Page 63 of Furever Loyal
She shook her head in disbelief. “What the hell can you do then?”
“I can clear my name.” He growled, baring his teeth savagely. “And I can certainly deal with Krawll. This is dealing enough to prove he’s taking money from the enemy. People saw him try to kill me during the challenge. I’m sure a thorough investigation and questioning will reveal more.”
“And Laurent just gets away with it, free and clean?”
Kincaid shrugged helplessly. “I’ll handle it the political way. I doubt anything will come of it, but it’s all I can do.” He stared at the restaurant. “First though, I need that proof.”
“I get the feeling I’m not going to like how you’ll do that. Am I?”
He reached into a pocket and pulled out a wad of cash, giving her half. “This is more than enough, plus there’s the rest at the safehouse. Take a cab back. Walk a block away, then hail one. Pay him extra to drop you off several units away. Go inside. I’ll be back for you eventually.”
Haley rested her right arm on the dash, leaning over onto it while looking at him like he was crazy. “You want me to go back to the safehouse. On my own.”
“Yes.”
“What are you going to be doing?”
“Getting my proof, and I don’t want you to get hurt while I do it,” he said, his protective instincts kicking in around her. He had proof now. Proof that things weren’t all they seemed, and it was within his grasp. All he had to do was reach out and pluck it. But it would all be for naught if Haley got hurt during it.
“I want to stay with you.”
“No,” he said, perhaps a little more harshly than he wanted. If she needed to get mad at him to go, then so be it. As long as she was safe.
“Why not?”
“Because things are going to get ugly in there,” he stated bluntly.
“I’ll wait here. In the car. I’ll be the getaway driver,” she said, putting on a brave face, though he could tell she didn’t want to volunteer herself for something like that.
“No. I need you back at the safehouse.”
“Why?!”
“Because I need you,” he snapped. “I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.” He stared straight ahead, upset with himself for speaking so freely.
Haley was silent for several minutes before she replied. “Okay,” she agreed at last. “I’ll go back. You get your proof, then you come getme. Understood? No delays. I don’t want to sit around wondering what happened to you.”
“I will,” he said, giving her a fierce stare, hoping it conveyed more than just the confusion he was feeling at himself.
Not that Kincaid had any idea what he wanted to convey to her. Everything was a mess, and as soon as he went in there and got Krawll, he planned on straightening it out. Starting with that traitorous asshole.
“Come get me,” Haley replied, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. “Promise me.”
“I promise,” he said, and before he could stop himself, he grabbed her face and kissed her hard.
They broke apart and Haley sucked in a breath. “You had better come back to me after that,” she stated emphatically, then ducked out of the SUV.
Kincaid spared one final thought of her, of how much he approved of her, then he put Haley out of his mind. It was time to start putting his life back together. He waited for her to go around the corner, then he left the SUV, pausing to properly stretch his body after sitting still for so long, and to grab one other thing.
Then he started across the street, ignoring the traffic as it came to a halt, horns blaring at him. It didn’t matter if that alerted the occupants inside to his approach. There was nothing Krawll could do to escape him now.
Kincaid walked up to the front door, and then simply walked through it, not bothering to open it. Wooden splinters and glass shattered everywhere as he came in like a wrecking ball. Patrons shouted, stood up, and those closest to the door scattered like fish when a rock is tossed into their pond.
He scanned the seating area, but there was no sign of either of them, not that it surprised him. Turning to a terrified employee, he growled in his darkest, most threatening voice. “Where are the private rooms?”
Hand shaking, the hostess pointed to a door in the back that blended well with the wall. “There. Through there. Up the stairs.”
“Thank you,” he said, starting forward.
