A deep hidden part of her wanted to jump up and go to Kage, ask him if everything Charlene said was true. But, having lived in hell the last four years, she knew she would only be setting herself up. No matter what Kage wanted, or she wanted, a relationship of any kind was out of the question.
Garrett and his friends wandered toward the pool table. As long as she could remember—even before they were of legal age—they’d gathered at table 3 and relaxed over a couple games of pool a few nights a week. She swiveled her stool to put her back toward the room. She’d eat and go home, hopefully with Garrett. From here on out, she’d be more careful and not let Kage catch her alone.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Kage pressed his hand low on her back, sat beside her on the empty stool, and swung her around until she faced him, her legs inside his. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.”
She ducked her chin. “None of you were supposed to know. Garrett promised. I didn’t want you to find out…”
He placed his hands on her thighs. “That was your first mistake. It’s our job. You’re our job, because we’re friends. We all have a history together, and I care about you.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“We’re experienced and trained to handle situations like the one you’re in. Unfortunately, we deal with more women than we like who are in your exact position and need help.”
“But you of all people know what could happen. Scott’s not working alone. He’s not going to let me walk away. He might not come tonight or next week, but he’ll eventually show up, because all I am is property to him. He’s greedy and mean,” she said. “I should never have come back here.”
Her gaze lifted. His jaw ticked. She’d done everything wrong from day one. Going to college meant spreading her wings, and she not only flew, she’d gotten far away from who she was and then latched on to the first person who made her feel good about herself.
Kage tensed, letting his protectiveness show. She laid her hands on top of his. “There was nothing you could’ve done.”
“I could’ve saved you,” he muttered.
She smiled sadly. He had no idea how much she wanted to go back and do the right thing, to call him or Garrett the first time she suspected Scott was not a real estate broker but doing something illegal, but it was too late. “Let’s not talk about it anymore.”
“Okay. I’ll leave it alone for now.” Kage paused as the waitress brought two beers and set them on the counter. He watched her leave, then said, “From now on, you’re with me twenty-four/seven.”
“What?” She shook her head. “That’s not necessary. I’m staying at the house, and—”
“I’m not going to argue with you. It’s done.” He picked up his mug. “Garrett’s agreed.”
“Oh, no, you are not staying with me.” She tried to extract herself from between his legs, but he refused to let her go. “I can’t be around you.”
What he was telling her was impossible. Garrett could watch out for her. She worked at night. She’d stayed safe for the past three weeks. Scott hadn’t called or found her. If Kage stayed with them at the house, she’d do something stupid.
“Really, Kage. You need to stay far, far away from me. For your own safety.” She squeezed his hand. “Please.”
His eyes went soft and he flashed a grin. Her stomach fluttered. She couldn’t even sit beside him without melting.
“I’m serious.” She raked her teeth over her bottom lip.
He kept looking at her in amusement, his smile growing bigger. “Me too.”
Damn him. He wasn’t taking her seriously. She was only entertaining him. “You’ll see. I’ll destroy everything.”
“Baby, get this. I’m not telling you no this time. You got it?” he said.
Heat rushed to her cheeks as she remembered the last time he’d denied her. His gaze softened and she swallowed, overcome with the power and acceptance radiating off him. Her sex pulsed and dampened at what he was implying would happen between them if she let it.
“It’ll never happen.”
His gaze intensified. “It’ll happen.”
“I won’t let it.”
He hovered within an inch of her mouth. “It’s already happened. Now you know. Deal with it.”
“Never. Garrett won’t let you stay after I talk to him. He’s my brother. Family trumps best friends.” She held on to the bar, pulled her legs out and over the top of Kage’s, and jumped to the floor.
Moving before he could catch her, she hurried across the room and straight to Garrett. There was no way anyone was going to tell her how to live. She was done with that crap. She hadn’t fought her way out of one situation only to end up in another one she didn’t want or need.
Garrett leaned against the pool table, a pool stick in his hand, lining up a shot to the corner pocket. She grabbed a cue off the rack, pushed her way between her brother and the table, and held the stick in front of her, while she backed Garrett away from his game.
“Hey!” Garrett straightened. “What the hell are you doing, sis?”
Men at the other pool table moved forward. Several catcalls came over the noise from the bar. She ignored them all.
“Tell him.” She pointed the stick across the room. Lance and Tony drew closer, grinning like two fools. She disregarded their amusement and concentrated on her brother. “Tell him he is not staying with us.”
Garrett planted the end of his pool stick on the ground between his feet. “He’s not.”
Relief swept through her. At least her brother still had some common sense left in his head.
She sagged in relief, letting Garrett take the pool cue from her. “Good. I knew you wouldn’t allow him to push—”
“You’re staying at his house,” Garrett said, tossing the stick to Tony.
Her heart skipped a beat and she recoiled. “What?”
Garrett moved around her and lined up his shot. “We decided the safest place for you to be is away from our house. Scott knows where to look for you, and he doesn’t know where Kage lives. You’ll be safer there. He’s the best and he can protect you, sis. You know that.”
“No…” She shook her head, unable to stop her hands from shaking.
Garrett looked up from the table at her. “Do it for Kage, sis. It was either let him take care of you or kill Scott.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and swallowed hard before looking across the room. Kage sat watching her, intense and ready to pounce.
Garrett moved close. “He’s hurting. You should’ve seen him, sis. He went crazy when I told him, and you know he never loses control. Let him take care of you. Let him do what he needs to do to keep you safe.”
“I’ll only hurt him more. I’m no good for him. My association with Scott is going to drag Kage down. You know he’s sworn to stay far away from any kind of trouble, and you’re just asking for Scott to walk right up to his door and knock. We both know if that happens, he will answer,” she whispered, without taking her gaze away from Kage.
“Kage has his reasons.” Garrett lowered his voice. “It’s a done deal. You’ll stay with him until this business with Carson is over, and we know you’re safe.”
She didn’t know how long she stood there, but when Kage lifted his chin and mouthed
Come here
and pointed at the food he’d ordered for her, she returned to his side. She’d never let anyone she loved get hurt on account of her. She rubbed her hands over her hips, nervous about staying with him. Around Kage, she became distracted, and she couldn’t lose sight of why she’d come home.
K
age unlocked the front door of his house, took Jane inside, set the alarm, and flipped on the light. He did all that without letting go of her hand. He still had to keep checking himself, so he wouldn’t move too fast. He didn’t want to rush her after everything she’d been through.
He’d waited for the moment Janie walked back into his life, and now she was here. Years ago, it almost killed him to turn down her offer, her tempting lips, her innocence He squeezed her hand. She wasn’t going anywhere.
He was in a better place in his life, no longer under the control of his uncle and stable enough to keep her protected from anything that could happen. He’d worked hard to make sure no one ever questioned his loyalty, his word, his integrity. He came from people who made running drugs their life. He was not one of them.
His biggest regret was rejecting Janie. He’d done it because he was unfortunate enough to have the last name of Archer and the stigma that came along with being connected to the underground. He’d taken those years without her to grow stronger, more determined, more stubborn for the day he’d prove his worth to her. Now he finally had the chance and he wasn’t letting her go, no matter how much she wanted to deny she was still attracted to him.
The simple thought of her hurting or her being hurt enraged him.
Earlier, he’d wanted to go after Scott Carson. No one, especially someone who had one foot on the other side of the law and abused women, deserved to breathe the same air as Jane. If he’d known the kind of shit she was living through, he could’ve done something about her situation. Then she’d be in his bed, and Scott would be in a cold grave.
Jane’s cat walked into the entryway and she gasped, tugging her hand from Kage’s. He let her go and watched her swipe the cat off the floor and into her arms.
Bluff meowed a long string of cat words. Kage shook his head. It had seemed silly to ask Tony to leave the bar early to pick up Jane’s things from the house, including catching the cat from the shop, but seeing her smile made him happy.
Always sexier than hell, she was even more beautiful than the last time he saw her at her dad’s funeral. She wore her cinnamon-colored hair to the middle of her back, leaving it loose and tousled. Her high cheekbones gave her an air of sophistication to a perfect heart-shaped face. When she laughed, her lips curved up on the corners naturally, putting everyone she met at ease.
Despite her beauty, he couldn’t ignore the way her self-confidence had taken a hit. He noticed her reluctance to talk, and at the bar she kept herself from looking at the others in the room. His Janie had always been the life of the party. She loved being the center of attention.
How a man could take someone full of life, with more spirit in her than the average woman, and try to stomp the goodness out of her was beyond him. What Carson did was a crime, and he’d pay.
All evening, Kage had stared into her eyes, wanting to find something that would convince him what he felt for her was all in his head. His fascination and attraction overwhelmed him at times, but one look from her, and he knew she was feeling their connection too.
“How did you get here? Hm?” she cooed to the cat.
Kage cleared his throat. “Tony brought him over for you.”
She hugged the cat under her chin and glanced at Kage. Her beautiful brown eyes were leery, so unlike the amused, warm gaze he was used to. “I’m still mad at you, but thanks for letting me have Bluff.”
“You’ll get over your anger.” He scooped the cat from her, dropped her to the floor, and pulled Jane before him. “We need to talk.”
“About how you’re going to take me back home?” She glared at him and flipped her hair over her shoulder, getting her bangs out of her face. “Or how you’re going to stop touching me, because honestly, Kage, you’re starting to—”
“No.” He cupped her face and held her still. “You don’t step out of this house unless I’m with you. If I’m busy, you call Garrett. If Garrett can’t be here, call Tony or Lance. That’s it. I don’t care if Charlene or one of your girlfriends comes by to see you, but you can’t go off with another woman without one of us guys with you.”
“Kage—”
“This is not up for debate,” he said. “I want to protect you.”
“Scott hasn’t even called. Maybe this time I’m really free from him,” she whispered, searching Kage’s eyes for confirmation.
“Then you’d be lying to yourself.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “You’ve had phone calls at your house the last three days.”
“What?” She covered her mouth.
“Garrett redirected the phone line to the shop during the day when you’re not working and is fielding all incoming calls.” Kage glanced away. “Scott doesn’t stay on the line long enough for us to trace the call and find out his location, but the messages are clear.”
She lowered her hand. “What does he say?”
“He’s threatening you. Nothing specific, but his intent is clear. He always ends the message letting you know he’s coming for you.”
“I knew he would,” she whispered. “I just wanted more time. I’m not ready to confront him.”
“And you won’t have to if you listen to me. Scott is growing impatient, and that kind of man is dangerous. I don’t want you anywhere near him when he shows up,” Kage said. “I swear to you, I’ll get the asshole. He won’t hurt you again.”
“Maybe he’ll give up and drop the idea that I’m his now that he knows I’m not alone,” she whispered.
Kage wanted to do it, give her the security of knowing that that asshole was out of her life, but that’d be playing roulette with her safety. “He’s definitely out there. I called in a few favors. From what I’ve heard of his recent actions, he’s not giving up easily, or anytime soon.”
“Favors?” She grabbed his wrists. “You haven’t gone back to your uncle, have you?”
“No, but I will do whatever I need to keep you safe. That’s a promise.” Kage lowered his voice. “Garrett told me the story you gave him, but I need the truth. Every bit of it.”
She pulled away. He let her go but followed her into the living room. The Janie he remembered never took shit from anyone. The Janie who stayed cooped in her house, worked nights by herself, and wasn’t causing trouble for all the people around town was hiding something big.
The woman he knew before she shacked up with that asshole was still inside her. He saw the fire he remembered when she went head to head with her brother. Hell, every man in the bar noticed. Then a curtain fell across her face, and she retreated. He wanted his Janie back.
He turned on the lamp beside the couch. She paced the floor. He sat down, ready to wait it out.
“If you don’t want your brother to know everything, it won’t leave this room. I’ll only give him the details necessary to help with the case.” He watched her hesitate before continuing her walk. “I need to know.”
She stopped. “Why?”
“Because…” He ran his hands down the thigh of his jeans. “I want to know what I’m working against and what I need to do to shut him down. I need to know how I can bring back the real Janie, not the one who’s pacing in my living room, afraid every time I touch her.”
She shook her head. “There’s nothing you can do. Nothing anyone can do. He’s untouchable.”
“Come here.” He patted his leg.
She crossed her arms. “No.”
“Jane.”
She lifted her chin. “Absolutely not.”
“I’m not giving you a choice, baby. Get over here.” He waited ten seconds, stood, and picked her up.
She wrapped her arms around his neck despite her previous protests. He took two steps before her body curved against his, and she put her head on his shoulder. His chest warmed, and a possessive urge to never let her go swept through him. He was doing the right thing.
He wanted to protect her, but he also had to be gentle, given her past. He had no idea what that bastard had put her through, but he knew Janie. Her reaction to him couldn’t lie. She needed him, and he’d be here for her. However long it took for her to realize what they had together.
Instead of taking her to the couch, he carried her to his bedroom. At the foot of the bed, he stood her on her feet and reached for the waist of her jeans.
She slapped his hands away. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t want to talk now, so we’ll wait for the morning.” He unzipped her jeans. “Now we go to sleep.”
“Kage!” She stepped back, bumped into the mattress, and landed on her back on top of the bed. “God, this can’t be happening.”
He grinned down at her, pulled his shirt over his head, and tossed it to the side. “If we’re not talking, we’re going to bed.”
She scrambled into a sitting position. “Fine. I’ll go—”
He laid his finger on her lips, stopping the argument. She blinked up at him, and in that moment he saw the complete trust she’d given him. The look that kept him on the right path, aiming for the prize of being worthy of her if he stayed true to himself.
She wasn’t scared or running away from what was happening between them. She simply waited for him to make the first move. He swept his thumb across her lower lip. Her mouth opened naturally, accepting his touch. His balls ached to take her right to the mattress and settle himself between her legs, but he was going to do right by her if it killed him.
“You’re not going anywhere. I want you in my bed. We both need our rest, okay?” He stepped back, bent at the waist, and began unlacing his boots. “Your bags are in the corner. You can have the bathroom first. I took a shower at the garage, so take as long as you need.”
“I’m not sleeping with you. I’ll stay in your spare bedroom.” She stood.
“Can’t. No bed.” He pried off his boot with his toe. “Before you ask, you’re not sleeping on the couch either.”
She stared at him bug-eyed. Bluff walked into the room, rubbed against Kage’s socks, and then leaped onto the bed. Kage straightened and chuckled. The cat circled the bedspread, happy to plop onto her side and lie down for a nap.
“Take notes.” He motioned behind her. “Look at Bluff.
She
wants to sleep with me.”
“I’m not sleeping with you. You had your chance, and you tossed it away.” She marched past him, picked up her bag, and disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. “And my toothbrush better be in here, or I’m going home,” she yelled through the door.
He removed his phone from his jeans pocket as he walked barefooted out of the room. His phone downloaded his messages, while he shut off the lights throughout the house and took one more look around. His house was situated on two acres on the edge of town. Enough property to afford him some privacy, and easy to tell if someone approached the house and keep Jane safe.
His cell vibrated on his way down the hall, heading toward his bedroom. He stopped and read the screen. The police reports he asked for—he quickly scanned the documents.
Fuck.
He pivoted and went back and double-checked all locks and windows. He even reset the alarm by the front door that secured the entrances to make sure it operated perfectly. There was no room for mistakes.
Once he was satisfied he’d done everything he could, he returned to the bedroom, not surprised to find Jane still shut inside the bathroom. He flipped off the light, stripped out of his jeans, leaving on his boxers, and climbed into bed. Prepared to wait her out, he lay on his back, hands clasped behind his head.
The police reports burned inside his mind. She hadn’t told Garrett the truth.
The door clicked, and Bluff meowed beside him. He picked the cat up and set her on his stomach, stroking her long fur.
A few moments later, the mattress dipped, and Jane lay down wordlessly, staying to the edge of her side of the bed. He exhaled quietly, relieved that she was over her snit and had stopped trying to fight him at every turn.
He set the cat beside him on the bed, rolled toward Jane, and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back against his front. “Shh, I just want to hold you. I’d never do anything to hurt you.”
Rigid and barely breathing, Jane remained quiet. It took at least a half hour for her body to relax.
His fingers sprawled on her stomach. “Janie?”
“Hm?”
“Do you remember what happened to my dad after my mom overdosed?” He inhaled the citrus aroma from her hair before kissing the back of her head.
She half turned, and he could feel her gaze on him in the dark. “Yeah.”
Brent Archer was spending the last five years of a twenty-year sentence in the state penitentiary. Not only had his father been caught selling a large amount of heroin, he was linked to two deaths caused by the cut of drugs he sold to others.
His father’s brother, Darrell, a well-known drug lord, took off for California afterward, scot-free, taking his drug runners with him. Kage inhaled deeply. Everyone in town knew his past, and he’d fought hard to prove he was nothing like his only living relatives.
The desire to prove everyone wrong, that he would not end up in prison or deal dope out of dark corners, drove him to keep to himself. He wanted no speculations, no angry ex-girlfriends, no scandal wrapped around his name. He’d set the bar high and intended to keep it that way.
Every woman he’d ever slept with or took out on a date never lived up to the one person he wanted and couldn’t have. The other women lacked a quality he always held out for and never found. It wasn’t hard to see the truth of what that something was when he was with Jane. Around her, he could be himself. She understood where he came from and accepted him no matter what.
There were never questions he avoided or fear in her eyes. She trusted him, respected him without asking anything in return. When his uncle came back a few years after his father was sent away, Jane and the guys still accepted Kage. Everyone else crossed the sidewalk if they saw him coming or looked at him as if he were dealing drugs right in front of them.
The doubts were always there.
Today, his uncle ran the biggest underground drug trade on the West Coast. But Kage was no longer a kid. After his father’s incarceration, he’d gone to live with the Dentons, the local bank owner and his wife, who took foster kids in on occasion. They raised him from the age of twelve until he was eighteen. An older couple when they took him into their home, they both had died over the last four years, after living good lives. Without their intervention and support, who knew how he would’ve turned out?