Bloody Love (Lilah Love 6)

“Yes. Damn him.”

He pulls back and studies me a moment. “You okay?”

“You know I’m tough.”

“I know you’re human, but I’m glad you have Kane, Lilah. He won’t let them take you, too.”

“Then you can come to a New Year’s Eve wedding?”

“Where?”

“Boston,” I say. “I’ll email you details. A few people and us, away from all of this.”

“I’ll be there. I’ll let you work. Let me know what Marilyn does.”

I nod and he heads for the door. Kane backs out of the doorway to allow him to exit. Andrew says something to him that I can’t make out and then Kane is back. He closes the space between me and him and rounds the desk to stand in front of me.

He cups my face. “You are not another version of your father. Decide that right now, the way I did years ago.”

“As far as I’m concerned, he’s not even my father.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

Sunday morning, I wake up on my belly to rain pitter-pattering on the window and Kane’s leg draped across my legs. I want to stay here forever. But alas, the murders. I have to solve the murders. So instead of luxuriating with my husband-to-be, I grab my phone to find about a hundred text messages. Bottom line, everyone is working hard. One tidbit I grab from the messages immediately: Marilyn dumped the disposable she was using and is now at her cabin in New Hampshire, alone it seems.

I set the phone down and roll over to face Kane. “What are you going to do about Miguel?”

“Good morning,” he says. “How did you sleep, Lilah?”

“Good morning. And fine.” I press my hand to his face. “He tried to kill you.”

“I’m going to replace him, but it will take some time.”

“So he just gets to carry on?”

“I could get rid of him now and take over the cartel, but neither of us wants that.”

“He tried to kill you, Kane. That’s my answer to anything you say about him staying.”

“I need coffee. You need coffee.”

He and his naked self get up and leave me in bed. And unfortunately, I have to pee too badly to follow right now. I hurry into the bathroom, pull on a robe, brush my teeth, and head downstairs. There’s a fresh cup of coffee waiting on me.

“I have a plan,” he says, setting it in front of me. “Trust me.”

“Tell me the plan, Kane. This is one of those times when I need you to trust me.”

“After we’re married.”

“You really think I’d ever testify against you?”

“I don’t, but I’m also never going to put you in a position to lie under oath for me, Lilah. Ever. I know what I’m doing. And it’s what’s best for us. In fact, I need to take care of a few things this afternoon. What is your plan?”

“I have an army working this case. I think I’ll go look for a wedding dress.”

His eyes warm. “That sounds like an excellent plan. And tomorrow we can go get our license.”

“That works,” I say, claiming a barstool. “But this morning my gut is telling me to go to Boston. Maybe the missing piece of the puzzle I need to stop the killings is there. Any chance you can leave after we get the license? And we can check out the hotel and the island? Wait. Do we need a license in Boston? I’m not sure how this works. I’m a marriage virgin.”

“If we marry in Boston, we need a license up there, but let’s get both in case you hate the hotel.”

“I’m not going to hate the hotel.”

“You’re marrying me no matter what, so if something happens, and we can’t get there—”

I laugh. “We’ll get a license here, too, just to be safe, despite how overkill that is.”

“It’s called planning to get what I want. I actually have some company business tomorrow after lunch. I’ll book a room and I can fly up late evening and meet you, but I want Jay and Kit to go with you.”

“Jay, yes. Kit stays with you. And I have your two men watching Marilyn.”

“Take Enrique and Jay.”

“You do know Enrique is afraid of Marilyn, right?”

“Afraid? Enrique? Why?”

“He thinks she’s a witch. Something about a Mexican witch he once knew and something about Marilyn’s ways reminds him of her.”

“Mexican superstitions.” He refills his coffee cup and sets the pot down. “They still live large and wide. My mother used to make me wear a red string around my wrist to ward off Mal de Ojo, or Evil Eye. I had one practically the minute I was born.”

I sip my coffee. “A string?”

“Yes. A string. With my father being my father, she felt I needed all the protection I could get.”

“She wasn’t wrong. I’ll take Enrique and Jay some red string and then put him to work. Jay is the one who needs some protection.”