Kill Zone
an excerpt

“Not that bad, my foot,” Kat mumbled two hours later, the blue dress stuck to her skin. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Ssh, Caitlin,” Aidan teased. “He’s trying to help us.”

“By making us look like fools? Yeah, really smart move, dad.”

Aidan slipped the ring on her left hand. “Come on, you know you at least like the ring.”

She sighed, glancing at the diamond. “I do.”

“Good, because I do too.”

Aidan leaned forward, kissing her on the lips. She tried to resist at first, but quickly gave in, her arms encircling his neck.

“Mrs. Peter McCormick… that actually has a nice ring to it,” he whispered into her ear.

“Yeah, well I was planning on being Mrs. Aidan Murphy… not Mrs. McCormick. I feel like I belong on a spice bottle.”

“It’d be a very…sexy spice bottle,” he teased, his arms slipping around her waist, drawing her closer.

“Just because we’re married doesn’t mean anything. He’s still watching every move we make,” Kat warned him, feeling her father’s icy eyes on her back.

“What was it you said a few hours ago?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me…”

He silenced her again, kissing her lips. “Don’t worry, I can keep a secret.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispered, kissing him back.

Jackson cleared his throat. “You two need to hit the road. Now!” he hissed at them, jerking his head towards the door.

Sheepishly, Kat broke apart from him. “What? We’re just getting into the roles a bit, dad. Don’t have a cow.”

“I—I wasn’t…”

“Relax, daddy.” She kissed her father on the cheek. “It’s not like you’re going to miraculously end up with grandkids in the next five days.”

His blue eyes almost popped out of his head. “Grandkids?” he squeaked.

She nodded. “Grandkids. Crazy ones.”

“Come on, Caitlin. The limo’s waiting,” Aidan said, his arm around her slender waist as he steered her towards the door of the small church.

“What? He deserved it,” she hissed into his ear as he tugged her along.

“Just don’t rub it in, okay? You know he’s freaking out badly as it is.”

“And I’m not? Aidan, I’ve got red hair!”

“So? You look beautiful with it.” He kissed the top of her head, caressing the curls as they neared the sleek limo.

“You need to do better than that, Mr. Spice Bottle.”

Aidan smiled as he helped her inside the limo. “I’ll try harder from now on.”

“You’d better—otherwise you can find yourself a new home.”

“You’d kick me out?”

“Like a stray dog.”

“You’d kick out a stray dog? How heartless…”

“Fine… a stray dog with fleas. Are you happy now?” Kat corrected, rolling her blue eyes.

“Why not just give him a flea bath?”

“Because… he’s a stray dog with fleas and rabies!” She made a hissing sound and faked having claws.

“How is a dog really that unlucky?”

“Because… the rabid squirrel that bit him had fleas too. He got both from the squirrel…”

“Are there really any rabid squirrels around here?” Aidan looked out the window, rabid squirrel-hunting with his eyes.

“Yup. They all live in my backyard and at the library. Those library squirrels are nuts.”

“Aww, maybe they’re just ‘nutty’ about reading!” Aidan teased.

“Or… just plain nuts. Those squirrels are certifiably insane! One of them attacked me once—“

“Oh… now that explains why you’re crazy. Are you—is that foam coming from your mouth?”

“Yes.” Kat switched into a thick accent. “I vwant to suck your blood!”

“I hate to break it to you, but that’s just wrong on so many levels…”

“How so?”

“First off, that was Dracula. Only vampires suck blood. And second, that was the absolute worst fake-Transylvanian accent I’ve ever heard.”

Kat started to giggle, which quickly turned to squeaks as she collapsed against Aidan’s chest. He was laughing as well, holding her close to his chest as she struggled to breathe.

“Hey… it’s not that funny,” he muttered. “Breathe, Katy.”

“Trying…”

He smiled at her, brushing her recently-reddened hair aside. “God, you’re gorgeous when you laugh.”

She blushed, color flooding her pale cheeks.

“What? You know it’s true,” he muttered, leaning closer.

She didn’t respond, she just wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently at first.

Aidan smirked, pulling her closer as he returned the kiss, deepening it as the limo drove them to their new house—a property Jackson Robertson had been hiding for several months just in case—and their new life.