Page 38 of Stalked at Rescue Ridge

“You know me too well.” Those words had barely left the man’s mouth when he shot a look that said he regretted being too familiar with each other. Keeping an emotional distance was not only smart but necessary. The baby shifted as if punctuating the sentence with an exclamation mark.

She must have winced because Kade’s face morphed into outright concern.

“Everything okay?” he asked, white-knuckling his coffee mug.

“The baby moved,” she said. Then, she added, “Do you want to feel it?”

Much to her surprise, Kade came around the table in a heartbeat. “Can I?”

“Give me your hand.” Touch was necessary even though it counted as mistake number two.

He did. She placed the flat of his large palm over the spot on her belly where the baby could be felt.

As though responding to its father’s touch, the baby shifted again.

“Whoa!” Kade’s eyes were saucers.

She forced her gaze away from the pale blue irises hooded by thick, raven-colored eyelashes. Black hair with pale blue eyes couldn’t have been sexier on that carved-from-granite face. The man was perfection. Even the new inch-long scar above his eyebrow made him more beautiful. There were other marks on his hand. Raised, white skin that would forever remind him of missions with Zeke.

“That’s amazing,” he whispered with reverence in his voice. And then he focused those baby blues on her. “Boy or girl?”

“I don’t know yet,” she admitted.

“You haven’t found out the sex? Why not?”

Could she tell him it hadn’t felt right to know without the baby’s father standing beside her? Could she admit that it somehow seemed unfair? That she hadn’t been able to say yes to finding out?

That she’d wanted it to be Kade in the room with her and not her best friend?

The admission caused a wave of guilt to crash through her.

“What happened?” Kade asked.

She shot a questioning look.

“You just tensed up like crazy,” he said. “Was that a contraction?”

“No.” She didn’t want him to worry. She also couldn’t tell him what she’d been thinking that had caused her body to react. “It’s okay. Happens sometimes.” How was that for a generic response?

“Is that normal?” he asked, a line wrinkling his forehead.

Nothing about this was normal. Normal wasn’t on the table. If life were normal, she wouldn’t have a serial killer hunting her.

“Tell me more about what Travis said about the victim who slipped out of Reaper’s hands,” she said, hoping he didn’t call her out on the change in topic.

Kade moved back to his chair. His absence next to her was felt immediately.

It’s safer this way.The baby kicked harder this time.

Bree would smile if the conversation hadn’t shifted to the person who wanted to kill her.

“Travis saidthe bastard stalked the victim and then punished her for slipping out of his hands once.” Kade’s grip on the mug was so tight by the time he finished the sentence that he had to force his fingers to relax before he broke the ceramic piece and burned his hand with hot coffee.

Bree shivered.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be.” She recovered a casual look after rolling her shoulders. “I need to know what I’m facing.”

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