by Tiffany Snow
“How long has this been going on?” Kade asked.
“A couple of months, more or less,” Christy said, shrugging her shoulders. “I kept trying to get him to tell me, but he wouldn’t. He said to just trust him. That’s when he changed his testimony.”
“He did what?” I asked, surprised. This was the first I’d heard about this.
“Ron had said in his deposition that all four of the SEALs agreed the man was a threat. After the phone calls started, he changed his story and said that Kyle had taken it upon himself to kill the guy.”
“Which version is the truth?” I asked.
“They all agreed,” Stacey said. “I couldn’t understand why he was doing that, why he’d lie and hang Kyle out to dry, but he refused to talk to me about it and he made me swear not to tell anyone. He told me our lives depended on it.”
“If I were you,” Kade said, “I’d leave town for a while. Go visit family, go on a vacation, whatever.”
Jean nodded, her eyes wide with fear.
“Thank you,” she said, backing up before turning and walking towards the police who stepped forward to question her.
I shivered, the cold and my wet clothes getting to me. Kade glanced at me out of the side of his eye.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, grasping my elbow and guiding me to the car. I didn’t resist, more than willing to get warm and leave this nightmare behind me. It was already late afternoon anyway and I had to get back for work tonight.
A few minutes later, we were headed down the highway back to my apartment. I turned over what Jean had revealed in my head. Although it was an interesting twist, I didn’t see how it fit with what was happening to me and Blane.
“Who would have had the power to make him change his story like that?” I asked, more thinking aloud than actually asking Kade. “And threaten him and his wife?”
“He was a SEAL,” Kade replied. “It had to have been someone he believed would make good on the threats. SEALs aren’t exactly easy to scare.”
I silently agreed. “If they called him, maybe we could get authorization to pull his phone records.”
“I can do that,” Kade said, “and I won’t even have to ask.”
I remembered that he used to be in Cyber Crimes for the FBI, and realized he could probably hack his way into whatever he needed.
“Blane needs to know this,” I said.
Kade changed direction, heading north towards the firm. “Agreed.”
My heart leapt. I’d get to see Blane today after all, so long as he wasn’t still in court when we arrived. I looked at my watch. He might be at the firm. Then I thought of something.
“Wait,” I said, “what about Diane? I can’t just go walking into the firm when I called in sick today. She’ll fire me.”
“You worry too much,” Kade dismissed my concerns. “I’ll take care of it.”
I didn’t know how he thought he was going to care of it, and I didn’t want to ask.
Half an hour later, we were pulling into the firm’s parking lot. I got out and nervously followed Kade inside. He walked quickly and I tried to keep up, rounding a corner for the elevators after him, when I literally ran into the one person I’d wanted to avoid at all costs.
“Diane,” I squeaked.
Her eyes narrowed at me. “I thought you were home sick today,” she said suspiciously.
“I am,” I stammered. “I mean, I was. Then, I was feeling better, so-”
“She’s with me.”
I looked up to see Kade had reappeared, his expression dark and forbidding as he looked down at Diane. Her eyes widened noticeably and she took a step back.
“Mr. Dennon, I didn’t realize you were in town.”
“I wasn’t aware I was to report my comings and goings to you,” Kade said with just enough sarcasm to make Diane flush in embarrassment.
“Of course not,” she stammered, her gaze sliding to me. “And you say Kathleen is with you?” Her mouth tightened in a thin line and I could practically feel the anger and frustration emanating from her.
“It’s Miss Turner,” Kade corrected, “and her position here has changed. I’m promoting her and will notify you of her change in salary. Her comings and goings are no longer your concern.”
“What?!” Diane’s shock would have been humorous if I wasn’t feeling exactly the same way. I stared at Kade, my mouth agape. “Promoting her to what?”
Kade’s lips twisted slightly, breaking the ice on his face, but not his gaze when he replied, “Investigator. She’ll report to me from now on.”
Diane’s mouth opened and shut like a fish gasping for air. Kade’s fingers closed around my elbow as he tugged me with him. After a few steps, I looked back to see that Diane hadn’t moved so much as a millimeter, still staring after us in stupefied shock.
Kade dragged me into the elevator and punched the button for the seventh floor. When I could find my voice, I said, “What was that about? How can you do that? How does she know who you are?”
Kade gave me a speaking look. “You’re a little slow on the uptake.”
Suddenly, things clicked in my head. My eyes widened. “You work for Blane?”
“I bought in, actually,” he corrected me, “when Gage was indicted. Thought it would be a good investment. I’m what you’d call a silent partner.”
My mind reeled. “And you just...”
“Promoted you,” he finished my sentence for me. I was still in shock and just looked at him. In less than five minutes, Kade had given me a new career, salary, and taken me out from under Diane’s thumb.
“Surprised Blane hasn’t done it himself,” Kade mused.
I swallowed. “Well, maybe it didn’t occur to him,” I replied, wondering why I felt the need to defend Blane.
The doors opened and Kade stepped out, me in his wake. We walked into the foyer and I caught a glimpse of Clarice sitting behind her desk.
“You,” Kade said, grasping my arm. “Wait here.” With a gentle yet firm shove, he pushed me down onto the sofa.
Exasperated, I popped right back up. “I want to come with you.”
“You’re supposed to be broken up, remember?” he said in exasperation. “Now wait here.”
I rolled my eyes, but maintained my silence, my lips pressed together so I wouldn’t say what I wanted to say to him, which would be foolish considering his proximity.
“Unless you want to re-enact last night,” he smirked. A flash of the feel of his lips against my skin went through my mind and I took a hasty step back, hit the edge of the couch, and sat down heavily.
The smile disappeared from Kade’s face as he watched me. “That’s what I thought,” he said. For an instant, he almost looked hurt, which made no sense, but then he was striding away towards Blane’s closed office door.
Clarice used the intercom on her phone to tell Blane that Kade was there and I watched as he went in, shutting the door behind him.
“Kathleen,” Clarice said, coming out from behind her desk, “would you mind manning the phone for me? I need to run downstairs and mail something.”
“Sure, no problem,” I said, taking her place behind her desk while she left in the elevators.
I sat for a second, wishing that I was in Blane’s office. Not only did I want to see him, I wanted to hear what Kade told Blane about what we’d been up to today.
“Where’s Kathleen?”
I jerked in surprise, looking around me for Blane, for that had been his voice. It took me a moment to realize that Blane must have left the intercom on in his office. I could hear his and Kade’s voices coming from Clarice’s phone.
“Relax. She’s fine.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Trying to figure out who’s behind all this,” Kade answered. “Thought you should know Ron Freeman is dead. Murdered. Professional hit, by the looks of it.”
“You’re kidding,” Blane breathed.
“Wish I were,” Kade replied. “But that’s n
ot the worst. Looks like someone was threatening him and his wife.”
“That would explain his sudden change of heart on what he remembered from Iraq,” Blane said grimly. “Kyle’s ex-wife is testifying tomorrow for the prosecution. I wonder if she’s being threatened as well.”
“I can check it out,” Kade said. “Where is she?”
I heard the shuffle of paper, then Blane read an address to Kade. Grabbing a scrap of paper, I jotted it down as well and shoved it in my pocket.
“I got another package today,” Blane said, his voice turning cold. More rustling of paper. “Want to tell me why you were practically fucking Kathleen outside the bar last night?”
My breath caught and my palms grew sweaty. Suddenly, I was very glad I wasn’t inside Blane’s office.
“Nice photos,” Kade said, seemingly unperturbed by Blane’s anger.
“Kade,” Blane said warningly.
“It was just a decoy, a ruse,” Kade dismissed. “Hopefully that’ll help throw off whoever’s watching.”
There was silence for a minute and I held my breath, waiting to hear what Blane would say. But he didn’t speak next, instead it was Kade again.
“You know, judging by these photos, it looks like she was rather enjoying it. You might want to think about that before you put your life and career on the line for her.”
“I could say the same to you,” Blane said, his voice like ice.
“Knock it off, Blane,” Kade replied, anger finally in his tone. “I refuse to become some cliché, you and I fighting over some chick. It’s not worth it and you know it.”
I heard the slap of papers on the desk and imagined Kade tossing the photos there.
“Whoever said we’re fighting over her?” Blane asked in a deceptively calm tone. “Last she told me, she hates you.”
I winced. I didn’t hate Kade. Not really. I wasn’t sure what I felt about him, but I didn’t want him to think I hated him - an absurd notion, not wanting to hurt his feelings. Kade had as much as told me he had no feelings that could be hurt.
“Well, there you go then,” Kade said briskly.
“Even if she does hate you,” Blane said evenly, “do it again, and you and I are going to have a problem.”
“What do you care anyway? It’s not like you’re going to marry her. Isn’t that role reserved for Kandi?” He said her name with disdain.
My stomach felt like lead as Kade said words I knew were true, but still cut like razors.
“What’s with the sudden interest in my love life, Kade? I thought I made it clear it’s none of your business.”
“When your relationships start putting expiration dates on your life, then it becomes my business.”
“None of this is Kathleen’s fault. I’d appreciate it if you’d try to remember that. She’s not the enemy here.”
“I’m aware of that. Which reminds me, since you’ve been too wrapped up in yourself to realize how miserable she is working for Diane, I promoted her.”
“What do you mean she’s miserable working for Diane? She never said anything to me about it.”
“Please,” Kade scoffed. “Diane knows you’re sleeping with her and treats her like shit. You obviously weren’t going to do anything about it, so I did.”
“And you promoted her to what?” Blane asked. “Is she qualified for anything else?”
Ouch. That stung, no matter how true it was.
“I made her an investigator, reporting to me,” Kade said flatly. “And your faith in her is staggering.”
“It has nothing to do with faith,” Blane shot back, “it’s reality. She’s smart, but she’s young, inexperienced. What is she going to do as an investigator? And how much danger will that involve?”
“No more danger than you’ve already put her in. How long are you going to drag this out anyway? She’s lasted longer than most of your relationships, I’ll give you that, but it would no doubt be better for her if you ended it. Politics won’t wait forever and neither will Kandi.”
I barely breathed as I listened, nausea rolling in my stomach at the casual way Kade discussed Blane breaking up with me. I remembered what my mother had said about eavesdropping – you seldom heard what you wanted.
“Did I miss the part where we’re telling each other how to run our lives?” Blane replied sarcastically. “Because if so, I certainly have some things I’d like to say to you.”
“Speaking of changing the subject,” Kade shot back, “did you check out Junior? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if that little prick was behind this.”
I remembered “Junior” was Kade’s pet name for James.
“He’s got an alibi for where he was the other night,” Blane replied. “So if it is him, he’s working with someone.”
“Thanks so much for watching the phones for me, Kathleen.”
I started in surprise, spinning in my chair to see Clarice setting a pile of mail down onto the desk.
I looked at the phone with dismay. The voices had gone silent, though the light for intercom was still lit. I wasn’t stupid enough not to realize it went both ways – if I could hear them, then they most certainly had just heard Clarice talking to me.
I heard a muttered curse, I couldn’t tell if it was Blane or Kade, then I heard Blane say tightly, “Kathleen, please come in here.”
The light on the phone went out.
Chapter Nine
I shot out of my seat, intending to make a quick getaway, but I wasn’t fast enough. The door to Blane’s office opened and Kade beckoned to me, the look in his eye promising he knew what I was thinking, and that I wouldn’t get far.
With a sigh of resignation, I reversed direction and headed for Blane’s door. Kade smirked at me.
“You should learn what a mute button is if you’re going to eavesdrop,” he said quietly in my ear as I slipped past him.
“Thanks for the advice,” I hissed back.
The door shut behind him, leaving me alone with Blane. I noticed he’d closed the blinds on the windows, shutting out any possible onlookers.
My stomach twisted. As much as my heart leapt in my chest to see Blane, the lead weight in my gut only grew. Kade had spoken as if it were a foregone conclusion that Kandi and Blane were meant to be together. I wondered how much longer Blane would toy with me before it was over. None of it came as a surprise, though it was a bit more than I’d bargained for to hear it spelled out in such plain, matter-of-fact words. I straightened my spine, determined to maintain my dignity.
“You summoned me?” I said flatly. I didn’t know what to do with my hands so I pushed them into the back pockets of my jeans. I kept my distance, though my eyes drank him in as he stood behind his desk. He’d discarded his suit jacket and tie, loosened his collar, and turned back the cuffs of his white dress shirt.
He frowned at my tone before rounding the desk to approach me. I took a wary step backward. Blane stopped in his tracks.
“You haven’t done that in a while,” he said grimly.
“Done what?” I asked, pretending ignorance.
In answer, Blane took another step and I couldn’t resist the compulsion to inch back away from him. His face darkened even as mine grew hot.
“Why are you afraid of me again?” he asked.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snapped. “I’m not afraid of you.” I wasn’t sure how to feel at the moment, I just knew I was hurting. If he touched me, I might break down in tears, which was the absolute last thing I wanted. I wanted to get away and pull myself back together.
He crossed his arms over his chest, regarding me silently.
“You heard what I said to Kade,” he said quietly.
I shrugged, glancing away from him to study the wall over his shoulder.
“Kade is misinformed,” Blane said. “I have no intention of going back to Kandi.”
“It’s none of my business.” I pushed the words out past lips that felt numb.
“Of course it’s your business,” he shot
back. “Do you think I’m just using you until I get bored?”
I didn’t speak and didn’t look at him. He’d just voiced the fear I wouldn’t even admit to myself.
He cursed, then moved toward me so quickly I started in surprise. I stumbled backward, only to have his hands close firmly on my waist, holding me in place.
“After all we’ve been through, you’d still believe that of me?” His eyes searched mine, their depths the stormy gray I’d come to expect when he was angry.
“I don’t know what to believe,” I said, my voice hardly above a whisper.
He studied me, his lips set in a grim line.
“Believe this.”
I barely had time to process the words before his lips touched mine. The familiar touch and taste of him was like a drug.
No. I couldn’t let him do this. I knew I didn’t stand a chance of guarding against him if he used my own body against me - my body which was even now straining toward his.
I wrenched my lips from his, turning my face away.
“No,” I gasped, trying to squirm out of his grasp, but he was too strong.
Blane ignored my protest, his hands moving into my hair as he gripped my head, forcibly holding me in place as he kissed me again. My hands pushed against his chest, but it was like trying to move a wall of granite.
His lips moved against mine, their harshness gentled now, coaxing. I could smell his cologne and his own unique scent, spicy with an undercurrent of something darker, muskier. His skin was warm under my fingers, the heat of his body soaking through the linen of his shirt.
The rough pads of his thumbs brushed my cheekbones as he changed the angle of his kiss, his mouth slanting across mine. I tried to hold myself stiff, unaffected by his efforts. The warm heat of his tongue touched the seam of my lips, a gentle request. I gasped, sucking in breath, and his tongue surged inside my parted lips, taking advantage of my moment of weakness.
Blane took his time, stroking and exploring and beguiling me. My thoughts were fuzzy, incoherent. My bones melted as his arm curved around my waist, pulling my now languorous body fully against him, one hand remaining in my hair, his large palm cupping the back of my head.
