“How the hell do you know he’s in my bed?” Kate fisted her hands.
“It’s obvious. I saw the way he looked at you. Not to mention he was half-dressed. I would have figured you’d have better taste than that loser.”
“He’s not a loser.” Kate narrowed her gaze.
“He’s a murderer.”
“Actually, he’s not. He was wrongfully accused, if you must know.” Her heart pounded in her chest, not from fear but from rage. If it were possible to make a human spontaneously combust from a mere look, Bigsby would be a pile of gray ash right now.
“Yeah, right.” He gave her a look of sympathy that made her want to punch his face in.
“You’ll probably end up like one of those pathetic women on those TV dramas about how they married a jailbird.” Bigsby gave her a look of pity. “Don’t waste yourself on someone like that. You could do so much better.” He gave her a slow smile.
Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the idiot in front of her. He actually thought he had a chance with her. He actually thought that after all he’d done to destroy her business and take away her home, she’d give herself to him. What floored her the most was he actually thought he was better than Braxton.
Kate closed her mouth and crossed her arms. “If I live a thousand years, I will never find a man as honorable as Braxton.”
***
Braxton bolted up right in bed as a sense of foreboding filled his chest. He glanced over, expecting to see Kate still asleep. Instead, the bed was empty.
Uneasiness snaked in his gut as he fisted the sheets in his sweaty palms.
After flinging off the bed covers, he tugged on his jeans and headed for the kitchen. Maybe Kate couldn’t sleep and decided to start prepping for breakfast. Turning the corner, he entered the empty room.
“Damn it.” Braxton looked at the clock on the microwave. It was a little after four-thirty. Where in the hell would Kate go at four-thirty in the morning?
“Why are you yelling?” Jayden frowned as he stumbled into the kitchen. He scratched his bare chest and then opened the refrigerator.
“Have you seen Kate?” Braxton growled.
“No.” Jayden pulled out a water bottle and headed back to the couch. Braxton followed him into the living room. “Why?”
“She’s not here.” Braxton shoved his hand through his hair. “If she were going to leave she would have told someone. This isn’t right.”
Jayden sat up straight. “Are you sure she just didn’t have to run into town for something?”
“At four-thirty in the morning?”
Jayden frowned. “Maybe she had to go to a friend’s house. You said yourself that vet friend calls at all hours. Maybe he called. Did you hear the phone ring?”
“No.” He’d been exhausted after the fight at the bar. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t sleep through it. I’ve got to go find her.”
Jayden nodded and reached for his shirt. “I’ll go with you.” His phone vibrated on the glass coffee table. Jayden reached for it.
Then he looked up. “I know where she is.”
“Where?” Braxton’s hand stilled on the doorknob.
“Felicity just texted me and said she followed Kate to the Thorncrown Chapel.”
“Is Felicity with her?” Braxton spun around.
“No. She said she followed Kate when she left.” Jayden met his gaze. “Felicity thinks Kate is in some kind of trouble.”
“Fuck.” Braxton grabbed Jayden’s bike keys. “I need these.”
“Of course.” Jayden threw his shirt on and headed out with him, but Braxton shook his head.
“Go wake Damon. He knows where the chapel is. Ride with him.”
***
Braxton raced down the winding roads through Eureka Springs, the cold winter air hitting him in his face, but he felt nothing. His mind was focused solely on Kate and making sure she was okay. If she had put herself in harm’s way for him, he would never forgive himself.
The sign for the Thorncrown Chapel up ahead had Braxton breathing out a prayer of thanks that he was almost there. He made the turn and his lights bounced along Felicity’s darkened taillights. He parked in front of her car. Maybe Felicity hadn’t felt it was safe to pull in front of the church.
Braxton raced up the driveway, making sure to keep to the shadows and out of the moonlit path. Kate’s SUV was parked in front of the illuminated glass church. He crouched behind her SUV and peered into the church. Two figures stood at the front of the church near the altar. One was Kate and the other that dickhead, Bigsby.
Rage poured through Braxton’s veins. He was going to handle Bigsby once and for all.
***
“What do you want, Bigsby?” Kate ground out the words between her clenched teeth. She was done with any sort of polite conversation with this overgrown jackass.
Bigsby looked a little surprised by her tone. “Well, I see you want to get right down to it.” He opened his briefcase on the front pew and pulled out several sheets of paper and a pen.