Page 35 of Kobalt

I lowered my head as he walked back to the truck. He lifted me into his arms and carried me out and into the house.

“What about Shadow? I released all the horses because that was the only way I could escape.”

“Harold called, and he and a few of the men spotted the horses. Besides, they know their way back home. Let me take care of you.”

Although I was safe for the moment, I feared that trouble still lurked in the dark. Norrell Kidd wouldn’t let up until I was buried somewhere in a grave.

Kaimera had cried herself to sleep the day before, and I remained by her side the entire day and night, comforting her. I didn’t get up to do anything but take a piss. Harold had sent his wife up to the house to cook our meals and bring them upstairs to us.

I could’ve done all of that, but Kaimera had begged me not to leave her side, and I hadn’t. Even today, I had been right by her side. Since the stable and barn were completed, I had nowhere that I had to be but with her.

Frost had called me himself and let me know that everything regarding Jax had been taken care of, and I had nothing to worry about. It didn’t make it any easier for Kaimera, though, and I knew that she wouldn’t rest easy until the real problem had been eliminated altogether. Frost had handled that for me, too, but I wasn’t sure how she would take that news, which was why I hadn’t told her yet.

She was restless throughout the night—constantly whimpering and waking up from bad dreams. Throughout it all, I was there to comfort and reassure her. I wanted to go out there pull that nigga back up to life and kill him all over again—except his body wasn’t there anymore. His body was nowhere, honestly. Jax had become dust at an old paper mill.

Kaimera curled into my side and sighed. We had been watching a movie, but I could tell that her mind wasn’t on it. She was facing me and not looking at the TV, but her gaze was trained on the wall behind me. She wasn’t really seeing it, and I knew her mind was on yesterday.

I lifted her chin and kissed her nose. “Baby, what can I do to reassure you that you’re going to be okay?”

She shrugged and sniffled, and that shit broke my heart. I had never felt more helpless than I did at the moment. Even if I got my hands on Norrell, it wouldn’t take away the nightmares and fears that she had. Those weren’t things that I could battle—the monsters in her mind.

“I never asked yesterday, but what made you come back, and how did you find me?”

I wiped an errant tear that fell from her eye before I responded. “I was on route forty-two, and I saw a car heading toward the farm. The crew had been released earlier in the day, and nobody should have been heading in that direction. I called you to let you know that someone was heading that way, but I couldn’t reach you. My gut kept telling me to turn around, and I hate that I didn’t do it right away, but eventually, I listened.

“Harold called and told me that he’d seen one of the workers returning, and he wondered if I knew. When I drove back up the main road, I saw Jax’s car parked at the tree line, and I knew something was wrong, especially when I saw Shadow. Harold called again at that moment and told me the horses were loose.

“No one rides him but you, and he shouldn’t have been out. If you were riding him, and you had left him on the side of the road, that was a problem. I climbed out and noticed that Shadow’s ears were flattened, and he tossed his head repeatedly. He does that when he’s anxious. I ran into the trees, but I stopped to listen for any signs that might point me in the direction you went.

“It didn’t make sense why you and Jax would be in the woods together. I knew he was up to some bullshit. The way that nigga looked at you the first day didn’t sit right with me. That was when I heard Jax taunting you, and that was when I knew something was up. Shit, I just went into stealth mode and tracked him there.”

“Baby, I don’t think Norrell is going to rest until he gets me. I wasn’t going to testify, though. His attorney should know that by now.”

Her voice was thin and warbly as she spoke, and I knew she was on the verge of crying.

“Norrell wanted all his loose ends tied up just in case the prosecution’s witness fell through on the case he was being tried on, and they decided to go after him on the food tampering allegations. If so, you would be their star witness.”

“He’s going to send someone else after me.”

“He won’t, baby. He’s been handled.”

“What does that even mean?” she asked, sobbing.

“It means exactly what I said. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

She pushed out of my embrace and sat up in bed. A resolute frown settled on her face as she pulled her knees to her chest. “I want to know, Kobe.”

I sighed and sat up beside her. We had our backs against the headboard as we faced the TV, but neither of us were watching it.

“It was easy to get to Norrell since he was in jail without a bond on the other charges he faced like racketeering, prostitution, and money laundering. I reached out to Frost again last night after you fell asleep. Royal called and told me that the clean-up crew had arrived and taken care of things. After I thanked him for taking care of that, he said it was the least he could do since he brought the problem to my property. Then he asked if I needed anything else taken care of.

“I told him that I did, but I’d handle that request myself. I called Frost and asked for a favor. When I told him what I needed, he told me that wasn’t a favor but a privilege. Frost hooked someone up on the inside to take Norrell out, and he paid the guards to look the other way. The deed has been done, and you have nothing more to worry about, baby. I got you. Forever. You hear me?” I asked.

I pulled her onto my lap when she broke down crying again. My woman’s pain was breaking me because I felt like this was the second time I had failed her. I wasn’t there for her when she lost our baby, and I wasn’t there to keep that nigga from putting those fears and bad dreams in her mind.

“Why are you crying, baby? Please tell me what I can do to make things better?”

“You’re always making things better all the time, Kobe. I just feel bad because it seems that trouble follows me wherever I go.”