“He lives with her?”

“Yeah, they share a place, since neither of them are there often. But, come to think of it, he has a bum shoulder. You can take him.”

“Duly noted.”

“Good luck.” Van grins, and comes around the desk to kiss my cheek. “You do deserve her. No one else does.”

I hug her tight and pray she’s right. Because living without her is pure agony.

I need her.

***

Kate and Rhys’s house is in a newer development in Denver. The homes are modest, but nice, with trim yards and enough space between houses to be comfortable.

I pay the cabbie and walk to the door, not sure what in the hell I’m going to say.

Sorry just sounds…lame.

I ring the bell and am not surprised when a tall, broad blond man answers the door.

“Yes?”

“Is Kate available, please?”

“Who wants her?”

“Eli Boudreaux.”

His nostrils flair, eyes narrow, and just when I think he’s going to slam the door in my face, he steps back, and gestures for me to come in.

“I’m Rhys,” he says and holds his hand out for mine, which I shake firmly.

“I figured,” I reply, as he leads me into a living area littered with chocolate wrappers, popcorn, and used wine glasses. “Did you have a party?”

“Something like that,” he replies. “Kate has stepped out for a few minutes, which is convenient, because I’d like to have a word with you privately.”

“Okay.” I look him in the eye, ready for him to rip me a new asshole, but instead, he blows out a gusty breath and sits in the chair opposite me.

“If you’re here to fuck with her head some more, you can just get the hell out of here now. I won’t have her hurt anymore. Not by anyone. Ever again.”

“I’m not here to fuck with her head.”

He licks his lips and leans back in the chair, crossing his ankle over his knee.

“Look, Rhys, I understand that you’re protecting her, which I respect. I have three sisters, and if anyone even looks at them sideways, I want to rip into them. I don’t want to hurt Kate. I’m nothing like her ex-husband.”

“There are few people out there like her ex-husband. He’s a murdering sonofabitch motherfucker,” Rhys says matter-of-factly.

I nod, in complete agreement, when one word brings me up short.

“Murdering?” I ask, much more calmly than I feel.

“I know a lot of people don’t consider the loss of unborn life to be murder, but in this case, it was brutal murder, man.”

I frown, lost, and then the conversation from the graveyard comes to mind.

“Did he ever put you in the hospital?”

“Once.”

“Are you saying he—”

“She didn’t tell you,” he mutters and curses, pushing his hand through his hair. “Yes, he did.”

“I know that he hurt her.”

Rhys lets out a humorless laugh.

“Yes, he hurt her. He used her for a punching bag. For sport.” He clears his throat and has to stand to pace the living room. “Look, this is her story to tell, but I’m going to tell it anyway, because you need to know what she had to overcome just to let you close enough to touch her, man.

“That fucker smacked her around regularly. Not usually in the face to leave bruises, or when I was in town, because he’s a spineless asshole. But then she got pregnant.”

I swallow hard, hating the words about to come out of his mouth, and feeling so fucking helpless it’s almost crippling. I also stand and pace, unable to sit.

“She thought the baby would make him change.” Rhys shakes his head. “Men like that don’t change.”

“No. They don’t.”

“So, she pissed him off one day. I don’t know how. Sometimes all it had to do was rain for him to hit her. He knew she wanted that baby.” Rhys stares at me, blinking hard. “All I know for sure is that he kicked her in the stomach, repeatedly, then threw her down the stairs. He made her miscarry, at fifteen weeks. It wasn’t an easy miscarriage. She was in the hospital for a week.”

Once.

“Please tell me that fucker is in jail,” I say through the hot, burning rage boiling in my gut. “Because, if he isn’t, I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“He is. For now.” Rhys’s smile is cold. “And when he gets out, you’ll have to get in line. So, I’m going to ask you, right now, what your intensions are with Kate, and you’d better be brutally honest with me.”

“I love her. I’m not leaving here without her.”

“Not good enough.”

I raise a brow. “Love isn’t good enough?”

“No.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “It isn’t.”

I mirror his stance, hands in pockets, in a stand-off with the man protecting my girl.

I like him.

“She scares the fuck out of me.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” His lips quirk. “If she didn’t scare you a little, she wouldn’t be the one for you.”

“I will take my own life before I ever even think about hurting her in any way. I’m not saying I won’t be an idiot and say things that I’ll regret, but I would never intentionally hurt her, Rhys. I’d never touch her in anger. She’s…everything.”