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She didn’t need to be facing a serial killer at all.

“I’m due any time now.”

“Yes,” he said, uncertain where this was headed.

“What do you think about taking the baby when he or she comes until this case is resolved?” She didn’t say until the bastard was locked behind bars or until she was safe. Had she resigned to the Reaper finding her?

“It won’t be necessary.”

Bree shot him a look that said he wasn’t being reasonable.

“I’m not leaving your side, Bree. Not unless you specifically ask me to. I thought we were clear on that point.”

“We are, but—”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and the baby safe.” It was a promise he intended to keep even with that all-consuming guilt returning. No, especially because of that guilt. He might not have been able to keep Zeke alive, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to protect Bree. “You’re smart, and we know what we’re faced with. Together, we can do this. Besides, I think it would be bad for the baby not to be with its mother in the hours and days it first enters the world.”

Kade knew all about mothers who abandoned their children for their own safety. Even when it was necessary, a kid was still devastated by what he or she would see as a choice to leave. It wasn’t until years later that Kade had realized there’d been no real decision to make. It had been a matter of survival. He couldn’t blame his mother for needing to go.

“You’re probably right. I just want to do everything I can to keep this little one safe.”

“I’m not sure if anyone has already told you this, Bree. You’re going to be an amazing mother.”

She blinked a couple of times like she was trying to keep tears from leaking from the corners of her eyes. Hells bells. He hadn’t meant to cause her to cry.

“How can you be so sure?” she asked.

“You just are. Look at how protective you are over the baby before it’s even born. You would sacrifice yourself if it meant keeping the little one safe.”

Bree didn’t speak for a long moment. Then, she said, “Thank you, Kade. I was so afraid to tell you about the pregnancy.”

“Am I such an awful human being?”

“No, it’s not that,” she quickly responded. “I was afraid you’d think I did this on purpose to trap you or something.”

Kade cracked a smile. He couldn’t help it. “No one in their right mind would give up coffee to trap me.”

Bree laughed. The sound broke through the tension that had suddenly been building.

“Besides, you’re the one doing all the heavy lifting with the pregnancy. You didn’t do this to yourself. That’s not how babies are made.” He paused. “I have to admit, in the blissful haze of making love to you, I was afraid I’d forgotten to slip on a condom once. The fear was confirmed after hearing the news I was becoming a dad.” Another pause. “I didn’t bring it up at the time because I thought,What are the odds this one time will yield a pregnancy?”

“Same here,” she admitted, more of that tension eased on her beautiful face. “Turns out, neither of us should spend all our money at the racetrack.”

Now, it was his turn to laugh.

“I’ve never been much of a gambler,” he said.

“Still don’t like losing?” she asked. “I remember that time you lost in freeze tag on the playground in first grade. You quit the team.”

“I might have been a sore loser as a kid.” He could give her that. “I’m a grown man now. And there’s no way I would consider that child a loss.”

He surprised himself by saying those words out loud.

They were true. No denying it. But the momentary look of relief on her face stirred places he’d rather leave dormant.

Could he protect her and his own heart at the same time?

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