“Hi there, honey,” he grinned, hugging her close. Avery was right behind him. They took a seat at the table across from them, and Skull just stared at her.
“Are you going to give me a lecture?” she asked.
“No, not a lecture. The thing is, Khloe, I know what Jonas is feeling. I’m the only man here who knows that feeling. My wife was taken from me senselessly, without thought, without warning. His wife and twins were taken from him.” Skull shook his head, reaching for Avery’s hand.
“I never thought I would recover from that, honey. The only thing that kept me alive was the thought of catching the man who killed Willa. I didn’t know Avery then. It wasn’t time for me to know her then. I just wanted justice for Willa. For me.”
“I know,” whispered Khloe. “I know the story.”
“You know the story, but you didn’t live the nightmare,” said Skull. “See, right now, Jonas is dying inside thinking of the pain that he will not come back from if he loses you. He suffered that once and thought he would die then. He didn’t. Then he met you. No matter how hard he tried, he fell in love with you.
“Now, you’re saying that you want to put yourself at risk for him and the others. You, with all your good intentions, want to stop this man from killing anyone else. It’s admirable. Brave, even. But none of that will fill the void if he somehow, by some strange twist of fate, he gets to you.”
Khloe swallowed, nodding at the big man. She’d always thought he was ruggedly handsome, brave, and stoic. He was the classic big, strong, silent type, and right now, she was realizing that Jonas was the same type of man.
“You’re right, Skull. I don’t know what any of that would feel like. I can’t imagine. But I can imagine what it feels like to believe that your life is over with. No one cares. No one loves you. No one will rescue you. I’ve felt that terror. I’ve lived that terror.
“It’s not the same as losing someone you love. You’re right about that. I didn’t have anyone to love back then. But I do now, and if I can give even an ounce of justice to Jonas for what happened to his family, I’m going to do it.”
“Honey, it isn’t about justice for him,” said Skull, standing to pull her to him. He held her tightly to his chest, whispering against her hair. “Justice means nothing to him if something happens to you. It would send him down a spiral that he couldn’t return from. I don’t know that any man here would be able to stop him.
“When I thought Avery was in danger, I would have killed every man, woman, and child in my path to get to her. The rage, the anger, the absolute blind heat of revenge takes over, and you cannot control it. Not men like us. Not men like Jonas. He loves you, Khloe. All of this shows me just how much he loves you.”
She stared at him, unsure of what he meant.
“Sweetie, he’s willing to let the killer of his wife and children go in order to keep you safe,” said Avery. “Could there be any greater love than that?”
“Oh, God,” she whispered. “I need to tell him I won’t do it. I promise. I won’t do it.”
“Yes, you will,” said Jonas, walking into the cafeteria. “You will because we both need this to end so we can live our lives. The only way that happens is if we get to him first. I don’t like it. I don’t want it to happen, but I recognize that it has to happen for all our sake.”
“I don’t want to lose you, Jonas,” she sniffed, falling into his embrace.
“I’m not going anywhere, honey. We’ve got a wedding to plan and babies to make,” he smiled. “Lots and lots of babies.”
“Lots,” she grinned.
“Lots.”
“Listen,” said Hex, “we’ve been talking, and we think we have a few ideas. It won’t be easy, but I think we can get him to come to you if we do this right. He’s a narcissist. He believes he’s in the right and he’s done nothing wrong. If you admit that you’re to blame for all of this, we think he’ll come out of hiding.”
“I’m to blame?” she screeched.
“Just pretend, baby. We’ll work on it,” said Jonas. “For now, let’s have a good family dinner and a night together. Tomorrow, we find him and draw him out.”
“You’re sure?” she asked tentatively.
“Voodoo positive,” he grinned. She laughed, shaking her head.
“I love you, Jonas.”
“Love you more.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“Oh, New Orleans,” smiled Archie as he walked out of his Bourbon Street hotel. Women everywhere in very little clothing, in spite of the cold temperatures. God, he loved this place.
He pulled the ball cap down over his eyes and walked slowly down the dark street. It was a Tuesday night, and there were hundreds of locals and tourists wandering in and out of the bars and strip clubs.
