Page 73 of Melody

He didn’t take his eyes off Tommy, because he didn’t know if the guy had a weapon. “Yeah, I do.” Although Kyle was tall and in shape, he wasn’t sure if he could take a guy like Tommy—but he also didn’t care. He just needed to give Melody time to escape. “Go. Get out of here.”

In his peripheral vision, he could see her hesitate—but he took two small steps closer to Tommy, and the two men faced off as if in a showdown. Although Kyle had had a few schoolyard scuffles as a kid, he’d never fought anyone as an adult. But he refused to let any fear inside show.

Finally, Melody opened the car door and got in. That was when Tommy moved—but he didn’t throw a punch at Kyle; instead, he was ready to take back the woman he thought was his.

That was Kyle’s moment. He grabbed Tommy’s arm and the other man tried yanking it free. When Kyle tightened his grip, Tommy again tugged and then turned. Melody fired the engine and then Tommy took a swing at Kyle. Fortunately, his reflexes responded, blocking the shot with his forearm. The guy had a hell of a punch and Kyle knew his arm would hurt later, but right now, he couldn’t feel anything.

Forming his hand into a fist, Kyle used that same arm to throw the hardest punch he could, right toward Tommy’s nose. It was a dirty blow, one that could result in blood and bruising, but he hoped it would blur Tommy’s vision and hurt long enough for Melody to get away.

“Motherfucker!” Tommy yelled after Kyle felt the crack underneath his knuckles. As he’d expected, the man’s nose began bleeding but it didn’t deter him at all. However, Kyle’s plan worked. He’d distracted Tommy enough that Melody was able to back her car into the street.

Because he was watching her drive away, Kyle wasn’t paying as close attention to Tommy as he should have—and the guy got in two good punches: one to Kyle’s jaw and the other right in the gut, causing him to double over, trying to catch his breath. But as soon as he looked up, ready to defend himself, Tommy was running down the sidewalk, no doubt in an effort to try to stop Melody.

It wasn’t hard for Kyle to find it in himself to go the extra mile, and he ran as fast as he could to catch up to Tommy. Had he been thinking rather than moving on instinct, he would have been grateful that he’d quit smoking earlier in the year, because he might not have been able to perform the feat. He wasn’t sureif Tommy’s intent was to intercept Melody’s car or get in his own to pursue her, so Kyle didn’t try to anticipate any move.

Before the end of the block, Kyle tackled him and both landed on the cold, unforgiving sidewalk—but Tommy took the brunt of the blow. Kyle used his advantage to straddle the man in hopes of pinning him down until authorities got there.

As if they heard his mental thought, theydidshow. Although they had the red and blue lights atop the vehicle flashing, they didn’t have the sirens going. They didn’t park, either; instead, they kept their car near the corner of the intersection where it wouldn’t block cars that needed to get out of parking spaces but where vehicles on the road might have to maneuver just a bit to get around.

Tommy was cursing and wriggling, threatening to cut Kyle’s balls off when he got loose, but the officers began approaching the entrance of the bar before noticing the two men on the ground. Kyle said, “This is the guy right here you’re looking for.”

It happened quickly and resulted in a long night—at first, they were going to arrest Kyle as well. But Melody appeared, walking down the sidewalk from the direction she’d driven off and she said, “Officers, this man is my ex-boyfriend, Tommy Nogales. He’s been stalking and harassing me and he is threatening my life. Kyle was only helping.” Then she turned to Kyle. “Thank you for all you did to save me.”

Her gratitude was enough and what he needed to make it through that cold, dark night.

CHAPTER 27

By February of the next year, Tommy was still in jail but he was now being detained in Pueblo County, awaiting trial for the murder of an artist, the wife of a prominent defense attorney who was known throughout the county for his impressive record. The police had caught Tommy thanks to Kyle and Melody—and they’d known about the connection of the ring, thanks to her—but it had been Tommy’s friend who’d busted the case wide open. Possibly afraid that Tommy was going to talk to get a lenient sentence, his friend spilled the beans, telling of a conspiracy that none had suspected. The defense attorney had helped Tommy’s friend get a light sentence five years earlier and continued offering his services ever since—so when he’d wanted someone to kill his wife for the insurance money, he’d hired Tommy’s friend who brought Tommy on board.

It was the stuff crime shows and podcasts were made for.

Now, feeling safe even when alone, Melody, sitting on the edge of her bed, took her shoes off, rubbing her feet. It had been a long night at the bar. Despite being Valentine’s Day, they were surprisingly busy.

But Melody still didn’t know all the busy times there.

She had since told her boss and coworkers about her past, explaining what her real name was and why she’d been in hiding.

And she’d also gone to a salon and had her hair colored so that it was closer to her natural red—so when her roots grew out, she wouldn’t have to hide them anymore.

Melody had just placed her shoes in the closet and put on a pair of slippers when she heard a knock at the door. Eagerly, she hurried from the bedroom to the front door of her apartment and whipped it open.

No way would she have done that a few months ago. Feeling free was still such a foreign sensation—but she was happily getting used to it.

When she saw Kyle, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. But he didn’t follow her in. “Just a sec,” he said, stepping back into the hall for a moment. He picked up a large, flat wrapped present, an object so wide that he could barely hold both sides in his arms.

“What is it?”

“Guess you’ll just have to open it and find out.”

Melody smiled. “You didn’t have to get my anything.”

“It’s Valentine’s Day. What the hell kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?”

While he set the present on the table, covering its entire surface, Melody decided to get the gifts under the bed—one that had been there since December and another she’d picked up earlier that week. “Hold on.”

“Where are you going?”

“Trust me.” In her room, she got down on her hands and knees and found the box wrapped in shiny red paper—a hint of Christmas without announcing that was when she’d definitively bought it. As she stood, she brushed a dust bunny off the corner and then rushed back in the main room. “Here.”

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