should have told her sooner. He shouldn’t have waited.
“What about the kids?” he asked.
“Mom and Dad took them to my place so they wouldn’t have to deal with reporters.”
He nodded. “I need to talk to Katie first.”
“I figured. She’s pissed.”
“Yeah, tell me something I don’t already know.”
“Ryan—”
“Not yet, Mitch. I’ll explain it all after I see Katie.”
When they pulled up in front of Simone’s house, Ryan eased out of the car and jogged up the front steps. Pushing the door open, he saw Simone on the phone. She waved him in. “I’ll have to call you back.” She hung up and glanced from Ryan to Mitch behind him. “I just got off with Hannah Hughes. She’s found Ron Grayson.”
“I’ll call him later.” Ryan glanced around the empty room. “Where’s Katie?”
“Out back.” When he stepped past Simone, she placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. “Ryan, I did the best I could.”
He squeezed her hand. “I know.”
Kate was standing on the edge of the deck, facing away when he eased the door open. One arm was wrapped around her middle; with her other hand, she rubbed that scar on the side of her head, the one she’d gotten when this had all started. Sunlight washed over her, bathing her in shimmering light. His arms ached to hold her; his fingers itched to slide into that mass of chestnut curls and massage away the tension and worry seeping from her body.
He hoped what he wanted and what she needed were the same. Swallowing the fear, he stepped up behind her. “Katie.”
Her green eyes flashed when she whipped around. “You lied to me.”
Fear spread to panic. She’d already made up her mind. He reached for her before she could step back.
“No, don’t,” she growled through clenched teeth, trying to pull away.
“Hold on. Let me explain.”
She swatted at him, pushed hard against his shoulders. “No. No!”
Heartache ripped through her words, tearing at his soul, but he didn’t let go. Couldn’t. He pulled her tight against him.
His name was a strangled whisper from her lips. A sob tore through her. Shaky fingers grasped his face and pulled his mouth to hers. Her kiss tasted of urgency, of hunger, of desperation.
Thought slipped out of his mind as he kissed her back. This was all he needed. Just her, for the rest of his life. He could face any challenge as long as she was with him. As long as she believed in him—in them—they could get through anything.
“No,” she mumbled against his mouth. Her hands rushed down to his chest, pushing against him. Tears slipped from her eyes as her mouth broke free. “No! Don’t. Don’t touch me!”
An icy rush of air washed over him when she pushed out of his arms. “Babe—”
She held out a hand to keep him away. “Don’t call me that. You don’t get to call me that.”
He was losing her. Panic spread to bone-melting fear as a heavy weight pressed down on his chest. “Just wait. And listen.”
“You knew Jake didn’t die in that plane crash. And you didn’t tell me. You knew!” She swiped at the tears. “How could you do that?”
He swallowed, hard. “I didn’t know for sure. I suspected. And I knew if I’d told you, you’d have gone looking for him.”
“So you lied to me? Why?”
He raked a hand through his hair, tamping down the resentment at the mention of Jacob McKellen. “Because you’re my wife, not his. I needed you with me. I needed to know how you felt about me before I told you what I knew. It was wrong, and it was selfish, but I wanted more time.” When her mouth dropped open, desperation tugged at him. “Don’t you get it? I wasn’t about to let you get anywhere near him after I knew what he’d done.”
“So you let me believe a lie. You didn’t trust me enough to be honest with me.”
“No.” It was coming out wrong. She wasn’t getting it. “That’s not it. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“And this is so much better,” she mocked. Her eyes darkened. “You were working with him.”
“No.” On this, she had to believe him. “I swear, I wasn’t.”
“Don’t lie to me! I know he was in your office. I know he was a partner in Grayson Pharmaceuticals. You acquired his company. You were planning on pushing Amatroxin through the FDA. My God, was this all about the money?”
The muscles in his chest tightened. Just the thought she would believe any of that sent