Page 48 of Coup De Grâce
I tossed my head back and laughed at the ridiculous statement. “Is that what you tell your wife? Or how about Rae? Should I ask her what she thinks about that?”
“That’s different,” he argued, his jaw clenching in anger. “They’re trained.”
“I’m fucking trained,” I snarled. “By Fox.”
“I’m not having this argument again with you. You’re staying behind.”
“You can try all you like, but it won’t work. Cash saved my life when I needed him most. There’s no fucking way I won’t do the same for him.”
“Kate, just fucking listen!”
Slowly, I turned to him, cocking my head at him. “Is that what this is about?”
“What?”
“You just called me Kate.”
He shook his head, stalking away from me. “That’s not?—”
“I’m not Kate.”
“You’re just as fucking vulnerable,” he said, spinning to pin me with a glare.
“The last thing I have been in a long time is vulnerable. And I think if Kate heard you say that, she’d fucking kill you.”
“You don’t know the first fucking thing about Kate,” he snapped.
“No, maybe I don’t, but I doubt she would want to be left behind while you ran off to save the world. From what I’ve seen of her, she’s stronger than you give her credit for.”
He looked away, his whole body filled with tension as he processed what I was saying. Whatever happened, it left scars onhis heart, making it impossible to let any woman put herself in danger, but especially his wife.
“What happened?”
“It doesn’t fucking matter,” he snapped.
“Somehow, I doubt that. But whatever it is, I’m taking this risk willingly. I’m not asking you to save me or step in and protect me. I’m doing this for my husband because I can’t walk away again. I can’t look at his face and know he’s suffering. If there’s even a chance that I can help him, I will. Because I would do anything to bring him home.”
Knight shoved his fingers through his hair with a sigh. I knew he didn’t want me to go in search of Cash. I was well fucking aware that this was eating him up inside, but I would not be shoved aside any longer.
“You have to realize, these men…they will fucking kill you.” The cold steel in his eyes had returned, replacing the worry that had just been there moments before. “They have a mission in mind, and for whatever reason, they’ve decided to go after Cash. That means everyone here is vulnerable, but especially you and your kids.”
“I understand.”
“Do you? Because they won’t just put a bullet in your head if they catch you. They’ll torture you. They’ll make sure to send a painful message to Cash. Are you ready for that?”
His words sent uneasy chills down my spine. I had no idea Cash was working with men like that, but now that I knew, I had to know why. I couldn’t stand the thought of him being linked to these men with no one by his side to tell him he was still a good man.
Because I had no doubt in my mind that what he was doing was all for our safety in one way or another. My husband was too good to fall for the lies of men who would do such horrible things.
“I’m ready for whatever they throw at me. If that means I never see my kids again, if that means they catch me and they use me to send a message, then that’s what happens. But I will fight with everything in me to ensure that doesn’t happen. I will do whatever it takes to bring my husband home. You can be damn sure about that.”
I knew he was fucking pissed at me, but he gave a curt nod and walked over to me, linking his hand with mine for a moment. “Don’t fucking let him down. Trust me when I tell you that he can’t live without you. No matter what he’s led you to believe.”
Then he turned and walked out without another word.
17
LIBBY
