Page 94 of Chasing Kaylee Kringle

“God, Kaylee, I wasn’t blaming you,” he said, releasing her to run both hands through his hair. “I’m trying to tell you that I am falling in love with you, and if you get hurt or killed, I’m not gonna recover from that.”

Kaylee’s jaw dropped. “What did you just say?”

Rick’s eyes widened for a split second before he softened, the sweetest smile curling his lips. “That if you get killed, I won’t recover from that.”

“Before that.”

“I don’t blame you for Elasia’s death?”

“After that!” she practically shouted, her voice laced with exasperation.

Rick took her by the shoulders again and dropped his forehead to hers. “I am falling head over heels in love with you, and I want a chance to make you fall in love with me, too.”

Kaylee’s eyes shimmered, tears escaping and rolling down her cheeks. “That’s not fair. You can’t say things like that. We’re in the middle of a fight.”

“I don’t wanna fight, Kaylee. I just want you to understand that when you make decisions, even with the best of intentions, they affect others, they affect me.” He kissed her forehead, pulling back enough so he could meet her gaze. “When you called and told me you were outside, and I walked into that mess, my heart literally dropped into my stomach. I thought of every scenario that could’ve happened, especially if Jolene hadn’t come out there, and I’m begging you, don’t ever do that to me again.”

“I won’t,” she whispered, leaning up on her toes and kissing his jaw. He lowered his head so she could reach his lips, and they kissed for a long time, slow and sweet, then wild and urgent.

Kaylee grabbed ahold of Rick’s jacket, pulling him down the hall toward her bedroom.

“What are we doing?” he asked.

“I’m making it up to you.”

“You don’t have to make up anything to me, Kaylee. Just stay safe.”

“I promise.”

Chapter Forty-Five

Ansel

Harlan opened the door and peeked his head in, his long black beard an eyesore Ansel couldn’t tolerate.

“Get out,” he growled, and Harlan practically slammed it in his hurry to get out of sight.

It had been nearly two days since Johnny had checked in, and Ansel knew something had happened to him. It wasn’t like Johnny to ignore him.

His cell rang with a number he didn’t recognize, and despite his reservations, he answered. “Hello.”

“Ansel Atkinson?”

“Yes.”

“This is Margaret Pace with Caribou Medical Center in Soda Springs, Idaho. We have a Johnathan Beyer in our critical care unit. I apologize that it took me so long to contact you, but I had trouble tracking down his emergency contact information.”

“What happened to him?”

“Unfortunately, he tried to accost a woman, and another person intervened. He’s taken a rather severe beating and is resting. When he is in better shape, he’ll be transferred to the Department of Corrections.”

“Thank you for the call.” He hung up on whatever she was trying to say next. Ansel threw his empty whiskey glass at the wall, shattering it with a loud crash. How the hell had Johnny let someone get the drop on him? He’d been handling difficult and dangerous situations for Ansel since they were kids. Whoever took Johnny out must have been one tough son of a bitch.

Ansel walked out into the bar, hollering at the top of his lungs, “Everybody who’s not a member, get the fuck out!”

Several of his boys dumped girls from their laps and started ushering everyone out of the bar.

While they cleared the place, he went back into his office and removed the bug from his light, flushing it down the toilet. Then he went through the rest of the bar while his guys watched, searching for more with his bug detector. He found two and flushed those as well.