She moved her gaze to where he held her still. “Are we done? I want to go lie down.”
Olin wanted to tell her no, to demand she discuss it with him until they came to some sort of understanding, until she figured out that she had people who cared about her, that she’d get through this.
Except, he’d done this long enough to know he couldn’t force people to believe things, couldn’t change their minds until they were ready to accept the truth.
So he let go of her.
Kat didn’t storm away, didn’t stomp her feet or make a scene. She was eerily silent when she walked out of the kitchen, toward her room. Once she left, Olin placed his forearms on the bar top and sighed.
“She’s more stubborn than a mule,” Bradley muttered.
“She’s scared,” Dean said. “People are unpredictable when they’re scared.”
“Her ignoring good sense is about the most predictable thing she could have done,” Bradley said. “I could toss her over my shoulder and force her to leave.”
“Pretty sure that’s kidnapping.” Olin turned in the seat until he could face the other two men. “She’ll come around.”
“If you think that, it only proves you don’t know her that well.” Bradley crossed his arms.
Which was probably fair, but Olin wasn’t sure what else to do. They couldn’t drag her out, no matter how tempting the idea might have been. Of course he wanted her to listen, to go somewhere safe until he could handle this, but wanting didn’t mean he could make her.
Kat needed to feel safe, to feel in control. That wasn’t possible if they forced her to do anything.
“Let her sleep,” Olin said as he rose. “She’s exhausted and raw right now, but she isn’t stupid. I bet you that tomorrow she’ll wake up and see reason.”
The looks on Bradley and Dean’s faces said neither man agreed, but that didn’t matter.
He could only hope he was right, that she’d figure it out, because no matter what he said, he wasn’t willing to let her just sit there in danger as long as she wanted.
He refused to have to identify her body next…
* * * *
The groan of Kat’s old window wasexactlywhat Bradley expected. He nearly grinned when he heard it, when it was so familiar that, despite the risk, he found himself amused. Kat always did this sort of thing, never listened, never did the smart thing. It meant her sneaking out was entirely on-brand for her, and it made him nostalgic.
He slid from the front door, rounding the house quickly, knowing damned well Kat was moving slowly to avoid noise. She probably expected him to be sleeping, to get away before he ever realized.
It seemed she’d been away long enough that she underestimated him now.
Too bad for her.
Bradley fought back the laugh when he reached the outside wall of her room, to find her trying to slide out of the window without making any additional noise. The shrubs that sat below the window would only make that more complicated, which was no doubt the reason for her awkward motions.
And when her foot slipped, Bradley rushed forward without thought, catching her before she crashed into the bushes. She yelped, the sound probably surprise from the fall, or perhaps fromnothitting the ground.
The moonlight shone brightly, and it meant the gray of her eyes met his, gleaming, highlighting her glare at her failed escape.
“We need to talk,” he said, not bothering to hide his annoyance.
He didn’t let her down, even when she delivered an elbow to his side. Instead, he carried her inside, putting her feet to the floor only after kicking the front door closed behind him.
“I can walk, you know,” she spat as she took a few steps back.
“Yeah, I noticed, since you used that skill to try to take off without a word.”
She crossed her arms but didn’t respond, pressing her lips together into a tight, stubborn line.
“You were going to give yourself over, weren’t you?” Even saying it drove his temper up. What if he hadn’t expected it? What if he hadn’t been awake and waiting? What if he’d woken the next morning to find her gone, and never saw her again?