Desperation tightened every muscle in his body. He was leaving her for all the right reasons. She’d submitted beautifully tonight . . . but she insisted that she wasn’t built for this in the long run. After meeting Gordon, Hunter knew why she thought so; he just didn’t agree. And he couldn’t force her to conquer all her fears for him. As much as he hated the way his parents had split up, the Colonel was right. Hunter couldn’t hold Kata against her will. She had to want to stay. She had to want to conquer her own fears.
They were fucking doomed.
He glanced at the clock. Almost three a.m. He could measure the time they had left together in seconds, and it was ripping him apart. What the hell was he going to do with the enormous void she’d leave in his heart? No one was ever going to fill it. The best Hunter could hope for was that, someday, she’d be happy.
On the bedside table, his cell phone vibrated. Quickly, he snatched it up. Jack’s name popped up on his display. His time with Kata was up.
He went into high alert. “Talk to me.”
Jack heaved a long sigh. “We found Cortez Villarreal. He never appeared at Sexy Sirens, so we had to hunt him down at a rundown meth lab here in town.”
“And?” Hunter sat up, easing Kata’s head onto a pillow, then anchoring his feet on the floor.
“He’s dead. According to the homicide detective, he’s been dead for somewhere between forty-eight and seventy-two hours.”
Shit. That probably explained why no one else had come after Kata since Silva had taken potshots at her. Villarreal probably hadn’t had time to hire anyone else before his untimely demise.
“Cause of death?”
“Bullet to the brain. This was gang style, all the way. In fact, one of Villarreal’s rivals is taking credit. He’s got details of the murder that no one but the killer would know. It’s legit. I swiped Villarreal’s cell phone and laptop before the cops arrived. If they have anything, I’ll let you know.”
Relief eased through Hunter. “Thanks.”
They hung up, and he opened the blinds so the silvery moonlight rushed in, glowing over Kata’s skin. He stared at her with a sigh. This was it. The end. He had no reason to linger here . . . except that he loved her. Since it looked as if the danger to Kata had passed, he’d ask Jack and Deke to watch over her for a while, just in case. But he’d promised to sign her divorce papers and get out of her life. Even if it fucking killed him, he’d live up to his word.
Swallowing, he grabbed his phone and flipped it to camera mode. Just one image. He needed it, his own personal heaven and hell. Hunter wanted to remember Kata like this, his wife, in his bed, her soft expression sated, peaceful.
As soon as he clicked the button, he glanced at the picture, knowing this would be the first of a million times he’d look at it. The image was perfect. She looked absolutely beautiful and lush, her lips swollen, her hair in a wild tangle, almost covering the swells of her breasts . . . but not quite.
Squelching all his urges to wake her, take her, try to reason with her again, Hunter rose and shoved into his jeans. He dug into his pocket and fished out the rumpled papers inside and flattened them out. The word “Divorce” screamed out from the top of the first page. Cursing, he flipped to the back and saw Kata’s signature. Beside it sat a blank line, ready for him to add his name and legally declare this union over. He grabbed a pen, hesitated, damn near choking on rage and grief.
If the divorce would make her happy, he loved her enough to let her go.
Hunter pressed the pen to the page and forced himself to scrawl his name at the bottom. Resisting the urge to slam the pen down, he set it down gently, leaving both on the nightstand.
Before he could think any harder, he tossed on the rest of his clothes and headed for the door. One last time he glanced back at Kata sleeping in a lush tangle of silky hair, soft arms, and cotton sheets. His heart twisted in his chest. But there was nothing left to say or do, except leave.
He shut the door behind him with a quiet click. The finality of it swept desolation through him. Hunter leaned against the door, scrubbed a hand down his face.
Never had he done anything this fucking hard. He felt like he was breaking into a million pieces.
Suddenly, Tyler appeared in the hall. “You gone?”
“Yeah.” He glanced back at the closed door. “Take her back to my dad when she wakes up. Thanks for the offer to drive Kata and her mom to Lafayette.”
“Have to go back anyway.” Tyler shrugged, sandy hair falling over his green eyes. “You sure you want to do this? Kata is a hell of a woman.”
Fresh anguish swept through Hunter. In his head, he knew it wasn’t Tyler’s fault, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing the guy’s shirt and slamming him against the wall. “I know how you feel about other men’s wives. Even though I signed those divorce papers, she is never available to you. I will dismantle you limb from limb if you ever touch her. And last night never happened.”
With a pointed glance at Hunter’s fist in his shirt, Tyler went very still. “You done making an ass of yourself?”
Yeah, he probably had, Hunter conceded—and released Tyler.
The guy smoothed out his shirt. “Like you said when you invited me, I’m in love with someone else. But I gotta tell you, I think you’re bailing prematurely. Kata’s definitely got feelings for you.”
Feelings, yes. But those feelings didn’t trump her fear, and he wasn’t sure they ever would. Hunter loved her. He wished like hell that was enough.
KATA woke as the first rays of sun crept into the bedroom. Hunter! She opened her eyes, only to find the rest of the bed empty. She touched a trembling hand to the sheets where he’d lain. It was cold.
Just beyond, on the nightstand, familiar, rumpled pieces of oncecrisp paper lay faceup, all pages folded back at the staple to reveal the last one. A black pen lay ominously on top.
Dread banged through her, like mute cymbals crashing, their silence deafening.
As if they might bite her, Kata eased her hand toward the papers, picking them up slowly. A glance told her that Hunter had signed. In a few short months, they would no longer be husband and wife.
No, no, no!
Kata closed her eyes, and tears welled up. Everything between them last night had been perfect. If she could survive one night under his domination, she could do it again. And again. Couldn’t she? Hunter would never hurt her, never mean to run roughshod over her. Had she let the best man to ever come into her life go because she was too damn afraid to trust her heart?