“Do I get a say in this?”
“No.”
“Be reasonable, Cubby; there is no way they will find out it was me because nobody knows but me and E.J.”
She was scared and trying to hide it, but he’d known her since the day she was born. Katie was terrified.
“Ballistics confirmed it was your gun, Katie. People overhear things, and while you and E.J. believe no one else knows, police stations have ears, and unfortunately there is already someone tipping the Alessis off, and that kind of reward money will drag plenty of scum bags out in the open to hunt for you.
She didn’t speak again. Once in her apartment, he cleaned out her fridge while she packed, and thirty minutes later they were leaving. She left the food and a spare key with her neighbor, an older man, who Cubby noticed treated Katie like a daughter.
“Nice guy,” he said when they were back in the cab.
“Yes,” she said. “The best kind.”
He didn’t know what that meant and decided not to enquire, as he needed to think. The threat to her life was a scary thing, and with it came concerns for her safety. He would need to put things in place when he arrived home to keep her safe. Cubby didn’t think anything would happen to her in Howling, but he wasn’t taking any chances.
Chapter Four
The flight was uncomfortable because Katie was next to him. He was a big man and took up most of his seat, and she had long legs and arms, so they constantly seemed to touch, the brush of an elbow or fingers. Cubby wasn’t too happy about the fact that she was firing his body to life again when he’d believed time had erased that particular ache.
“You gonna sit still anytime soon?” She was wriggling, leaning forward to look out the window. The tension in her had been steadily climbing since they’d taken off.
“No.”
“Katie, it’s going to be all right.”
She dragged her eyes from the window to look at him. He’d seen so many emotions in those eyes since he’d known this woman, but this, the pain, was the worst.
“You don’t know that, Cubby; and what if they find me while I’m in Howling? What if, by going there, I’m endangering everyone and everything I care about?”
“It’s a small town with only one way in by road, Katie. We’ll be vigilant, and Sergeant Johns will keep a watch on the Alessis and let us know if he hears anything. Caleb Alessi died this morning, so people would have only just received word about the reward and started searching. Sergeant Johns is going to spread it about that whoever did it was killed that day, so everything will settle down. You just need to give it time.”
“They have tentacles, Cubby, and they stretch far and wide. It’s not me I care about, it’s the others.”
He wondered if she realized what she’d just said. That she didn’t care if they got to her, but she had to keep everyone else safe.
“I know it, but I promise to keep you and ours safe.”
Her eyes ran over his face. “Don’t make a promise like that.”
“Why?”
She looked down at her hands. “Because Jessie and I promised each other the same thing. We made a pact to watch out for each other.”
“Katie, I can tell you every day for the rest of your life that you’re not responsible for your friend’s death, but you’re not going to believe me until you believe it yourself, in here.” He touched her forehead.
She didn’t speak, instead looking out the window again. He could see her dark curls beneath her cap and the soft skin of her neck. The little girl who had driven him crazy was long gone now, and in her place was this woman. Vulnerable, conflicted, and sexy as hell. Cubby needed to remember his rules, that he didn’t want women in his life other than for friendship and mutual sex; he wasn’t the settling down type. The problem was he had that feeling again, the one he’d had before she left Howling, a need inside him when Katie was close by. He wanted to hold her, touch her, kiss her senseless. The fear that she was in danger was consuming him, and now he’d be seeing her constantly, how the hell was he supposed to fight that?
“So you and that dickhead Kurt were an item?” Cubby said, changing the subject to take his mind off things for a while. “What’s with that? Thought you were a way better judge of character.” When he’d found her toe to toe with that man, he’d wanted to tear him apart. No one would hurt her again, Cubby vowed, especially not when she was already in pain.
“I’m not good at seeing people’s true colors… especially men.” She said the words to the window, but he knew she wasn’t just talking about that fuckhead Kurt. Cubby had hurt her before she left Howling, had thrown her love back in her face, and she hadn’t forgotten.
“Katie—”
“That’s done with, and I don’t want to talk about it ever.” Her voice was flat and cold, eyes still on the window. “I was young and stupid; I’m not now.”
Cubby looked at the tension in her shoulders and said nothing further. She had a shitload of stuff to deal with, without him adding to it. He’d reacted badly to what she’d told him six years ago, and she’d left before he could apologize.
