I shook my head and gave a bitter laugh. “No way. Not after—” I stopped, suddenly acutely uncomfortable. Did Kade even know why Blane and I had broken up? “Just… no,” I finished, unwilling to go into detail about how Blane had accused me of sleeping with Kade. I could feel my face get hot. “But I guess Gage is set on making me pay for helping send him to jail. He sent a shooter to the bar last night and a car today. I got lucky both times.”

Kade’s eyes glittered with an unnamed emotion, his lips twisting into the one-sided smirk I knew all too well. “So I see you’re still a shitload of trouble.”

I grinned at what might be considered an unusual term of endearment. “Why be boring?”

“So you just have the scrapes then?” he asked, sliding closer to me and inspecting my arm.

“Bruised ribs, sprained wrist,” I said. “No permanent damage.”

“On the outside,” Kade said quietly, his eyes meeting mine. “How are you otherwise? Still pulling guns on anyone who surprises you?”

I stiffened at the reminder, my smile fading. I remembered what Blane had said about PTSD and hesitated. “I… have trouble sleeping,” I said, looking away from him. “I had a flashback today when they had me strapped down in the ambulance. It was so strange. One second I was there and the next I was back in that shack…” I couldn’t finish. Clearing my throat, I said, “I don’t feel… normal anymore. It’s like something inside is frozen. Like I’m waiting.”

“Waiting for what?”

I lifted my eyes to his and shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Have you talked to anyone about this?” he asked.

“I am now.” And at the moment, I couldn’t imagine having this conversation with anyone else. There was no one right now who I trusted to be this vulnerable with, who understood anything about what I was going through.

Except Kade.

A moment passed, then another. Kade slotted our fingers together, his hand closing over mine.

The door suddenly swung open and Blane walked in, carrying a paper bag. He stopped short, taking in Kade and me sitting together on the couch.

Kade was on his feet immediately, his stance protectively shielding me.

If I’d thought the heat in my apartment had made it hard to breathe, that was nothing compared to how it felt now.

“Long time no see, brother,” Kade said, but his voice held no warmth, only warning.

“I didn’t know you were in town,” Blane replied, the hint of a question in his careful tone.

“Did my secretary forget to e-mail you my schedule? So sorry about that.”

Kade’s sneering flippancy made me wince. I should do something to help fix this. I was the problem between them. I got to my feet and stepped to the side of Kade so I could see Blane.

“I called him,” I said bluntly, thinking fast. “Because of… Gage. Thought he might be able to help.” No need for either of them to know I’d called Kade because I’d wanted to get rid of Blane.

“She says Gage is trying to kill her,” Kade said. “Is this true?”

“I don’t have any proof, but yeah,” Blane said.

“And you’re the one who’s supposed to be protecting her?” Kade said dubiously. “Which is why she got hit by a fucking car, right?”

Blane’s jaw locked tight at that and I flinched. He didn’t reply.

“You know,” Kade continued, taking a couple of steps toward Blane, “it seems to me that she might be safer with you not around. Seeing as how you’re doing such a bang-up job and all.” His thin-lipped smile would have made an alligator seem friendly by comparison.

I wanted to cry at how Kade was talking to Blane, his voice full of anger and contempt. I’d never heard him speak to Blane like that. He’d always been… not exactly deferential, but even his ingrained sarcasm had been tempered out of respect for Blane.

“It wasn’t his fault,” I interrupted, resting my hand on Kade’s arm. “He told me. I ran off without thinking, which was stupid. Blane’s not to blame.”

Both men were looking at me now and I swallowed, shifting my weight nervously. Blane’s gaze moved from mine to where I was touching Kade. I dropped my hand.

“I got your medicine,” Blane said, ignoring Kade and setting a bag down on the table. “And something for you to eat. Kung pao. Your favorite.”

“Thanks.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Someone has to stay with you,” he said. “It’s not safe for you to be alone right now.”

The already thick tension in the room increased tenfold at Blane’s pronouncement. I couldn’t imagine Blane staying here with me. I couldn’t handle that.

“You’re not staying,” I said firmly. “I understand that you want to help, but that’s just not going to happen.”

“Kat, this is serious. He’s already tried twice in as many days. God knows who he hired. He knows more criminals than any defense lawyer in town, and that’s saying something.”

“She said no.” Kade’s voice was silk-covered steel.

Blane’s attention turned to Kade. “You’re going to stay? Watch out for her?”

Kade gave a careless shrug. “If she wants me to. I don’t treat her like a misbehaving toddler, unlike some people. It’s her decision as to whether she wants protection.” He raised a wickedly arched brow. “Unless you think we’ll be too busy fucking?”

That statement went off with the force of a bomb and I drew a sharp breath, sure that they were going to attack each other, but Blane didn’t take the bait.

“I was wrong,” Blane said quietly. “I was wrong to not trust you and wrong to not trust Kathleen. And I’ve paid for that mistake in more ways than you could possibly imagine.”

“Well, maybe you’ve paid enough for you, but I don’t know if you’ve paid enough for her.” This time there was no mistaking the cold menace in Kade’s tone.

Blane’s gaze drifted from Kade to me. “I’ll go,” he said. “Just please. Be careful.”

My heart broke inside at the pain in Blane’s voice and the haunted agony in his eyes.

Neither Kade nor I said anything as Blane left, the door closing behind him.

Kade glanced at me. “Well, that was awkward.”

The unexpected remark broke the tension, making me give a little laugh in spite of the pain Blane had left in his wake.

Kade dug into the paper bag. “Chinese food. Just what the doctor ordered.” He pulled out a prescription bottle. “And exactly what the doctor ordered.”

My stomach growled as the aroma of kung pao filled the room. It looked like Blane had gotten enough for two people, which gave me a moment’s pause. Had he thought we’d sit here and eat dinner like we used to? Yeah, that wouldn’t have been uncomfortable or anything.

“You on a diet or something?” Kade asked as we sat down to eat.

“No, why?” I shoveled a forkful in my mouth.

He eyed me while he chewed. “You look like a stiff wind could blow you away,” he said bluntly.

I shrugged, my cheeks heating. “Haven’t been hungry lately, that’s all.” But that didn’t seem to be the case now. I ate as though the food was trying to run away.

“Ah, the breakup diet,” Kade said, watching me plow through the kung pao. “Let me guess, more vodka than food in your freezer, right?”

I swiped a napkin across my lips, avoiding his eyes. “Maybe,” I mumbled. A thought occurred to me. “If you and Blane aren’t speaking, then how’d you know we broke up?”

“Oh, we had a lovely heart-to-heart a few months ago,” he said with a smirk. “I believe I told him what a fucking moron he was and he accused me of sleeping with you.”

Now this was awkward.

Suddenly my appetite was gone and I tossed down my fork. “I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen,” I said. “Blane said… awful things…” My eyes saw nothing as my mind replayed that horrible scene in Blane’s office. I shuddered, pushing the memories away. “And that was it. I haven’t seen him since. At least, not until last night.”

“So this is my fault,” Kade said.

I couldn’t decipher the look on his face. “No, it’s not,” I said firmly. “I told Blane the truth and he chose not to believe me. If he can’t trust me about something that serious, then he doesn’t love me. Maybe he never really did.”