Part 39 (1/2)
Jake turned to Kayden. ”Please stay here. There's no way Angela will work her way back. Please. I need to know you are safe.”
Clearly too exhausted to argue, she nodded and sat down at the rusty table as he and the others raced out of the room.
Relief filled Jake when he and Gage reached the brush and found Angela's truck still there. After disconnecting her spark plugs, they hid behind the nearby copse of trees.
It didn't take long for Angela to burst out a hidden door to the east, Rex's howls not far behind her.
She climbed into her truck and tried starting it. Jake watched realization dawn on her face as Gage came up on her pa.s.senger's side with a gun leveled at her head, and he did the same on the driver's side.
She looked at him with a smug smile, lifted a grenade, and pulled the pin.
”Down,” Jake roared, lunging away from the vehicle. Birds flew from the trees as the cab of the truck exploded.
Jake covered his head until it settled. ”Gage?”
He coughed. ”Yeah?”
”You okay?”
”Yeah.”
Reef, Kirra, and Rex burst out the same door Angela had moments before.
Kirra took a look at what remained of Angela and turned green.
Reef pulled her into his arms and turned her away from the sight.
Within the hour Piper and Landon reached the site. Cole and Bailey were still several hours away. Now that they were safe, Jake had told them they'd meet up at the local hospital instead.
A pair of EMTs loaded Jake and Kayden into the rescue helicopter resting at the edge of the bluff.
”We'll meet you at the hospital,” Gage said, shutting the door, but by the time they actually made it down the mountain, he and Kayden would hopefully have already been released.
He glanced over at her-his brave, wounded warrior, so fierce and lovely-and linked his fingers with hers.
44.
Kayden tapped on Jake's sliding door.
He smiled through the gla.s.s and moved to open it.
”Hey there.” He stepped back, welcoming her inside.
”Hey.” She moved past him.
”How you feeling?”
She gingerly brushed her hair back from her bruised face. ”Better.”
Jake moved some papers off the couch. ”Take a seat.”
”Probably better if I stand for this.”
Uh-oh. Now that they were out of danger, would she retract her declaration of love? Would she put her guard back in place?
”There's something I need to say.”
He braced himself. ”Okay.”
She swallowed. ”I meant what I said, back at the bunker.”
He blinked. Had he just heard her correctly?
She leaned against the half wall separating the galley from the living s.p.a.ce. ”I didn't want you to think I only said it because of the situation we were in.”
”That's amazing to hear.”
”But . . .”
Somehow he'd known there was going to be a but.
”But just because I told you the truth and we kissed . . .” She s.h.i.+fted, looking down.
Was Kayden McKenna actually embarra.s.sed?
She cleared her throat. ”It doesn't mean it's going to be easy with me. I'm far from perfect, hard to get along with, and . . .” She looked up at him. ”Well, I'm giving you the chance to walk away.”
He smiled. Like that was even possible. He was hers come what may.
He reached for her hand and led her to the couch. ”You are perfect for me.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled. ”There's one more thing.” She sat beside him. ”I know this is way jumping the gun, but I feel I need to be totally up front before . . . before we go any further.”
”Okay.” He clasped her hand.
”I can't have kids.”
He hadn't seen that coming. As healthy as she was . . . ”The doctors found something wrong?”
”No, but they might.”
”What? I'm confused.”