“Why don’t you explain?”

He held my gaze, not wavering for a second. “You’re personally involved with one of my friends. I respect that connection enough to let him share the news.”

I deflated. “This is because of me and Ronan.” Not that there technically was a me and Ronan yet. But I wanted there to be, and I think he did too.

“Yes.”

I sighed heavily. “I still don’t like it, and you wouldn’t either if you were in my shoes.”

He inclined his head. “Maybe not.”

A shrill ring interrupted us. I jolted in surprise and patted my pocket for my phone. My heart leaped into gear as I pulled it out. It was an unknown number.

“I don’t know who it is,” I said to Kade. “Should I answer?”

“Yes.” He stood, businesslike. “Put it on speaker.”

I accepted the call and hit the Speaker button. Meanwhile, he retrieved his own phone and tapped the screen several times.

“Who is this?” I asked.

“Willow?” It was Tom.

I nearly dropped the phone. My eyes jerked to Kade’s.

“Tom,” I said aloud, in case Kade wasn’t familiar with my brother’s voice. Kade nodded to indicate he understood. “Are you okay?” Questions bubbled inside me, spilling over each other, but only a few managed to break free. “What’s going on? Where are you? Who’s coming after me?”

“Not now.” His tone was terse. “I’ll tell you when I can see you in person. First, I want to know why the hell Ronan King is sticking his nose into my business.”

“Excuse me?” After everything that’d happened, he had the nerve to ask?

“Don’t play the fool. I know you better than that.”

“I wasn’t,” I snapped. “I just can’t believe you’d actually have to ask.” I turned my back to Kade, embarrassed he could hear the way Tom was speaking to me. “Someone tried to kidnap me yesterday. Ronan is the only reason they didn’t succeed, and now he and his business partners are working to keep me safe.”

I waited for the relief. For the gratitude. No matter what his personal feelings toward Ronan were, surely he could see we owed him. It was time to put the past aside and figure out the best way we could all come out of this in one piece.

Tom uttered a string of foul words. “Assuming it was who I think, you should have gone with them. They wouldn’t have hurt you, but who knows what they’ll do now?”

I pressed my fingers to my temples, which throbbed at his unspoken admission that he’d been keeping things from me. “You know who it is?”

“Yes, and you wouldn’t have been in any danger.”

I gaped. He was deluded if he believed that. “They broke down my apartment door and then tried to snatch me off the street.”

“He would have told them not to harm you much. They need you alive or you’re no good to them.”

My jaw dropped at his use of “much”. As if a few minor injuries would have been acceptable. “Who is ‘he’?” I closed my eyes. “Even if you’re right that they wouldn’t have hurt me more than they already did, did you think about the fact that Sage was there? They had no problem with the idea of hurting her.”