“Geez, Leo. What is your problem?”
His eyes snapped to meet hers and she was pinning him with a steely stare. “What?” he snapped. “I didn’t say anything.” It didn’t matter that he hadn’t done anything wrong. Just having her look at him like that had him putting up his defenses.
“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”
He slammed his cup onto the counter and the water sloshed over the rim. “And what, pray tell, is written all over my face?”
She huffed. “You tell me.”
Leo still couldn’t get the thought of Chaz out of his head for some reason. And it only got worse as he continued to stare at her. At her beautiful eyes, her alluring lips, her petite frame. He couldn’t get the image of Chaz pulling her intohisarms and kissing her like they were meant to be together.
It wasn’t logical. And at the same time it made him completely sick to his stomach.
Kat placed her cup on the counter, folding her arms as she continued to glower at him. “Why do you hate me? What did I ever do to cause such animosity from you?” There was a hint of pain her voice. Clearly this woman cared what others thought of her.
But then he’d already known that.
This woman couldn’t stand it if one hair was out of place. The way she carried herself, how she regarded her abilities—all of it came wrapped in a perfect little package. Heaven forbid she disappoint anyone.
“Oh,Princess,” he murmured derisively, “in order to hate you, I’d have to care about you.” He smirked at the way her mouth fell open. “You’re not worth caring about.” The second the words left his lips, he wanted to lasso them back, erase them from the thick tension hanging in the air. He needed to apologize, to tell her that the opposite was true—that she meant something to him. But he couldn’t. His breath seized and all he could do was watchas she let out a strangled sound of fury before she stomped her way to the door.
Kat flung the door open then slammed it shut behind her, rattling the old windows in the cabin. He could see through the panes of glass that she’d stormed off down one of the well-used hunting trails. As long as she stayed on that path, she’d find her way back. And if she didn’t come back in twenty minutes, he’d have to go out there and retrieve her so they could leave before they were stuck in the cabin overnight.
As if acknowledging his train of thought, the thunder boomed outside. Leo could feel the shudder in the air.
Or maybe it was he who shuddered.
Leo cursed. He’d really done it now. He’d targeted Kat in a way that would allow zero chance for redemption. Even if she was willing to overlook what he’d said, it would stick with her.
He cursed again, then grabbed his cup and threw it. The water splashed against the wall as the plastic cup bounced against the surface.
Twenty minutes. He’d let her cool off for twenty minutes. Then he’d go get her.
But twenty minutes later, she wasn’t back. Leo gave her another twenty before the lightning outside the cabin spurred him to head out. She had to have seen it. The lighting was too close for comfort. And they needed to get moving. There was only one bed in the cabin. It wasn’t meant for a family. Usually only one or two men went camping at a time. Leo gathered the horses and tied them to a bar beneath the shelter of the lean-to. If it started to rain before he got back, at least they would be covered.
The path was muddy from the rain earlier last week. He could see Kat’s footsteps and at first, he wasn’t concerned. It wasn’t until her steps veered off onto a more rugged path that he got worried. Then, at the first drop of rain, Leo knew time was up. There would be no going back. Not in the rain that was bound to be coming down by the time he found her.
CHAPTER NINE
Two hoursearlier
Kat spat every curse she could think of. Her mother was probably standing somewhere nearby with a bar of soap in her hand wishing she could cross the veil and clean every vile thing Kat had said out of her mouth.
That thought brought a momentary smile to her lips.
She wished her mother was still alive. There were so many things that Kat wanted to ask her—to say to her. About her job. Her father. Leo.
The scowl returned to Kat’s brow as she continued to stomp through the weeds and wild growth in the woods. How could Leo say something so…mean? She growled as she whacked away a low-hanging branch. Why wasn’t karma doing its job? If there was anyone in need of being knocked down a peg, it was Leo Chambers.
She growled again when a branch she didn’t see coming snapped into her cheek, leaving a sting in its wake.
This was stupid. She shouldn’t have gone tromping through the woods when she didn’t know where they were. She should head back even if she was livid with the man she’d left behind. She’d lost track of time and her phone was still back at the cabin.
Why on earth hadn’t she remembered to grab it on her way out?
Because Leo was a monster who made it hard for her to think clearly, that’s why.
There were a lot of things she was upset about. But the worst one?
