The following morning was muggy and overcast, and Kade was sure it would rain later. After feeding the livestock for Chuck, Kade cleaned mud off his boots before he entered the house. His footsteps echoed as he walked to his bedroom.
Last night it had seemed that she had something to tell him, but instead they made love again and again until they were too exhausted to move.
He stopped at the doorway to his bedroom and found Kelsey still sound asleep. This time they’d slept in his bed. Where he wanted her always. She made him feel so good, just by being there. In a couple of strides he reached the bed, leaned down, and whispered, “Rise and shine.”
“Mmmm.” Her lashes were dark against her pale skin, and her chest rose and fell.
Bedsprings creaked as Kade sat and shook Kelsey’s shoulder. “Get up, sleepyhead.”
“Leave me alone,” she mumbled, and turned her head away.
“Gotta get you out of here.” Kade tried pulling the covers off, but she snatched them back.
“Go away.”
“Nope. Out of bed.”
“A little longer,” she moaned.
He leaned over and kissed her ear. “I know how to wake you.”
A sleepy smile teased the corners of her mouth as he nipped her earlobe. She grabbed a pillow and covered her head with it, swatting his face in the process.
Kade couldn’t help smile as he pulled on his T-shirt, bulletproof vest, and overshirt. When he finished dressing, he lifted the pillow and nuzzled Kelsey’s neck. She smelled so good, her skin warm against his nose. “Get up, honey. I’ve got to get going.”
Another groan. “I will. Gimme a minute.”
“Only one.” He tossed the pillow aside and brushed his lips over hers before he grabbed her cell phone and placed it in her hand. “Call me at work and let me know when you make it to the hotel.”
“All right.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
As she settled against the pillow, he wanted to tell her then. Wanted to tell her how much he loved her. Was she ready?
“You need to go to work.” She captured his hand and brought it to her lips.
“And you need to get your pretty ass out of bed.”
“Okay.”
She looked beautiful and innocent, her hair splayed across the pillow, her lips soft and swollen. He didn’t want to leave. Wasn’t sure he should. Or could.
Last night they’d waited up until Sadie called to let them know that she, Chuck, and Trent had arrived in San Francisco and were safe and sound at Dara’s. He was relieved they were out of danger. Why did Kelsey have to be so stubborn? Why couldn’t she have gone to San Francisco, where she would be safe?
Fear settled in his chest, a hard lump that wouldn’t go away. “I’ll call in and tell Mikey I’ll be late until we get you settled into the hotel.”
Frowning, Kelsey shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’ll call you when I get to Nicole’s B and B.”
He knew he would only make her angry if he pushed the issue. It was enough that she would at least be away from the house. She would be safe in Bisbee.
“I expect to hear from you by noon,” he said. “If you don’t catch me on my cell phone and I’m not in the office, leave a message with Daryl.”
She smiled. “Gotcha, cowboy.”
Kelsey had fully intended to get up when Kade left. But it felt wonderful lying there, thinking about him, her lips still tingling from his kiss.
He had smelled delicious when he came in from feeding the cattle. Of sweet oats and the promise of rain on a morning breeze. She thought about the feel of his hand in hers, the texture of his callused fingers against her lips, the soft hair on the back of his wrist.
She moved her hand to her belly. He’d given her the world, and she hoped he’d be as happy as she was when she told him. Last night she had wanted to share the news with him, but she wasn’t sure what his reaction would be and she wanted to wait until she could sit him down and have some serious alone time. Not in-bed time.
While lying there, thinking about the reason he wanted her to go stay in Bisbee, she realized what Kade’s Achilles’ heel was, and her smile faded.
His love for his family. His concern for others. Whatever it was he felt for her.
The bastards knew exactly how to hurt Kade—by threatening his family. But Kade wasn’t one to back down.
He would die fighting to protect those he loved. And to protect those who loved him.
The thought chilled her.
She held a fist to her aching heart. She couldn’t bear anything happening to Kade. Couldn’t bear losing another person whom she loved so intensely. How could she walk away and hide in a hotel while he risked his life? Shouldn’t she remain at his side? But if she stayed, would that only put him in more danger?
The past few days weighed her down, and she closed her eyes against the relentless images. The threat to Kade’s family. Acknowledging her love for Kade. The pregnancy.
So tired. Her thoughts moved to the only close friend she had who had gone through a pregnancy. She remembered how exhausted Theresa Cortez had been in her first trimester. The woman could hardly keep her head up or food down for three months, practically from the day she’d gotten pregnant.
Thunder rumbled outside as Kelsey snuggled into the pillow and drank in Kade’s earthy scent, which clung to the sheets. She needed to keep her promise to him and get to the B and B so he wouldn’t worry. She would just rest a minute longer. The heaviness in her limbs dragged her further down, deeper and deeper, until darkness enveloped her.
***
When Kade arrived at the station, he headed straight to Miguel Martinez’s office.
“Everything okay?” Miguel asked, his green eyes narrowed. He sat at his desk, resting his chin on his steepled fingers.
“Got my family off to Frisco.” With a frustrated sigh, Kade ran his hand over his head. “Kelsey refused to go because she wants to finish her damn feature. But she agreed to stay at a hotel in Bisbee.”
Miguel frowned. “A man matching Gordo’s description was seen in the vicinity of the phone booth the call was placed from yesterday. Again, Jose Hernandez. I put Sal and Don on him, but they’ve come up empty.”
Fury simmered in Kade’s gut. “What about Bull Stevens?”
“Everything’s been quiet at his ranch.” Rubbing his palm over his stubbled cheeks, Miguel added, “But we tapped an interesting phone call yesterday that might connect him to the threat.”
Kade clenched the back of a chair, his knuckles white against the dark upholstery. Before he could respond, Daryl Jones paged him over the intercom.
“Phone call on line six for Agent Owen.”
Miguel pointed to the telephone. “Take it here.”
Kade grabbed the receiver. “Owen.”
“This is Juarez,” the informant said in Spanish. His voice trembled. “I have information concerning those who wish to do your family harm.”
Clenching the phone in his hand, Kade said, “What do you know?”
“Mario’s at noon. Come alone.”
The line went dead.
***
“I think another agent should go in with you,” Miguel said again when it was time for Kade to head to Mario’s. “We can put someone in undercover.”
“It’s only an informant,” Kade replied. “It’s a public place.”
“But it’s the first time he’s insisted you come alone, correct?” Miguel said.
“Juarez isn’t a concern.” Kade shook his head. “If anyone goes inside with me it’ll scare him too much to talk.”
Miguel picked up his frog paperweight and ran his thumb over the smooth glass. “I’ll have a couple of vehicles keep an eye out as they drive by.”
Kade nodded and headed out of the building, then strode through the rain to his truck. The drive took less than five minutes, and right at noon, he took his regular booth at Mario’s Cantina. He shook rain from his hair and combed it back with his fingers. Mari didn’t appear to be working, and another waitress took his order.
Fifteen minutes later, Kade checked his watch. Juarez was late, which wasn’t like him. He studied the regulars, several of whom were already bombed off their asses, and it was barely after noon. Speaking of noon, he should have heard from Kelsey by now. Outside the open door, relentless monsoon rains pounded the sidewalk. A breeze swirled in, the scent of rain mingling with the cantina’s odors of cigarettes and alcohol.
Another ten minutes passed and unease twisted in Kade’s gut. Something wasn’t right. He stood to leave and dropped a five on the table, then caught the smell of cheap perfume.
“Senor.” Mari came up to him and laid her hand on his arm, her dark eyes wide and lips trembling. “A man. You were here with him before. He is in the kitchen and asked that you come at once.”
Hair rose at Kade’s nape. “His name?”
“Juarez.” Her gaze darted to the back room and then to Kade again. “He said that he cannot risk being seen out here.”
Keeping his right hand close to the Glock holstered at his side, Kade followed Mari through the doorway. The kitchen floor was littered with scraps and smelled of sour beer and stale grease. He glanced behind him as they turned a corner, then back to Mari.
She stopped in front of a dingy room. Kade caught a glimpse of papers piled on a desk and an empty chair.
Her eyes darted toward the office. “He’s in here, senor.”
As he eased up to the office, an enormous man rounded the doorway. Before Kade had a chance to react, he saw the flash of metal. Blinding pain splintered his head as the man slammed the butt of an automatic onto the side of his skull.