Dade Read online

  Grayson was right, and Dade silently cursed that, too. He was a sucker for a damsel in distress, and while he wasn’t sure about the damsel part, Kayla was definitely in distress.

  And so was her baby.

  With his glare morphing into a disgusted scowl, Grayson flipped on the lights and walked past him and into the foyer where Kayla was kneeling down next to Kenneth.

  “He’s still breathing,” Kayla announced, and that sent two of the medics scurrying in the bodyguard’s direction.

  One medic, however, Carrie Collins, a leggy brunette in snug green scrubs made a beeline toward Dade.

  “I’m okay,” Dade tried to tell her, but she latched onto his arm to examine it.

  “I’ll decide if you’re okay or not,” Carrie answered.

  Like Kayla, there was way too much concern in her voice and expression. In this case, though, Dade knew why. Carrie and he had once been lovers, but that wasn’t just water under the bridge. The water had dried up nearly a year ago. Too bad Carrie didn’t always remember that.

  “You need stitches,” Carrie mumbled, her forehead bunching up. “And probably a tetanus shot.”

  But Dade tuned her out and put his attention on Kayla, Grayson and the unconscious bodyguard. Grayson caught onto Kayla and moved her away from the man so the medics could get to work, but it was obvious Kayla had tried to help her employee. Her hands and dress were covered with blood.

  Kayla looked down at her palms, which were shaking almost violently, and she shuddered. Now that the lights were back on, Dade also saw the tears well up in her eyes.

  Dade’s feet seemed to have a mind of their own because he started toward her. So did Mason. Mason grunted and glanced down at Dade’s arm.

  “You scratched yourself,” Mason remarked with zero sympathy in his tone. “Don’t expect me to do the paperwork for this goat rope.”

  It was just what Dade needed to hear. Sarcasm without sympathy. He knew his brother loved him. Well, Dade was pretty sure of that anyway. But Mason wasn’t the sort to cut anyone any slack.

  Unlike Kayla. Blinking back tears, she made her way toward Dade with her attention fixed on him. “I thought you’d been killed.”

  Dade was aware that both his brothers were watching and listening. “No. You didn’t get lucky this time.”

  She flinched as if he’d slapped her, but quickly regained her composure. “Lucky?” she challenged. “Right. Well, let’s just say I’m grateful you did your job and put yourself in front of bullets for me.” Her voice trailed off to a whisper. “Thank you, Dade.”

  Dade was one-hundred-percent positive that his brother hadn’t missed the way his given name had just purred right off her sympathetic rose-tinged lips. Or maybe the purring and the sympathy were his imagination.

  Oh, man.

  Kayla was going to be trouble with a capital T.

  “I have to check on my baby,” she let them know.

  Dade snagged her by the arm. “Have the nanny and Robbie stay in the bathroom, okay? This might not be over.”

  As expected, the fear returned to her eyes. She swallowed hard, nodded and raced up the stairs.

  “I’ll need to question you when you come back down,” Grayson called out to her.

  Without looking back, she gave another shaky nod.

  Dade wanted to hit himself in his fire-burning arm just to get his mind off this asinine need to comfort and to play nice with the one woman he shouldn’t want to comfort or play nice with.

  The three of them watched her make her way up the stairs, and Dade waited for the lecture from his brothers. A lecture that would no doubt include a reminder to think with his brain and not with what was behind the zipper of his Wranglers. But the lecture didn’t come.

  Not verbally anyway.

  Grayson stepped away to give the medics some instructions, and then he took out his phone to call the county medical examiner, something Dade should have already thought to do.

  “Did the dead guy give you any warning before he started shooting?” Mason asked.

  Dade shook his head. “Kayla…” He considered calling her Ms. Brennan, but heck, the damage had already been done. “She refused protective custody, and I was on my way back to town when I figured out something was wrong. The guy opened fire before I could get back inside.”

  Mason stayed quiet a moment, but his forehead bunched up. “She refused our help.” It wasn’t a question. Mason sort of growled it out in a disapproving way.

  Dade shrugged and then winced when that sent another shot of fire through his arm. “Understandable. She doesn’t trust us. Just like we don’t trust her.”

  Mason made a sound, one of his grunts that could have meant anything. Or nothing at all. “I’ll keep watch outside. We don’t need any more of Charles Brennan’s henchmen showing up here tonight.”

  No, they didn’t. And it could happen all right. Dade figured there was no way Brennan was going to let Kayla get anywhere near a witness stand.

  “I need to clean that wound,” Carrie let him know.

  “Later.” Dade moved to the side so the medics could take the bodyguard out on the gurney. Grayson had finished with his call and Dade wanted an update. Thankfully, Carrie didn’t follow him.

  “The M.E.’s on the way,” Grayson relayed. “And the rest of the deputies. Once they arrive, we can get Kayla and her baby out of here.”

  Dade glanced at the pool of blood and the shards of glass on the glossy marble floor. Maybe that would convince her to accept protective custody and leave for someplace safer.

  If a safe place actually existed.

  “Did she say why she changed her mind about testifying and came back to Silver Creek?” Grayson asked.

  Dade shook his head and looked in the direction of the footsteps he heard. Kayla was making her way back downstairs, and she was no longer wearing the blood-soaked dress. She’d put on black pants and a gray blouse. She’d also adjusted her attitude. No more threat of tears or sympathetic looks. She was sporting a first-class glare.

  “How’s your son?” Dade asked, pleased that he would have to deal with the real Kayla rather than the damsel.

  “He’s fine,” she snapped and then turned her attention to Grayson. “Someone obviously leaked my location,” she accused before she even reached them in the foyer.

  “Seems that way,” Grayson admitted. “I suppose you think it was one of us.”

  “I do.”

  Dade stepped in front of his brother so he could finish this fight. “We have better things to do than endanger a witness. So that means the leak came from your side. Who knew you were coming here?”

  She folded her arms over her chest. “You mean besides the Rylands?”

  “Yeah, besides the cops.” Dade didn’t budge an inch. He met her eye-to-eye and practically foot-to-foot. But when she glanced down, Dade looked as well and saw the drop of his blood that had spattered onto one of her high-priced shoes.

  “You need stitches,” Grayson grumbled.

  “I need answers from Ms. Brennan,” Dade grumbled right back. But he did step slightly away so he wouldn’t bleed on her fancy clothes.

  And speaking of clothes, she’d missed a button on the blouse. Why he noticed that now, he didn’t know.

  Wait, yeah, he did know.

  His male brain was too alert to the fact that Kayla was a woman. A woman with a gap in her blouse that allowed him a peek of the top of her right breast.

  Dade did a double take.

  She had a tattoo, a little pink heart right there on the swell of her breast.

  Kayla made a soft sound of outrage, obviously noticing what had caught his attention, and she quickly buttoned her blouse as if she’d declared war on it.

  “Your son’s nanny knew you were here,” Dade reminded her. He rolled up his shirt sleeve to put some pressure against his grazed arm.

  She gave him a flat look. “My nanny is not responsible for this. She was in just as much danger as we were.”

&n
bsp; Dade couldn’t argue with that. “So who else knew?”

  Kayla wearily touched her fingers to her forehead. “My sister, Misty Wallace, but she wouldn’t have told anyone.”

  Grayson and Dade exchanged glances, and Dade knew that Grayson would verify that as soon as he could.

  Kayla noticed that glance and must have realized what it meant. “Don’t waste your time with my sister. I trust her with my life, and she would die rather than tell Charles where I am. Instead, investigate the D.A.,” she answered, her voice edged with anger.

  “Winston Calhoun’s not in the business of killing witnesses, either,” Dade let her know, although he would check to make sure the D.A. hadn’t accidentally said the wrong thing to the wrong person. “I’ve known Winston my whole life. We can trust him.”

  “Maybe not,” Kayla disagreed. “Is he rich like you and your family?”

  “No.” And Dade didn’t like where this was going. “But not everyone can be bribed.”

  “My former father-in-law has a knack for finding a person’s weak spot and getting his way.” There was no smugness in her statement, and a frustrated sigh left her mouth.

  He couldn’t argue with that, either. “What about your sister, then? Is Misty dirty rich like you?”

  Oh, that got a rise out of her. The anger flashed through her eyes. “This isn’t about Misty. It’s about Charles and whomever he could have bribed.”

  “Maybe,” Dade concluded. “Then I’ll go back to my original question. Who knew you were coming here? A boyfriend? A lover?”

  She shook her head and looked ready to slug him. “No, on both counts.”

  “Your driver, then.” Dade tried again.

  “I drove myself, and I didn’t tell anyone else where I was going.” She paused. She glanced around the foyer, her attention landing on Dade’s bloody arm. “I came here because I thought Charles would believe this was the last place I’d be.”

  “Obviously you got that wrong,” Dade grumbled.

  “Obviously,” she grumbled right back.

  “Why did you change your mind about testifying?” Dade pressed when she added nothing else.

  Kayla dodged his gaze. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  Because she was staring at the floor, Dade ducked down a little to make eye contact. “Try.”

  She lifted her shoulder, stepped away from him. “I wanted to do the right thing.” Kayla paused. “This morning, I got a threatening email from my ex-father-in-law.”

  Dade and Grayson exchanged another glance. “You told the D.A. about this?” Grayson asked.

  “No, what would have been the point? Charles’s threats are nothing new and never specific enough to bring charges against him. But this time, something inside me…snapped.” She paused. “Or maybe for the first time things got crystal clear.” Her gaze came to Dade’s again, and she blinked back tears. “After reading that email, I knew the only way I could get this to stop was to testify and make sure Charles is put away for the rest of his life.”

  Oh, hell. There it was again. Sympathy. It was burning as hot as the gash on his arm. Grayson obviously wasn’t immune either because he gave a heavy sigh.

  “And that’s the reason I need you in protective custody,” Grayson concluded. “I want to take you and your baby to a safe house so that Brennan can’t get to either of you. Brennan is out of jail on bond, and we’re trying to keep an eye on him. But you know better than anyone, he can hire guns to do his dirty work.”

  Kayla stared at Grayson. Then stared at Dade, too. “After what happened tonight, how can you possibly keep my baby safe?” she asked. Her voice broke on the last word.

  Dade was about to assure her that he would do his best, but Grayson’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and mumbled some profanity before he stepped away to take the call.

  “I still don’t trust you,” Kayla whispered to Dade.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I get that.” He pointed to the blood on the floor. “But you’ve got a very short list of people you can trust right now.”

  She must have known that was true, but she still didn’t agree.

  “That was one of the medics,” Grayson relayed, putting his phone back in his pocket. He walked back across the foyer toward them, his attention nailed to Kayla. “Your bodyguard died on the way to the hospital.”

  That was all he said. Grayson didn’t offer any details or reiterate that she could have been the one in that ambulance.

  Kayla pulled in her breath, and what little color she had drained from her face. She gave one crisp nod and turned toward the stairs. “I’ll let the nanny know that we’re moving to a safe house tonight with Dade— Deputy Ryland,” she corrected, her voice now chilled with that ice-queen tone.

  Dade didn’t exactly celebrate because it had taken way too long to convince her to do the right thing. Now, he only hoped it was the right thing. After all, she’d just put her son’s and her lives right in his hands.

  “I think we might have found our leak,” Mason said, stepping into the doorway.

  That got everyone’s attention. Kayla stopped on the bottom step and turned to face him.

  “I checked the dead gunman’s phone.” Mason held up the bagged cell for them to see. “About a half hour before this guy started shooting, he made three calls.” He aimed his usual surly expression at Kayla. “First one was to some guy named Danny Flynn, a lowlife who likely works for your ex-father-in-law, Charles Brennan.”

  “He does,” Kayla admitted. “I remember that name.”

  Well, that wasn’t exactly a bombshell. Everyone knew how much Brennan wanted to stop Kayla. Of course, Brennan would deny any association with the employee who’d gotten the call, but the cops might be able to break the employee and get him to confess.

  “You said you’d found the leak?” Dade prompted.

  Mason glanced at the screen on the dead man’s cell. “We got two possibilities. The next call the gunman made was to Misty Wallace.”

  The breath seemed to swoosh right out of Kayla. “My sister?”

  “Your sister,” Mason confirmed.

  Kayla frantically shook her head. “But Misty wouldn’t tell Charles or anyone else where I was going.”

  “Right,” Mason grumbled. “That call to her says otherwise.” He went to Grayson and handed him the phone so that his brother could also check out the screen.

  From his angle Dade couldn’t see what caused both his brothers’ eyes to narrow.

  Kayla had a white-knuckled grip on the stair railing. “Who’s the third person he called?”

  “What kind of game are you playing, Ms. Brennan?” Grayson demanded.

  “What do you mean?” And her shock sure as heck sounded sincere.

  But Dade didn’t take her sincerity of the head shaking at face value. He leaned in so he could see the name of the last person the gunman had called.

  Hell.

  What was going on?

  Chapter Four

  Kayla was trembling, but that didn’t stop her from marching across the foyer to see what had caused the Rylands to turn those accusing stares on her. And then she saw the cell phone screen.

  No, it couldn’t be. But it was.

  It was her name and number.

  “Why did the gunman call you?” Dade demanded.

  “He didn’t,” Kayla answered as quickly as she could get out the words.

  “The phone says otherwise,” Mason Ryland growl.

  “Then it was faked somehow.” She hated the quiver in her voice. Hated even more that she cared one iota what these Rylands thought of her, but by God she’d had no part in this attack. “I wouldn’t have hired someone to shoot into a house where my son was staying.”

  The trio exchanged glances. A united brotherly front against her. They didn’t just look alike—they had the same scowls. And they were also waiting for more of an explanation. However, Kayla didn’t have one.

  “Where’s your phone?” Dade asked after first giving
an impatient huff.

  She glanced around but didn’t see it and remembered she hadn’t seen it upstairs, either. Just moments before Dade’s arrival, she’d been searching through her purse for it. “I must have left it in my car.” She pointed to the side of the estate where she’d parked.

  Even though none of the lawmen came right out and accused her of lying, it was clear from their deepening scowls they didn’t believe her.

  “I’ll look for it,” Mason insisted, and he strolled out, leaving her to face the remaining two.

  “I didn’t speak to the gunman,” Kayla tried again. “And if he called me, it was to set me up.”

  “Why would he do that?” Grayson asked.

  Kayla didn’t have to think too hard to come up with an answer. “Maybe to try to discredit my testimony. Charles could have hired the gunman to do that because if he could prove I had an association with a killer, then it might make a jury less likely to believe anything I say.”

  Another exchange of glances before Grayson spoke again. “Or you could have hired the gunman to make Brennan look guilty of attempted murder. A crime that could put him away for life and not just the twenty years he’d get for the other charges.”

  Oh, mercy. As theories went, it wasn’t a bad one, and Kayla had no idea how she would convince the Rylands that she was innocent.

  “Maybe your sister is the one who did the hiring.” Dade tossed that out there, not tentatively, but it wasn’t a roaring declaration of Kayla’s innocence, either.

  But what had she expected?

  Yes, Dade had saved her life. Had even been wounded in the process, but to him she was lower than dirt. Well, except for those heated looks that he hadn’t quite been able to suppress. Kayla was too familiar with those looks. Her late-husband, Preston, had certainly given her enough of them, and she was painfully aware of where that had gotten her.

  “I’ll call my sister,” Kayla mumbled and started for the house phone that was on a table in the foyer. Of course, to get to it, she would literally have to walk through her dead bodyguard’s blood.

  “Here,” Dade offered, handing her his cell.

  Kayla took it, her hand brushing against his. Not a gentle hand, either. It was rough. No doubt from the physical labor of ranch work.