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Uh, Cat, Tam held up one hand. Let s not go there.
Oh. Okay, but I do have a point. Part of the reason I don t think Dad s ever really
dated has been his job.
He told me he works for a private security company.
Cat s nose scrunched. Yeah, not really. The lucani, we have our own army. Dad s a
soldier, but he s a special kind. Cat s expression turned serious, her bright eyes intense.
You have to ask him about that, Tam. Make him tell you. Mom and Dad have been
worried about him. They don t really talk to me about it, I guess because they don t
want me to worry. But I ve noticed he s been& different lately. Like he doesn t really
know what to do with himself anymore.
But he s different with you. And that s a good thing. Cat smiled. A really good
thing.
54
Kiss of Moonlight
Chapter Four
Kyle wanted to be back before Dan and Margie got to the house but as soon as he
saw the mess at Tam s, he knew he wasn t going to make it.
Most of it he could leave until tomorrow but he didn t want to leave the blood trail
from the living room to the front door. It would draw animals and bugs. And possibly
human predators.
After he d gotten rid of that, he packed her stuff. The two bags combined didn t
weigh as much as his gear bag. And that just fucking pissed him off.
Almost as much as the half-empty bottle of sleeping pills in her toiletry bag made
him want to hit something. By the time he d gotten within visual distance of his house,
he knew he had to calm down before he stormed inside and wrapped himself around
her like a blanket. Or a bullet-proof vest.
So he headed for the back porch and a little bit of sanity before he went to her.
She s eteri.
Dan s voice came from the dark shadows of the garden and the double swing under
the weeping birch. He d built the swing for Cat years ago. Dan sat there now, still and
almost invisible, which was a pretty good trick because in the light, the guy drew
attention like magnets drew steel. Movie stars had nothing on him, with his curly
brown hair, dark eyes and perpetual smile.
But anyone who knew him learned fast that he was just as much a hard-ass as Kyle.
Dan just hid it better.
Kyle set Tam s too-light bags on the patio and headed for the swing. Don t you
think I fucking know that?
She s a beauty.
Kyle bit back a string of obscenities that had nothing to do with Tam s looks.
Sinking onto the swing, he reached out for the bottle of Jim Beam in Dan s hand.
He took a swig before answering. I know that too.
She s been hurt.
Another swig. Uh huh.
Recently.
And another. Yeah.
Bad.
Yeah.
Dan sighed. If we re going to play this game, we re gonna need another bottle.
55
Stephanie Julian
It s not a game.
Not the end of the world either.
Kyle snorted. And drank.
Wanna tell me what happened to her?
He took another healthy swig. Six months ago, she was raped, beaten and
imprisoned before she got free and kicked the shit out of the guy. He s in a coma, never
expected to regain consciousness.
Dan fell silent for a few seconds. Shit. Give me the bottle.
Kyle took another swallow before passing it over. The men Tivr and I caught
tonight were paid to retrieve Tamra. They didn t know why or by whom.
Vaffanculo. That s scary.
Yeah, it was. He held out his hand for the bottle. Too bad versipelli metabolism
worked alcohol out of the system so fast. The buzz was good but didn t last nearly long
enough. Cat knows everything. She s pretty attached to the girl.
I don t think calling her a girl s gonna work, buddy.
Yeah, ya think?
Dan didn t rise to his sarcasm. He knew Kyle was itching to hit something and Dan
wasn t in the mood to play punching bag. Which meant at least one of them was
thinking clearly.
You want me to stay? Dan asked. I know Tivr s out in the forest but I can send
Margie and Cat home, patrol with Ty. That help any?
Kyle finally turned to look at the man who d been his best friend his entire life.
They were closer than brothers, didn t need to speak to know what the other was
thinking and, before he d taken a training position, Dan had been the only partner Kyle
had ever trusted with his back.
They d shared a woman many years ago and now they shared a daughter they both
loved. Kyle would give his life for Margie, not because he loved her like Dan did but
because she was Dan s mate.
Dan was offering the same.
Thanks. No, but thanks.
Dan nodded. Then I m going to get two of the women out of your hair. What you
do with the third, that s up to you. Bottle s all yours. But I don t think it s gonna give
you any answers.
* * * * *
Cat s mother, Margie, must have been a carbon copy of her daughter at the same
age.
56
Kiss of Moonlight
Today, Margie s hair was dark auburn instead of strawberry gold and she carried a
few more pounds in all the right places. But otherwise, the resemblance was amazing.
Right down to the aquamarine eyes brimming with compassion.
When they d arrived, Margie had hugged her daughter, introduced herself to Tam
with a firm handshake and proceeded to make Tam feel like she d been a lifelong
friend.
Dan had smiled at her but he d let Margie do all the talking. Which was probably a
good choice because Dan was flat-out, movie-star handsome.
And he made her uncomfortable as all get-out.
It made no sense at all, but Margie must have caught on right away. She sent Dan
outside to check the perimeter .
Now sitting at the breakfast bar separating the kitchen from the dining area, Tam
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