HellKat (28 page)

Her words fell on deaf ears.

“Just do your job, Walsh, and find my brother.”

Dan snorted with a patronizing expression, then he edged across the table to meet Tucker in the middle. “I am doing my job. But in case you haven’t noticed, New York City has a few more people in it than no-fucking-where, Montana. We have more than two
motels
to check here—”

Kat’s hand slammed against the table. “I know which hotel to check.” Her lips raised up at the corners. “I can even tell you the room number.”

****

Kat chucked her keys and bag on the entry table and rubbed at the ache behind her eyes. She’d never felt more unfocused in her life, unable to direct and hold any one thought for more than a minute or two. So much noise in her head, so many feelings to organize and control. Lack of sleep and restless nights certainly hadn’t helped the situation, either. And because of all the upheaval, she now commended herself for not laying into Tucker after Dan’s hasty exit from the diner earlier. She hadn’t even laid him out during the cab ride home.

She pressed her hip against the edge of the counter, folded her arms, and eyeballed him from head to toe. Where to start, where to strike first.

His lids narrowed in some sort of recognition. “Uh-oh. I’ve seen that look before. What’d I do now?”

He appeared contrite, but she hadn’t missed the trace of a grin on his lips.

“Don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly what you did. Today was all your fault.” His continued innocent act didn’t fool her. “You and Dan should’ve pulled your dicks out right there and measured them. Of course, if you’d like,” she took a deliberate pause, chin lifted, “I could just tell you who’d win.” The self-assurance slipped from his face, replaced with obvious jealousy.

Mission accomplished.

“Don’t test me again, Tucker.”

“What?”

“Your little test: hiring Dan to watch me while you were gone. No man in his right mind does that. I told you what would happen, and it did. Now you’re pissed off because you got exactly what you wanted. How’d you like it when you walked in here and saw he’d been sleeping just inches from me on the other side of that wall?” Her head jerked back in the direction of the bedroom. His mouth tightened, eyes blazed with possessiveness.

“See, all of that, right there,” her finger swirled an accusatory outline around his hard face, “is on you, not him. Did you do it because of my past? Because you don’t really trust me? You think I’m a cheater?”

“No! I know you wouldn’t do that! I wouldn’t be standing here right now if I thought that about you.”

“Come on, Tucker. Either you’re lying to me, or you’re lying to yourself—which is it?” His eyes darted away, but before they had, she glimpsed something unfamiliar in them: vulnerability.

His hands dug into the worn denim of his front pockets.

“I’m not lying. I do trust you,” he said, the words barely above a whisper.

“Then why? I don’t understand, Tucker. Why would you put any of us in that situation? Today was so uncomfortable for all of us.”

He angled back against the wall, avoided the question in her eyes. “Your past doesn’t bother me, Kat. Not at all.” He seemed to have difficulty with the words that came next. “But
he
does bother me. A lot. Out of all of them, you kept going back to him. Over and over. Him. Always him.” His eyes finally lifted to meet hers with a plea weighing heavy in them. “Why him, Kat?”

She gasped at the echo of the question asked, not even twenty-four hours ago, by another man. Her voice faltered, the words jammed in her throat. Now her eyes searched the floor as Tucker’s had moments ago.

“It’s complicated.” She winced at the sound of her own ambivalent response.

“Then uncomplicate it for me.”

His full attention was now locked onto her with no chance he’d back down, evident from the stony expression on his face.

She stared at him for a few long seconds and rewound the clock of her life almost twenty years. Her world had been so different back then from her mess at present. And she’d thought she’d had problems back then. Kat scoffed out loud at her naiveté. How would her life have changed, if she’d known back then what she knew today about her family’s betrayals?

“We were just kids when we met, looking for fun, no strings.” She rubbed at her forehead. “Then we got older and we were both ambitious, wanted our own businesses, and both of us became workaholics. Neither of us had time for serious relationships. Our lives, our goals, simply didn’t allow it.” She heard the lack of responsibility in her own words. “
I made
the choice
not
to allow it.”

She glanced out the tall windows stretched across the living room, the sun setting in them. She slid onto a barstool, her thumb rubbing at her cuticles. “The older we got, the more we fought when we were together. Looking back, I can see now it’s because his feelings had changed, before he even told me they had. The problem was mine hadn’t. So, our long-standing on-again-off-again relationship stopped being fun and easy.”

She pressed her palms to the cool granite surface, spread her fingers wide, and recalled the first time Dan had said those three words. “I always thought of him as a great friend. Someone I could trust without question. Someone I could have fun with, someone who was just easy to be around … until he wasn’t. I can see now I should’ve ended things with him long before I did.” She paused, reflected on recent conversations with Dan and Cassie. “I was just being selfish.”

“He was the first and
only
person you called after you left that storage unit.” Tucker’s tone jabbed like a finger aimed in recrimination at her.

His troubled eyes held hers.

She swallowed her regret. “I made a mistake. I’m sorry.” Her tone hushed, remorseful. “I didn’t call him to confide or to make me feel better, Tucker. I hired him to do a job. That’s all.”

He’d rested his head back against the wall, watching her carefully. His obvious skepticism unnerved her. She felt like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“I had the rug pulled out from under me once in my life, Kat. I’m not gonna let it happen again, not if I see it comin’ first.”

Her eyes widened in alarm. “You think I’d pick Dan Walsh over you? Are you kidding? If I’d wanted to be with him, I’d be there—right now!” She sat straighter, shook her head in disbelief. “That’s why you did this? Threw the two of us together to see what would happen? To see if I’d change my mind about you? About us?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I did it.” The vulnerability she’d glimpsed earlier had been replaced with the cool confidence of a man who had battled to rebuild his life from the ground up, who still battled every day to keep it intact.

“And what if I had changed my mind? What then?”

The glint in his eyes and the cocky grin easing across his lips caused a tickle between her legs. The same way it had the first time he’d leveled it at her that day at the bar.

“I already knew you’d make the right choice, sweetheart. I just wanted to make sure you knew it too.” She huffed at his arrogance, pretended to be insulted. “I don’t ever want there to be any doubt I’m the best man for you. You see, I have a theory, Kat. Whether you want to admit it or not, he was your backup plan. He always has been.” Tucker pushed off the wall, stood taller, and squared his broad shoulders. “And you don’t need a backup plan anymore.”

She sat stunned, left to burn in the blazing sun for all to see. Her heart drummed in her ears, and each hot breath dragged across her lips as she marveled at the man who always seemed to strip her bare, in every sense. Her lids fluttered as his words, his declaration, sank in and pushed the truth to the surface.

Her eyes swept over the white cabinets and subway tiles in the galley kitchen, then skidded to a stop on their goofy pictures from the wax museum, held by magnets and staggered on the stainless steel refrigerator. An uncontrollable smile spread across her face and obliterated the question mark in her mind.

No. There’s no way in hell she ever would’ve settled for close enough. She had remained single and worked her ass off all this time on the slim chance the right kind of man might come along, one day.

The best man.

“You’re the reason I’m fun again. You’re the reason I don’t want to work as hard, as many hours.” Her eyes skipped around their photos. “You’re the reason I want balance in my life.” She met his confident stare with her own. “You were right, I do need balance. I never knew I could have it. Until you.”

Kat slid off the barstool and strode toward Tucker.

“I want things now I never wanted before with any other man. And somehow, you make me want those things without you even asking for them, without trying to change me. I would have rather ended up alone, like some crazy cat lady, than settle for anything less. Settle for any man,” her eyes roamed over him, with admiration and awe, “less than you.”

He pulled her lips to his in a kiss that blistered her brain, branded her heart, and weakened her knees. A kiss that said more than any words. And in that moment, her wall crumbled; their energies merged, grew into something bigger, better.

Something that could outshine any star in the night sky.

“He’s pretty much stayed in his room the past few days, except for some trips to the bar.” Dan pointed in the direction of the darkened lounge, heavy doors wide open with the low hum of chatter spilling out. “Other than that, he’s laid low. He’s in his room now.” Tucker scanned the lobby with its buffed marble floors, glittering chandeliers, and gold leaf moldings. “If it hadn’t been for Kat’s tip, we’d still be looking for him.”

“Yeah, he’s a slippery son of a bitch.”

Dan motioned forward and they headed toward the bank of elevators tucked under the double staircase. He pressed a button and the door sealed the two men shut, agitated the tense whirl of testosterone.

Tucker leaned back against the wall, thumbs hooked in the pockets of his black leather jacket, as he focused on a nondescript point. Dan remained rigid in his business attire, openly sizing up his competition.

Disbelief crisscrossed the planes of his face.

His chin lifted. “So what’d you do? Sneak out?”

Tucker’s eyes, slow in their descent, locked onto Dan’s. He rolled a toothpick from one corner of his mouth to the other, then pulled it out and snapped the sliver of wood in half. He stood straighter and met his opponent head-on.

“Now why would I need to do that?”

The image of Kat naked and wrapped in silky sheets, her creamy bare skin peeking out and taunting him, flooded his memory. Her sleepy sighs and soft moans had sounded like a siren’s call when he’d propped the note against the lamp on her nightstand this morning.

Dan stared at Tucker, as if reading between the lines.

“Seems like something she’d want to be involved in.”

The open-ended remark hung heavy in the thick air, but Tucker remained mute, his expression betraying nothing.

Dan tried another approach. “How’d you manage to stop her from facing off with Parker again? She’s as bullheaded as anyone I’ve ever known. Once she’s made up her mind, she doesn’t listen, to
anyone
.”

Tucker’s nostrils flared, lids narrowed. Maybe his jealously was unwarranted, irrational even. After all, he had no doubts about Kat, about who she loved. He was the lucky winner. He’d hit the jackpot of a lifetime with her. But at the end of the day, he was still just a man. And Dan Walsh’s smug face and familiar tone, the idea of him with Kat, the lewd images of him with her, reduced Tucker to wrestling with his primal instincts, his urge to erase the man now holding his hard stare.

Tucker struggled to push down the animal warring inside him but decided to save his energy, his hostility, for the derelict waiting at the end of this ride.

“You ever gone hunting, Walsh?”

Dan blinked in apparent confusion at the out-of-place question. “No,” he scoffed. His eyes swung away, then back to Tucker.

“Well, I have. And you’re like a hunting dog that’s pulled the wrong scent. You’re wasting your time; she’s mine.” He stepped closer to drive home the point. “It’s time for you to track a new scent, Walsh.”

Tucker would bet the ranch his hunting analogy had put the mocking expression on his challenger’s face. No doubt he’d given the guy one more thing to add to the list of reasons Kat’d made the wrong choice.

If there was one thing Tucker recognized, it was another fighter. Like it or not, he respected the man for that. And right now, this man obviously wanted to fight for the one thing missing in his life: the woman he’d been waiting for, probably from the beginning.

Tucker widened his stance, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited to hear the words clearly organizing in Walsh’s head. But the chime, followed by the slide of the door and a hotel guest questioning their intent to exit, interrupted their imminent chest thumping and pulled both men back to their purpose for being here today.

“We’ll finish this later, Williams.”

Tucker leaned in like a winner consoling the runner-up. “It’s already finished, Walsh.” Then he headed out of the stale compartment and down the hallway without looking back.

Dan caught up with Tucker’s determined march.

“I think this is a bad idea. Let the authorities handle it.”

Tucker snorted. “I’m talking to him before he gets yanked outta here.” Cameron’s door now in view, Tucker’s fists clenched.

As they approached, Dan held his arm in front of Tucker. “Let me get him to open the door. We don’t need security up here because you’ve kicked it in.”

“Fair enough.” Tucker stood aside.

Dan shot him a perturbed look, shook his head, then knocked hard on the door several times before announcing himself. “Mr. James. I’m from the hotel VIP services. I have a delivery that requires your signature.” Dan faked his best lackey smile at the peephole. The sound of shuffling feet and the rattle of a smoker’s cough could be heard from behind the door.

“Who’s it from?” the voice grumbled in irritation.

Dan looked down at his empty hands. “It doesn’t say, sir. I was just told that it requires a signature, and that someone will be back shortly to verify its receipt by you.”

Fingers thumped in apparent impatience on the other side of the door.

“Slide it under the door.”

“Um, I’m sorry, sir, it’s too thick for that.” Dan’s tone was hesitant, apologetic. He continued to stare into the peephole with the same cheesy smile.

“Let me see it.”

Tucker stiffened, readied himself to take over. Then approval curved the corners of his mouth as Dan pulled out a bulky envelope from his suit coat, ready for anything. He held it up to the glass eye in the door.

Mumbled words and more coughs echoed behind the door as the barriers to entry were unlatched and finally opened.

Tucker pushed in front of Dan to tower above Cameron. “Well, look who’s in town. Miss me, Cam?” He shoved the dumbstruck man back into the suite and into the open lounge area with its spectacular view of the city. “Look at you in this fancy hotel, thinkin’ you’re holdin’ all the cards.” Tucker scanned the room. He kept Cameron cornered while Dan nosed around and snooped in drawers.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Why do you need so many cell phones?” Dan held them up in his hands. “They look like burners to me.” Dan picked one, turned it on, and scrolled through the history. “You have business with someone here who doesn’t want to be traced back to you?” His keen focus remained glued on the lit screen as he put one phone down and picked up another, then repeated his search. “Someone in the James family, perhaps?” His sharp stare flicked to Cameron.

Tucker glared at his resentful brother. “You holdin’ onto those phones as leverage against Parker James?” The two men held each other’s scowls. “You might be smarter than I gave you credit for.”

“No. You were right. He’s an idiot.” Dan shook his head in disbelief and snorted. He looked at Cameron in astonishment. “You’ve called his home? And his personal cell?” Dan sniggered. “Christ, he could not have been happy about those fuck-ups. Not to mention the times you addressed him
by name
in some of your texts.” Dan dragged a hand down his face, rocking his head in doubt. “Well, Diamond, you just made my job a whole lot easier. Thank you.”

Tucker angled closer to his captive audience of one. “By the way, we’re just the welcoming crew. The rest of the gang’s on their way.” Cameron’s face scrunched in question. “The chickens have come home to roost, Cam. You’ve fallen out of favor back home. People have finally stopped lookin’ the other way. They especially don’t like it when a grown man gets a fourteen-year-old girl pregnant.” Beads of sweat broke out on the accused’s upper lip. “As you might imagine, her folks are none too happy, and they’ve pressed charges. Of course, I was more than happy to tell the authorities where they could find you. After all, I’ve done it before. It’s the only reason you’re even wastin’ space right now.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Williams?”

Tucker recalled the past before he answered, remembering the scene from years ago. Coming up on the wreck. Smelling the fuel. Almost turning to leave …

He pulled back to the present, focused his judgment on Cameron.

“I’m the Good Samaritan who pulled you outta your car. Left you alongside the road, so you didn’t burn up. Even called 911.” Tucker’s jaw ticked in agitation. “You have no idea how close I came to drivin’ away that night, when I saw it was
you
hangin’ upside down in that heap of metal.

“You had more liquor in your system than blood that night, I could smell it on you. Talk around town at the time said it was probably the only reason you survived the crash.” Tucker snorted. “Well, and me, of course.”

“
You’re
the one who left me for dead along the road?”

“If only I’d been so lucky,” Tucker said, his words strained through clenched teeth.

“Then why didn’t you leave me in the car?” Cameron taunted.

“Because you’re not worth one second of my conscience.”

The vibration of a phone broke the tension. Dan picked it up, read the text as his own ringtone blared inside his jacket. The concern on Dan’s face caused Tucker’s chest to tighten with worry.

“Yeah, Jeremy, what’s going on?” Dan turned his back to the room, then his shoulders slumped. Tucker couldn’t make out the mumbled words, some of them harsh. Walsh ended the call, tossed the throwaway to Tucker, and returned his own phone to the pocket inside his jacket.

Tucker read the text. The words turned his blood cold.

Dan stepped closer, leaned in for Tucker’s ears only. “She’s missing. My guy lost her.”

The words blared in his head.

A low snicker mocked them from one corner of the room.

“What’s the matter, Williams? Things not goin’ your way now?” Cameron’s head cocked to one side. “I guess you can’t have everything after all.”

In a flash, Tucker’s fist knocked the smug look off his brother’s face. Then he grabbed the crumpled man by the collar, pulled him up, and slammed him against the wall. “Tell me everything! Now! Where is she?”

Cameron bucked and cursed to no avail. “I’m not telling you shit!”

With the crisp click and lock of metal, the shiny steel pressed hard against Cameron’s cheek.

“You’re going to tell us everything.” Dan’s words were spoken with a cool, dead calm.

“You’d better listen to him, Cam. He’s havin’ a bad day.” A lifetime of bitterness and contempt rolled off Tucker’s tongue. “And whatever happens here in the next few minutes, I’m backin’ him all the way,” Tucker’s eyes flicked to the barrel digging into flesh, “with a clear conscience.”

****

Kyle’s text seemed off, stilted, not his usual flow. With no voice to gauge, no body language to read, it somehow felt … wrong. But at the time, she’d convinced herself with their relationship in the toilet, what else could she expect? And nothing in this world could keep her from doing whatever Kyle needed, to heal the sting of her words. Nasty words that still tasted sour on her lips, and hurt her heart …

She’d been thrilled—no, relieved—to hear from her brother. The fact that the text itself hadn’t
sounded
like him had been pushed away in her mind, overshadowed by her urgency to gain his trust again—his love.

After the exchange of messages with Kyle, she’d left her office at J&P without word to anyone. No call or text to Tucker about her change of plans, or where she’d be. At the time, she’d figured he deserved an information blackout after the ridiculously vague note he’d left behind for her. Now she kicked herself for having more pride than sense, for not having heard his voice, one last time … Because as she stared at her brother, who held a gun and a killer’s smile, all the pieces finally snapped into place.

Everything in her life had led to this moment. She couldn’t have stopped any of it.

Tucker was right. Control was an illusion.

A shiver tickled along her spine as the memory of words whispered in that husky voice and slow cadence she’d come to love reminded her of what she
could
control. The hint of a smile, filled with melancholy and regret, curved her lips. She dragged in a ragged breath at the realization her life had not flashed before her eyes, as she’d always heard recounted by others who found themselves greeted with the Reaper’s chilling stare. No. One image flashed in her mind.