Authors: Aliyah Burke
walked by, their interaction seemed innocent. Unthreatening.
Kacy couldn‘t say a single word. She was having a hard time breath-
ing. This was the closest she had been to him since they‘d split. Never before
had he been so forward with approaching her. Her jaw was clenched as she
tried valiantly to keep her teeth from chattering. All she could do was stare
into his dark-brown eyes and try not to cry.
―Get rid of him, Kacy.‖ The warning came. ―Or you will pay.‖ The
odious man grabbed some soup and disappeared around the corner of the
aisle.
Kacy couldn‘t move. His threat played over and over in her head as
her whole body shook. She wanted nothing more than to vomit right then
and there.
―Kacy?‖ The question made her jump and almost scream. Spinning
towards the man who had spoken to her, she gave into the tremors that
engulfed her body as she looked at the one with whom she‘d felt safe. Until
now.
Ernst felt immediately sick at the amount of devastation and fear he
saw in her eyes. It was similar to the look her beautiful copper eyes had when
she‘d showed up at his door the night she had gotten that message.
Reaching for her, his heart shattered as she pulled back from him.
Dropping his hand, Ernst tried staunchly to control his emotions her rejection
caused. ―Let‘s go,‖ he said softly. Unable to not hold her a second more when
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he saw her chin quivering as she tried not to cry, he ignored her rebuff and
gathered her close to his chest. ―You‘re safe, Kacy. You‘re safe.‖
―No,‖ she blurted out even as she tried to get away from his touch.
―Yes. You are.‖ Ernst held her closer, refusing to let her back away.
―No. You don‘t understand. He told me to get rid of you!‖ The tears
came, soaking the front of his black shirt.
I am going to
kill
that man!
Ernst blinked a few times to gather his un-
controlled emotions back in line. He saw a few people back away from the
hardness of his gaze and didn‘t even care. ―Let‘s go home.‖
―Yes,‖ her muffled answer reached him. ―You need to go home.‖
I don’t think so, liebling. I don’t think so.
―Come on.‖ His voice was gen-
tle despite the rage flowing through his veins.
Ernst kept his arm around her as they went through the checkout line
and even out to her car where he sat her in the passenger seat before driving
them back to her place. His eyes were alert to anyone following them,
watching them, but he didn‘t see anything.
Pulling into her garage, he closed the door after the car was securely
inside the enclosure. He got out and went to the trunk to grab the bags.
Letting her follow at her own pace, he went inside the house and began to
put things away.
―You have to leave.‖ Her voice was tortured as she spoke from be-
hind him.
With a deep breath, he shut the fridge and turned to face her.
―Why?‖ His gaze took in the stress lines around her face. She still looked
terrified.
Her eyes looked everywhere but at him. ―I don‘t want you to get
hurt.‖
Glancing at the ceiling before moving across her open kitchen to
stand before her, Ernst reached out one hand and captured her chin, bringing
her eyes up to his. ―That man can only hurt me by forcing you to push me
away. I‘m not scared of him. Trust in me, Kacy. I won‘t let him hurt you.‖
She stared into his hauntingly pale eyes. ―You don‘t understand; he‘s
evil!‖ she protested as she closed her eyes against his handsome face.
―I would fight the devil himself to stay with you, Koali Travis. Ha-
ven‘t you figured that out yet? I love you.‖
Her eyes sprung back open. ―What did you say?‖
Ernst stepped even closer to her. Both of his hands cupped her face as
he held her gaze. ―
Ich liebe dich
. I love you.‖
It was the first time he had ever said that to her. Kacy began to shiver
again. ―Don‘t let him win by making you push me away.‖ Ernst‘s sure voice
continued.
―You don‘t know what he is capable of.‖
―And he has no idea what I am capable of,‖ The words were lined
with steel even though his eyes were still gentle.
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―I don‘t want you to get hurt,‖ Kacy admitted as she took his hands
off her face.
―What do you think is happening right now?‖ his voice cracked. ―I
am getting hurt, but by you because you are pushing me away.‖ Ernst
grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. ―I just told you I loved you. I
have never said that to a woman before, and all you are doing is pushing me
farther away.‖
Tears welled up in her big eyes and flowed over to run down her
smooth cheeks. Shaking her head, Kacy bit her lower lip. ―No. It‘s the only
way I can protect you. You have to go. I can‘t see you anymore.‖
It was as if someone pushed him into a dark pit. The sun was sud-
denly blotted out and darkness had consumed him. ―We can get through this,
Kacy,‖ he tried again.
―No. Goodbye, Ernst.‖ She wiped her nose with the back of her hand
and moved away from his stimulating touch.
―I love you, Kacy. If you ever need me, I‘m just a phone call away.‖
Ernst reached for her only to stop as she shrank back. With a small shake of
his head he pulled her to him and kissed her one last time.
He tasted her sweetness and the saltiness of her tears as he kissed
her. Devoured her. Loved her. ―Goodbye, Kacy.‖ Picking up his truck keys,
Ernst walked away from her without a backwards glance, shutting the front
door quietly behind him. He had every intention of turning around to go
back inside, not leaving until she understood he wasn‘t giving up on them;
but as he turned around, it happened. His beeper went off. He had to go to
work, so he left.
Kacy crumpled to the linoleum floor of her kitchen the moment she
was alone and gave into the hysterical sobs that overtook her body. Deep
within her soul, she‘d been expecting him to walk right back in the door and
tell her all was going to be right with the world. But, it never happened.
Three hours later, she was still curled on her kitchen floor in a little ball.
Not having much of an appetite, Kacy didn‘t eat dinner. She just fo-
cused on her workload for tomorrow as she sat at her desk. Every time she
closed her eyes, she was staring into Ernst‘s ethereal gaze.
―I love you, too, Ernst,‖ she told her office. ―But I am not going to
have your death on my conscience.‖
Kirby was very unstable; and although it broke her heart to push
Ernst away, it was the only way to keep him safe. That was what one did
when in love with someone. Protect that person.
―Keep telling yourself that, Kacy, and maybe we will believe it,‖ she
mumbled as she left her office and walked to her bedroom to go to bed where
earlier that day Ernst had made love to her.
Draped over the side of the bed he‘d been on was an old tee shirt of
his. Reaching for it, Kacy brought it up to her face and inhaled Ernst Zim-
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mermann‘s masculine scent. The aroma made her miss him even more.
Undressing, she slid his shirt on and climbed into bed to fall into a restless
sleep surrounded by his scent and memories.
It had been three weeks and Kacy had heard nothing from Ernst. Not
a single peep. Throwing herself into her work, she tried to pretend it didn‘t
bother her. After all, she was the one who‘d told him to leave. But it didn‘t
work. She missed him horribly.
Wanting to call him, she refrained since he had said he was going to a
wedding this weekend and she was already running late to get to the start of
the charity bike ride. A horn‘s honking shook her out of her mental wander-
ings and she went outside to see Paul waiting in her driveway with his truck.
She waved with a forced smile on her face. ―Hey, Paul.‖
―Let‘s get going hon; we don‘t want to be late,‖ he said as he put her
bike in the back.
―I‘m ready,‖ Kacy said, locking her house behind her. ―Sorry to keep
you waiting.‖
―I was running late myself. Youngest was sick this morning so the
wife needed a bit more help.‖
Smiling, she nodded her understanding even as a sharp pain lanced
her heart. A child. She wasn‘t going to be having one anytime soon, especial-
ly without a man in her life. And she knew she wasn‘t pregnant with Ernst‘s
baby. Easily getting into his truck, the two friends were soon on their way to
the start of the ride.
Paul had her in a better mood as they pulled into the crowded park-
ing lot. For once, the ever-present memory of Ernst had been pushed into the
back of her mind, allowing her a brief respite.
It didn‘t take long and soon four hundred people were beginning the
ride to Washington D.C. The vans were following behind them with the
exception of the lead van that had a sign reading ―Charity Bike Ride—Please
Yield to Riders‖ on the top and sides of it.
Kacy settled into the speed her group had set and they were moving
along at a very steady pace. The burn from the workout just what she
needed. Chewing on her lower lip, she focused on the ride ahead of her,
determined not to let Ernst or his memory back into her thoughts.
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T W O
Ernst stood in his tuxedo, leaning against the bar and holding a drink
in his hand. The wedding had been beautiful. Ross and Dezarae were
dancing on the floor. Even as he watched them, his mind kept going back to
Kacy.
She would be on her ride right now. He wanted to be with her. The
Team had barely made it back in time for the wedding. Ernst was nursing a
shoulder wound, but it would be fine. Swirling his drink, he took a sip and
kept his eyes on the wedded couple.
―You doing okay, man?‖ a deep voice asked from beside him.
―No,‖ he admitted honestly as he looked over to see his friend and
teammate Maverick standing there in his own tuxedo.
―Have you called her since we got back?‖
―Nope.‖ His voice turned hard. ―I told her I loved her and she told
me to leave. I really don‘t think there is anything else for us to say to one
another,‖ Ernst snapped.
―You were the one who said if we hadn‘t been called away, you
would have gone right back in her house and not given up.‖ Maverick took
the drink away from Ernst and set it on the bar. ―Why are you giving up
now?‖
―Maybe I like the single life like you do.‖ Ernst grumbled, reaching
for his drink again.
―Not buying it.‖ Moving the drink away again, he added, ―I think
you‘ve had enough.‖
Ernst glared at his friend. ―Since when did you become my father?‖
―I‘m not. But I am your friend. You haven‘t been the same since we
left. You need to work this out, with or without her, but it needs to be worked
out inside you.‖ Maverick looked at him with jet black eyes. ―You are losing
control.‖
Not wanting to hear that, Ernst looked away. ―I‘m not,‖ he denied.
―Yes, you are.‖ Maverick insisted. ―How many have you had to-
night?‖
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He had no idea. ―I don‘t know.‖ Grabbing the shot, he downed it
quickly. ―But add one more to it.‖
Maverick latched onto his arm and said, ―Say your goodbyes to the
bride and groom…and Ghost, don‘t embarrass Jeb or Dez.‖ There was a not-
so-subtle warning in his tone.
Ernst swallowed and did as he had been told only to find Maverick
and Dimitri waiting for him at the door. Going out into the night, the men
walked in silence down the street.
They continued on until they reached a pier that overlooked the At-
lantic Ocean. Three handsome men in tuxedos leaned on the railing in the
night air.
Ernst heard a voice that shifted his body into instant battle mode. It
was the same malicious voice he‘d heard on Kacy‘s machine that day. The
men with him noticed him stiffening and looked at him to figure out what
was going on.
The blond man had turned around and was focused on a big black
man talking to another person. Pushing lithely away from the railing, Ernst
flowed over towards him. Maverick and Dimitri followed in complete
understanding of their teammate‘s manner; it was combat ready.
―Soon,‖ that man was saying. ―Soon Kacy Travis will be mine again.
And I‘ll be damned if I let her go. I will kill her first.‖
―What about the restraining order she has against you, Kirby?‖ the
other man asked. He ran his scarred hand over his shaved head.
―She will just go to the cops and get it lifted. She does what I tell her
to. Just like she got rid of that white boy ‘cause I told her to,‖ the smug man
bragged.
Ernst walked in-between the two men and looked at the one he now
knew as Kirby. He saw the second he was recognized for the man‘s face
flashed full of fear before it turned arrogant.
―This is him, Dave,‖ Kirby said as he looked over Ernst. ―The one
who Kacy kicked to the curb.‖
Ernst punched him in the face and the two men went down on the
ground fighting. For a few moments, the other three men just watched as the