Page 70 of Final Exit

“That old part of the city is dead. No one goes there except to illegally dump trash.”

“That’s what makes it ideal. No one else will be around.”

She shrugged. “All I can do is ask the others. I can’t guarantee they’ll agree to go there.”

He stepped closer to her, his limp barely noticeable, as if he were making an effort to hide his pain now that she was there. He gently feathered her hair back from her brow.

“Trust me, Bailey. This place is where we need to meet. It could be the key to ending this thing. Convince them, convince the Equalizers to meet us there. We can drive up in the morning and be there by ten. Can you do that?”

She drew in a sharp breath as he pressed closer, her pulse automatically slamming in her veins as the hard planes of his chest pressed against her softer curves.

“I missed you,” he whispered, both of his hands sliding deeper into her hair.

Her gaze dropped to his lips and he made a choked sound in his throat. Then his lips were on hers. She didn’t remember backing up, but suddenly she was pressed against the wall of the family room and he was doing sinful, crazy, wonderful things to her mouth.

He cradled the back of her head with one hand, while the other slid down her back, stopping just short of the curve of her ass. She whimpered and pushed closer against him, tangling her tongue with his, drowning in the heady pleasure that always seemed to consume her when she was with him. She wanted more, needed more.

She slid her fingers down the sides of his shirt and she gathered the fabric in her hands, pulling on it, trying to free it from his pants.

He shuddered against her, and then he was gripping her wrists, stopping her. He broke the kiss and stepped back, his blue eyes stormy with passion and something else. Regret?

She tried to tug her hands free and move closer to him. But he let go and hurried back several feet, almost falling when his bad leg didn’t cooperate with the sudden movement.

He frowned and rubbed his left thigh.

“Your leg hurts,” she said. “I can get you something—”

“No.” He winced as if realizing how sharp his voice had come out. “Sorry. I’m a bit... banged up. I think a hot shower will help. Make that call, Bailey. Get things set for tomorrow, okay?”

She frowned. “But I—”

“Thanks, Bailey.” He limped into the hall and disappeared into the bathroom.

Kade locked the bathroom door behind him and turned the shower on. After listening to make sure he didn’t hear Bailey in the hall, he pulled the cell phone out of his pocket. The caller was still on the line.

He glanced again at the bathroom door, then put the phone to his ear. “I assume you caught all of that, Faegan? It’s set for ten in the morning.”

“You did good, Kade. This will all be over soon.”

“She doesn’t get hurt. Promise me, you bastard. You can do anything to the others, but Bailey doesn’t get hurt.”

“You’re not in a position to make demands.”

He tightened his hand around the phone. “We made a deal.”

“Oh, settle down. I know the terms. You give me the Equalizers and I tell my men to stand down and stop following her. They’ll leave her alone, unmolested, alive. Free to go on her merry way and never worry about me again.AfterI get what I want.”

“You’ll get it. And you’d better stick to your promise.”

“Just keep the line open. Hang up the call before the meeting tomorrow and I’ll sic my guys on Bailey so fast she’ll never see them coming. By the way, she looks lovely in that yellow shirt today.”

“Shut up.” Kade tossed the phone onto the counter. But he did as he’d been told. He left the line open.

Tomorrow he and Bailey would go to the warehouse. And then he’d betray them all.

Chapter Eighteen

Thursday, 9:50 a.m.

---