I hold up my phone. Can't make words come out.
He takes it from my trembling hand, listens to the voicemail. I watch his expression shift from concern to cold fury.
"When did this come in?"
"I don't know. I was in the shower. Cade, he's here, he found me, I don't know how but he..."
"Hey." He grips my shoulders, steadying me. "Look at me. Breathe."
I try. The air stutters in my lungs.
"He's trying to scare you. That's what men like him do. They use fear as a weapon." Cade's voice is calm. Controlled. "But he made a mistake coming here. This isn't Reno. This isn't some motel parking lot. This is my territory, and he just walked into a fight he can't win."
"You don't know that."
"I do." He pulls me against his chest, one hand cradling the back of my head. "I know what I said in my breakdown a few days ago but believe me this ends today. I've got eight brothers who are already on their way. Because Tom Parker has been waiting for an excuse to arrest this asshole. Because this wholetown knows your face and his, and nobody here is going to let anything happen to you."
As if on cue, his radio crackles.
"Cade, it's Deck. We've got movement on the south perimeter camera. Single male, matches the photos. He's heading toward your position."
Cade releases me and grabs the radio. "How far out?"
"Half a mile, maybe less. Wolfe's tracking him now. Mace is setting up a containment line. Do not engage until we're in position."
"Copy that." Cade clips the radio to his belt and turns to me. "I need you to go to the safe room."
"The what?"
"Closet in my bedroom. Behind the coats." He's already moving, pulling a handgun from a lockbox I didn't know existed. "There's a reinforced door, supplies, a radio. You stay there until I come get you. No matter what you hear."
"Cade, I can't just hide while you..."
"You can and you will." He stops in front of me, his eyes fierce. "This is what I'm trained for, Natalie. Let me do my job. Let me keep you safe."
I want to argue. Want to stand beside him and face Kevin together like we promised.
But I also know I'd be a liability out there. A distraction. Something Kevin could use against Cade.
"Okay." The word tastes like surrender. "Okay. But you come back to me. Promise me."
"I promise." He kisses me hard, fast, pouring everything into it. "Now go."
I go.
The safe room is small but well stocked. Water, protein bars, a first aid kit, a radio, and a loaded handgun with a note tapedto it in Cade's handwriting: Safety off, point, squeeze. You've got this.
I sink onto the small bench and try to control my breathing.
Through the walls, muffled but audible, I can hear voices. The dogs barking. Footsteps on the porch.
Then Kevin's voice, raised and demanding.
"I know she's here. Bring her out and nobody has to get hurt."
I can't hear Cade's response, but I can imagine it. Low. Dangerous. The voice of a man who's done being patient.
More voices now. Multiple men. The team must be arriving.
