Page 25 of Black Bay Enforcer (Beasts of Black Bay #3)

It hadn’t taken long to move Katherine’s things from the administrative building to Kong’s apartment, but over the next few days, Perrin, Lark, Paige, Jayla, and Lynx – sometimes one or two at a time or the whole group, depending on their work schedules – insisted on helping her put her stamp on the place.

Katherine had been hesitant at first and hadn’t wanted to overstep, but Kong encouraged her to, in his words, go nuts. “This is your place now too,” he’d told her.

Shopping was fun. She bought draperies for the windows, pillows, and a warm, colorful throw for when she and Kong cuddled on the couch and watched a movie.

Frames she intended to fill with pictures of her and Kong and their friends and hang on the walls along with other decorative tidbits she’d found.

At the women’s urging, she’d also indulged herself with a bit of a wardrobe makeover.

As they’d put it, her work clothes were for work but she needed clothes to play in as well.

Because she didn’t just work at Black Bay anymore. This was home now.

But while shopping had been enjoyable, the best part about it was the friendships she was building with the other women.

Such different personalities that ran the spectrum from Perrin who was often scarily serious to Jayla who was the bubbly gossip queen, and everything in between.

But they all somehow meshed well together.

Tonight, they were gathered at her place just to hang out. They’d showed up with wine, declared it a girls’ night, then kicked Kong out and told him to go play with the boys.

They were all standing around the breakfast bar and Katherine had just taken out the wine glasses, when Paige, seeming excited, announced, “Jace and I are thinking about starting a family.”

The happy news was met with congratulations and well wishes and had Jayla squealing excitedly and bouncing up and down for almost ten straight minutes before she turned her attention to Lark. “How about you, Lark? Are you and Grady thinking about babies yet?”

Lark’s cheeks turned a bit pink, but she shook her head. “Not yet. But maybe someday.”

Perrin nodded shrewdly. “Sensible.”

With an evil smirk, Lynx poked Perrin in the side. “Are you saying Paige and Jace aren’t sensible?”

The glare Perrin shot the other woman was downright frigid.

“Come on, Perrin,” Lynx continued to tease. “You know you want to build a nest with someone. Maybe a certain lion?”

Perrin moved toward the smaller woman like she was going to do some bodily harm and, with a frightened squeak, Lynx hid behind Lark.

Jayla quickly jumped in to defuse the situation before it got out of hand, announcing, “Lynx is all hot and heavy for one of the Resurrection soldiers.”

“Hey!”

Unruffled by Lynx’s angry interruption, Jayla kept right on going. “She tries to act all cool, but she practically has hearts in her eyes every time she sees him.” Jayla laced her fingers together under her chin and batted her eyelashes in demonstration.

“Oh, do tell,” Paige encouraged. “Which one?”

The gossip queen shook her head and pretended to zip her lips. “I promised I wouldn’t say anything.”

Lynx let out a derisive snort. “Yet here we are.”

“What about you, Jayla?” Katherine asked. “Who are you shooting heart eyes toward?”

“She’s been in love with Nova since they were kids,” Lynx volunteered. “She’s too scared to make a move though.”

Lark shot a chiding glance at the woman who was still hiding behind her. “Quite the pot stirrer tonight, aren’t you?”

Lynx just shrugged, her face all innocent.

Paige bumped Katherine’s hip with her own. “How about you and Kong? Are there wedding bells in your future?”

She barked out a startled laugh. “We just moved in together!”

“So?” three of them asked in chorus.

Katherine released another little nervous laugh. “So it’s too soon.”

“Who says?” Jayla retorted and Katherine was immediately reminded of Kong asking if there were timetables for these sorts of things.

She shook her head and took another tact. “He hasn’t asked me.”

“But you’d say yes if he asked.” Perrin pointed out.

Katherine’s cheeks heated with a pleased blush at the thought of marrying Kong. Yes, she probably would.

Smiling, she bit her lip and nodded feeling secure enough in this space to admit her longing. She did want to marry him. Marriage, babies, all of it. Maybe to some people, they were moving too fast, but when it was right, it was right. She loved Kong. He was her forever person, she just knew it.

“So, why don’t you ask him?”

Jayla leaped toward her and grabbed her arm. “Oh, yes! Do it!” The woman bounced up and down, jerking Katherine with her. “We’ll brainstorm, plan it all out. Right now.”

Katherine had always imagined being asked, but now that the idea was out there, asking Kong to marry her had some appeal.

It certainly wouldn’t hurt to do a little dreaming and planning with the girls.

Her belly fluttered as she contemplated the possibilities.

She’d want it to be something romantic. Something memorable.

But first, before she made any of this a reality, they’d go to her birthday party. She’d see what Kong thought of her wacky family – because they would certainly bring up marriage – and if he didn’t squirm at the idea, she might just go crazy and pop the question.

Kong dressed up for Katherine’s birthday party, or as dressed up as he ever got.

Lark had helped him pick out the clothes, and judging by the way Katherine had practically eaten him up with her eyes, his best friend had chosen well.

A crisply pressed white button-down that he’d left open at the throat and folded back the sleeves to expose his forearms and his shiny new watch.

Black dress pants, belted at the waist with a black leather belt that matched his new dress shoes.

The shoes weren’t at all comfortable, but since Katherine liked the way he looked all fancied up, he’d deal with the annoyance.

He just hoped her family approved of him.

He couldn’t remember a time when he was this nervous, afraid he’d say the wrong thing and fuck this up.

The last thing he wanted was to embarrass Katherine in front of her family.

She was so excited she was practically bubbling over with happiness.

All big smiles, sparkling eyes, and rosy cheeks.

She wore her hair down in soft waves that had his fingers practically itching to touch it.

And he’d loved how pleased she was when she’d shown him her new blue dress.

Beaming, she’d spun for him so he could see how the skirt flared around her legs, exposing her pretty thighs to his hungry gaze.

He’d liked that. A lot. So much that he’d been tempted to strip the dress off her and spend the day with her in bed, buried between those same thighs.

If she hadn’t been looking forward to this party…

As it was, he’d scooped her up into his arms and kissed her long and deep until they were both breathless, leaving them departing Black Bay later than they’d planned.

Worth it. Kissing Katherine would always be worth it.

His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror and the car that followed a ways behind the SUV he’d commandeered for this trip.

It was an unremarkable, charcoal gray sedan.

Nothing special, but his instincts were stirring.

He’d seen it pull off one of the side roads that was little more than a dirt track.

It was rare to see a vehicle this close to the tunnel that linked Black Bay to the mainland but not unheard of.

The area was heavily forested, but there was a ranger station that occasionally saw some traffic, and hikers and nature enthusiasts could oftentimes be found on the trails.

He never ignored his gut – but maybe it was just his nerves making him hyperaware of everything.

“So tell me about your family,” he asked. “Who will I be meeting today?”

Katherine happily complied, telling him more about her extended family and some of their funnier antics. They sounded like his kind of people.

“Is there a stepfather in the picture?” He’d planned on speaking to her mother, but maybe there was also a father figure that might want to give his blessing too. Kong was pretty sure he’d heard somewhere that that was a thing and he wanted to do this right.

His eyes returned once more to the rearview mirror and that sedan that seemed to be slowly closing the distance despite Kong keeping a constant speed.

“Not really a stepfather but Mom has a boyfriend. His name is Joel and they’ve been together for a while now, but she didn’t meet him until I had already moved out. She told me once that she didn’t feel comfortable bringing a man into our lives. Not until I was older.”

Kong nodded absently. The car was definitely closing the gap between them now.

Katherine must have noted his distraction because she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“We might have a tail.”

As she cranked around in her seat with a frown, Kong pulled the SUV to the side of the road. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe the car would pass by them without a second glance.

It didn’t. It slowed instead.

Unclipping his seatbelt, he reached over, opened the glovebox to pull out his SIG Sauer M17, and after checking the magazine, chambered a round.

Katherine’s eyes widened. “Is that necessary?”

“Just in case.” He eyed her. “Stay in the car.”

Her lips were pressed so tightly together they were bloodless but she nodded before grasping his arm. “Please be careful.”

“I will.” Leaning closer, he gave her a swift kiss.

Getting out, he tucked the gun into the back of his pants. He didn’t want to advertise he was a threat if this was a simple misunderstanding.

He’d barely cleared the vehicle when he heard, “Holy shit! Monkey Boy?” and froze.

Terrence Godwin. Terrence Fucking Godwin . Just a few yards away from him, laughing and slapping his thigh like this was the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

Before Kong’s brain could fully comprehend that his prey had come to him – older, rougher looking, a bit soft around the middle – Godwin, remarked, “I’d love to stay and catch up, but…”

He saw the gun in the man’s raised hand, felt the breath-stealing punch of a bullet hit his chest before he heard the shot, and suddenly, he was on his back, looking up at the sky.

Through the roar in his ears, he heard Katherine screaming his name.

He wanted to tell her to go. Drive. Get away, but his body was already shutting down on him.

“Kong!” Katherine scrambled for the door latch, her fingers clumsy in her haste. Kong had been shot and she couldn’t see him anymore. He might be bleeding, dying… She needed to get to him. Needed to help.

Her foot slid as she stumbled out and she just barely caught herself. Scrambling around the SUV, she spotted him then. He was on the ground, his eyes closed, and a bloom of dark, spreading red stained the front of his shirt.

“Kong,” she sobbed, her knees buckling.

Her head was suddenly wrenched back by her hair, and Katherine let out a gasp of pained surprise as she reached up and grabbed onto a clenched fist.

“Time to go.”

Katherine struggled, digging in her feet, as the man who shot Kong dragged her away by her hair. She needed to stay with Kong. He might still be alive! She couldn’t leave him! She clawed at the hand that held her, her nails digging into his skin and drawing blood. “Let me go!”

With a curse, he yanked her to her feet and shoved the barrel of his gun into her cheek. Katherine froze. She didn’t even dare to breathe.

“Bitch, I will shoot you in the fucking face. Now shut the fuck up.”

She shut up, but she couldn’t stop fighting.

Kong needed her. As soon as he lowered the gun to propel her along, she gritted her teeth against the pain in her scalp from his tight grip and lashed out with her fists and feet until he was forced to bodily pick her up to restrain her.

Her back to his chest, she flailed against him ineffectually.

He carried her around the back of his car and popped the trunk.

The lid raised slowly and Katherine spotted something inside.

It was a woman. She was wearing a light gray suit dress that was rucked up her blood-smeared thighs, her legs bent so she’d fit in the space.

Her blonde, blood-matted hair partially concealed a face that was mottled with bruises as sightless eyes stared up from the trunk.

Dead. She was dead and Katherine screamed as she was thrown on top of the body.

Roughly, he shoved at her legs to get her fully inside before the trunk closed and darkness swallowed her.

“Let me out!” Repeatedly, she threw her elbow back, ramming it against the trunk lid in a panic, but it didn’t open.

Her heart raced, as fear seeped in until she was panting in short, staccato breaths, a hairsbreadth from hyperventilating.

Through the roar of blood pounding in her ears, she heard a car door slam shut, felt the engine come to life and the car started moving.

Bile rose in her throat, almost choking her.

Her fear was bordering on debilitating as she grew lightheaded, but blinking hard, she forced herself to push through and think.

A trunk release. Every car had an emergency trunk release. She just needed to find it.

Wincing as she shifted on the dead body beneath her, she searched with her eyes and spotted the glow-in-the-dark tab. She gasped in a painful sob of relief. She was going to get out of this, go back to Kong, arm herself with his gun, and use his phone to call Black Bay.

Grabbing the cord, she pulled – only for it to come free in her hand.

No! He must have disabled it…

With a keening cry of hopelessness, Katherine’s grief and fear overwhelmed her as hot tears leaked down her cheeks. “Kong…”