Read Online Kade's Rescue (Detroit Heat Book 1) by Davida Lynn - Free Book Online

the table, but I just didn’t have it in me. Fight or flight had kicked in and there were no enemies to fight, only the ones inside my head. I had to run, even though I knew I wasn’t going to escape.

    I pushed through the door and felt the night air on my face. I realized I was drenched in sweat and the air felt downright chilly. Standing at the curb, I spotted a cab and threw my hand up, praying that he’d stop. I’ll pick my car up some other time. There was no way in hell I could have driven home.

    Marco.

“Is he all right?” The waiter stared over his shoulder as Kade made his way back inside the restaurant. Great fucking question.

    For reasons unknown to me at the time, I decided to cover for him. Trying to give the waiter my best polite smile, I said, “Yeah, he just needs a minute.”

    My heart sank to the ground. Kade had gone from a sweet and charming man to an utter disaster in a split second. I sat staring at the empty chair, my mouth open just a little bit. In my head I was screaming, but on the outside I was frozen stiff.

    The waiter didn’t know what to do, “Um… I’ll just come back, then.” He walked away. I was sure there were others on the outside patio watching, but I couldn’t see them. Still staring at the empty chair, I grabbed my purse and dug out my phone.

    Before I stood up, I sent a text to Shatrice. Somehow my new worst date.

    I stood up, trying to ignore everyone who had stopped what they were doing to stare at me. My face was beet-red and my pulse was racing. I was trying so hard not to cry. Kade had seemed like a really great guy, right up until the moment he’d flipped out and disappeared on me.

    My phone buzzed. I’ll be over in a half hour. What would I do without my best friend?

    I explained it all to Shatrice between blending our very strong margaritas. It wasn’t a complete story, because Kade basically abandoned me with no rhyme or reason.

    She listened, and when I was done, she asked, “And?”

    I shrugged, “And what?”

    “What happened?”

    I gave her a blank stare while I gave the ice one more spin. “No idea. No fucking idea. Everything up to that moment was really amazing. He’s a firefighter, you know.” She already knew what he did, but maybe I was saying it more for my own benefit. Even after what he did to me, I still felt some need to defend him.

    Shatrice rolled her eyes, “I know he is. He fits all your precious musts, doesn’t he?”

    I handed her a margarita and plopped down onto my couch. “Yes and no. He doesn’t do it for the community. At least, that’s what he said.”

    “Of course that’s what he said. He wanted to be all macho and shit. Do you think Darnell goes on and on about the virtues of making steel in America? No, he just flexes his muscles and talks about how dangerous it is.”

    I laughed, feeling a tiny bit of relief sink in. “He said something different, actually. Kade said that firefighters were broken, looking to fix themselves.” His words had stuck with me. He had even admitted to me that he was broken. He’d been well on his way to telling me, too, until I’d stopped him.

    “Ugh,” I muttered, thinking of the wasted opportunity. No wonder he’d stormed off. He probably thought I was pushing him away in a vulnerable time, or something terrible like that. I wanted to kick myself. I wanted to call him and apologize, but the shame was slapping me around.

    “Ugh, what? There’s more, isn’t there?”

    I nodded, taking a big swig of my drink. “I think he was going to tell me how he was broken when we first went out. I thought it would be romantic to do one of those No, I don’t need to know things, but he probably thought I didn’t care. Oh, God. I really fucked it up.”

    Shatrice shook her head. “I’m sure you didn’t. If he’s that flaky and he’s not on his period, he is not worth your time.”

    I knew that my best friend was trying to help, but she hadn’t been there. She