“Hello, sir. I’m Kata.” She held out her hand, praying it didn’t tremble.
Silently, she berated herself. If she and Hunter weren’t going to remain married for long, it hardly mattered whether his father liked her or not. But that logic didn’t smother her anxiety.
“Hunter’s bride?”
“Yes.” At least for the moment.
He took her hand and stared hard. Damn it, there was no way she would allow herself to feel inferior under that assessing glare. She lifted her chin and met his gaze, refusing to cower.
“She’s got spine, son,” he called across the room to Hunter. “I approve.”
Finally, a stiff smile crossed the man’s face, as if he knew she’d been holding her breath, then he guided her into a cozy den dominated by a chocolate brown sectional and a huge flat screen. Kata relaxed, but wondered . . . what had the Colonel expected?
Hunter settled her mother on the sofa and wrapped a blanket around her. The TV flickered mutely in the background. Kata sat beside her mother, holding her frail hand. Carlotta drifted off almost instantly. Between the illness and the medication, she was exhausted.
“Clearly your mother needs rest.” The Colonel stared at her mother. “I’ll make certain she gets it.”
Mamá didn’t like being idle, but in this case, it was good for her. “Thank you.”
He turned to Hunter with a scowl. “You say her husband wanted her to make dinner?”
“Yep. Was cranky that she hadn’t.”
“Fucker,” the Colonel said under his breath, then glanced her way. “Excuse my language, but my opinion of him stands.”
Kata shrugged. “You’ll get no arguments from me. He is a fucker. I hate him.”
The Colonel threw his head back and laughed. “She’s definitely not like those twits you used to spend time with. Logan still hasn’t learned his lesson. He’d been here all of five minutes when he started sexting with some local hussy begging for a dose of pain.”
“Give it a rest, Dad.”
Kata whirled at the new voice from the edge of the room. He had the same piercing blue eyes that his father and older brother possessed, the same large frame and intimidating stance. The similarities ended there. His hair was like midnight, his skin naturally bronzed. The cleft in his chin a throwback to another side of the family. This had to be Logan.
As if on cue, his phone beeped. He took it out, slid the keyboard open, and muttered as he typed. “I said midnight. Natalie definitely needs a spanking.” Then he pocketed his phone. “Hey, bro!”
With a laugh, Hunter crossed the room. “How the hell are you?”
The two brothers embraced and gave each other hearty slaps on the back. “Damn fine.”
“I thought you’d be in Dallas.”
Logan shook his head, peering around his brother to stare at Kata. “Wouldn’t miss meeting the woman who snared your heart.”
“Kimber called with news of your surprise wedding,” the Colonel said wryly.
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Our little sister needs to keep her mouth shut. God, why doesn’t she just send an announcement to the paper? Or plaster it all over Facebook?”
“I’m sure she’ll do both as soon as she’s recovered from childbirth,” the Colonel assured. “I saw her and Baby Caleb this afternoon. He’s got a fine, healthy set of lungs. And seems to have the Edgington eyes.”
“Agreed,” Logan threw in. “Precious baby. Deke is in love all over again.”
Wincing, Hunter admitted, “I meant to see Kimber and the baby this morning when I reached the hospital, but I got . . . sidetracked.”
By the sight of her sitting on Ben’s lap. Kata cringed. Being with Ben hadn’t been emotional or sexual for her, but the incident had caused an argument, forced painful revelations—and Hunter to miss seeing his newborn nephew.
Logan’s phone beeped again. He glanced at the screen, raised a displeased brow, then pocketed his phone.
“Who wants Chinese food?” Hunter’s brother asked, as if everyone in the room didn’t know that some impatient woman was dying for his discipline.
“Good idea,” Hunter agreed.
Twenty minutes and a straight-up whiskey later, Kata sat with the men at the round, utilitarian table, trying to stay awake. The eventful morning and hours in the car piled on top of the days’ worth of vigil in the hospital were catching up with her. Resting her head on her hand, she closed her eyes. What she wouldn’t give for a bed and eight uninterrupted hours of sleep.
Then Hunter mentioned the one subject guaranteed to rile all the other alpha males in the room.
“What do you mean, someone is trying to kill Kata?” Logan glared at his brother.
Their father followed suit, eyeing her protectively. “Suspects?”
Oh, she didn’t need more drama—or testosterone—right now. “No one has made a move against me since Sunday. Maybe . . . he’s given up. Or the hired killer who died in jail took his secret to the grave. Or someone realized they had the wrong girl.”
“Or maybe they’re hiring someone new as we speak. Between the fact that I’ve tried to protect you and you haven’t stayed in one place for too long, we’ve been lucky,” Hunter stated.
Kata wasn’t feeling acquiescent. “Really, who would be trying to do me in? So I pissed off a gang thug by issuing a warrant for his arrest. I’m a probation officer,” she supplied for Logan and the Colonel when they looked confused.
Hunter shook his head. “I don’t think a punk from some street gang has the kind of connections to hire an assassin with that kind of equipment.”
“Professional?” The idea looked like it pissed Logan off.
“All the way.” Hunter nodded.
“What do we know about this guy, except that he’s dead?” her father-in-law asked.
“Not much. He had no ink or affiliations that we could find. Guy was iced ten minutes after hitting lockup. They still haven’t ID’d the body.”
Logan whistled. “Quick work. Someone wanted their loose ends covered.”
“Yeah, and fast.” Hunter grabbed her hand, squeezed. “Jack knows all the local cops. As soon as they figure out who this John Doe is, he’ll call me. Maybe that will be a clue. For now, Kata can’t think of anyone trying to kill her, other than this Cortez Villarreal.”