“I guess this means you’re going to stay with him.”
“Do you know where he lives?” Kennedy whispered, her spine going rigid. “Have you followed him home?”
“No, but I’ve seen him at the gym, and I’ve seen him visit women.” She paused. “He’s cagey, you know? Not easy to tail.” Jodi huffed out a breath. “When can I see you?”
Reyes shook his head, not wanting her to commit.
She accepted that without question. “I don’t know. Right now I’m working on my book and trying to get my life reorganized after the fire and everything.”
“Plus, it’s not really safe for you to be out alone.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Okay, so stay with the hulk. But promise me, if he does anything he shouldn’t, if he hurts you in any way, you’ll let me know. I swear to you, I’ll end him.”
Jesus, the girl was unhinged. Reyes met Kennedy’s horrified gaze. Again he shook his head. He wasn’t worried, so Kennedy shouldn’t worry, either.
Keeping her gaze locked with his, Kennedy stated, “If you attempt to hurt him in any way, I won’t forgive you, Jodi. Do you understand?”
“No sweat. I’ve got my hands full with another jerk anyway.”
“Wait. What?”
“I’ll be in touch, okay? And remember. You need me, all you gotta do is call.”
Kennedy sat forward. “Jodi, don’t—”
The call ended with all the subtlety of a thunderclap. Kennedy redialed immediately, but this time Jodi didn’t answer.
“It’s okay,” Reyes said, hating that the girl had upset her. “Take a breath, babe.”
Gulping in air, Kennedy visibly struggled with everything she’d just heard. Reyes gave her plenty of time, until the automatic overhead light flicked off, filling the garage with shadows.
Galvanized, he opened the truck door and got out. The look on Kennedy’s face bothered him. She had enough worries without adding Jodi to the list.
With a long, purposeful stride, he circled the hood. For once, Kennedy was still sitting there. Not waiting for him to do the gentlemanly thing, but rather in a fog of dread.
He unhooked her seat belt. “Come on, hon, it’s going to be okay.” He took her purse and gym bag, and when he closed his fingers around her arm, she finally reacted.
Looking at him, Kennedy whispered, “She’s irrational.”
“Sounds like.” He eased her out of the truck, more cognizant than ever of her small frame. With his arm around her waist, he led her inside. “It’s not your problem.”
“She’s my friend.”
“She’s obsessed with you.” Someone had to state the obvious. “That’s not healthy.”
“You heard her.” Kennedy halted in the mudroom to kick off her sneakers, then she took the gym bag from him, and her purse. “She doesn’t have anyone else.”
Reyes smoothed her hair, left unruly from her activity at the gym. Her blue eyes were big and soft, her lips trembling.
And he wanted her like he’d never wanted another woman.
“We’ll figure it out, okay? First things first, though. We need to let Madison know Jodi has been following me, that she knows about...” Shit. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Your women?” Kennedy asked, her tone just a tad too detached to sound authentic. “Yes, you should let Madison know about that.” She pivoted away. “I need that shower, now more than ever.”
He let her go, mostly because he wasn’t sure what to say.
She’d staunchly defended him to Jodi, stating unequivocally that he wouldn’t misuse women. Hell, she’d even defended Annette, Cathy and Lili, correctly assuming that they were strong women who made their own decisions.
He’d never lied to a woman to get her into bed.
He never would.
If anyone wanted more than just sex, he walked away.
Yet here he was with Kennedy, who wanted nothing at all except his protection.
At the moment, that didn’t seem to matter. She knew him, better than any other woman. In some ways, better than his family.
On top of that, there was a lot to unravel with everything Jodi had admitted.
Keeping Kennedy safe remained his top priority. Getting closer to her felt vital.
As he went through the house, he thought about everything he had to juggle, including his own confusion, but for the moment, he felt uncommonly...content.
It was because of Kennedy, and damn, he wasn’t sure what to do about it. He was still a die-hard bachelor. Cade had made the whole relationship thing work, but as he often reminded himself, he wasn’t Cade. A woman didn’t fit into his life, the life groomed for him by his father.
But then, he didn’t think Kennedy wanted to be a part of his life. So why was he tormenting himself about it?
Because he wanted her. Bad.
And that, he could have...if only she wanted it, too.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“YOU SURE YOU know what you’re doing?” Del asked. He was damned tired of hanging around this run-down excuse for a cabin with nothing to do but smoke and think. He wanted to get back on the street, get his connections going and start acquiring girls he could rent out. Until then, he was bleeding what little cash he’d saved.
“You need to learn patience,” Golly said, probably for the hundredth time. “With patience comes great rewards.”
Hearing that nonsense, Del was fairly certain he and Golly had little in common. To him, selling women was a business. Not so for his cohort in this miserable scheme. Golly was obsessed with a scrawny girl and had some sick, twisted plans for when he captured her.
He was also completely repulsive. Throughout his life, Del had met some real disgusting characters, but none were as unbalanced as this one. It was bad enough that many of his teeth had rotted out, that his bald head was perpetually sweaty and that his shirts seldom covered his gut. Did he have to continually smile as if his brain had malfunctioned?
Sick prick.
Making a decision, Del stubbed out his cigarette and stood glaring at the man. “I’ll wait a little longer, then I need to move on.” Yes, he wanted Kennedy. He wanted to make her sorry for having crossed him. Mostly he wanted to remove her as a threat. The rest of the world had forgotten about him, but Kennedy?
She would never forget; he was fairly certain of that. It had taken him a while, but he’d finally located her here in Colorado. He was that close to ending her for good, but he had to move with caution, which was why he’d agreed to team up with the sick fuck now rocking in a wooden chair and humming.