His Safe Keeping (The Safe Series) (20 page)

“Go with Minga. Stay with her and listen to her until I get back to you,” Kade stated firmly and she could see the worry and concern in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

“Then you will tell me everything?” Krista asked him one more time.

“Yeah, baby, I’ll tell you everything I can,” he answered her softly. He kissed her lightly one last time and moved back for her to get in the car. She turned to the car but instead of getting in, she turned back to him.

“Irish?” she called out to him, but he was already looking at her. She looked into his eyes and very softly she said what was in her heart. “Please, be careful.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

“So tell me how you like working with Draco,” Kade asked Lee mostly as a distraction for himself.

“Uh?” Lee absently asked, looking up from a paper he’d been reading over.

They were in Lee’s office at his house. He had already checked on Krista and she was asleep on the sofa in the den. They had spent hours at Krista’s house after she and Minga had left, but he couldn’t concentrate on any damn thing, until Minga had called Lee to let them know they were in the house and the alarm was set. Knowing Krista was safe, or as safe as she could be with him not there beside her, he was able to walk into that house as a cop. He walked through the door and he no longer saw it as his Krista’s house, his Krista’s things. It was another victim, another break in, and he was the cop doing what he had to do. That is until they got back to Lee’s instead of the station, and they were here because technically Kade was not on the case. One, because he was not supposed to be working any cases, and two, even if he could still work a case, he would’ve been kicked off of this one because of his connection with Krista. So, sitting in Lee’s home office, they went over each detail of each room. Until they got to evidence that was in the bedroom, and that was when Kade thought he was going to lose his fuckin’ mind.

That sick bastard was not only in Krista’s bedroom, but in her fuckin’ bed. The same bed he had shared with her. The bed he woke up in with Krista in his arms for the first time with her body wrapped tight to his. The bed he’d made love to her in for the first time. He wanted that bed. He wanted to move that bed to his house, maybe put it in the guest room. Or if Krista wanted it, he would have replaced his bed with hers. He knew before he walked into the bedroom tonight that he’d wanted to keep that bed, but now that sick mother fucker had taken that from both of them. Now all he wanted to do was burn it. “That son of a bitch jacked off on her fuckin’ bed.” He voiced to Lee like Lee didn’t already have that information. “And I sure as fuck don’t want to know what the fuck he was doing with her underwear,” he added before Lee could say a word.

“Kade.” Lee called to him, and Kade stopped his pacing and turned to look at him. “Get a grip, man. We don’t know for sure if—” Lee started.

“I fuckin’ know. I don’t need to wait for fuckin’ DNA to come back. In my gut, I know it’s fuckin’ Price.”

“Okay. So we know who it is. Now you have to get a grip so we can figure out where the fuck he is,” Lee stated calmly. Kade dropped down in one of the chairs, scrubbed his face in his hands, then through his hair and to the back of his neck.

“Fuck,” Kade grunted. Then he stood up and started pacing the floor again. “I don’t want her left alone. Not even at my place and not even for a fuckin’ second.”

“Done,” Lee said and for Kade that was all he needed to say. Kade flopped back in the chair again.

“Tell me how you like working with Draco.” Kade semi-repeated as Lee sat in a chair near him.

“He’s a good cop. Fuck, he’s a damn good cop, almost as good as you with that ‘I feel it in my gut shit,’” Lee said and then shaking his head he added, “But, damn, with women, he hits on everything with ass and tits.” He laughed out loud at that. “And I’ll be damned but most of them fall for his bullshit lines.” Lee finished talking as Kade just stared at him, clearly surprised.

“Draco?” Kade sounded shocked. He had worked with Draco on a few cases and yeah, Kade thought he was a damn good cop, which was why when the Cap had asked Kade who he thought would be a good partner to replace him with Velgada, he had immediately recommended Draco. But, he’d never seen Draco outside of work, figured he had his share of women, but the way Lee made it sound, he was hitting a new one or two every fuckin’ night.

“Yeah, man, went out to a few bars with him a couple of times and I shit you not, five minutes later and bam! He got at least one but most of the time two and a few times seen him with three women at the same damn time.” Lee confirmed and then started talking again. “Thinkin’ he’ll give you a run for your money, in the picking up the ladies. Seen you with two at a time, but never three.” Kade narrowed his eyes at Lee and Lee busted out laughing. After a minute or so, he sobered. “Now you got Kris,” Lee added.

“Yeah.” Kade smiled. Now he had Krista, and all the ones who had been before were as good as forgotten. “Have you told him?” Kade asked and then added for clarity. “Draco. Have you told Draco about Krista and all the other shit that goes along with it?” Lee met Kade’s eyes.

“No, man, that shit is not mine to tell.” Lee’s answer didn’t surprise Kade, so he nodded.

“Thanks, man, but I’m thinking since he’s your partner and he’s the one going to be workin’ this case with you, he needs to know. Plus, I need you to pull Krista’s police report on everything that happened to her when she was fourteen,” Kade told Lee.

“I can do that, but shouldn’t that shit have already been in Price’s file?”

“She never told anyone who it was and I don’t think she ever knew who he was until she saw his picture in my office. He was never charged in any of that shit.”

“So there’ll be a report of it but just not who did what? What about the other scumbag son-of-a-bitch, the one who killed her mom?” Lee asked.

“Don’t know. Yet.”

“He was killed.” He heard her and turned to see his Krista standing in the doorway.

“Baby, I thought you were asleep,” Kade said as he walked to her and then wrapped her up in his arms.

“I was asleep. I woke up and heard voices and hoped you had made it back here,” she told him as she looked up at him. Then she turned to Lee. “When you pull my file you’ll find out that the guy who killed my mom was caught. He was cornered by the police when he was trying to break into someone else’s house a few days later and he tried to run. Then he tried to fight, and he was killed,” she stated quietly and calmly as Kade held her just a little tighter. “The cops knew he wasn’t the one who…who…hurt me because of the rape kit they ran.” Now she was whispering, not looking at either of them. Kade turned her to him and held her close to his chest. His head rested on top of hers.

“Stop, baby, you don’t have to do this,” Kade spoke softly into her hair.

She looked up at him.   “Why are you talking about this now? What does any of that have to do with who broke into my house?” she asked them both.

Fuck! How was he going to tell her? He walked her over to the chair he’d been sitting in, sat her down, then squatted down in front of her. He took a deep breath, searching for the right words, but before he could open his mouth, she spoke up again. “It was him, wasn’t it?” He watched as her eyes filled with fear.

“Baby, you’re safe.” Kade was trying to reassure her and needing to take that look of fear out of her eyes. He would keep her safe, he vowed. No matter what, he would keep her safe. She was his, now and forever, for his safe keeping.

“It is…he’s come back.” Her eyes were completely out of focus and her face was pale. “He’s come back for me…” she muttered, then dropped her head down. “Just like he said he would,” she choked out, trying not to cry.

Krista sat quietly, trying to get her emotions in check. She could hear Kade and Lee talking to her or to each other. She wasn’t sure, she didn’t realize that she’d completely lost focus on what they were saying. She was back there, lying on her kitchen floor, holding her mom’s hand, begging her to come back to her, while he walked around the kitchen eating and drinking. She didn’t know all they’d done in the house and she didn’t want to know. She just wanted her mom back and wanted the pain between her legs to go away. Her whole body hurt, inside and out. Then he was there, in her face, telling her he planned to kill her, but he was saving her for later, and that one day he would be back. He would come back for her since she was his first—rape—and that made her his first everything. That made her special to him. Then he was gone. Now he was back for her.

“Krista!” She heard her name, finally, and was able to partially focus on Kade’s face.

“Irish,” she whispered. “My Irish.” She repeated as she lifted her hand to his wonderful face. Price will hurt him, he will kill him. Krista knew, knew in her heart, that she had to leave, she had to get away. She couldn’t let Kade be hurt because of her. “Irish, I have to leave, I have to go far away so he can’t find me. He will kill you. I know he will. I have to go. I can’t let him hurt you because of me,” she told him, filled with a sense of urgency and panic, or at least, she thought she said the words out loud. Didn’t she? Did she say them or did she just think them? She wasn’t sure. She didn’t know anything except that she had to go and she had to go now. She jumped up and ran toward the door. She had to leave. Now. She had to get out and get away from everyone she cared about. She made it to the door when arms wrapped around her and then Kade’s mouth was close to her ear.

“Krista, stop! You’re safe and I swear to you, I will keep you safe,” he whispered in her ear. She felt her body lean back into him, even though her brain kept screaming no, no, no.

“Irish,” she whispered back and then just breathed him in. She turned into him and he held her tight to his chest.

“It’s okay, baby. You’re okay.” He crooned reassuringly into her hair. She just kept breathing him in. In and out, in and out, filling her lungs with him…her Irish.

“I’m okay,” she said and looked up at his face.

“Don’t run from me.” He looked down at her, his eyes showing her something she didn’t understand.

“I’m not.” They turned and walked back into the room and sat back in the chair, with her in Kade’s lap.

“What the hell happened?” Kade asked her.

“I think…I forgot,” she stated, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened.

“You forgot what just happened?” Lee asked, trying to make sense out of what she was telling them. She turned toward him.

“No, I mean, I forgot what had happened…before,” she said. “Wait…” She started talking and tried to get up, but Kade held her tight to him. She turned back to look at Kade. “It’s okay, I just need to move.” She felt his arms loosen from around her and then let her go. She got up and paced to the door and when she would’ve paced back, she turned and slammed right into Kade. She looked up at him and tried to explain what she was feeling. “I’m not running. I told you I wouldn’t and I won’t, but I have to move.” He reached out and cupped her face, tracing her cheek with his thumb. She loved when he did that, as it always made her feel cherished and like she was really cared for. Then he leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. He held still, his lips still touching hers.

“I love you, baby. Know that,” he whispered against her lips. Then he pulled his head back and looked her in the eyes. “Do you know that, baby?” he asked her and she nodded, because she did know that, down to her bones. She knew he loved her and she loved him, but before she could say anything, he straightened, took a step to her side, reached out and locked the door before turning back to the chair. He sat down and both he and Lee sat looking at her, patiently, waiting for her to speak. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, tilted her head back and said a little prayer. She blew her breath out slowly, then opened her eyes and without looking at either of them, she began to speak.

“I was raped, which I know you both know, but…” She paused and took another deep breath and blew it out, then continued her pacing and started again. “He told me I was his first and he told me he would kill me, but not right then. He said he would be coming back for me, that one day he would be back and said he was saving me for him. After he did what he did to me, he ate the food we had been fixing for my dad. He ate while I lay there on the floor beside my mom, begging her to come back to me and wishing the pain would go away. I remember wishing he would either go away or just kill me. Then he told me he would come back for me again and that I was special because I was his first and then he was gone.” She stopped her pacing in the middle of the room and turned to face both of them, head on. “And, now he’s back for me.” She informed them both, then, before they could say a word, she continued, had to get it all out. “He could hurt you.” She looked at Kade and then turned to Lee. “Or he could hurt you, Lee, if I’m anywhere around. If I leave, then he will come after me and nobody else will get hurt.” She finished talking and waited.

“Hell no!” Lee said.

“Fuck no!” Kade said at the same time that Lee spoke.

“Irish, do you think I could live with myself if something happened to you because of me?” She didn’t give him time to answer before she turned to Lee. “You have Minga and you are her world. What do you think it would do to her if something happened to you because of me?” Again, not giving either of them a chance to say anything, she continued. “I lost my world once. My mom and dad were my world and I lost that in a single minute. They didn’t physically kill my dad, but I lost him that day too. I couldn’t live with myself if that happened to someone else because of me.” Lee stood and walked over to Krista.

“Did you ask for them to come into your house and do what they did?” Lee asked her and she could hear Kade growling low in his throat.

“What the fuck!” Kade snarled out, but Lee just ignored him, got further into Krista’s face.

“Did you?” Lee barked and he sounded so hateful that she jumped back away from him.

“No! No, I didn’t!” she yelled and suddenly Kade was at her back with his arms wrapping tightly around her.

“Leave her the fuck alone.” Kade thundered and again Lee ignored him.

“Then, honey, none of this is your fault. It wasn’t then and it’s not now,” he now spoke softly to her. “No one blames you for anything because, Kris, if you’re here or not, it’s our job to find him and stop him and that’s not going to change. But if you’re here, it could help us because we would know you’re safe and protected. It would make our jobs a little easier. If you leave, then we would worry about you so much that we might make mistakes which could get someone, or even ourselves hurt.” Lee explained to her. The anger started to fade from Kade’s face and he turned Krista into him and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tighter.

“Baby, as long as I know you’re safe, then I’ll be able to keep myself safe too. I promise you,” Kade whispered softly to her.

“Okay, all that makes sense,” Krista whispered back to him.

“No running?” Kade asked.

“No running,” Krista promised.

“It’s getting late, why don’t you two just crash here tonight?” Lee stated matter-of-factly and they both turned to look at Lee. Lee and Kade exchanged a look which made Krista think more was communicated between them than just the innocent that was spoken. She looked back at Kade’s face, trying to figure it out, but he’d already turned to her and was staring warmly at her again.

“That okay with you, baby?” Kade asked her softly.

“Well, uh…shouldn’t you know, ask Minga first?”

“Kris,” Lee called and when he had her attention, he finished what he wanted to say. “Kade’s stayed here so many times that he has his own room. Minga is used to it. Besides, my woman loves fixing a big breakfast,” Lee said with a smile.

“Okay then.” She sighed because she was so tired all of sudden and just wanted to sleep. Kade walked with her out of the room and up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. He sat her on the bed, and removed her shoes, then helped her out of her clothes. When she was standing before him in nothing but her bra and panties, he turned toward a dresser, pulled something out and turned back to her holding a huge T-shirt.

“I keep a few changes of clothes here. Late night cases.” He briefly explained to her as he slipped the T-shirt over her head. “Lee doesn’t like leaving Minga at home by herself late at night so we worked here instead of at the station a lot of the time.” Kade pulled back the covers and helped her into bed. When she was lying down with the covers pulled up, he leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Now I get it.” He kissed her softly. She closed her eyes and the last thing she heard was Kade’s quiet voice saying something she still wasn’t used to. “Sleep well, beautiful.”