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outguess him.
 I want you inside the house, Cade said.  I don t care how big of a fit she throws. I want you to
be her shadow until the threat is gone. Tell her I ve given you permission to jerk her into a safe house
if she doesn t cooperate.
The sigh on the other end of the line would have made him laugh at any other time, because Darcy
was a handful and everybody who d ever spent five minutes in her company knew it. But the panic
entrenched inside him was too deep, too clawing, and the need to get to Bayleigh pressed in on him
until his chest felt like it was being crushed by cinder blocks. He sped in and out of traffic, hoping
like hell he wasn t too late to save her. The thought of anything happening to her was terrifying, and it
brought back thoughts and feelings he d buried a long time ago.
 I ll owe you, Cade said.
 We re even, my friend. Keep Bayleigh safe, he said.  And don t do anything that will make me
have to kill you later.
Brant disconnected and Cade shook his head. Bayleigh would be pissed if she found out her
brother was having her watched. It was the only way he would have known that Cade had inserted
himself neatly into her life on such short notice.
He checked the rearview mirror again and didn t see another tail, so he turned the truck onto a
well-trafficked side street and left it parked there. He sent a quick text to Declan and put his phone in
his back pocket. There was enough moon out to see once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, but not
enough that he couldn t hide himself in the shadows.
It was a half-mile hike through the treed area behind his house, and he was grateful there hadn t
been much rain lately so the creek was running low. His .9mm rested comfortably in his hand, and he
blended in with the darkness as he came up on the back of his house. The lamps he d left on in his
living room glowed softly through the shades he d pulled down before he left, but it wasn t his house
that had the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end.
Bayleigh s house was cast in complete darkness. In the two weeks he d been there, she
consistently left her back porch light on and a couple of lamps switched on throughout the house. She
also left the light over her kitchen sink on all the time. The house was never in complete darkness.
He edged out of the trees and into the open expanse of her backyard, his footsteps silent as he
approached the open deck and arbor area. The tiniest sound to his left had him stopping, his ears
pricked for the familiar sounds of the enemy. Unless they were trained as he had been, it was hard for
a person to stay completely still for long periods of time.
Carlos was playing a game, stringing him along until he was ready to move in for the kill. And
he d made Bayleigh a player, just because Cade had been too hot for her to keep his hands to himself.
If Bayleigh was in the game, then he had no choice but to keep her close to him. For her own
protection.
The sound came again and he had his gun pointed with his finger on the trigger before the target
had the chance to duck for cover.
 Don t move one fucking muscle, he growled.
Chapter Eight
Bayleigh gasped as the dull sheen of the gun glinted in the moonlight, and she sunk to her chin in
the hot tub, feeling a little too exposed in the tiny black bikini she wore. All she d wanted was to soak
away the day in peace and quiet, and neither of those words were ones she d use in conjunction with
Cade MacKenzie. She d thought turning out all the lights and pretending like she wasn t home would
discourage him from seeking her out. She just needed time. But clearly her plan had failed.
After he d left her earlier that morning, she d done nothing but think about his touch all day, as if
she were an addict waiting for her next fix. She d never climaxed like that before never even
thought it possible to lose such complete control of mind and body. It was disturbing and arousing at
the same time.
Cade had managed to strip away the layers she d built over the last several years in a matter of
minutes. If she was being honest with herself, he d gotten to her in the first five minutes after they d
met.
That was her problem. Her pattern. She believed in the possibility of soulmates, in the happily-
ever-after. And because of her childhood and the instability she d had by not having a permanent
home, she was constantly looking for the one person who could give her that happily-ever-after and
the stability she craved.
Those thoughts had been swirling around her mind like the water cocooning her body when she d
felt another presence close by. She couldn t hear or see anyone, but she definitely felt them. Her
brothers had always told her to trust her first instinct because it was usually right. She hadn t thought
she d made any noise, but screaming for help or running for cover was out of the question by the time
she saw the weapon pointed in her direction. He d been that silent. That quick. And obviously that
deadly.
 Don t move one fucking muscle, Cade said, his voice barely carrying across the small distance
between them.  Have you lost your mind, Bayleigh? What the hell are you doing out here?
Bayleigh swallowed nervously. Seeing him this way was disconcerting. He moved like the night
itself, his body lithe and graceful like a cat stalking its prey, and his face was hard his eyes lethal. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]