Chapter Sixteen
“Fuck!” Stephen roared. Before Kat could draw a breath, Stephen tackled her. Searing pain burned high up her left side, a few inches below her armpit just before her head slammed onto the dock.
“Move!” Stephen yelled, flipping her over. And then she heard the gunshot blast, the bullet landing inches from her face, wood exploding in front of her eyes. Stephen rolled, plunging them into the river, her head hitting a rock in the shallow depths as she was submerged underwater. Her mind to make sense of the sudden change, going from blazing desire to sheer terror in less than a second, but Stephen was relentless, pushing her forward, but she couldn’t see through the murky water. She moved anyway, swimming as fast as she could, holding her breath until her lungs screamed for air, too frightened to rise to the surface, certain another bullet would find its mark. When she didn’t think she could go another second without air, Stephen lifted her. Gasping, she tried to fill her lungs, but the fear clawed at her, hindering the deep breath she needed.
Stephen said something, his tone urgent, but his words sounded garbled as if they were still under water. Spots danced in front of her eyes, agonizing pain in her head and side drowning out his words.
“Breathe, Kat.” Stephen urged, nearly frantic now. “Don’t you dare pass out on me.” He grabbed her face with both hands, lifting it until she was looking straight into his eyes. “You’re okay.” He repeated the words, waiting for the panic to settle. When her breathing finally evened out, he turned them, urging her back onshore.
“I don’t know where the shots are coming from, the water or the house. We’re not safe here.”
Would they be any safer on land?
“The woods. Stay behind me.” How was that safer than the dock? But she followed without hesitation, trusting Stephen to keep her safe. She climbed up the bank, rising to her feet before Stephen pushed her into a crouch. She thought she heard a far-off siren, but couldn’t be sure. Maybe the reporters at the bottom of his driveway heard the shots? Alerted the police?
Stephen rose fully behind a tree, pulling her with him. Kat scanned the woods, knowing they weren’t yet safe, but so relieved she wasn’t the one who needed to figure out where to go next.
The crunching of dead leaves seemed to surround them and just as her scream bubbled up, Stephen slapped a hand over her mouth, tightening his hold around her waist. Frantically, she scanned the area. Every tree could be hiding shooter.
Trapped.
They had nothing to protect themselves with, no weapons between them. Sitting ducks. Paralyzing fear took over once again and she could feel her entire body begin to tremble, her mind screaming that it wasn’t fair, she didn’t want to die, not when her life had barely begun. Stephen tightened his grip, whipped her around, tackling her to the ground again without warning, his arm wrapping around her injured side, causing her to scream again and fight his grip, hitting her head in the same spot as his heavy body landed on hers.
They were behind a fallen tree. Carefully, Stephen began to rise. She tried to yell at him to get back down, but his hand was still covering her mouth. And then she saw it, when he loosened his arm from around her waist, the dim glint of light off his gun, instantly remembering he had a concealed carry permit.
“Don’t,” she tried to hiss behind his hand, but it was useless, too muffled. She shook her head frantically, hoping he’d read her mind, but he wasn’t looking at her, he was lifting his head over the dead tree. Her muffled scream grew louder behind his hand, the furious shake of her head ignored. And somehow, she heard it, another footstep coming from the opposite direction where Stephen was looking, and she nearly passed out as the terror clawed its way through her as she saw a shadow move.
“Police! Drop your weapon!”
She heard the shout as if from a distance, exploding in her ears just before losing consciousness.
***
“Stephen!”
In seconds, he was up, cradling Kat in his arms. Blood poured down her face, soaking into his shirt. Oh, shit…
“She’s hurt!”
“Move!” Alex hissed.
Blindly Stephen followed Alex through the woods, heart pounding with fear and panic, every thought centered around getting Kat to safety. Praying it wasn’t too late.
But the blood slipping through his fingers told him otherwise. “She’s bleeding!”
“I think the threat’s neutralized,” Alex answered back, ignoring Stephen’s comment as he stopped abruptly when they came to the edge of his neighbor’s property, scanning the area, his gun raised.
“You think?” Stephen mocked sarcastically.
Alex cut him a glance. “Two shooters, both dead. Go.” He nodded toward Stephen’s house. “I’ll cover you.”
“Just in case.” Alex added when Stephen shot him a look.
And just as Stephen was about to step out from the trees, two more shadows separated themselves from both sides of the house, guns drawn.
An ambush.
Stephen froze, stepping back as he tightened his grip on Kat, every instinct screaming.
“Agents,” Alex hissed. “Fucking go!”
Alex pushed him forward, leaving Stephen with no choice but to move, forcing the questions away as he rushed toward his terrace, hoping against hope Kat was alright, the feel of her blood soaking through his shirt, down his arms.
Alex followed him, closing the door behind him. Fighting against the anxiousness roaring through him, he gently placed Kat on the couch in his living room, wincing at the blood on her face. Hands gentle but hurried, he pushed her hair away, trying to see where the blood was coming from, but holy fuck, it seemed to come from everywhere.
“I need light.”
“Put her on the floor.” Alex turned on the light, his infuriating calmness irritating as Stephen’s own panic heightened. They both knelt on either side of her, Alex shining his phone’s light directly over Kat’s body, blood soaking through her wet dress.
“It’s not her head,” Alex muttered grimly. “Or not just her head.” Pulling a knife from his pocket, he sliced through Kat’s dress and the strap of her bag that hung diagonally over her shoulder. Pushing the clothing out of his way, Alex sucked in a breath. Blood poured down her left side. “Christ.”
“What?” Stephen breathed out.
Alex didn’t answer, just gently raised Kat’s left arm before gently pushing her breast out of the way. Stephen muttered another curse at the sight of the wound. A gunshot wound, two inches below her armpit.
“Pull her toward you,” Alex directed. “Keep the pressure on her head. Head wounds bleed like a son of a bitch and she doesn’t need to lose any more.”
Blood pulsed out the gash as Alex moved her, pouring down both sides of her body when Stephen rolled her. Kat moaned in pain and Stephen cringed even though the sound relieved him, told him she was still alive, somewhat conscious.
“Keep her still while I get some towels,” Alex ordered. Stephen moved his hand up from her waist, holding Kat in place, her blood running through his fingers. Alex was back in seconds, towels and a first aid kit in his hands. Gently placing a towel to the wound, Alex used his other hand to open the first aid kit.
“We need an ambulance.” Stephen reached into his pocket for his phone before remembering it was waterlogged. But Kat’s phone rang at that exact moment, apparently waterproof.
“Give me a minute. Just—”
“No…” Kat whispered weakly and Stephen looked down at her, relief flowing through him. Prematurely apparently, because her eyes weren’t open, only a mumbled ‘no’ coming from her lips.
“Shh, sweetheart. You’ll be alright,” Stephen assured, comforting her even though he wasn’t so sure.
Slowly Alex lifted the towel from her torso, dabbing the wound again. “Bleeding’s slowing, and it’s not deep. Just a graze. We’ll keep pressure until it stops. Shouldn’t be long before we can clean it up. Let me take a look at her head.”
Stephen moved his hand, letting Alex examine her head wound while he kept pressure on her side. “Butterfly bandage should do the trick,” Alex said after a moment.
“We should call an ambulance anyway—”
“She’ll be fine,” Alex interrupted curtly, his gaze meeting Stephen’s for a brief moment before he looked back at Kat. “There’s no need.”
“What the hell, Alex?” Stephen hissed furiously, keeping his voice low.
“Later. Move under her so her head is resting in your lap. Keep her still while I clean her wound. This is gonna sting like a bitch.”
Stephen moved, pulling Kat onto his lap, while he tried to tamp down his annoyance. Alex lifted the towel, encouraged when the blood no longer poured out. Uncapping a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, Alex met Stephen’s eyes. Tightening his hold, he gave Alex a brief nod, speaking softly, letting Kat know what they were doing, hoping she could hear him. Her pain-filled moan tore at him, memories past and present unable to be blocked.
Alex opened the gauze, securing it in place with medical tape before moving to the wound on her head. Kat’s eyes flew open this time when Alex poured on the peroxide, her indrawn hiss, letting Stephen know it hurt.
“Just a small cut, Katie,” Alex comforted. “You got lucky tonight. Good as new in a minute.”
Lucky? Stephen thought, clenching his jaw tight to keep from roaring at Alex, fighting hard to remind himself that Alex had gotten them out of the woods, securely back to his house.
“Putting on a bandage now,” Alex said softly, taking over calming her while Stephen was incapable of speech. “Any dizziness or nausea?”
“No,” Kat managed to get out slowly, her eyes closing again.
“She’ll be fine. You’ll have to keep an eye on her, check for signs of a concussion. Let me get her a clean shirt.”
Stephen slipped out from under Kat, gently lifting her back onto the couch, a pillow under her head where she’d been resting against his lap, keeping one eye on her, the other on the front door, wondering if they were truly safe, half expecting somebody to shoot their way in.
Working together when Alex returned, they managed to remove Kat’s dress and get the T-shirt over her head without too much groaning on Kat’s part.
“I’ll stay with her,” Alex said. “Go pack some clothes. You won’t be coming back here for a while.”
Until this, whatever this was, was over. Stephen packed in a rush, throwing clothes in a gym bag. Minutes later, he was ready to go. Alex already had Kat in his arms, waiting near the front door when Stephen came back down the stairs. And he fought the urge to take Kat from him.
Stephen opened the door, noticing the black SUV in the driveway. “More agents?”
“Same ones. Go. We’ll be safe at the cabin. Nobody knows about that place.”
“The media—”
“Taken care of.”
With a nod, Stephen headed to the truck, not breathing until Kat was in his arms in the back seat, the feel of her steady heartbeat beneath his hand the only thing keeping him sane.
“Your girl doesn’t listen.”
“And that comes as a shock?”
Alex sighed, leaning against the headrest as he closed his eyes. “No. But these shooters…I don’t know who the fucking target was. They could have followed her from the hospital or they could have been after me. I lost a tail on the way here, but shit…maybe there was more than one. Until we can confirm their identity, we don’t have a fucking clue.”
Oh, Jesus. Fear replaced anger as he glanced at Kat. Wide awake, those beautiful green eyes that haunted his dreams were locked on him, her expression awash with fear, something he’d hoped he’d never see in her expression again when she looked at him.
Stephen tightened his hold on Kat, unable to loosen his grip even when she moaned. Alex looked down at her, brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. And kept his hand there. Stephen glanced at Alex, saw the concern on his face so he kept his mouth shut.
“Remember that kidnapping plan we discussed six weeks ago?”
Yeah, he remembered. And quite honestly, he’d love nothing more. “I can’t do it, Alex.”
“Why the hell not?”
Ethan would go fucking ballistic. And if he ripped Kat away from Ethan without Kat coming to him willingly and she later regretted it… The pain would be so much worse. She wanted him, he knew that. But she loved Ethan. And as he much as he hated to admit it, he said, “She’s not mine.”
An hour later, those same words were still haunting him as he watched Kat sleep in the cabin’s only bedroom. Not the way he assumed he’d get her back into his bed, but damn if she didn’t look perfect there. Glossy black curls spread over the pillows, the white sheets a sharp contrast. Jesus, she was so beautiful she stole his breath.
On top of the air conditioning unit one of his brothers must have added today, Kat’s phone rang again. The only spot in the cabin where they managed to get a single reception bar. Stephen barely resisted the urge to throw it across the room. Instead he picked it up, knowing who it was before he even saw Ethan’s name flash across it.
“It’s Stephen,” he said immediately, standing close to the window. “Kat’s sleeping. She’ll be home tomorrow.”
He disconnected the call, cutting off Ethan’s response before it could be delivered. Putting the phone back in the window, he turned off the ringer. Ethan had probably already tracked her. But despite the animosity between them, he didn’t want Ethan to worry about her. And he certainly didn’t want him showing up, ripping Kat away from him.
Reaching over, he turned off the bedside lamp, the soft glow from the moon providing plenty of light. When he looked back down, Kat was awake. Stephen held his breath for a moment, let it out slowly, feeling the punch in his gut.
Jesus, he loved her.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he whispered when she tried to sit up. His voice was soft, belying the sheer determination behind his words. “And neither am I.”
Stripping down to his boxers, he climbed into the bed, carefully wrapping her body around his so they were facing each other, the need to be close powerful. For just a moment, a night, he could pretend everything was right in his world. He’d dreamt about this so many times over the past few weeks, waking with a yearning so powerful it took hours for him to feel somewhat normal again.
“You broke my heart, Stephen.”
Pain tore through him at her words. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, looking directly into hers. “I’ll heal it, sweetheart. Give me a chance. Give us a chance.”
He cupped her face, brought his mouth down on hers, kissing her softly. “Please,” he breathed, kissing her again, taking it a little deeper, parting her lips with his tongue, forcing himself to worship rather than ravage. Jesus, was he begging? He didn’t care. She wanted him, still melted every single time he touched her, surrendering to the desire that held them both captive. Kat’s whimper of arousal shot straight through him. Hell, if it was the only thing he had to convince her they belonged together, he should use it to his advantage.
He had tonight, only tonight before she went back to that fucking house Ethan had built her, and he knew damn well if Ethan hadn’t started anything with her yet, tomorrow all bets would be off.
But apparently, he was a gentleman after all, because he couldn’t do it. Reluctantly, he lifted his head, his body shaking with the restraint of holding back, her desire reward enough for the night.
Though he knew it was going to take more than a few sweet words and a couple kisses to convince her. He’d broken her trust. It killed him to think he might never get it back.
“The other night,” Kat began hesitantly, but he cut her off with another soft kiss against her lips.
“I’m sorry,” he said, lifting his head slightly. He couldn’t bear hearing her repeat his words. They tortured him enough as it was. “I was trying to protect you, keep you from harm’s way.”
“Next time, just say that.”
His heartbeat kicked up with her words, hope flaring. “You wouldn’t have listened. You didn’t listen, or else we wouldn’t find ourselves here.” To make his point, he ran his finger lightly over the bandage near her hairline.
“Stephen,” she growled.
“I promise. But don’t expect me not to protect you.”
“I’m an adult. I can make my own choices.”
“Not if those choices put you in jeopardy.”
“Oh my God, Stephen,” Kat chuckled, the sound music to his ears. “Do you even hear yourself?”
But he didn’t return her smile. Didn’t want her taking the situation lightly. “Do you hear me? I will use any means available to ensure your safety. Because there’s nothing in this world that would kill me more than losing you.”
Kat’s eyes widened in shock, searching his expression. And he held nothing back, hoping she’d see everything he felt, but was too afraid to say. Eventually, when she remained silent, he wrapped his arms around her again, cradled her head until it rested against his chest.
“What’s going to happen, Stephen?” she asked eventually.
He didn’t have an answer. The best he could hope for was that they’d find the real killer. But even then, his future looked bleak. And beyond having Kat back in his life, for good this time, he wasn’t sure what he wanted anymore. He felt…up in the air. A place he’d never been before. No direction, no aim.
And what kind of life would that be, his mind mocked. A man eleven years older, one with nothing to offer. He was too fucking old to start over, too old to not have a clue which direction his life was going to take. And as those thoughts were torturing him, Kat sighed and snuggled closer.
“I missed you, Stephen. So much.”