She fought for them.
And she battled for her life.
Because she finally felt worthy.
She didn’t deserve to die.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure her resolve was going to be enough.
“What the f**k do you mean? He’s gone? Where?” Kade barked at Travis as he drove, raising his voice in frustration as he talked to his brother on his phone connection from his car.
“We don’t know,” Travis answered gravely. “The police went to pick him up on a warrant and he’d disappeared. Nobody had seen him in days. Obviously he got wind of the fact that he was going to be arrested and fled. We removed the two women he’d raped and assaulted who were in his employ to get them some help. It probably tipped him off.”
“Shit!” Kade slammed his hand on the steering wheel. “We need to find the bastard. He needs to be in jail.”
“He could have flown back to India. We’re looking for him. But he could be long gone,” Travis answered unhappily.
“Asha and those women deserve to have justice done,” Kade replied angrily. “The world would be a better place without him in it.”
“You need to keep a cool head until we find him,” Travis warned sternly. “Are you going to tell Asha?”
Kade gripped the steering wheel hard, his hatred for the man who had hurt Asha out of control. “What? That her ex-husband raped and assaulted two of his employees? Or that he’s running around free after doing it?” He took a deep breath, trying to calm his desire for violence. “Yeah. I won’t lie to her. I’ll tell her the truth. I know her and I know the fact that he hurt other women will haunt her, but she deserves to know.”
“It won’t change anything,” Travis pointed out rationally.
“It won’t,” Kade agreed. “But I won’t have secrets between us. And she’ll probably have to become involved with the case, probably testify.”
“The guy is warped. If he knows the police are after him, he probably knows the original investigation came from us,” Travis said distractedly.
Kade’s whole body went tense, his mind suddenly fixed on a nightmare scenario. “You think he’d go after Asha?” He could barely voice the possibility.
“Doubtful,” Travis replied immediately. “He’s on the run. But I think you should keep an eye on her until he’s found.”
“I’m almost there. I’m taking her home with me. She belongs with me,” Kade said, putting his foot down on the accelerator of his Lamborghini to get him to Asha’s apartment as fast as he could get there. Something about this whole situation didn’t feel right, and some primitive instinct was gnawing at his gut to get to Asha.
“Kade, I know you care about this woman, but—”
“I don’t just care about her, I f**king love her,” Kade interrupted his brother furiously. “I love her so much that I can’t think straight. I want to kill anyone who hurts her, and I can’t stand the thought of her having one moment of unhappiness after all she’s been through. I think about her all day long, and I dream about her at night. There’s no hope on this one, Trav. She’s it for me. She’s my life now. I’m right there with Simon, Sam, and Max.” It was a place he’d never dreamed he’d one day be, but he didn’t regret it.
Travis sighed. “Shit,” he mumbled irritably. “So I’m going to be the only survivor. The only sane guy in our group?”
“I’m not so sure sane is all that great,” Kade replied. “It’s lonely and dark. I’d rather be certifiable and have Asha in my life.”
“Don’t expect me to visit you in the psych ward after she dumps you. I haven’t found a woman yet who’s worth losing my common sense over,” Travis drawled, his tone dark and broody.
Kade knew Travis was putting on a front, a mask for all the emotions that lay behind the cynicism. He gave Travis his usual answer. “You’re an ass**le.”
“I know,” Travis answered agreeably.
Kade turned a sharp corner, his mind focused on Asha. “I’m almost there. I’ll call you later,” Kade told Travis impatiently.
“Something’s up. I can feel it. Be careful,” Travis said soberly.
Kade didn’t question Travis’s intuition. They were twins, and sometimes they could sense each other’s emotions. And, although Travis would never admit it, he had a rather eerie ability to read and feel future events. Only Travis knew if it was just incredible intuition, or if there was more to his ability. He refused to talk much about it.
“Later,” Kade replied simply, clicking the button to end their communication as he pulled into the parking lot of Asha’s apartment building, and jumped out of the car the moment he killed the engine.
The sound of sirens wailing, sounding like they were headed in his direction, made Kade’s entire body tense as he jogged awkwardly toward the building, knowing he wasn’t going to relax until he saw for himself that Asha was safe.
“Fuck! She’s coming home with me tonight and she’s staying forever,” Kade whispered harshly to himself as he reached the elevator, pushing the up button impatiently.
Kade’s patience was gone, and all he could think about was keeping Asha beside him where she belonged before he lost his mind.
His jaw set, his mind made up, the elevator door closed on Kade’s stony, determined expression as he jammed the button for her floor, more than ready to throw Asha over his shoulder and take her home—whether she was ready or not.
Chapter 17
Asha put all of the rage from her oppressed years into her life-and-death battle with Ravi, but it wasn’t enough. He had her on the floor, his pungent body odor nearly gagging her. Her ex-husband’s temper had always been on a short leash, blaming the world for his problems and taking them all out on her. But something was different, the wild look in his eyes telling her his mind had completely snapped. It was obvious he hadn’t showered in days, and his number-one priority was seeing her dead. At one time, she’d been afraid he would kill her by injury during a beating. Now, her death seemed to be his only purpose, his sole intent.
Her arms pinned to her side by Ravi’s weight, Asha tried to buck him off her body, but she could barely budge him, his substantially heavier weight and level of strength hampering her efforts. He grasped her braid, using it as a weapon to keep her head still as he brought the knife to her vulnerable neck. Ranting in Telugu, he increased the pressure, the edge of the knife beginning to cut into her skin, but he didn’t make the final slice.