They fought dirty and I saw up close and personal how deadly Kade could be. His face was terrifying, cold fury blazing in his eyes. The guy didn’t have a chance, something that became immediately apparent. I heard the crack of breaking bone and the guy cried out, then Kade’s knife was in his hand. A split second later, Kade had slit his throat.

I was still on my ass on the floor, my eyes wide as I tried to breathe. Kade was straddling the now motionless body and he glanced my way, getting to his feet and moving toward me.

The gun I held shook like a leaf in my hands, my eyes glued to the blood seeping from the man’s sliced throat onto my wooden floor.

“Hey,” Kade said softly, crouching down. He reached out and slowly wrapped his hand around the barrel of the gun. “It’s okay now. Give me the gun, sweetheart.” But my fingers wouldn’t move, as though they’d been dipped in ice. Kade gently pried my hand loose and took the gun from me, tucking it in the back of his jeans.

“He’s . . . dead,” I croaked.

“Yes, and you aren’t,” Kade said.

I broke my stare and turned to Kade. He pulled me into his arms, holding me tight against his chest. My fingers clutched at his shirt, but my eyes were dry. It seemed I had no tears to shed for people who tried to kill me and ended up dead instead.

If Kade hadn’t been there, I’d be dead now and so would our baby. A shudder went through me.

“It’s all right. I’ve got you,” he murmured soothingly in my ear.

After a few minutes, I felt strong enough to pull away and stand. I looked at the dead man on the floor.

“Now what?” I asked.

“Now you find me an old sheet that you don’t want to see again, and a trash bag.”

I left, returning quickly with the items he’d requested. Kade wrapped the head and throat in the sheet, then tied the trash bag around that. Pulling the dead man by the arms, he hoisted the body in a fireman’s carry.

“Grab a shovel and follow me,” he said.

I ran to the garage and found an old shovel, then followed Kade as he trekked into the woods. We went some distance, then Kade dropped the body and held a hand out for the shovel.

“At least there’s a bright side to you living in the middle of fucking nowhere,” he said. “Plenty of places to bury a body.”

It took a while for Kade to dig a hole deep enough, but finally the body was buried and the dirt replaced. Kade was drenched in sweat and had discarded his shirt some time ago, but hadn’t shown any sign of fatigue until he was through. He leaned on the shovel for a few minutes. I stayed quiet and watched him.

After we got back to the house, he had me get a bottle of bleach and we cleaned the blood off the floor. Well, Kade did. I started dry heaving, so he ordered me into the kitchen to wait until he was done.

I had time to think while I waited, which probably wasn’t a good thing. Keaston had sent someone after me, just like Kade had said he would. What was I going to do? Just wait for the next killer? I’d be a sitting duck.

Kade came back into the kitchen carrying another garbage bag. “We’ll burn this one,” he said, heading to the sink. “No one’s going to come looking for that guy anyway. It’s the nature of the business.”

As he washed the dirt and blood from his hands, sweat still shone on his skin from the hard work he’d done digging in the warm sunshine. I’d need to wash his jeans. They were dirty from the digging.

“Thank you,” I said. “For being here. If you hadn’t—”

“Let’s not discuss what might’ve happened,” Kade interrupted, drying his hands on a dish towel. “I’m going to take a shower.”

I nodded, glancing at the clock. “Okay. My shift starts soon.”

“You’re going into work?” Kade asked.

I looked at him strangely. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I would think being attacked and having to bury a body might make you see sense,” Kade retorted. “The sooner you hightail it back to Blane’s the safer you’ll be.”

“The only place I’m going is into work,” I shot back. It stung every time he brought up the idea of me going to Blane, as if I were a burden to be shoved off onto somebody else.

Turning away, I headed upstairs, leaving him to fend for himself.

Going to my bedside table, I retrieved my gun from the top drawer. I checked to make sure it was loaded, then set it by the door so I wouldn’t forget to put it in my purse.

The uniforms at O’Sullivan’s were a lot less revealing than the ones at The Drop, just jeans and a T-shirt with the pub’s logo printed across the chest. The shirts came in black, white, and green, and tonight I put on a green one before doing my makeup. At least my jeans still fit, though they were more snug than I was used to. I heard the shower start in the bathroom across the hall.

I sat on my bed, thinking. I wanted two things—for me and my baby to be safe, and I wanted Kade. Now I just had to figure out the best way to go about getting them.

After a few minutes, I grabbed the gun and opened my bedroom door just as Kade came out of the bathroom.

I froze. Kade was naked save for a white towel wrapped low around his hips. He had another towel he was using to dry his hair, so he hadn’t seen me yet. My gaze drank in his damp chest, following the thin line of hair that started below his navel and disappeared beneath the towel. My hands itched to reach forward. It would just take a little tug to pull the towel loose. It would drop to the floor and I would drop to my knees—

I think I made a little sound, kind of like a whimper, because Kade suddenly stopped drying his hair. He may have looked at me—I didn’t know. I was still eyeing the towel and trying to figure out if I could grab it faster than he could stop me.

“Kathleen?”

“Mmm?” Maybe if I took off my shirt, distracted him—

“Everything all right? You okay?”

I sighed a little, making my eyes lift to his. “Fine. It’s just that being pregnant . . . Well, let’s just say I haven’t been this horny since . . .” I thought about it. “Ever.” Huh.

Kade’s face looked pained. “I don’t think sleeping together would be a good idea.”

“Really?” I asked. It sounded pretty damn good to me. “I didn’t realize you’d taken up chastity.” I sidled a little closer. Men were all the same. I could probably change his mind if I could get my hands on his—

But Kade caught my wrist just as I reached out to snag the towel. He yanked me forward and my breasts brushed his chest. I bit back a moan at the contact.

He was so close, his mouth inches away.

“I just killed a man,” Kade said in disbelief. “In your living room. And you want to have sex with me?”

Well, when he put it like that . . . Nope, still didn’t kill my mood.

A droplet of water trailed from the ends of his hair down his neck and over his collarbone, then started a slow path down his chest. It tantalized me, practically screaming “Lick me! Lick me!” so I obligingly leaned forward . . . only to have Kade jerk back, out of my reach.

I frowned at him. This was getting irritating. “You’re playing awfully hard to get,” I complained.

“It’s for your own good.”

Now that killed my mood. I stepped closer, getting in his face.

“You’re starting to sound a lot like Blane,” I hissed. I jerked my wrist out of his grip, turned around, and flounced downstairs. I knew I was in a snit, but I just didn’t care.

There was a knock on the front door and I froze. Carefully, I checked my gun to make sure the safety was off before I went to the door. I peeked out the side window . . . and my jaw gaped.

Pulling open the door, I said, “What in the world are you doing here?”

Blane reached up and took off his sunglasses, eyeing me. “Hello to you, too,” he said wryly.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “I’m just . . . surprised. Come in.” I stepped aside so Blane could enter. He was dressed casually in jeans and a white button-down shirt he wore untucked, the cuffs turned back several times.