by Mimi Barbour
A dull noise broke into his trance, and he listened. It was someone pounding on the door. For a few seconds, he thought to ignore it, but then he realized he couldn’t. What if it’s news about Rhondo? What if they found him?
As a precaution, he grabbed his gun from the hallway desk drawer and called out, “Yeah? Who is it?”
“It’s Cory. Let me in.”
Kai replaced the gun, unlocked the latch, and swung the door open. He leaned against it in a manner that said, ‘Talk here, ‘cause you’re not allowed in.’
But Cory pushed past, and waited for Kai to close up after him. Kai did so with a sigh and a grin that clearly read, ‘Shoulda known!’
“What are you up to?” Cory glanced around, obviously not impressed, if his sneer was anything to go by. “Jesus, man. This dump is depressing. Why’d you choose to stay here? I happen to know you’ve got more money than you know what to do with. There’re lots of better places.”
“Hey, it’s cool. The place has air conditioning, a balcony, and it’s furnished. I’ll only be here for the short term anyway.”
“Right. I’ve been meanin’ to talk to you about that, but now’s not the time. Get dressed, man. There are two lovely ladies waiting for us in the car, and we’re hungrier than all get out.”
“Naw, I’ll pass—”
“No. You won’t pass. Now throw on a shirt and let’s go. Move it!” Cory waved toward the darkened hallway and then crossed his arms. Kai recognized that stance and knew he’d have to literally throw Cory out; the lieutenant wouldn’t move until Kai agreed.
Kai shrugged resignedly, and moved toward the bedroom. “Who are the two chicks? And one better be your pregnant wife, or I’ll be on the phone snitching on you right now.”
Corny snickered. “Debbie and Aurora are waiting. They had a ladies night planned, but I kinda butted in on them. I’ve got to admit that I don’t like that wife of mine to be out of my sight. Don’t know why I get this way. Never thought I’d be the doting kind of husband, but whenever she’s not with me, I get real nervous.”
Kai appeared wearing a bright blue and green plaid shirt, and snapping the buttons closed. He rolled the sleeves halfway up and reached into the desk drawer for his badge, gun, and wallet.
Cory cleared his throat and caught Kai’s attention. As soon as Kai looked up, Cory stared at the gun still clutched in his hand and gave Kai the evil eye.
“Sorry. Force of habit.” He replaced the badge and picked up his wallet, in case he needed some ID. Then much to Cory’s disgust, he slid his gun under his shirt in the back of his pants and opened the door for Cory.
Shaking his head with apparent disgust, lips tightened, all Cory said was. “You could have shaved.”
“Yeah. And you could have called.”
***
Aurora still didn’t know how she’d gotten roped into joining them tonight. One minute, she and Debbie had had a girl’s night planned, and the next thing she knew, the three of them were in the car heading to pick up Kai.
“Do you think he’ll join us?” Aurora plucked at the cuffs on her black shorts and checked out the old apartment building that had been high-end in its heyday. Just in case he did join them, she was glad she’d chosen to wear moderately longer shorts than her usual attire and a girlie, silky blouse, not too low cut, and tied in the front high enough to show off her rhinestone bellybutton ring.
“I’ll bet you ten bucks he will. You know Cory when he makes up his mind.”
“You’re on. I’ve seen Kai in action, and you haven’t. He’s no easy pushover.”
“I can’t wait to meet him. I’m glad we’re doing this tonight, even if Cory is driving me batty. I’ve never known him to act so skittish about everything. When he was my boss, I thought he had balls of brass. Turns out, he’s a marshmallow—like someone else I know.”
In a purposely-mean voice, Aurora responded, “You’re cruising, my friend.”
Debbie giggled and made a face in her direction. “Truly, he’s worse than an old mama cat—always after me about my plans for the day, and hates for me to be out of his sight at night.”
“Can’t really blame him. Your time is getting close. In fact, you could have that baby any day now.”
“Tell me about it. Wish the darn kid would hurry up so we can meet.” Her face fell for an instant, and then the car door opened.
Kai slid into the back seat and nodded at her. Debbie held her hand out toward Aurora, palm up, at the same time as she smiled at Kai. “Hi. I’m Debbie, Cory’s wife and Aurora’s favorite partner to whom she now owes ten bucks.”
With a growl, Aurora slapped the money into Debbie’s hand and turned away from Kai’s raised eyebrows. Does every shirt he owns have to match the color of his eyes?
Pretending to watch the passing scenery, she listened to him interact with Debbie and was pleased at the attentive and gentle way he treated her best friend.
Cory spoke over his shoulder, breaking in. “I’m taking you all to a favorite restaurant of mine. Serves the best steak you’ll ever have. The beer is cold, the music great, and the waitresses are gorgeous. Though not near as pretty as you, Darling.” He winked at Debbie who lowered her fist. “I want everyone to enjoy themselves tonight. No shoptalk, nothing but relaxation and a meeting of old friends.”
Several minutes later, Cory pulled into the front of a restaurant lit up with enough lights to brighten a small third world country, got out of the car, and hurried around to help his wife.
Kai stepped out of his side, and Aurora quickly got out before he felt it necessary to assist her. Would’ve been awkward as hell, and tonight she felt out enough of place.
Darn Cory, getting me mixed up in this bullshit. Why he didn’t take my word for it when I said I didn’t want to come along? Stubborn man had insisted and then used Debbie’s probable hurt feelings as his final weapon. Bloody men!
The place was just the kind of hangout that Aurora liked: not too fancy, a packed bar, good music, pool tables, and a country atmosphere. As soon as she stepped inside, she felt the beat of the fast country song oozing in, and her spirits lifted. One thing she loved more than almost anything was dancing, particularly to a country Western beat.
Five people were getting ready to leave a table near the dance floor, so Cory ushered them in that direction. In no time, they were seated with a beer in front of three and a glass of ginger ale in front of the fourth. Their orders were placed, and a nice atmosphere settled over them as they all breathed a sigh of relief. Aurora decided that maybe it had been a good thing for her to come along. Let go of the week’s stresses.
She looked over at Debbie and noticed that her friend had gotten her hair cut shorter, and once again, the blonde curls were left loose rather than being forced back into clips. Her makeup had reappeared and made her seem more like the girl she used to be, before a rapist had stolen so much of her joy.
Being married and pregnant suited Debbie. The woman simply glowed. One day, Aurora envisioned, she might be the one rubbing her tummy unconsciously, protectively—lovingly.
Giving her head a shake, she turned away and caught Kai staring. His smile spoke to her as if he’d read her thoughts. She hoped her self-conscious glare would make him back off. She turned away, not waiting to find out.
As usual, she skimmed her surroundings, slowing down when she noticed a cowboy and young woman arguing. She shook her head and continued to scan the rest of the room. Everything looked to be in place. Kai’s hand on her shoulder jolted her attention back to their own table, where she noticed Cory and Debbie were schmoozing and Kai looked uncomfortable.
“Would you like to dance?” Kai asked.
Since from the moment they’d walked in the door, her body hadn’t stopped swaying, it’d be lie if she said no. “Sure.”
Once his arms went around her, she knew it was a mistake. It was one thing working beside the man and keeping it cool. No problem. Came with the territory.
But in his arms on a d
ance floor, the rules totally changed. He should have been labeled as a dangerous toxin, because her body reacted as if she’d taken a swallow of a poisonous substance. Stuff churned around in her tummy at hurricane speed, and her pulse rate hiked up way past normal to alarming—made it difficult to breath.
He smelled like a man fresh out of a shower, and she peeked at his cheek so dangerously close to her own. His whiskers weren’t long enough to be annoying. But they did add to the already tormenting sexy guy look.
His hips knew how to gyrate better than hers, and as a contest winner, she’d always considered herself to be topnotch. He swung her around the floor in a two-step that with anyone else might have guaranteed him a one-night stand. Not that it happened very often. Rarely in fact, and years before, but the few times she’d given in to a relative stranger had always been after a sweet night of dancing.
Most times she found that men didn’t know how to hold a woman, to take charge—to lead. Kai did. With his arms cuddling her into his body snugly, hips against hips, and legs brushing, he had it down pat. Without hesitation, she trusted him to guide her so she could live in the moment, take pleasure in the sensations. They glided around the other dancers, and her head swirled with enjoyment.
His whispered words broke into her mindless pleasure and shot straight to the point. “You want a baby!” It wasn’t a question.
Shocked but playing it lightly, she answered, “You propositioning?”
“Just stating a fact. You’re hot. How come there’s no man in your life?”
“I suppose you could also be labeled hot to a certain needy type. So where’s your little woman?”
He pulled back so their eyes could meet. “I dumped her when my priorities became focused on only one thing.”
“Dumped her?” Aurora made it sound like ‘who’re you trying to kid?’
“Okay. I acted like the gentleman my mother raised. I broke it off with her gently. Couldn’t afford any distractions.”
“And she wouldn’t wait?”
“Hope not.” The final sound in his voice left no doubt that in the grand scheme of things, the woman didn’t really matter.
“Her loss.” As soon as the words left Aurora’s mouth, she wished for a cleaver to cut off her tongue.
He pulled her in close and nuzzled his cheek against hers. Wrenching herself from his arms, she began to walk back to the table, only to have him pick her up off her feet, swing her around, and start dancing again. He held her so tight she barely had room to move. She wriggled, and when he let her slide down his body, every sensuous cell inside her screamed, “Finally”
He picked up the beat, and they moved along, his impudent grin and twinkling blues daring her to share in the thrill of a partner made in Heaven.
How could she resist? When the music turned to a different beat, everyone separated. Bodies moved sinuously, freestyle dirty dancing. With her eyes closed, and her arms raised, she allowed the music to seep into her soul. Grinding her hips, her pliable slenderness swayed to the pounding rhythm.
She loved the freedom that dancing allowed. All her tightened restraints loosened, as the sexy tempo took over.
Then, words that irked made it through the haze—sick, sad words that caught her attention.
“Bitch, you’re with me. Don’t be looking at him.”
“I didn’t, Doug. Honest! Ow! You’re hurting me!”
The big oaf’s hand squeezed the back of the girl’s neck.
Before she knew she would, Aurora had his hand twisted backward in a grip that would have surely broken the bone if he’d tried to move. Aurora bent him over, until his head was almost touching his knees, and spoke directly into his ear. “Hey, lover. Keep your hands to yourself. This pretty little thing bruises easily. We know that, don’t we? Look at the fading marks on her arms.”
Others in the area slowed down to watch, but the lighting had been dimmed over the dance floor, so the majority of the couples moved aside and went on dancing.
Regrettably, the altercation was taking place close to the table where the jerk’s pals were sitting. Three stood up and stepped forward to see what was happening.
Kai moved in front of them, holding his arms out by his side. “A little misunderstanding, fellas. Nothing more. My date’s got a short fuse when she sees a dude picking on a girl half his size.”
The biggest loser pushed his way closer to Kai, basically right into his face. “Yeah, but it’s his girl, so…”
Kai had him in a headlock in seconds, moving so fast that Aurora had a hard time releasing her victim and whipping Kai’s gun from the waistband of his shorts as he spun around, but she did. And she pointed it toward the others who were itching to get in on the action. Mysteriously, her badge also appeared.
“Uh-uh! Back off! Collect your stuff and get the hell out of here. And be glad we’re not arresting you for disturbing the peace.”
“Couldn’t you tell he was a cop?” The shortest of the three thugs aimed his words toward the hillbilly favoring his thumb. He got shoved in reply.
It broke Aurora’s heart when the young girl she’d tried to protect gathered her purse and left with her man. His arm tight around her neck, proving that he still ruled. She threw a what’s-a-girl-to-do look over her shoulder that Aurora took as her way of apologizing.
Once the others had exited, Kai pushed his opponent toward the door and stood next to Aurora, feet apart and arms crossed. Knowing he could have taken his gun back at any moment, she appreciated his courtesy in letting her handle the situation.
Once Cory appeared on the scene, flashing his badge, the rest of the bunch cleared the table quickly.
“The steaks are getting cold, you two.”
Aurora handed Kai back his gun. Cory took her arm and led her back to their table. “I can’t let you out of my sight without you getting into trouble, Aurora. When are you going to learn to mind your own business?”
Aurora shrugged. “When all the assholes in the world drop dead.”
Chapter Ten
“She faked it.” Kai’s remark had Aurora’s back up instantly.
“Come on! She’s pregnant. Someone in her condition can get a backache just like that.” She snapped her fingers and dared him to argue. The band had taken a break, and the background music didn’t force them to yell.
“That’s true. If it wasn’t for the wink she gave you while she let Cory help her out, I might have gone along thinking her innocent.” His clean-cut fingernails picked away at the label on the beer bottle he’d been nursing for the last hour. Then he glanced up and his laughing blues caught her gaze. “But we both saw her.”
As much as she’d like to argue with Kai, she’d seen the sneaky glances Debbie had shared with her husband during the early part of the evening. When she’d begun wincing and arching her back, Aurora had fallen for her friend’s tactics, and truly believed there was a problem. Until the telling wink!
Then she’d surmised exactly what Kai had—that her old partner was setting them up. The fact that Cory had called a taxi to take them home in order to leave Kai the car seemed totally out of character. And the fast exit they’d made, which now left her and Kai alone at the restaurant, was so suspect as to be laughable. Talk about set-ups. They’d been royally had.
“Well, at least we know Deb likes you.” Aurora sipped her latest beer. She’d imbibed more than normal, but she’d danced a lot and needed to cool down. Her long hair stuck to her neck, and she gathered it all up and quickly twisted it into a tail, then wound it up to sit on top of her head in a clip.
The silence from her partner made her look up, and she found his hot gaze staring at her arched body. The light green, filmy blouse clung to her sweaty skin, and she wished she’d have chosen something less revealing, less feminine.
“Time to go. It’s almost closing time anyway, and we have a full day tomorrow.” She gathered up her purse and pulled a twenty from her wallet to leave as a tip for the waitress.
“It’s tak
en care of.” Kai pushed the money back toward her, his tone serious; a warning rang loud and clear. “I paid the tab earlier.”
She stopped and stared him down. “I worked in a place like this to earn money for college. I put up with drunken idiots, cleaned up their messes, and whenever some thoughtful customer left me an extra bit of tip, trust me, it made the night a little more bearable. So don’t question me when I choose to thank a waitress.” Huffy and dismissive, she stood, belligerent and ready to argue.
He didn’t say anything. Instead, he picked up his cardboard coaster and there, folded in half, was a twenty-dollar bill. He smiled at her, and for the first time since she met the man, without her usual defenses in place, she smiled back. Then he stepped up, placed his warm hand on her back, and gently guided her in front of him toward the exit.
Other than her giving him directions, they didn’t speak on the way back to her place. Continuous music played on the radio, and the light traffic made the drive enjoyable. Once they pulled up in front of her apartment, discomfort set in. She didn’t know whether to ask him in for a nightcap or, better yet, coffee, or get out of the blasted car and leave him with a “Thanks. See you tomorrow.”
Even though he was her partner, they’d only been together on the job a few days, and hadn’t had the time to build up a routine or get accustomed to each other’s ways. Blasted hell, I hate these kinds of moments. Being at a disadvantage never sat well with her, at any time, and her anger at the uncomfortable feeling rang through in her words.
“Look, I don’t have any problem with you coming in for coffee, but you’ll have to make it fast, ‘cause it’s late.”
“How could a guy turn down such a warm invitation? You always this friendly?” Kai turned in her direction; his left arm hugged the steering wheel, and the other hand rested on the gearshift.
“No. Guess you bring out the best in me.” She opened the door and turned back to look over her shoulder, waiting.
“How can a guy turn down such—”
“Yeah, yeah. You said that already.”
As soon as her apartment door closed behind them, Aurora knew it had been a big mistake to invite him into her home. From now on she’d be picturing him there, his big frame sucking up all the space, making her feel tiny and needy. Something she’d hated feeling all her life.
