Just the thought of what could have happened to her made his blood rush through his ears in a painful throbbing.
He advanced on her, driven forward by his fear and anger. Still, Kat didn’t retreat, didn’t show an ounce of the self-preservation she should have.
“You know if you went to him, he’d kill you.”
“I’m not an idiot,” she whispered. “I know better than you do what he’d do.” As she spoke, her hand went to her chest, the gesture mindless, as if she hadn’t realized she was touching the marks she still carried from him.
Of course she knew what he’d do—she’d already experienced it once.
That splashed over his anger like ice water, forced him to pull back his frustration and rely on the cool head he’d always used. “So if you know, how could you do something so foolish?”
“Because I can’t let other people pay the price for me,” she whispered.
Bradley opened his mouth to tell her she was an idiot again, that men like Jerry wouldn’t stop just because he got what he wanted, but the sight of red on her arm stopped him.
“You cut yourself,” he said softly and gestured toward the trail of blood that ran down her arm toward her wrist.
She peered down as if she hadn’t noticed it either. “I must have nicked it on the window frame.”
He shook his head and went to the closet in the hallway, then pulled out the first aid kit. He gestured at the kitchen stool, then set the kit down and opened it, not bothering to see if she’d listen.
While Kat liked to push boundaries, she was smart enough to know when to stop pushing.
Now was that time.
When he turned back, he found Kat where he’d gestured, waiting for him. Bradley took her arm in his hand, peering at the wound. It wasn’t deep, but the red just reminded him of what could have happened if he hadn’t caught her.
“What were you thinking?” he asked, not really expecting her to answer but unable to help asking.
She didn’t look at him, her gaze down as he wiped the blood from the wound and applied antiseptic. “I tried to lie there and I couldn’t get her face out of my head. It was all I saw when I closed my eyes. I don’t even know her name, but she died because Jerry wanted me. She suffered like that because of me.”
Bradley shook his head as he applied a bandage to the wound. “She died because of Jerry—not you. You didn’t force him to do anything. He’s doing this because he is twisted, and he wants to inflict pain on people. You can’t put that on you.”
“Would you feel the same if it were you?”
Bradley froze at the whispered question, and despite his initial desire to give her the answer he wanted to—that of course he’d do the same thing if he were targeted—he forced himself to think about it and answer honestly. “I don’t know.”
“It’s easy to tell someone that they aren’t responsible, to tell them not to worry, but it’s different when it’syou.I would tell you exactly what you’re telling me if we were talking about you, but I can’t just stop thinking about it. I can’t ignore it because if I did something different, maybe it wouldn’t have happened.”
Bradley caught her chin, pulling her gaze to his. “Kat, I understand what you’re feeling. I know how easy it is to blame yourself for things, to feel responsible for the whole damned world, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you run off and get yourself killed.”
“But—”
He leaned in, unable to help it when she had that look on her face. It was all innocence, open and not drowning in the years of fights they had between them.Thiswas the girl he loved, the one he’d always loved since she’d first bratted at him so long ago. She was tough and sweet and giving and everything he could have wanted. She might annoy him to hell and back, but damn if he didn’t love that about her, too. He took her lips in a gentle kiss, one to silence her complaints and soothe his frustration at what could have happened.
And Kat gave in, so fast that it proved how unsettled she really was. Normally she’d have argued more, would have insulted him or mocked him for his reaction. She had to be out of sorts to melt against him as she did.
Which took Bradley back, like every touch of hers did. How was it so easy to fall back into this with her? So easy to forget the bad times, the pain, the fights?
Whatever the reason, he pushed it aside. He slid his hand to the nape of her neck to hold her still as he kissed her, and she responded with the same passion she always had. She curled her fingers into the front of his shirt, clinging to him, desire filling each touch.
He broke away to whisper against her soft, eager lips. “But nothing.Youmatter, Kat. You’re important. I know you well enough to figure you out, that you think you’re not worth anything, that you think if you can save someone else it’s fine if you suffer or get killed, but you’re the only one who thinks that’s worth it.”
She stared at him, those gray eyes of hers locked onto his as if she could work through the confusion in her head.
But he didn’t want that. Let her think too hard and she’d come to a wrong conclusion, and give her enough time, she’d believe it as fact. So he delivered a soft bite to her full bottom lip, hard enough that it had to sting. “Pack up your things, Kat. You’re moving in with me.”
“What?”