“I intend on finding my father’s killer.”
“You think you’re smart enough to evade those Assassins forever? They are killers, trained from the time they were old enough to walk to seek out and kill. You got lucky, but you won’t escape their bullet a second time.”
“I can try.” Rage burned through him. He wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
“You’ll lose. I’ve seen Assassins track down Were Guardians who had gone rogue. Once Assassins have a bead on you, they will be relentless in hunting you down until they are sure you are dead.” Damon shook his head. “They don’t care if you’re guilty or innocent. All they care about is getting the job done. That’s it. At this moment, to them, you, Braxton, are the job.”
Braxton shoved his hand through his hair. What Damon was saying was right. But his heart told him to do something else.
“Come with me and…” Damon’s phone rang. He growled at the interruption and pulled it out of his pocket and answered.
Damon’s entire expression softened.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. I won’t be home for dinner. Things aren’t going as planned.” Damon gave Braxton a pointed look like it was all his fault.
Braxton headed into the kitchen. Would he ever have someone in his life like Damon did? Would there be a day when someone was waiting for him at home, someone calling and asking him what he wanted for dinner? Would he ever have a mate? Would that mate be Kate?
Braxton swallowed, startled at his romantic thoughts. What the hell was wrong with him? He’d never entertained the idea of having a mate before. Not after how he grew up. He would never want to raise a child in an environment like that. Yet here he was entertaining the idea of a life with a female who wasn’t even a wolf.
The hum of someone pulling up the driveway pushed away any fantasy thoughts.
The Assassins. They’d found him.
Braxton hurried to the front window where Damon stood next to him with his hand on his gun.
“Assassins?”
“Not unless the Assassins have traded their Harleys for a minivan, a sedan, and a Volkswagen Beetle.”
The vehicles rolled to a stop. Groups of women began piling out of the cars.
“Did Kate mention she had guests coming in?” Damon shot him a glare.
“No. In fact, she’s behind on her mortgage and heading toward foreclosure because business has been so bad.”
Customers were exactly what Kate needed. From the expression on the ladies’ faces, they were sure to book a room.
“Leslie, I don’t know. This place looks so isolated,” a younger woman who’d gotten out of the VW mumbled as she walked across the yard.
“Yeah, but it’s got character,” one woman offered. She smiled and lifted her gaze to the snow-covered pines.
Braxton snorted at the women’s interaction. He didn’t know their names, but he already liked the one who said the place had character. If Kate got all those women booked for the weekend, that would help her business.
“Kate needs to get out there then,” Damon said.
“I’ll go check out back. If those women knock, go answer the door,” Braxton called over his shoulder.
“I’m not answering the damn door. What do I look like? A butler?” Damon hollered after Braxton.
Braxton bounded down the steps and out into the snow-covered yard. The wintery air made his lungs ache as he sucked in a chilly breath. Kate was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she’d headed into the woods.Trampling through the fluffy snow, he stopped at the tree line. He closed his eyes and sniffed. He caught her sweet scent but it wasn’t coming from within the woods. He changed direction and headed toward the storage shed off to the side of the house.
Opening the door of the shed, he stepped inside. Kate stood, gripping the counter of the potting bench as her head hung down. She looked like he felt. Broken.
His heart twisted in his chest.
“Kate.”
She stiffened and then slowly turned.
“There are some people that just pulled up. Looks like they are needing a place to stay.”
A flicker of surprise flashed across her face. “Guests?”
He shrugged. “I think so. They were talking about whether or not they were going to stay.”
“Did you talk to them?”
“No, I just heard them talking.”
Kate rubbed her hands on her jeans and hurried past him. “Did you invite them inside?”
“Well, no. I thought you were outside. When I didn’t see you greeting them, I came looking for you.” Braxton rubbed the back of his neck as he followed after her. They entered the front yard. The cars were still there, but the ladies were gone.
Kate stopped suddenly. Braxton plowed into her back. His hands came around her waist, steadying them both.
“They must be inside.” Braxton’s hands slid up and squeezed her shoulders.
“Inside?” She turned and stared up at him with wide eyes. “With Damon?”
CHAPTER EIGHT