Which didn’t help me at all when I was jerked awake sometime later by someone’s hand covering my mouth.

My eyes flew open and I saw a man standing over me. I screamed, but the sound was muffled under his hand. I struggled, trying to pry his hand off me, only to freeze when he leveled a gun to my forehead.

“Don’t make a sound,” he said. “Scream and you’re dead. Understand?”

I nodded ever so slightly, my eyes glued to the gun.

He slowly removed his hand and I took a deep breath, my brain working frantically.

“Now here’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “You’re going to slowly stand up…”

He moved back and I did as he said. My gaze flicked to my bedside table. The gun was gone.

“Now walk into the living room.”

I could feel the gun pointed at my back as I walked. My hands were clammy with sweat and my heart raced.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Are you going to kill me?” I’d reached the living room and saw the door to my apartment standing slightly ajar. He must have jimmied the lock and broken in.

The man grasped my arm, turning me back around in front of the couch.

“No. You’re going to kill yourself.” He motioned with the gun. “Sit.”

My knees gave way and I sat heavily. Sweat trickled down between my breasts. The moonlight filtered through the open windows.

“I’m not going to kill myself,” I said.

“Of course you are. I get a bonus if you do.”

I could see the man more clearly now and he wasn’t much to look at, though it was clear that meeting him in a dark alley would be inadvisable. Medium build with dark hair, his grip on the gun was steady and sure. I was willing to bet this wasn’t his first time at murder.

“I could give a shit if you get a bonus,” I gritted out, anger beginning to burn away the fear. How dare this bastard invade my home? “Tell Gage to go fuck himself.”

“Now is that any way for a lady to talk?” he mocked. “But dressed like that, I’m guessing you ain’t no lady. I’d give you a test drive myself, but the things they can do with DNA nowadays…” He shook his head forlornly, as though lamenting that he couldn’t rape me before killing me.

“You should leave before I kill you,” I threatened. Rage was making me tremble.

He laughed. “That’s a good one. What you’re really going to do is take this gun”—he held up my gun—“put the barrel inside your mouth, and pull the trigger.”

“You’d have a better chance of getting me to suck your dick,” I spat.

“Okay, let’s try this,” he said. “I suppose you know your friend—what’s her name, Alisha? Well, she got home a little while ago, romantic weekend getaway, you know. They must have had a real nice time, too, because she let him sleep over tonight.”

My blood ran cold at his words.

“So you either do as I say,” he continued, “or I’m going to go over there and put a bullet in both their heads.”

I swallowed. “How do I know you won’t do that anyway?”

He shrugged. “Because I said so. It’s messy, it’ll make noise and attract attention, and I’m only getting paid for you, sweetheart.”

I didn’t see any way out of this. I couldn’t let him go kill Alisha and Lewis. And I’d sent away both men who could have protected me, so no one was coming to the rescue.

In retrospect, probably not the best decision I’d ever made.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’ll be quick and painless. You won’t even know what hit you.”

Gee, thanks, now I felt all better.

He holstered his gun and racked the slide on mine. Standing in front of me, he reached for my arm—

Tigger suddenly jumped up on the couch, startling both the guy and me. I used the split second of distraction to slam my arm into his, knocking the gun away. He fired reflexively, the bullet embedding itself in the couch.

I threw myself at him and we both went down. The gun flew from his hand and I fought dirty, shoving my knee into his groin and pressing my forearm against his throat. He grunted in pain, but his hand found my hair and yanked, forcing my head back. I lost my leverage and he threw me off. His fist crashed into my side and I screamed in pain from the agonizing blow against my bruised ribs.

He scrabbled to get on top of me, but I rolled, throwing my elbow out and catching him in the face. My gun was just a few inches away and I reached for it. He grabbed my waist, pulling me backward—

Then suddenly I was free. He was off me.

I leapt for my gun, grabbing it and rolling onto my back in one quick movement, then froze.

Blane had the man in a headlock and was squeezing his neck, slowly suffocating him. The man struggled, but he was no match for Blane. A few moments later, his body went lax and his eyes rolled back in his head. Blane dropped his body to the floor and stepped over it. He crouched down next to me.

“Kat, are you all right?”

I couldn’t answer, so I just gave a jerky nod.

He reached out and carefully took the gun from my grip, ejecting the chambered round before setting it aside. He took me in his arms and pulled me onto his lap. I curled into him, my hands fisting his shirt.

I was shaking like a leaf, the fear and adrenaline leaving me an exhausted mess. It felt so good to be in Blane’s arms again, which was a bizarre thought, considering the circumstances. I inhaled, the familiar scent of him comforting in ways I didn’t examine too closely.

“Did he hurt you?” Blane asked.

“Hit me. Pulled my hair,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Blane’s hand cupped my head and I felt his lips brush my brow, then he tucked me back into the crook of his neck. I sighed, my eyes slipping shut.

Blane’s arms tightened around me. “I can’t lose you,” he murmured. “Not like this.”

I didn’t have anything to say to that, so I remained silent.

“Well, this wasn’t what I was expecting.”

At Kade’s voice, my eyes shot open. He stood in the open doorway, gun in hand. His gaze took in the man on the floor and every part of me folded into Blane’s lap. If I could have made myself smaller to fit inside Blane’s pocket, I probably would have.

“Nine-one-one call on the scanner,” Kade said. “Neighbor heard shots. Cops are on their way.” His eyes locked on mine. “What happened?”

“He broke in. Told me to kill myself,” I said. “Said he’d get a bonus if it looked like a suicide.”

“Fuck.”

I agreed with Kade’s sentiment, as did Blane, judging by the way his muscles contracted around me, holding me even closer. My body felt like liquid against his.

“Why the fuck haven’t you taken care of this?” Kade exploded, shoving his gun in the back of his jeans.

I started, his anger taking me by surprise. “What—”

“Not you. Him.” He jerked his chin toward Blane. “Why is Gage still alive?”

“I don’t go running around killing people just because it suits me,” Blane ground out.

“So you’d rather that he keep sending people to kill Kathleen?” Kade’s furious outrage made me wince. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

It seemed time to move out of the line of fire between the two of them, so I eased myself off Blane’s lap. He stood and helped me to my feet.

“She could be dead right now,” Kade continued, berating Blane. “But hey, at least you could sleep at night, right?”

Blane had Kade by the throat before I could even blink. He shoved him up against the wall and a framed photo crashed to the floor, its glass shattering.

“Where the fuck were you, Kade?” Blane accused. “What, you don’t bother protecting her if she’s not mine?”

“I didn’t think you’d be a fucking moron, again, and not take care of it,” Kade hissed.

Both of my hands covered my mouth as I watched them argue, and I backed up until I hit a wall. The two men blurred in my vision.

“This is all my fault. This is all my fault,” I kept repeating in broken whispers. My knees gave out and I slid down the wall to the floor. I stared at them as both Blane and Kade kept throwing accusations at each other. Kade had gotten free of Blane’s hold and it looked like at any moment they were going to come to blows.