Ryan quickly packed and Kat helped him get situated in Marco’s mother’s car while Marco dealt with the wheelchair. It couldn’t be folded all the way due to the damage and trying to manhandle his friend’s chair into the trunk almost made Marco lose his shit. He’d barely been keeping it together as it was.

He wanted to kill that asshole. X, too, for inadvertently getting Kat involved in this. And he might as well put his own damn name on that list, too. In the “later” column, though. They had more pressing matters than his fuck-up. He’d hurt Kat and that killed him, but unfortunately they had to make her physical safety their first priority. He just hoped he could somehow fix the emotional pain he’d inflicted.

“We can stay at Tony’s condo,” he said as he got into the driver’s seat. “It’s vacant because he’s about to list it, but it’s still furnished.” And hopefully, the key on his key ring from four years ago still worked. He hadn’t cleared it with Tony, but he didn’t think his brother would mind given the circumstances. And Tony had his own problems to deal with, so there was no point adding to them.

“Negatory on that,” Ryan said from the backseat.

“Why not? We can’t go to my place,” Kat said. “And we’re certainly not going to Marco’s mother’s house. Our only other option is a hotel.”

Ryan rattled off an address that was in one of the nicer neighborhoods on the south side. “Take me there.”

Kat’s eyebrows shot up and she exchanged a look with Marco, but he wasn’t getting involved in this one. As long as it was safe, he’d take Ryan wherever. It might actually be better if they split up.

She twisted around to look at her brother. “What’s at that address?”

“You’ll see.” For the first time since Marco had known him, Ryan seemed a little uncomfortable, leaving Marco to wonder what his friend was hiding. It was an interesting turn of events.

But again, there were more pressing matters.

“Who’s Leo?” Marco asked, recalling what the man had threatened Kat with—I’m sure your friend Leo might be interested to learn about your new name. He didn’t presume to know everything about Kat, but it was more than a little frustrating when the man who was threatening her knew more than he did. How could he protect her if he lacked intel?

Kat crossed her arms and looked out the window, so he couldn’t see her expression. He’d bet she didn’t appreciate the question. But dammit, again, how the hell was he supposed to keep her safe if he didn’t know the threats? She’d definitely blanched when the man had mentioned that name. That name meant something and it had scared her.

Marco probably should have waited until they were alone to ask, but with Ryan as a buffer, she was more likely to respond. A little bit of a dirty tactic, but he’d resort to any means necessary to keep her safe. So he shook off the guilt that was creeping in.

“You should tell him,” Ryan said quietly. “Just in case.”

Kat sighed and looked out the front windshield, her expression stony.

“I moved to Florida as soon as I graduated high school and that’s where I met Leo. I lived with him for two years.”

She paused and Marco waited for her to continue, but she didn’t. He glanced in the rearview at Ryan, but he didn’t appear to be willing to pick up the story. This must be part of the bad shit Ryan had said his sister had dealt with. He understood wanting to leave things in the past, but sometimes when the past presented itself, you had to deal with it.

Poor Kat. The past was tormenting her mercilessly through no fault of her own.

“Why would that man threaten you with him?” Marco prodded. “And what does he have to do with why you changed your name?”

“He abused me,” Kat said bluntly. “The last time he would have killed me if I hadn’t escaped.”

Marco’s hands tensed on the steering wheel and he blew out a breath, willing himself to relax. Without her explaining more, he intuitively knew this was the man who made her so guarded and defensive. He wanted to kill the man—another name added to his growing list.

“She shot him,” Ryan finally chimed in. “But he couldn’t report it or go to the hospital because he ran a meth lab.”

Marco read between the lines—that meant the police were never involved. If he’d gone to the hospital with a gunshot wound, there would have been questions. But why hadn’t she gone to the police? He’d heard the statistics about women in abusive relationships and how a large percentage weren’t likely to seek help, but that wasn’t the Kat he knew. She wouldn’t let herself be treated like that. At least now she wouldn’t. He hadn’t known her back then.

It reminded him how little he actually knew about her. But dammit, he wanted to know.

Settle down, hotshot. Once this was over, he’d part ways, for her sake. Kat didn’t need another man with a shady past. This situation had reopened old wounds and he wouldn’t contribute to that pain.

Hell. It wasn’t just old wounds—he’d already caused new ones.

Don’t think about that now. Once she was safe for good, he could wallow in the misery of his mistakes. Now he needed to focus.

“It was just a flesh wound,” she said, still looking out the windshield. “But he was pissed. I’m also pretty sure a friend of mine called in an anonymous tip to the cops about his lab. No doubt he thinks I turned him in. They started watching him and then he got picked up for armed robbery. He was convicted for both crimes.”

“Is he still in prison?” Marco asked.

“To the best of my knowledge.” Something told him she kept tabs on his status. If he was out, she’d know.

Marco hoped he rotted in in his cell.

“As soon as I left him,” Kat continued, “I started the process to change my name, just to be on the safe side.”

Kat had told him everything he needed to know, but not everything he wanted to know. She’d relayed the information in a detached manner, as if she were speaking about someone else. How must an experience like that have affected her? Though she didn’t say it, her pale face and shaking hands showed it obviously still haunted her.

Her tough demeanor and reluctance to trust him suddenly made a lot more sense. He wished it didn’t.

* * *

Kat had barely waited until she’d graduated high school before leaving. In fact, she didn’t even attend her own graduation. She’d told them to mail her diploma and bought herself a one-way bus ticket.

It was so cliché. But she was sure she was going to make it on her own. Her aspirations had been reasonable—it’s not like she set off for New York in search of fame and fortune. She’d headed for Miami in search of warmer weather, but only made it as far as Jacksonville. Her goals were simple—she just wanted to make a living and be happy.

It was easier said than done. Minimum wage didn’t cut it and she wasn’t qualified to do much else. Eventually, she secured a job as a cocktail waitress in a strip club, where she’d met Leo. Things had gone downhill from there. But what had she expected? She’d met him in a damn strip club for fuck’s sake. Looking back, she wanted to slap her nineteen-year-old self across the face, but even that probably wouldn’t have knocked sense into her.

She’d been so stupid.

No one knew the full story except Ryan and the one friend she’d made in Jacksonville—Sandra, who was working part-time at the club to put herself through nursing school.

And now Marco.

She couldn’t look at him right now. If she saw pity in his eyes, she would come unglued.

Marco pulled into a guest parking space at the address Ryan had given. Kat had never been to this apartment complex and she was surprised by how nice it was. It seemed relatively new. What the hell was a place like this doing on the south side? It was close to the border, but still.

Marco got out of the car and pulled Ryan’s chair out of the trunk.

“Can you grab my bag?” Ryan asked, and Kat complied. She was so freaking curious and normally she’d demand he fess up and tell her what was going on, but the nervous look in his eyes stopped her. Ryan never looked nervous. He had an easy confidence that bordered on apathy, a combination that tended to make him reckless.

Ryan wheeled himself up the walkway toward an elevator and pushed the button for the third floor, tapping his thumb on his knee while they waited.

Watching the blinking lights on the elevator display, Kat caved. She couldn’t take it anymore. “What gives, Ryan?”

He hastily ran a hand through his hair. “Just be cool, okay?”

His response did not make her feel better. If not for their nice surroundings, her nerves would be totally on edge. But she held her tongue as they rode up to the third floor.

Ryan stopped in front of apartment 302 and knocked. The door immediately flung open and Kat had to shift her gaze downward to see who had opened it. It was no one she ever would have expected.

A little girl, maybe four years old, stood there in footie pajamas, with wet hair and a crooked grin.

“Ryan!” she squealed and jumped on his lap, obviously having done so many times before.

Ryan pressed his lips to her forehead and wrapped his arms around the little girl before going into the apartment. “Hey, princess. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

Kat’s eyebrows shot up. Princess? She’d never seen her brother with a child before and he was surprisingly good with her—gentle and attentive, yet stern. She couldn’t reconcile this version of her brother with the one who forgot to buy groceries.

Ryan had a lot of explaining to do. A lot.

“I’m not a princess,” the little girl replied, taking his cheeks in her hands to make sure he looked at her. “I’m a queen now.”

A frazzled woman appeared from the back of the apartment. She put her hands on her hips and glared at the little girl. “What did I tell you about opening the door?”

“But it was Ryan.”

“Your mom’s right, princ—Queen Riley. What if it hadn’t been me?”

She stuck her lower lip out and crossed her arms. Kat nearly busted out laughing. She recognized that attitude. Her mother had a firecracker on her hands.

The woman pushed her hair out of her face and stepped forward with a smile and her hand out. “I’m Susan. You must be Kat. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Kat took her hand, slanting her eyes toward Ryan. Susan might have heard about her, but she hadn’t heard one word about Susan. This was one hell of a secret. How long had he been keeping it? And why? She couldn’t help but feel hurt.

But this was good—oh so good for her brother. Despite his not telling her, she couldn’t help but feel happy for him—his happiness was evident and infectious.

“I’m Marco.” He stuck out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. If you’ll excuse me for a minute, it is past her bedtime. But she got so excited when she heard Ryan was coming over, I let her stay up a little extra.” Susan held her hand out for her daughter, who pressed a kiss to Ryan’s face before hopping down and claiming it.

They disappeared into the rear of the apartment and the soft whir of a hairdryer sounded.

“Who . . . is . . . that?” Kat hissed.

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and blushed. Kat didn’t even think he was capable of that.

“Susan.”

“No shit.”

“Watch your language in front of Riley,” Ryan reprimanded, leaving Kat speechless. Who was this man and where was her brother?

“She can’t hear me over the hair dryer,” Kat said, though she did feel bad for cursing near a small child. But a warning would have been nice. Maybe then she’d be able to control her reaction a little better. “Now tell me what the heck is going on. Please.”

“I met Susan about six months ago. She started at the telemarketing company and my boss asked me to train her. She’s almost done with her classes for her phlebotomy certification.”

Kat stared at him, feeling like an idiot because she had no idea what that was. Probably something in the medical field. “Okay,” she said slowly.

“She’s going to get a job drawing blood at a doctor’s office,” Ryan explained. “Anyway, we hit it off. She’s the one who convinced me to enroll in classes. She thinks I could be a medical assistant or something like that.”

Kat felt like the rug had been ripped out from under her. Mostly in a good way, but kind of not. She’d been trying to convince Ryan to take classes for years and Susan managed after just a few months? She felt a tinge of jealousy over this new woman in Ryan’s life. But Susan was obviously the kick in the pants Ryan needed.

Women, she corrected. There were two. If she wasn’t mistaken, Ryan was totally smitten with that little girl. And Kat had had no idea.

When Susan returned, Kat saw the look of adoration in Ryan’s eyes and her resentment faded away, especially when Susan leaned down to give Ryan a kiss. How the hell had she not known about this?

A quiet happiness radiated from her brother, and Kat was hit with a bevy of emotions. It seemed condescending to say she was proud of him, but she was. He’d managed to put aside his past and find something good for himself. Something happy.

“Riley asked if you could read to her tonight,” Susan said to Ryan with an apologetic tone.

“It’s no problem. Is she still on the fairy tale kick?”

Susan nodded and Ryan headed in the direction of the bedroom.

A shy smiled graced Susan’s face as she looked at Kat and Kat took a good look at the woman who’d stolen her brother’s heart. She was blond and petite. Attractive in a non-flashy way. Most importantly, her blue eyes were kind—tired, like a single parent who worked too much, but kind.

“I’m glad to finally meet you,” Susan said. “I kept telling Ryan to invite you to dinner, but . . .” She shrugged.

“He’s stubborn,” Kat finished for her. She didn’t say how she’d not even known of Susan’s existence. She didn’t want to make the other woman feel bad if she wasn’t aware that Ryan had kept her a secret, especially when it was obvious Ryan adored her. “I’m glad you convinced him to take classes. I’ve been trying for years with no luck.”

“Because he’s stubborn.” Susan laughed. “He’s smarter than he gives himself credit for.”

“Exactly!” Kat agreed, astounded that Susan used the exact words she’d been using on Ryan. Now that the secret was out, she hoped Ryan would be open to her getting to know Susan. She didn’t want to encroach, but Susan seemed to want the same thing.

“Ryan told me you guys ran into some trouble,” Susan said. “You’re welcome to stay here if you need to.”

“We appreciate the offer,” Marco spoke up. In her baffled state over meeting Susan, Kat had nearly forgotten he was here. He’d been quietly standing in the background. “But we have a place. And we don’t want to inconvenience you.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Suddenly Kat liked this woman very much. Without overthinking it, she pulled Susan into a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for loving my brother.”

“He’s a good man,” Susan said simply. “Riley and I are lucky to have him in our lives.”

When Kat stepped back, she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. For the first time since his accident, she knew Ryan was going to be okay.