She looked over at Jason. Blood still seeped from the long gash beneath his ear. It made her stomach roll to think what could have happened. She refused to risk getting him killed, maybe getting both of them killed in order to get revenge.
It was finished.
She was quitting.
An odd sense of relief filtered through her.
It vanished in a heartbeat. Because the minute she told Jason the hunt was over, it would also be over for them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
He’d nearly gotten her killed.Jase swore foully. It was still dark outside, but dawn wasn’t far away. Lying beside him in bed, Kate slept soundly, curled trustingly against him. He had taken her hard tonight. Needed to reassure himself that she was alive, unhurt, okay. She seemed to feel the same pressing urgency.
He had nearly gotten her killed. The thought wouldn’t leave him. He had known the neighborhood had a lot of gang-related crime. He hadn’t expected a gunfight to break out between 18th Street and MS-13, or Surenos or the Latin Kings or whoever the hell they were.
He was lucky to get out of there with only a scratch.
It could have been worse, the voice in his head reminded him. The bullet could have been a little higher and he would be dead, leaving Kate to face a bunch of vicious gangbangers who would show her absolutely no mercy. Men who raped and killed as if it were no different from pulling into McDonald’s and ordering a burger.
He’d worried about it the entire time she’d helped him clean and bandage the crease on the side of his neck with gauze and adhesive she found in the medicine cabinet, a butterfly bandage that would hold together but still leave a scar. Not that he gave a damn.
Then, by some miracle and the grace of God, she had told him she wanted to stop the search. She had told him she wasn’t willing to risk either of their lives for revenge. It just wasn’t worth it.
Jase had felt a sweeping sense of relief.
It was followed by a deep sense of loss. Because last night had reminded him that continuing their relationship wouldn’t be fair to Kate.
For him, what had happened wasn’t particularly unusual. It was the kind of situation that came with the job. It could happen at any time, in any place, and likely would again.
He’d seen the grief Kate had suffered over the death of her sister. If they were in a relationship and something happened to him, she would suffer again.
He didn’t want that to happen. He cared too much for Kate.
Jase closed his eyes. With Kate snuggled against him, he finally managed to nod off for a while, wound up getting a couple of hours of sleep.
Kate was in the kitchen when he wandered in bare-chested in his jeans, scratching the roughness along his jaw, feeling the bandage she’d put on his neck last night, reminding him all over again the danger they’d been in. He poured himself a cup of coffee and eased down in one of the kitchen chairs across from her.
“Are you okay?” Kate asked, catching the look on his face but reading it incorrectly.
“Yeah, I’m okay. We’ll fly back home as soon as you’re ready.” He took a sip of coffee, trying to steady himself.
Kate stared at him until he glanced away. “All right, what’s going on?”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m just tired, is all. Neither of us got much sleep.”
“I did just fine—thanks to you. Why didn’t you sleep?”
He sipped his coffee, his eyes meeting hers over the rim of the mug. He wished she wasn’t so damned perceptive. “I could have gotten you killed last night.”
“We both knew the risks when we went there. Nothing that happened was your fault.”
He set the mug on the table, dreading what he had to do. “Maybe not. The thing is, once we get back home, I think we should cool things down a little. Take a break from each other.” He didn’t want to do it. He loved every minute of being with Kate. His chest tightened.Loved every minute?Dammit, had he actually thought theLword? Christ, he really was in deep.
“Take a break?” she repeated. “I can’t believe you just said that. You sound exactly like Andrew.”
Jase came out of the chair so fast it crashed over onto the floor. He gripped her shoulders and hauled her to her feet. “Don’t say that. Don’t ever compare me to that wormy bastard. I’m not good for you, Kate. After what happened last night, can’t you see that?”
“Actually, I see just the opposite.”
