Page 10 of Eight Years Later

Kat placed her hands on the table for a second before her eyes caught sight of them, and she quickly hid them in her lap, shaking her head. “My neighbor Eve showed up with her brother. He’d been stabbed, and she wanted me to help.”

Because she was a nurse now.

And I bet a damn good one.

“That’s where the blood is from,” Kit stated.

Kat nodded. “Honestly, everything else happened so fast. I went down the hall to get supplies, then suddenly, there were other voices in the house. A man. The way Eve was yelling at him, it was obvious he was the one who had stabbed her brother.” I gritted my teeth a little harder with each word. “I freaked out. I didn’t know what he was going to do, so I grabbed Dylan, and we climbed out the window. We got to the car, then this guy came out, he started banging on the window, saying that we had to come back sometime and he’d be there waiting.”

Kit’s fists were clenched on top of the table as we listened to what had happened. “You have any idea who this guy was? Why he’d stabbed your neighbor’s brother?”

“No. I know nothing.” Her shoulders slumped, and I reached over and placed my hand on her thigh, squeezing it gently.

She looked up at me. “What about what he looked like?” I questioned, seeking any little detail that could help us possibly figure out what we were dealing with.

Kat scrunched up her nose. “Like Post Malone, but if he was on crack. Tall and really slim, with tattoos smattered everywhere… on his face too. He was scary looking, and the way he said he’d be there waiting for us when we came home…” A full-body shudder moved through her, every part of her shook for a moment.

“Okay good,” Kit said with a nod. “Why don’t you go and get some rest. We’ll figure out a plan tomorrow.”

“You’re gonna help?”

Kit’s brow knotted between his eyes. “You think we wouldn’t?” Her eyes flicked to me before returning to Kit, who shook his head when she opened her mouth to speak. “I think the hand on your leg right now is all that needs to be said. Though I’m sure my brother here will correct me if I’m wrong.”

He wasn’t.

And he knew it—the smug look on his face as he got to his feet told me exactly that.

Kat and I stayed there as Kit stepped out of the room, neither of us made a move to leave the table.

“Tally…”

I held my hand up. “There will be plenty of time later. After we fix this shit so you and Dylan can feel safe again. Now, let’s get you a hot shower and wash off all the bullshit you’ve just endured.”

I held out my hand, and she placed hers in it, letting me help her to her feet.

At some point, we would talk about the past.

And maybe when that time came, we would also talk about the future.

Because letting her go hurt enough the first time.

And I needed to decide if I was willing to do it again.

Chapter Four

KAT

Tally had let me use his bathroom so Dylan could finally get some sleep in our room, without being kept awake by me showering and trying to wind down. Although the scorching hot shower I’d taken had done nothing to calm my pounding heart.

It hadn’t stopped racing since we’d left home, and there were times during the trip here I’d had to pull over, wondering if I should actually drive myself to the hospital to get it checked. I was pretty sure I’d had a full-blown panic attack.

Something that, for most people, would be completely debilitating.

But they say adrenaline can give people superhuman powers, and I was pretty sure that it had given me the power of just not break the fuck down or lose my shit that night.

I wrapped the fluffy black towel around me.

Of course the clubhouse had black towels because who the hell wants to try and clean blood and grease from a white one? I caught sight of something red as I tucked the edge of the towel under my arm and quickly whipped both hands out, holding them in front of me.

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