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“I love you too, Cade. More than I ever knew was possible.”
“We’re going to get it right this time, I know it.” I pulled her tight against me, the soft curves of her body molded to mine, and I sighed. We were both all in this time. Nothing could come between us ever again.
She turned in my arms to look up at me. “My heart is in the palm of your hand again, Cade,” she whispered. “Please keep it safe.”
“Always,” I vowed, lifting her face to mine for a kiss.
After she left for New York, I’d played it safe. I shut down and never reopened my heart for someone else to hurt me. Hell, I’d even shut Charlotte out when we started up again with all the conditions I had set and my refusal to listen to her. I realized I’d been playing it scared, not safe. I vowed to never close myself off again. Charlotte deserved all of me, and I deserved to have love in my life again.
“Let’s go back to bed,” she murmured against my lips. “But sadly, I might be too tired to be on top. We can do that tomorrow.”
I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You can be on top whenever you want. We have nothing but time.”
“Oh wait, you were up all night. I can rally. Let’s have more coffee first. Or we can both go to sleep for a while?”
“How about you take a nap and I’ll sit with you while you sleep. We’re not leaving this house until—”
“Until they catch him,” she finished.
I nodded. “Exactly. I haven’t heard from Trevor in about an hour. I’m starting to think—” I was interrupted by the sound of both our cell phones ringing.
The number on mine was unknown. “Cade Barrett here,” I answered.
“I’m going to grab my phone real quick, it’s on the deck,” she mouthed, pointing to the door.
I nodded as she crossed the living room and slid the door open.
Whoever was on the line was mumbling so bad I couldn’t make it out. “Who is this? I can’t hear you. No, my name is not Jaden.”
Jaden.
Dread ran through my body as my eyes shot toward Charlotte outside. She blew me kiss and waved. I let out a relieved sigh as I waved back. “You have the wrong number—”
“Cade!”
Her piercing scream sent my heart plummeting as I dropped my phone and raced to the deck.
Chapter24
Charlotte
My cell stopped ringing. “Dang it.” I picked it up to see who I had missed.
“Adaline.” I felt a hand wind up in my hair at the same time his creepy as hell voice filled my ears.
“Let me go!” I gasped, struggling to break free. “Cade!” I managed to scream before his other hand slipped over my mouth. My eyes watered as he tightened his grip in my hair and twisted the strands. I bit down on his hand, and he yanked my head back with a vicious pull as he dragged me toward the stairs that led off the deck.
“Damn it, let me go!” I kicked back into his shin and stomped on his foot. I wasn’t letting this freak get me off the deck. No way.
Cade’s massive deck had stairs that led down to a small grassy back yard, but there was no fence separating it from the forest that lie beyond, and the nearest neighbors were at least half a mile away. We were mountain rural up here and almost completely isolated.
I knew my life depended on me staying on this deck.
“Adaline! Stop fighting me!” He hit me in the side with the closed fist of the hand I’d bitten, and I flinched. It hurt. He rained blows over the side of my face and my upper chest, and I gagged when his fist connected with my neck.
“Stop it!” I reached back and grabbed between his legs to squeeze with everything I had in me, then blindly punched backward until he squealed and hunched over. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get loose from that hand in my hair. But I managed to twist around and get a good look at all the crazy up close. His eyes were wide and vacant; it was like looking into a black hole.
I kicked out, but his hand in my hair had me off-balance and we fell to the ground. We struggled briefly before he pinned me to the ground and held me with one arm around my throat and that damn hand in my hair. I tried to send an elbow into his ribs, but his arm flexed around my neck, and I struggled to breathe. “Hold still and I’ll stop choking you.” I froze. Every single thing I’d learned in Krav Maga went out the window as I gasped for breath. Finally, he lessened the pressure on my throat and I could breathe.
