Page 48 of Lethal Threat

I huff out a tired sounding breath. “Don’t quit your day job, but since you bring up flying, I should tell you that Sierra recalled some things about aircraft.”

“Interesting. Care to elaborate?”

“Slaughter, you know I’m not a pilot.”

He laughs briefly. “What did she say?”

“Nothing technical. Just that she remembered some things about how flying works, and some math formulas. But, man, that’s not what has me tossing and turning likeI’ve got ants in my sheets. She had a weird moment when we got here to the house.”

“A memory?”

“No, she’s never been here. It was a feeling. Not a good one from the way she reacted.”

He makes a sympathetic sound. “This has got to be really hard for her. I’m sure something about you is familiar.”

Something. Maybe my cock. I don’t elaborate on that musing. But I do say, “She lit up when I kissed her.”

“TMI, brother.”

“It’s the weirdest thing, Cade. She and I have been on a see-saw, up and down, with this weird chemistry. One minute we’re hot as fuck, the next minute one of us is getting in our head. We had a tense conversation on the drive from the airport to Eden and Sierra asked how long we’d been engaged.”

Cade whistles. “Damn. I was afraid she’d ask and I wondered if you had a plan.”

My stomach starts pumping acid all over again, just like when I was death-gripping the steering wheel. “I hedged, but she could tell something was wrong. I used the word complicated. She didn’t like that. I barely succeeded in delaying the conversation.”

“Sorry man, I know this is awkward as fuck. Are you going to tell her you’re not really engaged now that you’re home?”

Fisting my hair with one hand, I stare up into the murky darkness at the outline of the fan against the ceiling.

This FUCKING sucks. After a minute, I grumble, “I don’t know. It could cause problems. She’s going to want to leave.”

“I agree that waiting could be better for her physically.She doesn’t need to be alone. But I can imagine she’s going to go crazy if she finds out you weren’t even seeing each other any longer.”

Sierra will come unglued.

Cade sighs and his running shoes squeak on the floor. He’s pacing. I’ve seen him do it while he talks on the phone.

He says, “Maybe the police will find out something else, and everything will make more sense. If she’s in danger, maybe she won’t be so quick to leave, even if you tell her the rest.”

The acid in my stomach turns into a knife. “You’re crazy if you think that just because she’s in danger, she’s going to forgive me for the way things went down.”

His pacing slows. “I don’t know. But I know this is difficult and this is between you and her, so it’s gotta be your call.”

Ruminating on this whole nightmare feels like chewing on broken glass.

I swing my legs over and sit up on the edge of the bed. “It’s her first time here. The first time with her under my roof. We didn’t date long enough before. We’d made loose plans to visit Utah, but deployments got in the way. You know me, I’m not a man that really daydreams of the future, but I did think about her being here on a permanent basis.”

My thoughts back then also involved lots of visions of her in my custom-built king-sized bed. Curled against me late in the night. Warmly tucked in together as storms howl over the mountains.

“Makes this even harder,” he mutters.

“It does.” I shift to rest my forehead in my palm. “Cade, she never wanted to see me again. When I tell her that part of our story things are going to change irreparably.”

Cade uses a cautious tone. “You’re right. But maybethere’s a future for you. You’ve obviously proven that you’ll do anything for her.”

An ache grows in my throat, causing me to swallow convulsively. “I only wanted what was best for her. Even if she could never see that.”

“I know that. I’ve known that all along. You did the right thing.”