Because his emotions were already running on high, the hot, blinding fury that crashed over him at seeing JR assaulting her propelled him across the room. The other man glanced over his shoulder as Cade approached, but it didn’t matter. Cade grabbed JR by the hair and the back of his jeans and tossed him to the side.
Addie squirmed backward until her back was pressed against the wall. Her eyes were wide and terrified, and she didn’t seem to recognize him, at least not at first.
The bruises on her face registered and he muttered an angry curse.
“Addie?” he said gently, wanting to pull her trembling form into his arms, but he didn’t get the chance.
JR had gotten back to his feet and was coming for him. “You son of a bitch,” he shouted as he lunged at Cade with something metallic in his hand. Cade tried to avoid it, but he refused to step aside. Addie was right behind him and he didn’t want this lunatic anywhere near her.
He barely glimpsed the long, sharp blade before it plunged deep into his side. The pain was instantaneous as JR buried it to the hilt and twisted. Warmth streamed down Cade’s side, but he didn’t have time to check it. Groaning, he pushed his attacker back and threw an upper cut at JR’s chin that had him stumbling backward and upending the box and TV as he smashed into the wall, the bloody scissors still in his hand. He shook his head as if stunned and Cade went on the offensive.
He threw another punch at JR that sent him sprawling into the narrow hallway to Cade’s right. Just as JR hit the ground, movement to Cade’s left distracted him. Turning his head, he breathed a quick sigh of relief at seeing Jorge in the doorway.
“Get her out of here,” Cade shouted, nodding his head to indicate Addie.
Jorje nodded and dashed to the couch, where he snagged a ragged afghan off its cushions to wrap around Addie’s nakedness.
Addie’s eyes met Cade’s. He read fear and something else flickering in the coffee-colored depths. Then her eyes widened in alarm and she screamed, “Look out!”
Cade returned his full attention to JR, who had gotten back to his feet and was barreling toward him. Like a battering ram, JR’s shoulder slammed into Cade’s middle, launching them backward several feet, blocking the exit.
Cade landed on his back with JR on top of him. He groaned as all the wind rushed from his lungs. JR immediately straddled his chest, making getting his breath back almost impossible. Then pain exploded along the side of Cade’s head, one side and then the other, disorienting him. He put his arms up to block the blows but a few more fell before they ceased.
“You just wait right there, George,” JR said smugly as he glanced over his shoulder at Jorje. “You’ve got something there that belongs to me.”
He leaned to his left, reaching for something, and Cade took advantage. Heaving up with his hips and pushing with his arms, he shoved JR to the side and rolled out from under him.
“Come on, you bastard,” he taunted JR, “is that all you got?” He needed to distract the wild-eyed man so Jorje could get Addie to safety.
“Hell no, cowboy,” JR smirked, his head twitching to the side and back as he sniffed and wiped at his nose. “I’ve got more than enough to take you down.” He lifted the bloody scissors again and dove at Cade.
He heard Addie’s scream as if from far away, but he didn’t have time to think about it as JR tackled him into the wall. The sharp, open blade sliced over his left bicep as he shifted to avoid it, and JR knocked him to the side with a punch to his chin. He stumbled to his knees, shaking his head to clear the darkness that threatened, a bout of weakness zapping his strength. He looked up to see JR’s face twisted with hate as he roared and lunged at Cade with the crimson-coated blade lifted above his head.
Everything seemed to slow.
Somewhere, Addie cried out again and a deep voice said, “Get her out of here.”
A shuffling noise followed with Addie’s cries not to leave him, and then that same deep voice shouted, “Sheriff’s office. Stop or I’ll shoot.”
Cade threw up his arms to ward off the blade aimed at his chest and ducked his head as JR hurtled toward him.
The loud bang made Cade jump and he cringed at the sharp pain that lanced through his forearm. The next instant, JR slammed into him, crushing his body against the inside wall, and Cade felt himself falling. His head rebounded off the floor, his sight flicked and blurred. Someone approached where Cade lay with a heavy burden strewn over him, crushing him into the cold floor. The person held something long and black in their outstretched hands, but he couldn’t see it clearly. He tried to move, to get up, but the weight on top of him kept him in place.
Suddenly more exhausted than he remembered being moments before, a deep ache in his side, and more warmth soaking his skin, Cade closed his eyes and sighed. He’d done his best. He only hoped it was enough to save Addie.
His eyes popped open. “Addie,” he croaked.
“She’s all right, Cade,” that deep voice said.
Cade squinted
