Kade (22 page)

“Here’s the gun,” Kade said. He stooped down and eased it onto the floor.

Kade looked at Bree, just a split-second glance, so that she’d know he was about to try to get them out of this, and she gave a slight nod.

“Now, I want the backups,” Anthony ordered.

When he was still in a crouched position, Kade reached into his shirt. But he didn’t get the backups. It was now or never. He said a quick prayer and launched himself at Anthony.

Kade rammed into the man before Anthony could pull the trigger. That was the good news. But the bad news was that Bree was still in danger.

Between them.

Where Anthony could kill her.

Anthony no longer had the gun aimed at her head, but he wasn’t ready to surrender. Far from it.

Kade tried to shove Bree to the side, but Anthony held on to her, choking her with the crook of his arm. She clawed at his arm while Kade caught the man’s shooting hand and bashed it against the floor.

Anthony cursed, but he still didn’t stop fighting.

Neither did Bree or Kade. Bree rammed her elbow against Anthony’s stomach, and he sputtered out a cough.

It was the break that Kade needed.

For just that split second, Anthony was distracted while he tried to catch his breath. Kade shoved Bree away from the man, and he brought down his fist into Anthony’s jaw. His head flopped back.

And he dropped the gun.

Bree hurried to pick it up, and she put it right to
Anthony’s head.

“Give me a reason to kill you,” she said. “Any reason will do.”

Maybe she was bluffing, but after everything Anthony had put her through, maybe not.

Either way, Anthony believed her. He stopped struggling and his hands dropped limply by his sides.

Chapter Eighteen

“Can you drive any faster?” Kade asked his brother Nate.

It was exactly the question Bree had wanted to ask. She was more than grateful that Nate had stepped up to rush them to the Silver Creek hospital, but Bree wanted an emphasis on the
rush
part.

It was torture waiting to see their other daughter.

“I could drive faster,” Nate drawled. “But I’d rather get there in one piece. Well, what’s left of one piece. You do know you’re both bleeding, right?”

Bree swiped at her lip again with the back of her hand. Yep. Still bleeding. She dabbed at the cut on Kade’s forehead. She hated seeing the injuries there on his otherwise drop-dead gorgeous face, but the injuries were superficial and could wait. The baby couldn’t. Well, she could, but Bree thought she might burst if she couldn’t see her and make sure she was all right.

Nate’s phone buzzed, and he answered it while he took the final turn to Silver Creek. The seconds and miles were just crawling by, even though it had only been twenty minutes or so since they’d left the Fulbright Clinic. When she’d looked back in the rearview mirror at the place, the SAPD officers had been stuffing a handcuffed Anthony McClendon into a patrol car.

Bree hoped he’d rot in jail.

It wasn’t a forgive-and-forget sort of attitude to have, but she never wanted the man near her, Kade or their children again. Anthony was slime and had done everything in his power to destroy them.

Thank God, he hadn’t succeeded.

“You’re still bleeding,” Kade let her know when she made another unsuccessful swipe at her mouth. He caught her chin, turned her head to face him and touched his fingers to her lip. “Does it hurt?”

She shook her head. There was probably pain, but she couldn’t feel it right now. In fact, Bree couldn’t feel much physically, only the concern she still had for Kade and their daughters.

“Does that hurt?” She glanced up at the bump and cut on his forehead.

“No.” He kept his fingers on her mouth and his gaze connected with hers. He replaced his fingers with his lips and kissed her gently.

It stung a little, but Bree didn’t care. The kiss warmed her and took away some of the ice that Anthony had put there. In fact, it even took some of the edge off her impatience and reminded her of something very important.

She smiled. “We won.” With all the turmoil going on inside her and the hatred she had for Anthony, Bree hadn’t had time to put things in perspective. Leave it to Kade’s kiss to do exactly that. They’d won, and the prize was huge.

Kade smiled, too. “Yeah. And we’re the parents of twin girls.”

For just a moment that terrified her as she imagined trying to be a mother to both of them.
Twins.
Before Leah, she’d never even held a baby, and now she had two.

“You look like you’re about to panic,” Kade whispered.

Bree chuckled and winced as it pinched at her busted lip. “So do you.”

He nodded. “Maybe a little. I’m thinking about how we can get through those 2:00 a.m. feedings with both of them.”

“And the diapers.” But suddenly that didn’t seem so bad. It even seemed doable. Maybe because Kade had said
we.

“You mean that?” Bree asked before she could stop herself.

He flexed his eyebrows and made a face from the tug it no doubt gave that knot on his head. “Mean what?”

Bree froze for a moment and considered, well, everything. Kade and she had known each other such a short time, and most of that time they’d been working undercover or getting shot at. Hardly the foundation for a relationship.

But somehow they’d managed just that—a relationship.

Of sorts.

Bree was still a little hazy on Kade’s thoughts and feelings. However, hers were clearer now. Maybe because they’d come so close to dying tonight. That had certainly put things in perspective. So, she decided to go for it. She would question that
we,
and then she would tell him it was what she wanted, too. She wanted them to do this family thing together.

Whatever that entailed.

But before Bree could answer, Nate ended his call and looked back at them.

“They found Jamie’s body,” he let them know.

And just like that, Bree was pulled back into the nightmarish memories that Anthony had given Kade and her. Enough nightmares to last a lifetime or two, and now Anthony had another victim—Jamie. Even though Bree didn’t care for the woman’s criminal activity, Jamie had tried to help her, and now she was dead because of it.

“Anthony confessed that he killed her,” Kade explained.

“Yes, he confessed it to my men, too,” Nate verified. “He’ll be booked on capital murder changes, and he’s not just looking at jail time but the death penalty.”

Bree remembered something else he’d said. “Anthony murdered someone else. It’s on the surveillance backups.”

Nate nodded. “Kade gave them back to us, and we’ll give them a thorough review. Trust me, we’ll add any and all charges to make sure Anthony is never back on the streets again. His father, too, because Anthony said there’d be plenty enough on the backups to bring charges against Hector McClendon.”

Good. After everything that had gone on at the clinic, McClendon certainly deserved to be punished.

Kade glanced at her first before looking at his brother. “Did Anthony say anything about Coop?”

“No, and from the sound of it, Anthony is blabbing about anyone who can be arrested for anything. A misery loves company sort of thing.”

Bree felt the relief wash over her. So, her former boss and mentor wasn’t dirty. That was something, at least, even though Kade’s and her lives would never be the same.

And part of that wasn’t all bad.

In fact, part of it was nothing short of a miracle. She might never have become a parent by choice, and it broke her heart to think of all the things she would have missed. She couldn’t imagine life without Kade and the babies.

Except she might not have Kade.

And she didn’t know what she would do if that happened.

Bree saw the Silver Creek hospital just ahead and knew her baby was inside. Just like that, the jitters and impatience returned with a vengeance. Her breath started to pound, her mouth went dry. She felt a little queasy.

And then Kade caught her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. That squeeze was a reminder that she didn’t want to do this alone.

No, that wasn’t it.

She wanted to do this with Kade.

Bree looked at him to ask him about that
we
remark, but again she lost her chance when Nate stopped directly in front of the hospital doors. A discussion that would have to wait.

Kade and she barreled out, leaving Nate behind to park his SUV, and they rushed through the automatic doors. Her heart was in her throat by the time they made it to the lobby.

And then Bree saw them.

Mason was standing near the reception desk, and he was holding a baby who did indeed look exactly like Leah.

Kade’s and her baby.

Bree knew that after just a glimpse.

The baby was crying, and Mason was trying to soothe her by rocking her. It wasn’t working, and Mason looked more than a little uncomfortable with his baby-holding duties. Bree went to him, took the little girl and pulled her into her arms.

Yes, this child was theirs. Just holding her warmed every bit of Bree’s heart.

Kade came closer, sliding his arm around both her and the baby. Leah’s twin looked up at them as if trying to figure out if she was going to start crying again. She didn’t. She just studied them.

Bree pulled back her blanket and studied her, too. Ten fingers, ten toes. There didn’t appear to be a scratch on her, thank God.

“She’s okay?” Bree asked Mason.

He nodded. “She’s got a healthy set of lungs. And she peed on me.” Mason frowned when he looked down at the wet spot on his shirt.

Bree smiled. Laughed. And then the tears came just as quickly. Her emotions were a mess right now, but the one thing she felt the most was the unconditional love. She pulled the baby closer and held on tight.

“It’ll be okay,” Kade whispered to her.

“Yes,” Bree managed to say. “These are happy tears.”

Kade smiled too. Kissed her, and then he kissed their daughter.

“The doc did a DNA test,” Mason let them know. “But I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Neither do I,” Kade agreed. “She’s ours.”

Behind them, the doors swished open, and because of the events of the night, Bree automatically pulled her daughter into a protective stance. Kade moved, too, to position himself in front of them.

But all their posturing wasn’t necessary.

Grayson came through the doors, and he was carrying Leah in the crook of his arm. He stopped a moment, looking at the baby Bree was holding, and he smiled.

“Yeah, she’s a Ryland all right.” Grayson came closer and handed Leah to Kade.

“She’s got a healthy set of lungs,” Mason repeated in a mumble. He glanced at both babies. “Hope you don’t expect me to babysit.”

His tone was gruff, but Bree thought she saw the start of a smile. So this was what it felt like to be surrounded by family?

By love.

The
l
-word stopped her for a moment, and she looked up at Kade. No stop this time.

She was in love with him.

Bree wasn’t sure why it’d taken her so long to come to that conclusion. It felt as if she’d loved him forever. Just like the babies.

Of course, that didn’t mean he felt the same way about her. Yes, they had the twins, but that only meant they were parents. Not a couple in love. And it tore at her heart to realize she wanted it all, but she might not get it.

Kade might not love her.

“Why don’t I get all you back to the ranch?” Grayson suggested. He gave the other twin’s toes a jiggle. “What are you going to name her?”

“I’ve been calling her Mia,” Mason volunteered and then looked uncomfortable with the admission. “Well, I had to call her something other than
kid,
and it rhymes with Leah.”

Bree shrugged and looked up at Kade. He shrugged, too. “It works for me.”

It worked for Bree, too.

So, they had Leah and Mia. The girls might hate the rhyming names when they got older, but they fit.

Everything about this moment fit.

Except for the person who came through the hospital doors.

Coop.

Everyone’s attention went to him, and judging from Grayson’s and Kade’s scowls, they weren’t any happier to see the man than she was. Bree wanted to spend this time with Kade and the girls. She definitely didn’t want to go another round with her former boss.

“We were about to leave,” Bree
greeted
him. And she hoped he understood there was nothing he had to say that she wanted to hear. She only wanted to leave.

Coop nodded. Glanced at the babies. There was no smile, only concern on his face. “I heard what happened, and I wanted to say how sorry I am.”

There was no anger in his eyes or tone. The apology sounded heartfelt, and Bree was glad they were mending some fences, but her mind could hardly stay on the conversation.

“I came here to give you back your badge,” Coop added. “I was wrong to put that kind of pressure on you.”

“Yes, you were,” Kade agreed.

Coop reached in his pocket and held out her badge.

Bree stared it a moment and then looked at each of her daughters. Then, at Kade. She had a decision to make and was surprised that it wasn’t that hard to do.

“No, thanks,” Bree said. And there wasn’t a shred of doubt about this. “I can’t go back to that life. It wouldn’t give me much time for the girls.”

Or Kade.

Coop’s eyes widened. “You’re serious?”

“Completely,” she verified. “I want a job that’ll keep me closer to Silver Creek.”

Grayson shrugged. “I’ve got a deputy position open in the Silver Creek sheriff’s office. It’s yours if you want it. After you’ve taken some maternity leave, that is.”

Bree nodded and managed to whisper a thanks around the sudden lump in her throat. Later, she would tell him how much she appreciated that. The deputy position would keep her in law enforcement. And Silver Creek.

“But an FBI agent isn’t just your job. It’s who you are,” Coop argued.

Bree looked him straight in the eye. “Not anymore. Goodbye, Coop.”

Keeping a firm grip on the baby, Bree extended her hand for him to shake, but for a moment, she thought he might refuse. Finally, Coop accepted and shook her hand. He also hugged her.