“We’ll both worry if we want to.” Getting serious, Cade added, “Call if you need me. For anything.”
“Will do.” Reyes disconnected, then glanced at Kennedy.
“Let me guess. Your brother was warning you against any machinations on my part?” She chafed her arms. “So far your family seems far too suspicious.”
“Here’s the thing,” he said, refusing to let her rile him. “I never take women to my house.”
She snorted at that. “Yeah, right.”
“Didn’t say I don’t get around. I do.”
“Bragging? Lovely.”
“It isn’t bragging,” he insisted, a frown forming despite his efforts to stay even-tempered. Truth was, he never lacked for female company. “Just trying to explain why my brother was...”
“Alarmed?”
“Cade? Ha. No, he doesn’t get alarmed.” He never missed a damned thing, either. “Big brother could be in the middle of a three-alarm fire, during a tornado, with a murderer on his heels, and he wouldn’t blink.”
Wide-eyed, Kennedy said, “Wow.”
Yeah, he’d just spewed way more than he meant to. “Point is,” he stressed, making a concerted effort to get back on course, “I take my pleasure elsewhere, not at my home.”
“Is that some sort of scruple or what? No, wait,” she said, her gaze discerning. “Whatever it is you really do, you have to keep it private. Can’t manage that if you have bed partners traipsing in and out.”
“Know what?” He couldn’t help smirking. “That sounded so old-fashioned it should be tarnished.” When she started to grumble, he spoke over her. “I’m breaking a hard rule for you, so a little appreciation would be nice.”
Grudgingly she said, “Thank you.”
“Just know that I’m not taking you there for any reason other than safety.” He shot her a quick glance. Having her dark past confirmed, he had to consider how unsettled she might be alone in his company—especially since she didn’t buy his front as a gym owner. “I won’t come on to you or anything.”
She slanted him a look. “I wasn’t worried.”
“No?” Hell, now he didn’t know if he should be insulted or not.
“I’ve gotten good at sizing up people. Not saying I automatically trust my instincts. I still use a lot of caution. But it should be obvious I trust you overall, otherwise I wouldn’t have called you tonight.”
That could have been a simple lack of options. “Do you have family?”
She hesitated far too long before shrugging. “Mom and Dad. They don’t live close, though, so I couldn’t call them.”
Wow. If what she’d described had happened to his kid, he’d never again let her out of his sight. “No one you’re dating? No close friends?”
She shook her head. “For the longest time I stayed on the move. Ridge Trail is the first place I’ve settled down since—” she flapped a hand “—everything happened.”
His heart gave a hard thump in sympathy. He knew only too well how it felt to be chased by your past. “My place is secure. We’ll lock down while Cade and Madison do their thing. Early tomorrow, they’ll check back with what they’ve found, and we’ll go from there.”
She gave him another look of wonder. “So...that just opened up about a million more questions.”
“I know, right?” Even as a part of the inner circle, the reach and ability of his family sometimes astounded him. “The important thing is that you’ll be safe tonight, you can get some rest, and tomorrow we can figure out our next step. How’s that sound?”
“Like I’m out of my depth.”
“Yeah, you are. But I got it covered. No more questions tonight. I’m good at prioritizing, and number one is food and then sleep. Unless you’re not hungry?” Some people couldn’t eat when they got nervous. “If not, we can go straight to sleep.”
“I’m not sure I could sleep yet, so I’ll opt for food.”
“You got it. Anything in particular you want? At home I can throw together a sandwich, or I have cereal. Cookies. Canned soup. Oatmeal.”
“A sandwich would be great.”
“Good, then we don’t need to stop.” He’d rather get her settled in, to know for a fact she was out of harm’s way. If she’d wanted a burger or something, he’d have worked it out, but this was easier.
He was nothing if not adaptable.
This, though? Yeah, hadn’t seen it coming. Knowing Kennedy had secrets, and having those secrets burn down an apartment building and come after her with guns—two very different things.
His phone rang and, knowing it’d be family, he answered.
True to form, Madison relayed information without a greeting. “No one died in the fire. Sounds like a few people were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, and a whole lot of people lost everything, but Dad said he’ll help with that.”
Good old Dad. Parrish McKenzie never hesitated to toss around the cash. “That was quick.”
“Did you expect me to be slow?”
“Nope. Just didn’t know Cade had gotten hold of you already. Figured he might wait until morning.”
“Don’t be absurd.” Madison’s voice softened. “How is your lady friend?”
Lady friend? Talk about old-fashioned... “Kennedy isn’t like us,” he said, and figured that covered it all.
“If there’s anything I can do, for her personally, I mean, let me know.”
Driving one-handed, he shrugged. “She has luggage with her, so I’m guessing her immediate needs are covered.”
“Luggage? She’d been on a trip?”
Feeling Kennedy’s hard stare, he said, “Texas.”
“I need details.”
Of course she did. Madison always wanted more details. It was a trait of her talent. “Because?”
“Duh. It could be related.” Suddenly she demanded, “Put her on the phone.”
“Hell, no.” The last thing he wanted was for his sister to chat up Kennedy, making his rescue into something it wasn’t.
“I’ll locate her number and call her if you don’t, then you’ll have to explain that one.”
A frown gathered. “How the hell would you do that?”