Point of No Return (14 page)

“I can’t hurt you like this!” I cried, tears streaming unheeded from my eyes. “I’m in love with Kade. I’m having his baby. You don’t deserve that! And my staying around is only going to hold you back.”

He stiffened, his eyes narrowing. “What do you mean?”

The words were nearly impossible to get out. “I mean I’ve got to let you go.”

Blane said nothing, but his face grew pale.

“It’s not fair to you,” I managed to say through my tears, “for me to keep holding on, keep needing you. You have to get on with your life.” I swallowed. “And so do I.”

I turned away, moving to grab my purse, but Blane was there in an instant, blocking me. His hands pressed against my cheeks, his fingers tangled in my hair as he forced me to look at him.

“Don’t go,” he said desperately. “Please—” His voice broke. “Kat, I’ve never begged a woman. Ever. But I’m begging you. Stay. For me. Please stay.” Blane’s eyes were a brilliant green.

“You’re a good man, Blane Kirk,” I whispered through my tears. “You mean so much to me. Which is why I can’t.” I placed my hand over his, turning my face to press my lips against his palm.

This time, he didn’t try to stop me when I turned and walked out the door.

Driving away from Blane’s house was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, and tears I couldn’t control blurred the streets as I drove. Everything in me screamed for me to turn around and go back to Blane, but I knew I couldn’t.

Somehow, I made it home. I was fumbling with my keys to unlock my door when Alisha’s door flew open.

“Kathleen! I’ve been so worried!” She launched herself at me, wrapping me in a huge hug.

“I’m sorry,” I said, hugging her back. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

Letting me go, Alisha stepped back, scrutinizing me. “What else happened?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I’ve laid enough on you lately,” I said. “I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said with a snort, grabbing my arm and hauling me into her apartment. “Sit down and tell me all about it.”

So I sat, and I told her what had happened. How I’d told Kade everything and how at first he’d reacted so great, but then he’d flipped out, or so I guessed, and left town. That Blane had taken me back to his place once they’d found me in Kade’s apartment, ending with what Blane had offered tonight.

“But I can’t do that,” I finished with a sigh. “Marry Blane and have another man’s child? That’s insane.”

Alisha didn’t say anything, just kind of squirmed.

“Right?” I persisted.

“Well
. . .
” she hedged.

“You’ve got to be joking. You can’t stand Blane. Now you think I should marry him?”

“It’s just that he was so worried about you,” she said plaintively. “He came by, told me how upset you were, and wanted me to go check on you in the morning. Then you didn’t answer your door, or your phone, and finally, I didn’t know what to do but call him. I think he was in court, because his secretary had to go to the courthouse to get him.”

Oh no. Blane had left court because of my drama? Now I had guilt as well as embarrassment.

“He was frantic, Kathleen,” she continued. “I know I haven’t been Blane’s biggest fan, but I thought he was going to tear this town apart, looking for you.”

I didn’t know what to say, which didn’t matter because Alisha kept talking, now going on a rant about Kade.

“
. . .
can’t believe he’d be such a shit about it,” she said, irritated. Getting up from the couch, she grabbed a cloth and started furiously dusting her already immaculate furniture. “Did he even have the decency to tell you to your face?”

I shook my head. “No.”

Her rag moved faster. “Of course not! Men are such assholes,” she groused. “I mean, don’t you think that was a total asshole thing to do? And since when is he such a coward?”

I couldn’t disagree.

“So what are you going to do?” she asked.

I folded my arms across my stomach. It was still hard for me to imagine, to wrap my head around that I was going to have a baby. I’d have someone of my very own to love and take care of. Would the baby be a girl with my color hair? Or a boy with eyes like his father’s?

And it suddenly struck me: I wouldn’t be alone anymore. I’d have a family.

And I knew what I had to do.

I was packed and loading my car by the time dawn rolled around. Alisha carried down Tigger in his pet carrier. He was none too happy, meowing pitifully the entire way. Bits followed her, whining as he tried to jump up on his little legs to help his friend.

“That’s all of it,” she said, setting Tigger in the passenger seat of my car. She closed the door on his complaining. “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked.

We’d talked for hours last night, once I’d decided that I’d be leaving Indy. Alisha had thrown every argument she could think of at me, but in the end, she hadn’t been able to dissuade me. We hovered at the door to my Toyota Corolla.

“I am,” I said. “It’s barely thirty miles from here. You can come see me anytime, and I’ll come visit, too.”

“What about your job?”

“I worked ten days straight. I’m off for the next four. Romeo should be able to find a replacement by then.”

“And what are you going to do about money?” she persisted.

“I have the money Kade gave me for that job in Vegas,” I said, pushing aside the thought of the millions he’d left for me in Grand Cayman as well. I wasn’t touching that, not unless it was absolutely necessary. “And I’ll get another job.”

Alisha still looked worried, so I hugged her. “Thank you for being such a good friend,” I said. Both of us were teary when I let go.

“I’ll be back in a few weeks to get the rest of my things,” I reminded her. “The lease on my apartment isn’t up for another two months. I’ll see you again soon.” I slid behind the wheel and shut the door.

Alisha leaned through the open window. “And you’re sure you don’t want to tell Blane about this?”

My gut clenched at the mere mention of his name. I shook my head. “Not right now. I just need some time. Some space. If he asks, don’t tell him where I’ve gone, okay? I’ll get in touch with him at some point. The baby’s related to him, after all.”

Alisha didn’t look happy, but she nodded in agreement. “I won’t tell him.”

We hugged through the open window one more time, then I started the car and backed up. Smiling, I waved at Alisha as I pulled out of the lot.

I heaved a sigh that felt like it came all the way from my toes as I drove down the highway. I was heading home.

KADE

C
HAPTER
S
EVEN

T
he flight attendant handed Kade the vodka tonic he’d requested, a double, and moved on down the aisle to the rest of the customers in first class. Kade stared out the window, morosely drinking the cold liquor.

The seat beside him was empty, which suited him. He didn’t want to talk, and if someone had tried to make chitchat with him, he’d have been hard-pressed not to strangle them.

And with Kade Dennon, the threat wasn’t an idle one.

It had been almost a month since he’d last seen her.

He closed his eyes, Kathleen’s face immediately coming into focus in his mind. If he tried really hard, he could smell her scent, taste the salt of the sweat on her skin when he was buried inside her, feel the marks her nails left on his shoulders, hear her whimper and moan when he made her come.

And he’d almost made it happen. He’d almost gotten to keep her.

Almost.

The plan had seemed like a dream come true. He’d take Kathleen with him and they’d leave Indy, leave old memories behind and go make new ones. But a sense of foreboding had crept over Kade the moment Kathleen had left his apartment that fateful day—the day he’d had to give up everything he’d ever wanted.

He’d wanted to think it was just his cynicism overreacting, but listening to his gut had saved his life too many times for him to ignore the warning. Which was why he hadn’t been surprised when his cell had rung only minutes after Kathleen had left to tell Blane the news. The call was from a blocked number.

“Yeah,” he answered.

“Dennon,” a male voice greeted him. “You’re still alive.”

“So it would seem,” Kade replied. “Who’s this?”

“Meet me tonight, under the Davidson Street bridge,” the man said, ignoring Kade’s question. “Nine o’clock.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Do you think we don’t know about the girl?” A pause. “See you tonight, Dennon.”

The line went dead.

Kade slowly slid the phone back into the pocket of his jeans. He gazed out the window without seeing anything.

Kathleen.

He’d failed miserably at protecting her, saving her life several times by mere luck and chance. Kade put her into more danger just by being around her. And now she was having a baby. His baby.

The complete shock and happiness that knowledge had brought him earlier faded in light of reality. Who was he kidding? His past wasn’t going away and the phone call was a reminder of that. Only months ago, Kade had killed a man who knew about Kathleen, wanted to use her as leverage on him. How much more would they target her now? And next time, he might be too late.

And what kind of father would he be? The only role model he’d ever had was Blane, for a while before Blane had left for the Navy, then Gerard. It wasn’t like Kade was the kind of guy to coach Little League or soccer. His skills revolved around a computer and a gun.

Blane, however, would make the perfect dad. He already had a house and a steady career that didn’t include dead bodies left in his wake. All he was missing was the pregnant girl—a girl he already loved, had wanted to marry, and no doubt still wanted to marry. All of Blane’s dreams could have come true—if not for Kade.

Guilt hit Kade hard, sucking the breath from him.

How could he have done this to Blane? To his brother? To the only person who’d given a shit about him when he was nothing but a skinny delinquent, intent on ruining his own life and taking as many people down with him as he could.

He should’ve stayed away, far away from Kathleen. Kade had known instantly that she was his Kryptonite, yet he’d been drawn to her like the proverbial moth to a flame. Now Blane—the one who should be with her, the one who deserved her—had lost her.

And yet, what was he to do? Kade loved her. The rainbows-
and-unicorns, worship-the-ground-she-walks-on, listen-to-bad-
Taylor-Swift-songs kind of love. He’d do anything for her, but he was too selfish to give her up, not even for his brother.

Kade went to a closet in the far corner, pressing on a disguised latch to open the hidden panel in the back. Pressing his thumb to the scanner, he waited while it verified his identity, then opened. He pulled out a handgun and two clips, sliding one into the gun and the other into the pocket of his jeans before he closed the panel again.

Going into his office, Kade transferred money from his accounts in Grand Cayman to a new account in Kathleen’s name. He then took the precaution of wiping the hard drive, starting a program that would reformat it and write data to all the sectors.

Kade didn’t know what he’d be walking into tonight, but there was always the possibility that he wouldn’t walk out.

In his bedroom, he pulled on a black T-shirt, throwing a black button-down shirt on over it that he left untucked to conceal the gun lodged in the waistband at his back. The wounds healing in his chest twinged when he moved a certain way, but Kade ignored the pain. There was nothing he could do about it, and besides, duty called.

Was he insane? Insane for wanting what seemed just within his grasp? Kathleen, a family, a life. A year ago, his sole focus had been surviving the next job, not that he’d cared much one way or the other. When your time was up, it was up—and all the wishing and hoping in the world couldn’t change that.

But now, for the first time, he felt fear. He was afraid. Not just because he wanted to live—he did—but because he had someone to live
for
. He had to be there, had to protect her, because there was no one to do it if he wasn’t around.

Kade wasn’t a fool. He’d seen how Kathleen had rushed to leave the hospital every morning before Blane got there. He’d known that Blane had shut down on her, the way he always did when he wanted to stop feeling. Kade turned to anger when he wanted to escape; Blane turned to ice.

Grabbing his keys, Kade headed out the door. Twenty minutes later, he’d parked a couple of blocks away from where he was to meet the guy and started walking. His phone buzzed and he looked down at the screen.

Kathleen.

Kade hesitated, then hit the button to send the call to voice mail. He couldn’t talk to her now. She’d want to know where he was and why. He’d have to lie, because if he told her the truth, she’d worry.

The weight of the gun at his back reassured Kade, as did the one strapped to his ankle. A knife was hidden under his other pants leg, though he hoped it didn’t come to that. After two weeks in the hospital, his muscles felt stiff from disuse.

Kade melted from shadow to shadow, silently making his way to the bridge. Homeless people often camped around this area, but there didn’t seem to be anyone around tonight. Sliding into the deep shadows under the bridge, Kade put his back to the concrete and waited.

He didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later, a dark sedan pulled up, its headlights flashing over Kade before they were extinguished. He watched as a man got out and began walking toward him. Kade recognized him as George Bradshaw, erstwhile campaign manager for Senator Keaston, now his chief of staff.

“Dennon,” George said in acknowledgment when he was about ten feet away. He wore a suit and was maybe in his mid-thirties.

“George,” Kade replied with mock cordiality.

“I believe we have a mutual friend,” George said.

“I don’t have any friends.”

George laughed softly. “I suppose you’re right. Friends of yours have a nasty habit of turning up dead, isn’t that right?”

“So do people who piss me off and waste my time,” Kade replied with a cold smile that disappeared immediately. “What do you want?”

“A man who likes to get down to business. I can appreciate that.” George casually pushed his hands into his pockets as he walked closer to Kade, who stiffened, but the man didn’t pull a weapon. “Your uncle sent me with a message.”

Kade’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t have an uncle.”

“Of course you do,” George said with a calculating look. “Do you think I wouldn’t know every detail of Senator Keaston’s life? And Blane Kirk’s? You remember him, don’t you? He is your brother, after all.”

“You’ve been misinformed.”

George shrugged. “I don’t give a shit if you want to keep playing this game, because here’s what you’re going to do.” He stepped closer to Kade. “You’re going to ditch the girl and get your ass out of town.”

“Fuck you.”

“Kirk needs to get his shit together. He’s not backing out of the race. And if this chick is what’ll put his fucking head back on straight, then that’s what he gets.”

“You can tell Keaston to go fuck himself,” Kade snarled. “No one pulls my strings, and no one is going to pull Blane’s, either.”

The two men stared at each other in a charged silence.

“Blane Kirk owes some very important people,” George said. “This isn’t the kind of game where you can just fold your cards and go home. You’ve fucked things up already. So hear this, Dennon.”

George got in Kade’s face, his finger poking hard at Kade’s chest. “If you think you can just say ‘Fuck you’ and not do as we say? Then I swear to God, we’ll kill them both.”

“You’re full of shit,” Kade scoffed. “Keaston’s not going to kill Blane.”

“Blane is useless to us if he fucks over his career, and if he can’t be controlled, he’s a liability. Frankly, he’d be more use to us dead at this point.”

Rage flashed through Kade, and he reacted without thought. In the sliver of time from one second to the next, he had George’s hand in his and bent his fingers back. George yelled as three of his fingers snapped and Kade forced him to his knees.

When George looked up from where he’d landed on the ground, he was staring at the barrel of a gun pointed at the center of his forehead.

“What the fuck, Dennon?” George cried. “Do you have any fucking clue what you just did? I work for the senator, you dumb fuck!”

“You pissed me off,” Kade gritted out. “Threatening the only two people on the fucking planet that I give a shit about. That was a bad idea. You and my uncle may think you can put me on a leash”—he leaned down to hiss in George’s face—“but you can’t.”

For the first time, fear seemed to strike George. “You can’t kill me,” he babbled. “Keaston sent me. I’m just the messenger.”

“And I’m sending a message.”

Kade’s gun barked once. George’s body went limp and dropped to the ground, his eyes staring sightlessly upward.

Shoving his gun into his waistband at the small of his back, Kade searched George, taking his wallet and cell phone before heading back to his car. A few minutes later, he was speeding away into the night.

Kade’s gut churned as he drove. Reaching into the glove box, he pulled out a burner phone. He bought a couple of new ones every few weeks. Being able to make untraceable calls came in handy. Dialing a number from memory, he waited while it rang. When a man answered, Kade got right to the point.

“Let me be the first to offer my condolences on the death of your chief of staff,” he said coolly. “Good help’s so hard to come by these days.”

There was a pause. “Goddammit, Kade!” Senator Keaston exploded. “What the hell did you do?”

“Cut the bullshit,” Kade snapped. “You should have known what was going to happen when you sent him. You’re going to threaten me with killing Blane and Kathleen? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“I’m through watching you screw up everything I’ve worked for,” Keaston retorted. “If you don’t do as you’re told, I’ll have no choice.”

“You honestly expect me to believe you’d kill Blane—”

“I know about the baby,” Keaston interrupted, making Kade’s blood run cold. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out she’s carrying his child? Health records are the government’s property now, and I am the government.”

The words “It’s my baby, not Blane’s” were on the tip of Kade’s tongue, but he forced himself to stay silent, waiting to see where Keaston would go with this.

“If you think I’m going to let some white-trash bartender run amok and go to the press in five years when Blane’s running for president with some tragic tale of a love child, then you’re dead wrong,” Keaston said, his words laced with disgust.

“Since when do you give a shit about Blane’s love life?” Kade scoffed.

“Blane’s been out of his fucking mind the last few weeks, ever since you were shot,” Keaston fumed. “He’s lost all his ambition for office, as if he doesn’t even care anymore. Then I find out why. That the little bitch is knocked up and
you
have swept in to fuck Blane over. Why am I not surprised? You always seem to screw up the best-laid plans.”

“Maybe Blane’s just realizing he’s been following
your
ambitions, and not his own,” Kade retorted. The guilt he’d felt earlier returned with a vengeance. Despite his words to Keaston, Kade knew Blane had worked with a single-minded focus on building a career destined for politics for as long as Kade could remember.

“Bullshit,” Keaston spat. “He took you from nothing, from a fucking orphanage, and gave you everything! I never should have helped him find you, that was my second mistake. My first was not getting rid of your whore of a mother when I had the chance.”