Chapter Nine

LILY

The back door to Kace's apartment pulls back, and Kace rushes out just as I throw a half-empty cup at Bradt. Again he dodges it with extraordinary skill. Furrowing my brows, I huff. I wish he would stop doing that.

"Luca? What the fuck is going on?" Kace asks.

I jolt back in surprise as Bradt smirks at me and chews on his bottom lip.

"Luca? Your name is Bradt?"

He shrugs and tilts his head. "Umm… about that… Bradt isn't my name. I made it up. Bradt is a surname of Dutch origin, and it means deceit and fraud."

I furrow my brows and shake my head while I stand here in total shock wondering what the hell is going on.

Kace rolls his eyes and huffs. "Fuck my life. What the hell have you done now?"

While glaring at Bradt, or Luca, whatever the hell his name is, I slant my posture to the side placing my hand on my hip. "Well? Are you going to explain?"

He looks from me to Kace, and his smile drops from his face. He exhales loudly. "No… I'm not."

As anger washes over me, I throw my hands into the air and huff. "Seriously, Kace? Your friends are a mystery, too?" I squish my eyebrows together and continue, "Listen here… Kace fucking Colt, I don't know who you think you are, but this is a load of bullshit. First, I'm removing bullets—"

"Lily—"

"Then you're fucking working for a Mafia lord—"

"Lily—"

"Burning buildings. People dying. Weirdos climbing onto your balcony—"

"Hey, I'm not a weirdo!" Luca butts in.

Kace glares at Luca sternly furrowing his brows. "I'm coming over."

"Screw you, Kace!"

"I kinda like her," Luca mumbles.

"Shut up!" Kace and I both yell at the same time.

"This isn't done, Lily," Kace calls out.

I open my eyes wide and shake my head. "Oh… it's done! Over. Finished. Gah…"

He glares at me, and I shake my head flipping up my middle finger at him.

"I'm sick of this shit," I yell as I turn and storm inside.

"I'm kinda turned on," I hear Luca say as I walk in and pace the living room floor. My heart's racing as a bead of sweat drips down my temple. I'm so worked up, I want to rush over there and punch him myself. I hear a click, and turn to see Daisy running up to me, then I look up and watch Kace storming in toward me.

My chest heaves as I point at him. "How did you get in, the door was lock—"

Suddenly, his lips are on mine. That buzz, that charge, ignites straight away. But I'm mad as hell, so I go to push him off. Instead, he grabs my arms and pulls me to him kissing me even harder. I fight as best I can, but my defenses are dwindling. The tingle shooting through me sends goosebumps over every inch of my skin, which in turn is setting me on fire.

Kissing him is an experience all new to me. Sure, I've kissed guys before, but nothing has ever affected me like kissing Kace does. And as I give in, I close my eyes and sink into his body, then open my mouth and allow his tongue access kissing him back, allowing myself to be swept into the dark.

He's a scary place for me, an unknown, but what I do know is kissing him is the only thing that feels right in my life at the moment. This is worth all the uncertainty because even though he's in the dark, this is lighting up my life.

"Kace, I'm sorry, man, but we have to go," Luca announces.

Kace's lips softly leave mine. He rests his forehead against mine, and he clenches his eyes together tightly like he's really annoyed. "Fuck!" Kace groans.

"No… not again. Kace, what the hell is going on?"

He opens his eyes and looks right at me, his piercing blue eyes staring completely into my soul. It makes my knees weak, and I stumble on the spot slightly.

He holds onto me and takes a deep breath as he exhales and shakes his head. "I'm sorry."

Gritting my teeth, I huff and take a step back in annoyance. "You promised you'd tell me!"

He winces and rubs the back of his neck.

"Kace, we gotta go. I'm sorry, bro—"

"Luca, just give me a minute—"

"I have… we have to go. Now. Boss is calling us in."

I furrow my brows in confusion. "Wait, who's your boss? Didn't he die in the explosion?"

He frowns and sighs taking my shoulders in his hands and looking right into my soul again. "All is not as it seems, Lily. I will tell you when I can, but I have to go. Can I leave Daisy with you as a promise I'll be back to talk to you about this?"

Shaking my head as I step back from him and exhale. "Fine. Whatever. Just… go."

"I'll be back, Lily, I promise. Just keep Daisy with you."

I nod, and he winces as he takes in my annoyed expression. He looks over to Luca whose joker attitude has gone and has been replaced with a serious, stern-faced man.

It's unsettling.

"I will be back."

"Just go, Kace," I reply, and he leans in kissing my cheek. The usual spark jolts right from my cheek down my side and straight between my legs, but I'm mightily pissed off to act on that right now.

Kace rushes out the door along with Luca without a second glance back. My chest tightens as the door closes, and I huff folding my arms over my chest in utter annoyance.

At least Daisy will be here to keep me company.

KACE

I pull the door shut behind me, clenching my fists tightly at my sides. I want to go back in to ease her mind and tell her everything.

"You know you can't tell her, right?" Luca states, staring at me as if I've completely lost it. I can still feel the taste of her on my lips. She's soft and sweet, everything I crave but know I can't have.

"Shut up, Luca," I snap, forcing myself away from her door and heading for the stairs.

He jogs to catch up to me. "It's a shame really, I kinda like her. She's feisty."

"What happened with you and Lily?" I ask him as we push out the front doors and walk to Luca's car. We both climb inside, and he starts the engine, pulling away from the curb.

"I ran into her while she was out running. I may have given her a fake name."

I roll my eyes and look over to my friend. "You just happened to run into her."

He smirks. "Okay, so I may have been testing her to see if she's any good for you. But like I said, I like her… she's hot both in body and temper. But you know drawing attention to her is only going to get her killed." When I don't answer, he flicks his eyes from the road to me. "Right?"

I sigh, leaning my head back against the headrest. "Fuck. I know. But there's something about her, I just can't stop being near her. Everything inside me tells me to watch over and protect her."

"Then, it's best you stay away," Luca says gravely. "Because the biggest threat to her right now… is you."

LILY

I dig some dog toys out of my closet and stay on the sofa, tossing a ball for Daisy and smiling as she retrieves it, covering it with her slobber and dropping it back into my lap.

I scratch behind her ear, and she pants happily. "You look all tough, but really you're just a big softy, aren't you?"

Trying my hardest to keep Kace out of my head, I focus my attention on her. Just when I think I might have figured him out, he throws another curveball, and my mind once again is reeling.

I need answers.

And he isn't giving them to me. Part of me wants to dig deeper to see what I can find out about him on my own. But the rest of me wonders whether I'm prepared for what I might find.

I shake off all thoughts of Kace. "Where's the damn remote when I need it?" I mutter, looking around me, hoping to use the television as a distraction.

Daisy's head pops up, the remote clenched between her teeth. My eyes widen in surprise as I hold out my hand, and she drops it, sitting back on her haunches proudly almost like she's smiling at me.

"I wish I had my slippers," I say slowly, watching as Daisy darts out of the room, heading down the short hall to my bedroom. "No. She wouldn't…"

When she appears in front of me again with one of my soft, fluffy pink slippers in her mouth, I can't help but stare at her in awe. "Holy shit."

Even with spending my whole life around animals, I've never come into contact with one that's trained so well. I'm beginning to realize that Daisy isn't just a normal family pet. She's smart, so smart it blows my mind.

It's late by the time I go to bed with Daisy making herself at home by my feet. I've waited up for as long as possible for Kace, expecting him to return, but at midnight, I realize even if he does, I'm far too tired to have a normal conversation with him anyway.

He will have to wait until the morning.

***

It's Daisy's low growl that startles me from my sleep. I sit up, my eyes blurry as I try to make sense of what's going on. Daisy stands by the door, the hair that runs down her spine standing up on end. She bares her teeth, glaring at it as if she can see through the wooden entryway.

"Daisy," I whisper, hoping to gain her attention, but she ignores me. I shiver and switch on the lamp as I climb out from under the sheets, tiptoeing over to her, hoping I won't frighten her and have her turn on me. "Daisy… it's okay," I whisper softly, crouching down beside her and placing a gentle hand on her back. She ignores me, her body crouching lower as she snaps her teeth.

It's at this point that I become scared. Daisy's protective, she's smart, and she has great instincts. She clearly knows something that I don't.

I spot the pendant hanging from her collar. I reach for it, turning it over in my hand. There's a phone number on the back. Pushing to my feet, I rush as quietly as possible back to the bedside table, snatching my cell. Settling in beside her again, I dial the number, pleading for it to be Kace since I have no idea how else to reach him.

"Yeah," his harsh voice answers, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Kace?" I whisper.

"Lily?" he asks, seeming more alert now.

"Daisy's growling at my bedroom door. She won't calm down, and I'm really scared," I tell him, keeping my voice to a low whisper.

"Is she standing or sitting?" he asks. I can hear voices in the background, and he growls at them to shut up.

I press myself against the wall next to the door. "She's standing."

"Fuck," he growls, just as I hear something in my apartment smash.

My heart begins to race, and it pounds so loudly that I'm scared whoever is out there will hear it. "There's someone in my apartment…" I whisper. "I can hear them." My voice is full of emotion, my throat tightens.

"Listen to me, Lily," Kace says, strangely calm. I take a deep breath, inhaling the soft tone of his voice. "I'm coming. But for now, you're going to have to let Daisy out."

I gasp, looking at the beautiful dog, standing like a soldier at the door. Her muscles are clenched tightly, and she hasn't looked away from the door despite me sitting on the floor beside her shaking frantically. "No. What if they hurt her?"

"She'll be okay. Just let her out and lock the door."

As if she hears Kace's words, she moves closer to the door, her nose nuzzling at the opening, waiting for me to turn the handle. I swallow past the knot in my throat and force my shaky legs underneath me as I reach for the handle. I wince as it squeaks softly while I pull it open. Daisy doesn't miss a beat, pushing her way through the small space that I've created and bolting from the room.

I slam the door shut behind her, flicking the lock, pressing my back against it, and sliding to the floor.

"Don't listen. Get into the bed and climb under the covers."

I follow Kace's orders like a robot, crawling across the floor and into the bed. Barking and the muffled sounds of a male's scream make me cry out in fright, and I bury myself under the blankets just like Kace told me to do.

"Shh," he soothes. "It's okay. Talk to me."

"About what?" My body is shaking so much I can barely hold the phone to my ear.

Something smashes, and Daisy barks again. Hot tears burn my cheeks. My breath heats the small space between my face and the sheet.

"Tell me about work," he offers, his voice perfectly smooth, no sense of urgency in it as I freak out inside my bedroom.

I try to gather my wits, focusing on my job. "My boss, he's a douchebag," I tell him, trying to concentrate my emotions on the hate I have for Steven. "He thinks I'm incompetent, but I think I'm better at the job than he is. He's so mean to me, I hate it."

"So why do you put up with it?" he asks.

"Because I love my job, it's just him I hate. I love it too much to give it up, and there just aren't that many jobs around. I need to hold out until I can start my own clinic," I ramble on, explaining to him about my dream to create a clinic that's out in the country and caters to all kinds of animals.

"Dreams come true, Lily. Just gotta believe in them," he states with confidence.

Goosebumps prickle at my skin despite how my body is overheating underneath the thick blankets. A loud bang has me shaking again.

"Kace, I'm scared," I whisper, sniffling loudly.

"It's okay, keep talking. Tell me about your family."

Once again, I can hear voices behind him, and he tells someone to hurry up and move faster.

"Umm… my mom and dad are great. They've always been really supportive…" I hurry to explain, wanting to fill the space around me with my voice, so it blocks out what's happening. "We had horses and cattle growing up. They live on a small ranch. I've got a little brother, too. I miss them so much and don't visit as often as I should. I'm a horrible daughter."

"No, you're not. You have your own life now," he reassures me.

"I really don't have anyone else. I have Molly, but that's it."

"And me," he states, and I laugh softly.

"Yeah… and you."

I hear some shuffling in the hall outside my door.

"Open your bedroom door, Lily," he tells me.

My hands tighten in the sheets, holding them around me as if they are made of steel and will protect me against a nuclear explosion. "Are you crazy?" I snap.

"It's okay…" he soothes, "… I'm here now. Open the door for me."

I pull the covers back, staring at the door suspiciously. "You're here?"

"Yes."

I can practically see the eye roll he gives me as I toss back the blankets, nerves rattling through my body as I slip off the edge of the bed and pad over to the door. I flick the lock slowly before reaching for the handle, my heart pounding once again like it's going to shoot out of my chest. Peeking through the small space I've created, my eyes find him. He's wearing dark clothing—all black.

I throw the door open, tossing my phone across the room and not even caring as I hear it thump against the opposing wall. He catches me as I fling my body into his arms. One of his hands goes to my ass, boosting me up so I can wrap my legs around him. I cling to him like a monkey, tucking my face into his neck and releasing a loud sob as the realization of what was going on finally hits me.

Kace turns us, pressing my back against the hallway wall. One of his hands goes to my neck, his fingers threading through my hair and holding me in place.

I clutch him in my arms, not willing to let go, trying to climb further up his body as though he's a tall tower of safety, and I need to escape. "I was so scared." I cry softly into his neck, drenching the collar of his shirt with my tears.

"I know. It's okay. You're safe now," he whispers, his breath hot against my ear, tickling my skin.

I hear heavy panting and a wet nose press against my thigh. Pulling back just enough to look down, I find Daisy at my side, nuzzling my leg.

"Thank goodne—" I gasp before I'm able to finish my words. "Is that… blood?"