Well, the guy had said please. Knowing Zach, that must have been hard. He ground his teeth together, but he relented. He owed Zach nothing, but he’d meet with him. For Jessie.
“Kildonan Park. Restaurant parking lot. One hour.” He terminated the call and sat glaring out the window. Almost missed his target, lifting the bag of soil into the wheelbarrow.
He snapped a few more shots. Then started the truck and headed for Kildonan Park. And the man who’d broken Jessie’s heart.
It would be all he could do not to plow his fist into Zach’s stubborn, stupid face.
* * *
When Zach pulled up, Kade was already there. The big Were leaned on his truck, arms crossed.
Glaring.
Zach stifled his own automatic angry reaction. Kade had a right to his. Zach hadn’t even paused to listen to them. He’d cut them off, cold. He’d hurt Jessie, and he’d known it at the time. Just been too wrapped up in his own torment to even think about what he was doing to her.
If he was Kade, he’d want to kill him too.
It was a beautiful summer day, and the park was busy. Kade had chosen a spot far away from the restaurant. Zach pulled his old truck in beneath the huge elms and got out.
The Sabre watched him walk over. His expression would have made an assassin run. Thunderous. Uncompromising.
This effort might be over before it had even begun.
“Kade.” He nodded.
“I’m here,” the Were growled. “Say your piece.”
“I’m sorry,” Zach said.
“Not me who needs to hear that. But I don’t want you within spitting distance of Jessie.”
Zach gritted his teeth. He needed to come clean, in a big way, if this was to have any chance at all.
“I thought I was going to have to have sex with you.”
Kade’s jaw dropped. “What?”
Zach lifted an arm and let it fall again. “I know. Kitani straightened me out. I thought that was what being in a triad was all about.”
The big guy stared at him, his pale eyes wide. Then he snorted a laugh and buried his face in his hand. “You thought—oh, shatza. No one told you?”
“Not until Kitani came to see me this morning. I guess it just got kinda missed.”
“All this, was because you didn’t want to have sex with me?” Kade shook his head and stared up into the trees. “I think I should be offended. I’m a damned irresistible guy.”
“Not that irresistible.” Something inside Zach loosened. Kade was listening. It was a start. “I should have talked to you at Cara’s. I was too scrambled up inside. And I didn’t understand. So I’m—”
“Sorry.” Kade’s gaze dropped to meet Zach’s. “This is a real mess. No one even thought that you didn’t understand.” He sighed and shook his head. “You aren’t Sabre. They would know everything in a triad is a negotiation.”
“Don’t know if I was ready to hear it anyway,” Zach admitted. “I’ve been pretty messed up, myself. Until a certain female Sabre came to tell me I’m being an idiot.”
Kade grunted. “Yeah. She does that.” He shifted his feet. “Just for the record, I don’t find you attractive either.”
Zach’s lips twitched. “You are entitled to your opinion.”
“Every triad has its own rules. They don’t have to be hashed out right away.”
Zach’s heart raced. “Will Jessie forgive me? Do we still have a shot at this?”
