You Remember, Don’t You?

Milo’s Pov

The air in the kitchen still felt hot and electric long after Kade pulled his heavy body off the floor. 

My heart was pounding heavily, not just because someone had been watching us through binoculars, but because of how it felt to have Kade pressed against me. 

Even when he was trying to save my life, his hands had been firm, warm, and entirely too gentle for a tough biker gang vice president.

He stood up, walking over to the window to check the empty street one last time before pulling the blinds shut. 

His jaw was clenched tight, and the muscles in his back strained against his black t-shirt.

I pushed myself up from the floor, brushing off my sweatpants, my patience officially running out. I was done being treated like a helpless child, and I was completely done pretending that the man standing in my kitchen was a total stranger.

"You can stop acting like a robot now," I said, my voice sharp in the quiet room.

Kade turned around slowly, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. "What are you talking about, Milo?"

"I'm talking about this ridiculous game you're playing," I snapped, taking a step toward him. "You tackled me to the floor like an action hero, you're living in my house, and you're acting like we've never even spoken before last morning. But I know you remember. I can see it in your eyes every single time you look at me."

Kade didn't answer right away. He just stared at me, his face hard as stone. But I saw the way his fingers curled into tight fists at his sides. He wasn't as calm as he wanted me to believe.

"You need to drop this, Milo," Kade said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous rumble. "It doesn't matter what happened at that bar. I'm here to do a job. I'm here to make sure you stay alive, not to play boyfriend."

"I didn't ask you to be my boyfriend!" I yelled, the frustration boiling over and spilling out of me in a hot wave. "I just want you to stop lying to my face! You remember how you touched me. You remember how you kissed me in the dark upstairs. You remember every single second of it, just like I do!"

I closed the distance between us until I was standing right in front of him. I had to tilt my head all the way back to look him in the eye, but I refused to back down. 

I reached out, my fingers lightly brushing against the heavy leather strap of his belt, right where his shirt was tucked in.

Kade’s breath hitched. His dark eyes flared with a sudden, wild heat, and his whole body went completely rigid.

"Milo... don't," he warned, his voice sounding rough and strained, like he was barely holding on by a single thread.

"Why not?" I whispered, my heart hammering like crazy against my ribs. "If last night was just a mistake, why are you shaking right now?"

Kade let out a sharp breath. Before I could blink, his hands shot out.

 He didn't push me away; instead, his large, warm hands grabbed my waist, lifting me effortlessly and backing me up until my back hit the wall. 

The sudden impact knocked the wind right out of me, but I didn't care. Kade stepped in close, trapping me between his solid chest and the wall, his face inches from mine.

"You think this is a game?" Kade growled softly, his dark eyes burning into mine with a fierce intensity that made my head spin. "You think I don't remember every second of how soft you felt? You're testing my patience, Milo. And I'm not a patient man."

"Then prove it," I breathed, my eyes dropping to his lips. "Prove that you care about keeping me safe more than you care about running away."

Kade’s eyes darkened. 

He leaned in slowly, his lips hovering just a fraction of an inch from mine, the heat of his breath washing over my skin. I closed my eyes, my hands sliding up to grip the thick muscles of his shoulders, eagerly waiting for him to kiss me, to break all his own rules just like I knew he wanted to.

Vroom.

The loud, deep roar of a motorcycle engine ripping down our street cut through the heavy silence of the apartment like a knife.

Kade froze instantly. The hungry, desperate look in his eyes vanished in a single second, replaced by cold, deadly focus. He dropped his hands from my waist, stepping back immediately as if he had been burned by fire.

"Stay here," Kade ordered in a harsh whisper, his hand automatically dropping to his side where a heavy metal object rested under his jacket.

My chest heaved as I stood against the wall, completely breathless and dizzy from what almost happened. Kade moved quietly and quickly toward the front door, peering through the small peephole.

 He waited a few seconds, listening to the heavy silence of the hallway outside.

When he didn't hear any footsteps running away, he slowly unlocked the deadbolt, pulled the door open a crack, and looked down at the floorboards right outside my apartment.

I walked up slowly behind him, peering over his broad shoulder.

Sitting right on the welcome mat was a plain brown paper envelope. There was no stamp on it, and no return address.

Kade bent down, carefully picking up the envelope with two fingers. He ripped the top open and pulled out a single piece of heavy white paper. 

Written across the middle in jagged, printed letters were words that made the blood instantly freeze in my veins:

“ASK YOUR MOTHER WHAT YOUR FATHER REALLY DID.”

Stapled to the bottom of the note was a small, Polaroid photograph. My hands started shaking the second I looked at it. It was a picture of me, walking out of the local grocery store earlier that morning, looking completely unaware that anyone was taking my picture.

"Kade..." I whispered, my voice trembling as the terrifying truth settled over me. "They were right here. They were right outside my door."

Kade didn't say a word.

He crushed the note and the photograph tightly in his fist, his jaw locked so hard I thought his teeth might break, his dark eyes staring down the empty hallway with a promise of pure violence.