Why would she panic? “What?”
And then she felt it. Her tongue got thick, swelling in her mouth.
“That was my fork.”
Gemma took a long breath of air, knowing damn well it might be her last.
Chapter Twelve
“You’re sure?” Jesse asked, his hand on the door to the station house. Despite the fact that Gemma had run, Cade still felt his partner’s will. Jesse had spent every minute of the last few hours looking for her. And he’d spent the last few hours with his heart in his throat. “Because I could come with you. I’m sure Nate can reschedule this meeting.”
“It’s his day off, man. He’s doing us a favor. Someone has to figure out just how deep the shit she’s in goes. And one of us needs to find Gemma.” They had called all over the county. They’d checked anywhere they thought she could hide. And come up with nothing.
Jesse pulled the door open and then closed it again. “Why did she run like that? And with him?”
He felt his whole body sag. Cade probably understood in a way Jesse couldn’t. Everything had become very real this morning. And it scared the shit out of Gemma. Jesse didn’t get it. He was ready for the whole relationship thing, but Gemma wasn’t. Not entirely. She might be ready to have sex and date, but they had both pushed her this morning. “She’s a very private person, I think. She was a little horrified everyone knew what she’d been doing. Especially her mom.”
Jesse sighed, a long, deep sound. “I didn’t think about it. I was too mad. And honestly I don’t understand why it’s a problem. Her mom obviously knows we’re making love. I wanted to stake a claim in a way she couldn’t dispute.”
Despite the severity of the subject, Cade felt his lips tug up. “I think Gemma can dispute anything you throw at her. She’s not exactly a shrinking violet. You underestimated her. Now, I need to find her so we…so you can talk to her.” He’d almost said “we.” He didn’t need that. He was so close to the edge. He didn’t need to start thinking that way.
Jesse’s eyes narrowed. “You were right the first time, Cade. We need to talk to her. So go find her.”
“And if she’s thinking about getting back together with her ex?” That was Cade’s greatest fear. Smooth Asshole Lawyer Dude would waltz back in, and Gemma would make a decision matrix based on what they could offer her. Lawyer Dude could offer her fancy cars, jewelry, and apartments in the city. Cade could offer her pussy-ass non-commitment and orgasms. The good news was, Asshole Lawyer didn’t give her orgasms. The bad news? Cade had a tiny fucking apartment that smelled like motor oil. He had to hope she really wanted the orgasms.
Jesse didn’t sound like he had the same anxieties. “She’s not getting back with him. She wouldn’t get back together with that asshole if he offered her the moon. She’s got way too much pride. We just have to hope we didn’t wound that pride too much this morning. When you find her, tell her I intend to hug the fool out of her before I spank her ass. And tell her I missed her. She was only gone for a few hours, but I missed her.”
The door closed behind Jesse, and Cade was left with a hole in the pit of his stomach. Jesse was in love with her. He hadn’t said the words, but there was no doubt in Cade’s mind. If Gemma returned his love, where did that leave a pussy who was terrified of commitment? Where did that leave a man who cared about them both but knew damn well he didn’t deserve either of them in his life?
His cell chirped, announcing he had a text.
Gemma’s here. Stella’s. Who’s the jerk?
Ty. Well, at least someone had found her. He typed back, his thumbs forming the words.
Ex. Keep an eye on her. Don’t let her leave. On my way.
Cade strode toward the diner, his mind a damn mess. Did he really want to confront her?
Gemma Wells was going to drive him completely and utterly mad. What the hell did she not get about the word “casual”? Casual meant things were to be kept on a superficial level, and Cade got to enjoy the sex without being too serious about any one woman. It meant he kept floating through life. No problems. No connections. No woman who forced her way into his thoughts.
So why couldn’t he think of anyone but her? Why did he just know deep down that no other woman would ever be as beautiful as Gemma Wells was when he slid inside her? He could still see her face as Jesse played with her ass. She’d viewed it as a challenge and she meant to win. She made his cock jump every time she crossed his mind. He was fucking hard all the time. There was that wonderful peace that happened for two minutes after he came inside her, and then the need built again. She was maddening, obnoxious, tart, and sweet at the same time.
And she was going to get her ass whipped.
He couldn’t sit there in the station house and listen to Nate and Cam talk about all the ways someone wanted to kill her. He would go slowly insane because he knew she was somewhere out there with a man who’d broken her heart once before. Jesse would just have to give him the rundown later. What he wanted to do was find Gemma, pull her over his lap, and smack her ass until she never thought about running out on him again.
He’d never spanked a woman in his life. That was Jesse’s thing. Cade’s thing was fucking them and then quietly sneaking out and leaving the tender care part to his partner.
His rage at her as she’d left this morning was only tempered by the deep sadness he’d felt at the same time. Gemma made him feel. He’d managed to waltz through life caring for only a few people, but that had started to change the minute they came to Bliss. What should have been a short mission of vengeance turned into something far more dangerous. He’d started to put down roots.
Everyone he loved with the exception of Jesse was dead, and it was his fault. He didn’t deserve roots.
“Cade!” a deep voice called out.
Cade waved as he crossed the street. James Glen had turned out to be one of those damn roots he couldn’t afford. James stood with his partners in the Circle G, Bo O’Malley and Trev McNamara.
He always thought it was so surreal to see the former pro football star hanging out around Bliss. He’d seen Trev on TV and in magazines. Now he wore a cowboy hat and dealt with cattle.
“Hey,” his partner said. Bo O’Malley was a big cowboy with a sunny smile and a happy disposition. “We heard rumors that you were looking for someone. We can help you out with that. Our girls found your girl.”
Trev tipped his Stetson toward the diner. “Beth and Hope are redecorating the ranch house, and they claim they can’t plan without Stella’s pie.”
James frowned. “There’s nothing wrong with the ranch house.”
Bo’s baby blues rolled. “Dude, that place hasn’t been updated since 1968. I don’t even know how that fridge is still working.”
“I like it,” James replied.
Trev ignored them. “Beth said they backed you up, but you better think twice before you make a girl look bad in front of her momma again. They’re already protective of her. Beth said she’s in. That means something here. Don’t piss those women off, Cade. They stick together.”
James went a little white. “I swear I think they write this shit down so no one ever forgets. I think that game night they’ve been having is really a plotting session on how to take us all down.”
Cade shivered a little at the thought. “Oh, you do not want Gemma joining in on that. She’s evil. I mean that in the sweetest way.”
Bo gave him a slap on the back. “So you better walk the straight and narrow, man, or we’re all in trouble.”
“I don’t see how we made her look bad in front of her momma. Her momma now knows how well we take care of her.”