Branna came at me and I eagerly went for her, my fingers curling into claws. I couldn’t wait to inflict some damage on her perfect, sneering face . . .

“Whoa there!” Kade said.

Blane grabbed me just as Kade wrapped an arm around Branna, the two of them stopping us from tearing into each other. She twisted and struggled in Kade’s grip, as I did in Blane’s, but neither of us could break free, which just pissed me off even more.

“Let me go!”

“I don’t think so,” Blane replied. He sounded a bit surprised by my behavior, not that I cared. I was still fuming that the best-possible outlet for my pent-up fury had been suddenly derailed.

“You two, play nice,” Kade ordered.

“I. Hate. Her,” I seethed, glaring at the object of my intense dislike.

“The feeling is mutual,” Branna spat.

“Well, this should be fun,” Blane deadpanned, looking over at Kade.

“Enough!” Kade said. “I don’t care if you two aren’t going to be besties, but you have to get along.”

“Tell her that,” I gritted out. “She’s the one who has problems following directions, right, Branna?” She’d been supposed to “train” me in hand-to-hand combat, the only time Kade had asked for her assistance, but instead she had used the opportunity to beat me up. Kade had been pissed.

“I don’t like to piss away opportunities handed to me on a silver platter,” she retorted.

I’d stopped struggling against Blane, my temper temporarily under control, but his arms were still locked around me. “Let me go,” I said. “I’ll play nice if she will.” For now.

Blane slowly released me, as though he didn’t quite believe me and wanted to be able to grab me again should I launch myself at Branna. Kade similarly released Branna, who didn’t cease glaring at me.

I caught Blane and Kade glancing uneasily at each other and a slight embarrassment crept over me for my fit of temper, but I was still too consumed with dislike and jealousy to be really embarrassed.

“I only have two beds,” I said. “Mine, and the twin one upstairs. Branna will have to sleep on the floor.” I smiled coldly at her.

“She can have the bed,” Blane said. “I’ll take the floor.”

Of course. Blane’s chivalry would extend to Branna, I thought irritably.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll get you some blankets.”

I glared again at Branna as I passed, brushing my shoulder hard against her. She stumbled back, then took a step toward me, fire flashing in her eyes. But Kade grabbed her arm, stopping her. I smiled sweetly.

When I returned, I handed Blane some bedding and a pillow. Kade and Branna were gone, but I could hear them walking around upstairs. Kade must have taken her to the bedroom. Good thing, too, because if I had, she might’ve suffered an “accident” on the stairs.

“Sorry I don’t have a place for you to sleep,” I said. I felt bad that Blane would have to sleep on the cold, hard floor. “You and Kade can take my bed,” I offered. “I can sleep on the couch.”

“The day I take a pregnant woman’s bed and make her sleep on the couch is the day I give up my man card,” Blane joked.

“Not to mention that sleeping with another guy is just weird,” Kade added, stepping into the room. He was alone. “Even if we’re related.”

I smiled at that, Kade’s easy manner making the tension in my shoulders relax. Then I remembered Branna and stiffened again.

“So will you two tell me how Branna is in my house and why she’s coming with us?” I asked.

“She showed up at the house,” Blane said, turning to Kade. “Had a fine time kicking my ass before demanding to know where you were.”

“She attacked you?” I asked, anger rising again. My hands clenched into fists. Yet another reason to hate Branna, as if I didn’t have plenty already.

Blane seemed to read my mind, his eyes flashing to mine. “I’m fine, Kat,” he said.

“It’s not like she’s going to hurt him,” Kade interjected, scoffing.

I got in his face. “I don’t like her trying to hurt him,” I argued. “Any more than I like her kissing you.” I poked his chest for emphasis.

“She can help us,” Kade insisted. “So she’s coming along whether you like it or not.”

A little part inside me curled up into a pain-stricken ball at those words, but I kept my face carefully impassive.

“Have you told her who we are?” Blane asked. “You and me?”

Kade tore his gaze from mine to look at Blane. “No. I just told her to come to you if she ever needed me and couldn’t find me. That you’d know where I was. But she doesn’t know we’re brothers.”

“And who is she to you, exactly?” Blane persisted. “You’ve never mentioned her.”

Kade hesitated and I knew why. He and Branna had been in the same foster home as children for a short while. He’d saved her from being molested, enduring beatings and abuse for his interference. And I knew he wanted to tell Blane none of that.

“We met a long time ago,” Kade hedged. “We’ve done some work together. I’ve never mentioned her, the same way I never mention any of my work to you. You know I keep that shit separate.”

“Except when that shit turns up on my doorstep and I have no fucking clue what’s going on,” Blane said. “And why am I not surprised that a ‘friend’ of yours would be deadly? Not to mention that I really don’t like that at some point you let her beat up Kathleen.”

Kade winced at that. “That may have been a slight error in judgment,” he admitted. “But she can still help us.”

“You really think that’s a good idea?” Blane asked, tipping his head ever so slightly toward me.

Kade’s eyes met mine. “You know Branna and I have a history,” he said.

I wondered just what that history included. I’d known for a while that Branna was in love with him. Had they slept together? Were they lovers? Maybe friends with benefits? Kade had never said and I hadn’t asked. I wasn’t about to humiliate myself by doing so now.

“Yeah, I know you have a history,” I said stiffly. “I was wondering more about the present.”

I turned away and headed back to my bedroom. I hadn’t forgotten how Kade had said us getting together had been a mistake. Now, with Branna by his side for the immediate future, I wondered if my chances to convince him otherwise had just gone up in smoke.

* * *

The now usual morning routine of retching before my shower had me feeling more depressed and tired than usual. I wandered into the kitchen once I was dressed, trying to think of something that sounded good despite my temperamental tummy.

Blane was already in there, leaning against the counter and sipping a cup of coffee.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

I opened the refrigerator, morosely eyeing the contents. “Tired,” I said glumly. “Where’s Kade?” I’d noticed his absence when I’d passed by the living room. Maybe he’d decided to share Branna’s bed, I thought bitchily.

“He went to pick up some supplies for the trip,” Blane replied. “Branna went with him.”

Of course she had. I closed the refrigerator door, any desire to try and eat something now completely gone.

“I like your house,” Blane said, changing the subject. He handed me a cup of coffee. “It’s very . . . you.”

That made me smile a little. “Thanks.” The coffee smelled good and I took a cautious sip. I wanted to sit outside, craving the peaceful feeling it gave me. “Want to sit on the porch with me?”

Blane smiled. “Sure.”

He followed me outside and sat down next to me on the wicker couch. The blanket I’d left was still there and he tucked it around me against the early morning chill. We sat in companionable silence and I let out a deep sigh.

“I’m worried about you,” Blane said after a while.

I had finished the last of my coffee and was setting aside the mug when he spoke. I glanced up at him, frowning. “Why? I’m fine.”

“I’m really proud of you, that you moved back home, bought this house, and seem bound and determined to have this baby alone,” he said. “But I know you need more than money and a house.” His brushed my hair back with his hand. “You need Kade.”

I looked away, unsure what to say.

“I was so pissed at him,” Blane continued. “When he came by the house, told me he was leaving. I was still reeling and wasn’t thinking straight, or I’d have known right away he was full of shit, the things he said.”

“What did he say?” I asked.

But Blane shook his head. “You don’t want to know. Robert has played me for a fool before and I should’ve realized he’d have found another way, through Kade.”

“Kade said Keaston’s worried I’m going to come out of the woodwork in ten years with your love child or something,” I said. “And even when I asked him why he didn’t just tell him the baby’s not yours, he said it had been a mistake, me and him.” Repeating Kade’s words made my stomach twist.

Blane sighed. “He needs you, whether he wants to admit it or not.” He lifted my chin in his hand and our eyes met. “If you don’t fight for him, if you just let him go, then he won’t survive. I saw it in his eyes. He came back to Indy to say goodbye to me, to you, and I’m sure whatever job he took next, it would have been his last.”

I stared at Blane in shock. “I—I . . . he told me he wanted to say goodbye,” I stammered, “but I didn’t think he meant . . .” I couldn’t finish the sentence.

“I think Kade is hanging by a very thin thread,” Blane continued. “We’ll go to DC. I’ll have it out with my uncle. And you have to convince Kade you need him more than he hates himself.”

I swallowed. This had to be hard for Blane. “I’m sorry,” I said, “about you and me—”