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My heart pounded out of my chest, and there wasn’t enough air to breathe. The apartment wasn’t safe. Not only was the lock broken now, but they could come back at any time. They’d said next week, but it wasn’t something I was going to count on.

I couldn’t go back to the hospital. Brandon didn’t want me there, and now that I knew how deep he really was, I was as angry as I was afraid. A hotel was an easy option, but I didn’t want that either. The need to know the truth burned in my chest. Who were these people? Where were they? How could they do something like this and expect to get away with it?

Dark blue eyes filled my mind.

Noah was the only one who knew what was really going on now. He’d come all the way here to update me, and he hadn’t had to. He’d come all this way and I’d dismissed him like it was nothing.

Would he still help me? I hoped he would. Because right now, he felt like the only option.

Pushing out of the closet, I shut the front door as best I could and found my suitcase among the wreckage. It would have to do. Whatever clothes had survived? I would take them.

It didn’t take long. I didn’t look back at the mess as I closed the door behind me. If I did, I would start crying, and I couldn’t afford to do that right now. The mess could be dealt with later.

Instead, I tossed my suitcase in the back seat and pulled out, already retracing the route to Resting Warrior in my mind.

Chapter 6

Noah

Staring at a fire was always a therapeutic act for me. There was nothing to do but lose myself in the colors and movement.

Now interrupted by kittens, of course.

The tiny orange one—Garfield—threw himself off the back of the couch and into my chest in the process of trying to catch his own tail, terrorizing the sleeping black kitten—Salem—on my lap. The little one was tired enough to curl up and fall back asleep immediately.

Brother and sister, they certainly were a handful, but I didn’t mind the company in the evenings. There was always something to smile about with them around. Plus, I didn’t have to be in the cold to have some animal company, as much as I loved Al Pacacino.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I dug it out while trying not to disturb the sleeping kitten. It was starting to get late. Who was calling me right now?

Not a number I recognized. That could be either good or bad. I thought about sending it to voicemail, but my gut stopped me. I needed to answer.

“Hello?”

“Noah?”

That voice had me fully alert in an instant. “Kate.” After her reaction in the hospital, I hadn’t expected to hear her voice ever again. I’d tried to put it out of my mind since yesterday and ignore the tug in my gut that was bothered by it.

But now she’d called me. Far too late. “Are you all right?”

“I’m outside the lodge.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant exactly, but it couldn’t be good. “I’ll be right there.”

“Okay.”

I hung up and gently moved the kittens off my lap. Quickly, I banked the fire and put up the guard so those same kittens wouldn’t hurt themselves, then I grabbed my keys and coat.

The air was crisp outside, but not as cold as it could be for this time of year. If I had more time I’d walk over to the lodge. But I didn’t want to wait, not when Kate was waiting there. She was already hesitant and skittish—I didn’t want to leave her there alone longer than necessary.

She was still in her car when I pulled up to the lodge. There was someone in the security office—there usually was until at least midnight—but if she’d knocked, I doubt they would have heard her in there.

But... if that were the case, wouldn’t they also have seen her enter?

As I swung down out of the truck, she stepped out and shut her door. Her stance sent all my instincts spiraling to the edge before I even took in her face. Kate was scared. This posture wasn’t deflated the way she’d been when she’d left the ranch the first time. This was pure terror.

It settled in the body in different ways, and I knew what it looked like.

Calm and normal. That was what she needed if she was going to tell me what was going on. Calm and normal was something I could give her. “Hey.” I smiled. “I’m surprised to see you. Seems like showing up unexpectedly is going to be our thing.”