Page 68 of Beyond Reason

There was more to that, but judging by his expression—and the absolute death glare Kade was leveling my way—I knew better than to push.

“But… Marshall won’t come back?”

Seth blew out one more breath and laid his head against Kade’s chest. His eyes closed for a second like he was listening to his heartbeat, then he nodded again.

“The only reason I stayed was because the drugs I was taking reacted with what they gave me. Marshall’s gone… You can’t get him back.”

And I really didn’t understand it when Kade ran his fingers through Seth’s blond curls and pulled his head back so he could kiss him, but I had the sense to at least avert my gaze.

Xavier was looking at me with wide-eyed confusion—yeah, maybe Kade had come back, but there was definitely something different about him. In all the times we’d interacted and all the stories I’d heard about him… he didn’t hold people on his lap and kiss them like he was trying to drink down their pain.

He didn’t stroke his fingers through their hair and murmur soft words in their ear.

He just… killed people.

This Kade was different, and some part of me was aware that it wasn’t a bad thing—he was even more dangerous, if I thought about it. Before, he’d killed because he wanted to, because he was good at it. Because it was a job and a way for him to make money and make a living.

Now, I didn’t have to look very hard to see that he had a reason to kill—a person he would die for. Hell, just his reaction when Xavier stepped into the room was enough to show me that.

“As cute as you two are, I still have more questions.” Xavier’s voice came out a little impatient, but I did notice that he waited until they were finished kissing before he spoke. He might have been brave, but he had some level of tact and survival instinct.

“I can still shoot you, Xavier.” Kade’s voice came out in a low rumble, and Seth actually rolled his eyes before turning to look at us again.

“He won’t shoot you.” He sounded so sure, too. “Honestly, it’s a relief to have someone else understand what’s going on. We’ve been hunting these fuckers for months, and I’ll feel better knowing that Kade has backup.”

“I don’t need—”

“We have the location of their main headquarters narrowed down to a few places.” Seth’s mouth pinched, and for just a second something angry spilled through his gaze, something colder than anything he’d let on before. “I want to make sure they can’t hurt anyone else ever again.”

Ah, he had something righteous burning in his chest. It wasn’t that cool psychopathic rage that I saw on Kade’s face, but I had a feeling it could be just as deadly. After all, it was pretty much steering the intentions of the man holding onto him. A psychopath was dangerous, but a psychopath being guided by someone who had ambitions of taking down an entire organization because it was the right thing to do?

Well, that was an easy way to get killed, wasn’t it?

Then again, that was exactly what I wanted. I wanted to make sure that the people who’d hurt Xavier could never hurt him again, could never threaten to take him away. The days I’d spent wondering if they’d captured him after he left the lake house had been pure torture. I couldn’t imagine what I’d do if something actually happened.

I couldn’t imagine what world I wouldn’t burn down if it meant I could keep him safe. Maybe Seth’s determination wasn’t so bad after all.

I turned my eyes back to Xavier, who was studying the two men in front of us with an unreadable expression. He’d been so angry when I mentioned finding the company before, but I understood why.

“What if we get there and you’re wrong? What if they do something and Xavier is… gone again?” I couldn’t say dead. But Seth was already shaking his head.

“They can’t—”

“I mean, I guess they could shoot him. That would make him pretty gone.”

Seth turned to glare at Kade, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from snapping at the man who was studying me with a cool, almost indifferent expression.

“I’m not sure how I went out before, but I’m pretty determined to keep myself alive this time. I’m sure I can avoid some bullets.”

And I saw it. Kade’s eyes widened as he realized that the last moments of Xavier’s life were still missing in the equation of the man across from him.

“You don’t remember?” Kade didn’t have reservations, or boundaries. And either he couldn’t read expressions as well as I remembered, or he was blatantly ignoring the way I glared at him.

“Not really. I had a head injury and burns. I was in and out of consciousness for months.” Xavier’s eyes narrowed slightly, darting between Kade and Seth. “I’m not sure which of you I have to thank for that, but I’ll let it go since it wasn’t me you were after.”

He didn’t sound like he was letting it go.

“I didn’t—” Seth started, but Kade actually slipped his hand over his mouth.

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