a lot since he’d met her almost eight years ago. She was what, twenty-six now? She looked older, more mature, but it only enhanced her natural beauty. Even wearing her black tank and jeans, she looked graceful. He’d gone out with more women over the last three years than any of his brothers, including Nikoli, but none of them compared to Angel. She was magnificent.
The first time he’d met her, she’d been wearing worn jeans and a Pink Floyd t-shirt of her brother’s, with flip flops flaunting hot pink toenails. They’d been sticking out from under a red 1969 Chevy Camaro. At first, he’d thought she was sixteen or so, but when he’d gone to the strip club that night with his new acquaintances, he’d been blindsided. The girl wasn’t a kid at all, and damn, she’d had a hell of a body that stayed with him.
What hadn’t changed was all that fiery red hair and those cat eyes of hers. And her temper. People had fled in the wake of that temper. He’d witnessed some of the Sicarro family’s scariest drug dealers cower in fear when she got good and angry. Granted, she hadn’t known who they were. She might have suspected they were not on the up and up, but she didn’t know Peter had gotten in bed with Miami’s biggest cartel family, and she was blistering the hides of drug dealers, hitmen, and cleaners.
“What’s the deal with you two, Kincaid?” Bailey moved to stand in front of him, blocking his view of Angel, who was now working with the sketch artist. “Why did she accuse you of killing her brother?”
“Back when I was a detective in Miami, I went undercover in a drug cartel. Her brother and I became friends. He was just a messed up kid who had no idea who he’d really gotten himself involved with. When we busted the drug ring, I made a deal with Peter. Testify against his boss and he’d do no jail time and go into witness protection.”
“But they got to him first?”
Kade nodded. “Yeah. Four of the five witnesses died the same week we arrested everyone. Charges were dismissed when the last witness refused to testify. Case didn’t even make it to trial.”
“And she blames you for his death.” Bailey nodded, his expression understanding, but tinged with pity. Kade didn’t deserve his pity. Angel had every right to blame him. Hell, he blamed himself for it. It was what haunted his dreams at night, what he tried to drown in whiskey so he could sleep. Peter hadn’t been only a witness. He’d been one of Kade’s best friends, and he’d trusted Kade to keep him safe. But he’d let him down, and Kade would live with that guilt forever.
But he could do one thing for Peter, and that was to keep his sister safe.
He’d be damned if he failed this time. Not when it came to Angel.
“Have you heard back on the police protection yet?” He sidestepped Bailey so the man was no longer blocking his view. Kade smiled when her nose scrunched up. It was a habit of hers when she got aggravated. The deep sigh that rolled out of the artist was enough to tell Kade Angel was being difficult. She tended to be a perfectionist in everything. Used to irritate the hell out of him.
“Not yet. I left her a voicemail. She’s dealing with the Chief of Detectives and the press right now. It might be a bit before she gets around to calling me back.”
“Angel’s not going home without a uni on her.”
“I agree. We can ask her to stay until…”
“No.” Kade shook his head. “I’ll take her home.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Bailey glanced over at Angel. “She doesn’t really like you very much.”
“I don’t care.”
“Detective Bailey?” The sketch artist waved them over. “We think we have it.”
That was quick. Less than twenty minutes. Maybe they should have waited until the morning to do this. There was no way it would be an accurate composite. The sketch washed his doubts away. It was so detailed and precise, anyone walking past this guy on the street would recognize him. Hopefully.
“She’s good.” The sketch artist drew their attention back to her. “Knew exactly what she wanted. Fastest I’ve ever drawn up a suspect.”
“This is excellent, Miss Lemoraux.” Bailey took the sketch he was offered and studied it. “He has a scar?”
Angel nodded. “On the right side of his nose. Sort of looks like fingernail scratch.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it, given his line of extracurricular activities.” Bailey took a snapshot of the drawing with his phone before hurrying to the door and calling for an officer. The photo would hit every police and news wire in the state. He really had made his first mistake. Now all Kade needed to do was keep Angel safe until he caught the guy.
“We’re arranging police protection for you and Miss Brown as well.” Bailey picked at the button on his shirt. “I’m just waiting on the approval from my captain.”
“That’s really not necessary…”
“Yes, it is necessary.” Kade interrupted her. “He knows your name, milka. You’re not safe until we catch him.”
“Angel girl, don’t fight them on this.” Pops put a hand on her arm to stop the argument on her lips. “The boy’s right. This ain’t nothing to mess around with. If they want to give you a babysitter, then let them. I’ll sleep better knowing you’re safe.”
All the fight went out of her, and Kade almost thanked the old man, but he kept his expression stern. She was going to fight him on this, and he knew it, but this was one fight she wouldn’t win.
“Get your things, Angel.”
She frowned. “But the detective just said…”
“Yes, I know what he said. He’ll be waiting here with Miss Brown while I take you home.”
“The hell you will.”
“The hell I won’t, Mrs. Kincaid.” He stalked over to her and braced his arms on either side of her on the desk. “You can either leave here willingly or you can leave across my shoulder for the entire Boston area to see on the morning news. Your choice.”
“Mrs. Kincaid?” Bailey’s strangled voice drifted to him, but he ignored it and focused his entire attention on the spitting mad redhead in front of him.
“I am not your wife!”
“Oh, but you are, sweetheart. I never got the marriage annulled.”
“But it wasn’t real.” Her eyes widened. “It was a lie…part of your undercover operation.”
“I used my legal name, Angel. You are Mrs. Kincaid.”
“Bastard.”
“I am a bastard, my darling wife, but I’m a bastard who’s going to keep you safe despite yourself.”
“You can’t make me.”
“I can, and I will.”
“Uh, Kincaid…”
“Shut up, Bailey.” The bite in his voice stopped any argument that might have been on the tip of Bailey’s tongue. “What’s it going to be, Angelique? Do you walk out of here, or do you get carried out with your ass in the air for the cameras to see?”
“I hate you.”
“I know you do, sweetheart.”
She closed her eyes and a single tear rolled down her cheek. He forced himself to ignore it and waited. When she opened her eyes, the resignation in them was all the answer he needed.
“Let’s go.”