Everywhere he looked, American pride was in evidence-the Stars and Stripes rippled in the breeze, and most people wore red, white, and blue. Cain sported an old T-shirt with Uncle Sam on the front-a favorite he'd dug out of the Edwardses' boathouse. Good G.o.d, the clothes he and the boys had left behind made him cringe, but there were the odd gems among the bunch.

And then there was Dax. The Brit had decided to forego leather pants-thank G.o.d-at least for the morning, but was still decked out in his usual Union Jack garb. Even his kneesocks sported the British flag. Kneesocks, for Christ sakes.

There was a new intensity to Dax today. Turns out he was quite the footballer back home, and he'd stepped up and offered to play in the charity game. His game face was fierce, and Cain hoped the man knew today's game was for fun and that there'd be kids involved. That's all he needed. A wackjob Brit, taking out a line of ten-year-olds.

Cain scanned the crowd, looking for that familiar splash of crimson that made his heart jump. But so far he hadn't seen her. Nervous energy kicked in, and he shook out his limbs.

They would come. There was no way in h.e.l.l Maggie would let Michael miss the game.

"Cain, there you are!"

He turned and smiled as Raine pushed her way through a large group of spectators.

His smile soon faded when he realized Raine was alone.

"Where's Maggie?"

Raine shook her head. "I don't know. I talked to her this morning, and she said she'd be at the parade, but I haven't seen her yet." She reached into her purse. "I'll try her cell again."

"Don't bother. I tried five minutes ago, and it's not in service."

Raine frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

That feeling in his gut-the one that said s.h.i.t was about to hit-twisted hard, and Cain clamped his jaw tight. Something wasn't right.

Raine twirled in a circle, shading her eyes from the sun. "She was so excited and happy this morning."

Cain stopped Raine and hoped he didn't look like the lovesick fool that he felt inside. "She was?"

A slow smile claimed her mouth, and Raine punched him lightly in the chest. "Of course she was. She couldn't wait to see you." Raine giggled and continued to scan the crowd. "I'm not sure why, of course."

Jake joined them at that point, breathing hard, his T-shirt drenched in sweat.

"d.a.m.n, you look like you jogged all the way from the lake." Cain was worried about the soldier. Jake didn't say much these days and spent most of his time pushing his body to the extreme.

"I did."

"Are you crazy?" Raine frowned. "That's dangerous in this heat."

Jake shook out his limbs and grabbed Cain's water bottle. "This is nothing, compared to the heat over there." They both knew he was referring to Afghanistan.

"Well, you're not over there anymore, and these kinds of stunts will land you in the hospital." Raine's hands were on her hips, and to say that she was angry would be an understatement. "Did you hear what I said? You can't be pulling that kind of c.r.a.p. It's not fair to those of us who are worried about you."

Jake took a long drink, wiped some excess water from his mouth, and glanced down at the pet.i.te brunette. His expression was hard, his eyes flat.

"I think you're confused on two fronts. A, I don't give a s.h.i.t what you think, and B, I'm not Jesse, so don't lecture me."

Cain grimaced and walked away, giving the two of them some privacy. He didn't like being a spectator to the private stuff going on between them.

Luke Jansen was a few feet away. He'd traded his paramedic uniform for football gear and was limbering up with stretches.

"Jansen!" Cain shouted.

Luke turned, though his smile faded when he spied Cain.

"Have you seen Maggie?" Cain strode toward him. "She should have been here by now, but I can't find her, and her cell is off."

Luke shrugged and anger riffled through Cain at the look of satisfaction that was etched into his face. "Jansen, I know you want to bust my b.a.l.l.s, and trust me, you'll get your chance on the field, but right now I'm concerned about Maggie."

"Concerned," Luke answered drily.

"Yes. Concerned. It's not like Maggie to say she'll be here and then not show." He'd always been the kind of man to listen to his gut, and right now this gut was saying things were wrong. Way wrong.

"Well, maybe you're not the most important thing on her agenda today."

Cain gritted his teeth. d.a.m.n, but he'd like to punch Luke Jansen in the face and knock him on his a.s.s. "Look, have you seen her or no?"

Luke shrugged, took his time before answering. "I haven't seen her, but I think she's got company."

"What makes you say that?"

"There was car in her driveway, behind your truck."

Raine was at Cain's side now with Jake and Mac.

"An expensive, sporty thing. Had Georgia plates, so I'm a.s.suming family."

"Oh G.o.d," Raine whispered. "She was so afraid after the pictures came out."

Cain looked down into her pale face and his fear tripled. "What the h.e.l.l is going on, Raine?"

"It's Michael's father, it has to be. She has no other family in Savannah except her father, and I don't think she's talked to him in years. Maggie's ex must have found them."

Everything inside Cain stopped. h.e.l.l, his heart and lungs nearly exploded. It all made sense now. Why she'd pulled away from him and why she'd been so upset about the photos in Hollywood Scene. It hadn't just been about Cain and their personal s.h.i.t. She'd been scared out of her tree.

Maybe for her life.

And he'd left her all alone.

"How can you be sure?" Jake looked at the both of them. "Maybe Jansen's right. It could be family."

"No." Cain shook his head. "No way. This game meant a lot to Michael. She wouldn't let him miss it. Even if she didn't want to see me, she wouldn't." He exhaled. "That's the kind of woman she is.

"Give me your keys," Cain barked to Luke.

"What? Why the h.e.l.l would I-"

Cain's bared his teeth like an animal, and he was barely able to get his words out. His chest filled with a rage that was hard to contain. If anything happened to the woman he loved, he'd f.u.c.king kill her ex.

"I don't have wheels, and if what Raine said is true, Maggie and Michael are in danger. So give me your keys. I'm going to get them."

Luke hesitated, obviously confused, though his fingers went to his front pocket. "I'm going too."

Jake glanced at Mac. "You coming?"

"h.e.l.l, yeah, I coming."

"Wait for me." Raine took a step forward.

"No way. There's no room." Jake scowled.

Raine scowled. "That's all you got?" She shoved her hands on her hips. "Why don't you just say what you really mean, Jake."

"Okay, get the f.u.c.k out of my face."

Shocked didn't come close to describing Raine's expression, but Cain had no time to coddle or b.i.t.c.h or do anything except get his a.s.s to Maggie's as fast as he could.

Raine tore her gaze from Jake's and whispered, "You guys, be careful. And don't be stupid." Raine ignored Jake and directed her plea to Cain.

"Don't worry about us, but if we're late, go ahead and start the game, 'cause guaranteed, we'll be here to finish."

Luke turned and started toward his car. "I'll drive. The last time one of you got behind my wheel, you d.a.m.n near totaled the thing."

Mac laughed as he jogged to catch up. "h.e.l.l, I forgot about that until now. A 1980 Plymouth Horizon, if I remember correctly. s.h.i.t brown. My old man whupped my a.s.s good over that, just so you know."

It took longer than normal to navigate the crowded streets, and some of them were still closed because of the parade. By the time they reached Linden, Maggie's street, Cain was so tense, it felt like his muscles had locked up.

Luke pulled into his driveway, and Cain was out before the car had rolled to a stop. A slick black BMW was parked behind his truck in Maggie's driveway. It was high-end and easily worth as much as Maggie's little bungalow.

He jumped onto the porch, paused for a second, and then tried the door. It was locked, and Maggie had not one but three dead bolts in place.

f.u.c.k.

Cain moved to the window and glanced inside. Maggie's purse was on the floor, the contents scattered everywhere. His gut tightened. His anger-his rage-toward this faceless b.a.s.t.a.r.d who'd brutalized Maggie and her son was all consuming. Everything inside him quieted, and a cold calm overtook Cain.

Just then he heard a noise and stiffened. He moved toward the door, hands clenched and ready. When it opened, his world tipped a little off center. Michael stood there, small chest heaving, cheeks stained with tears. "He found us," was all the boy could say.

Cain scooped the child into his arms and gave him a quick, fierce hug. "Where are they?" Michael burrowed against his body, his small face flush to his neck. "In Mommy's bedroom."

He gave Michael one more quick hug. "Go with Luke. I'm going to get her."

Michael slid to the floor, his voice tremulous. "He's going to hurt her."

Cain shook his head. "No. He won't." He charged inside, followed closely by Jake and Mackenzie.

He saw a tall man just inside Maggie's bedroom. His back was to Cain. The man bent over, and Cain saw Maggie on the floor, her long red hair splayed out and the tulips he'd bought scattered beside her.

He would rip the son of a b.i.t.c.h to pieces.

Everything after that happened in slow motion. Just like in movies when the shoot-'em-up scene occurs.

Cain reached the b.a.s.t.a.r.d just as Maggie lunged forward and grabbed hold of the vase that lay on the floor next to the bed.

Cain's fist shot out, and he nailed him with a hard blow to the head.

"What the-" The man fell to his knee and cursed a blue streak as he struggled to gain his feet again, his arm swinging wildly as he tried to aim for Maggie.

Cain grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and whirled him around, his fists flying as he pummeled the man with several hard shots to the chest, shoulders, and face. His rage was such that for a moment he couldn't focus on anything other than handing out a major beating.

But then Maggie was there, her soft touch on his arm, her voice urgent in his ear. "He's not worth it, Cain. Please stop, you'll kill him."

The red haze inside his brain cracked a bit, and he stepped back, watching dispa.s.sionately as the man who'd touched his woman spat blood onto the floor.

"He's not worth it," she whispered again.

Cain stepped back, and it took a few moments for him to calm down. He glanced at Maggie and swore when he saw the swelling on the side of her face.

"I'll kill him."

"No, you won't." Jake's rough voice was at his back. "Take Maggie and get her out of here. Mac and I will watch this a.s.shole until Taggart arrives. Luke called the police, so he should be here soon." Jake glanced to Maggie. "I'm a.s.suming you're going to want to press charges against this piece of s.h.i.t."

"I did nothing to you, b.i.t.c.h." Dante leaned on the bed, his eye already swelling, with blood still dripping from his mouth. He pointed to Cain. "He attacked me."

Mac piped up. "You're in Crystal Lake, d.i.c.khead, and we don't take kindly to men beating up our women."

Mackenzie leaned down. "It's the holiday weekend too. I'm guessing your a.s.s will be in lockup until Tuesday." He shrugged. "Could be Wednesday."

"You can't do that..."

"I suggest you shut your hole, or Mac and I will finish what Cain started." Jake glared at Dante and squared his shoulders. "Go on...give us a reason."

Cain folded Maggie into his arms and led her back toward her living room.

"Oh G.o.d." Maggie's voice quivered.

He grabbed her close once more, held her until the trembles lessened and then eventually went away. The absolute heaviness of what had just transpired hit him, and Cain gently lifted Maggie's chin.

"Are you..." He swallowed, so filled with emotion and the need to protect that he couldn't speak. "I'm so sorry I left you alone to deal with him." His fingers grazed the bruised flesh on her cheek. "Maggie, I..."

"It's over." She rested her head on his chest, and a long, shuddering breath escaped. "Oh my G.o.d! Michael." She pushed against him. "Where's Michael?"

"Shh, it's okay. He's with Luke, next door."

"Thank you," she said haltingly, "for..."

"For loving your son?" Cain murmured.

"For loving us both enough to come back." Maggie squirmed until she was able to look up at him. Her hands reached for him, and Cain's insides liquefied, then ran hot, at the look in her eyes. She stood up on her toes, and when her lips were inches from his, she whispered, "You asked me last night to think about us and where I stand."