Page 56 of Too Lethal to Love

“And I’m on guard duty,” Nic said.

Kane hooked his thumbs in the front pocket of his jeans as he watched them leave. He’d been sick with worry since he’d gotten Beth into bed a few hours ago. His own slumber had come in short bursts as he lay next to her, only leaving to check in with Nic and Linc who took turns sleeping on the couch and keeping watch from the SUV parked in the driveway.

If there was ever any doubt she was a target, there was none now.

“Tell me how you’re feeling.” He used the tone he’d employed last night when he’d told her to stay put.

“I’m fine.”

So much for listening to him today. “That’s a bullshit answer and you know it.”

“I’ll give you real answers after you give me some.” She shifted, switching her weight from one foot to the other and winced.

“Shit, Beth. You shouldn’t be standing with your feet all cut up like that.”

She slapped him on the shoulder as he lifted her in his arms. “I can walk, Kane. Put me down.”

He set her on the couch. “You’re hurt.”

“But you’re not.” She fisted his long-sleeve black T-shirt in her hand. “How are you not hurt? Or dead?”

Kane’s adrenaline kicked in as she pressed him for details. She was riled up and he was burning to expel pent-up energy. They both could use a good fight. Hopefully, at the end, she’d realize she wasn’t a black widow.

He knelt in front of her and grabbed her ankle. “I thought you didn’t want me dead?”

“I don’t.” Her leg jerked as he ran his finger along the bottom of her foot. “How bad does it look?”

“Better. I cleaned up the cuts and put antibiotic ointment on them.”

“Thanks. What happened last night?”

“All six hostiles who engaged with us are connected to the Diablo cartel. No sign of Chavez though.”

“Do you think their goal was to take me?”

“Yes, whoever is messing with you, whether it be the stalker or Chavez, is done playing.”

Determination shot through her eyes. “Tell me everything.”

“Ryan saw a van pull into the cul-de-sac at the same time of the explosion, which was my truck blowing up. I really liked that truck. My favorite shotgun was in there.”

“Thank God you left your cowboy hat at my parents’ house. Its demise would be a tragedy.”

“Cause I’m sexy in it, right?” He grinned, remembering her comment about how she admired how he could go from hardened warrior to charming country boy in less than a second. If acting like a bigheaded cowboy made her laugh, he’d boast about himself all day.

“Too sexy for your own damn good and arrogant as hell.” She sighed as his hands slid up her ankle and massaged the bottom of her calf. “Keep talking about what happened, and don’t stop what you’re doing to my leg.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He’d do anything to coax that soft sigh from her again. “All six hostiles are dead, a couple of them by your gun. How do you feel about that?”

“I’ve been training to defend myself for two years. I’ve always wondered if it was enough to save myself in a real situation. Now I know, and it’s oddly comforting, yet I’m horrified. Does that make sense?”

“Perfect sense.”

She bit her lip. “What does it say about me?”

And there it was. The doubt. “I’m no therapist, but I think it says you’re a survivor. If you didn’t doubt what defending your life in exchange for another’s did to you, then you wouldn’t be human.”

She pulled her leg from his hands and tucked it underneath her. Leaning back into the cushions of the oversized couch, she studied him. “Are you human? Because what I witnessed last night was not of this world.” She shifted her knees and sat up straighter. “Christ, Kane, you didn’t have a gun. Those cartel guys fell and didn’t get back up. And you did nothing but stand there…but you didn’t just stand there. You looked surreal, like some sort of godlike warrior blessed by the heavens and created in hell.”