High Stakes Gamble

Chapter Eighteen

Kai stood aside to let Aurora sit in the front with Cory, but she declined by ignoring his gesture and shutting herself into the back. Her paleness worried him as did her unstable appearance probably because he’d never seen her looking so unlike her normal, confident, sassy self.

Her hair, her beautiful cloud of black waves that made a man long to stroke them had been viciously anchored back. Her prominent cheekbones stood out as did her full lips that were ripped and bloody from her ravaging teeth.

She looked exactly like a woman on the edge and all he wanted were those moments back that they’d shared in the doctor’s office. The moments when she’d tried to bury herself inside him. When everything he was, every sinew of his soul demanded he declare his love and commitment.

The only thing that had him backing off from demanding he take her home was her typical self-confidence that she knew exactly what needed to be done and would do it no matter what. Plus the look in her eyes warned that anyone dumb enough to thwart her would pay dearly.

For a second their eyes caught, and hers, shining with pooled tears, increased the agony already ripping through his insides. He gasped and had to inhale to stop the love he felt from gushing out of his mouth and upsetting her even worse.

He’d seen the panic she couldn’t hide. The identical feeling had stricken him. First, unending fear clawed, leaving a person feeling helpless. Then the ‘what ifs’ had to be forced back so madness couldn’t grab hold.

Stop it!

He wouldn’t go there, because if he let the images of the terrible things that could happen to his darling little baby without anyone to protect her, without her Daddy or Mommy… My God, please keep her safe!

Having recently lived through a disaster when his wife Debbie and son Alec had been kidnapped by a crazed maniac, Kai knew that Cory understood their suffering. His intentions were obvious. To keep their minds occupied and off of what they might find at their destination, Cory started sharing facts with Kai and Aurora about the ongoing case to bring them up to date. Kai forced himself to listen. Anything that might help get Lily back into her mother’s arms needed his attention.

Soon the boss called on Aurora to explain certain elements, the parts she’d been involved in personally. Smart as a fox, he forced her to join in the conversation. Concentrating on the upcoming battle made sense and Kai felt indebted to Cory for his quick thinking.