by Jen Talty
“We were best friends in high school, but when I went to Europe after I lost my son, she thought I was nuts. We got in a huge fight, and until the other day, I hadn’t spoken to her in years. She can be misguided and seriously way too self-centered, but I’ve missed her over the years. Her heart is in the right place.” Kaylee sat on the bed next Emma. “You’re very beautiful when you’re not acting like a total bitch.”
Emma laughed. “Toby says I look like an uptight fucking bitch when I’m working.”
“No offense, but I thought you were an ice princess.”
Emma’s smile illuminated the room when she laughed. “When I presented my first case, I came into court all warm and bubbly. No one took me seriously. My boss kept trying to tell me to act tougher—be ruthless—but I didn’t get it. Then the judge told me if I was going to be successful, I needed to learn to leave the niceness at the door.”
That explained the Gemini personality. “I guess you took their advice,” she paused and then said, “I didn’t want to like you.”
“Yeah, well, that feeling was mutual.”
Kaylee laughed. “I have no right to be jealous; I’m the one who left and filed for divorce.”
“You’re an only child?” Emma asked, taking Kaylee’s hand in hers.
The closeness Emma offered made Kaylee uncomfortable, and she slid her hand away. “I’ve always wished I had a sister.”
“I have an older sister. When we were young, I hated her, but now we’re very close. She lives in St. Paul, so I don’t get to see her much.”
Kaylee’s breath hitched. It had been a long time since she had a friend she could just sit and hang out with. It felt good and that scared Kaylee. “Any other siblings?”
“A younger brother who works on Dave’s farm. He’s still trying to find himself or some such nonsense. My parents live in Grand Forks, and they love Toby. Go figure.”
“So do you.” Kaylee smiled. “I never thought I’d see the day Toby would fall in love.”
“From what I hear, he never lasted more than two nights with a woman. That made him more appealing.”
Kaylee lifted a brow.
“No other woman for me to live up to.”
“Blaine got over me years ago.”
“You know that’s not true. Hell, he scooped you up last night and carried you off to his bed. Kind of romantic.”
“He felt guilty because of these.” Kaylee lifted her T-shirt to show her scars. “Nino De Luca hired someone to do this to me.” Kaylee heard a gasp escape Emma’s lips, and she yanked her shirt down in shame. “He’ll stop at nothing to make sure I don’t tell the truth, so Romano will walk.”
“Sam Romano? But they just arrested him. I’ve heard the D.A. in Chicago is trying to get a bunch of people who work for De…holy shit.”
“You got it. Before I got stabbed, I’d been collecting information on a different case I thought was being mishandled. They were setting up an innocent man so their guy would walk. I even talked with an FBI agent.”
“What did you do with the things you were collecting?” Emma’s eyes were wide.
“I hid them in my apartment, but the asshole who stabbed me found them and gave them to Nino.”
“Why’d you go back?”
“No one believed me, or at least I didn’t think anyone would. I didn’t think I had a choice. Nino paid for my hospital stay and all my physical therapy. He also threatened me on a daily basis. I was scared, but I wanted out.”
“Jesus.” Emma took Kaylee by the hand. “I greatly misjudged you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re a very brave woman to go up against those guys.”
“Brave?” Kaylee said dryly. “Scared shitless is more like it. I went back because I didn’t want to die. Then in order for me ‘live,’ I had to take my old job back, and I had to testify on Sam’s behalf, becoming his alibi. So I did.”
“Did you give a sworn statement?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa, wait. Do you know for sure Sam murdered those guys?”
“No, but I wasn’t with him at the times I said I was. I left a note for the FBI guy who had been hounding me to flip. He said he could protect me, but at the time, I didn’t think anyone could. I thought if I got enough money, I could leave the country. Hence the trip back here. Before I left, I sent the FBI agent some materials I stole from Niño’s office that are incriminating, and I took off.”
Emma shook her head, then said, “Does Blaine know any of this?”
“No.”
“Thank God. If he knew, he’d have to call the FBI, and they’d get a federal marshal over here and haul your ass back to Chicago. Did you know Niño tried to report you missing?” Emma rolled her hair into a ponytail, and her face turned serious.
“Why would he do that?”
“If the cops find you first, he’ll say you took stuff. He’ll claim you stole it and doctored it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a laundry list of things you did. But, if he finds you first…”
Kaylee’s body trembled from the inside out. “How do you know so much about all this?”
“I’m a criminal lawyer. I’m always interested in high-profile cases, and I have a morbid curiosity for the mob, being Italian and all.”
“I’m in pretty deep, huh?”
Emma nodded. “Does this FBI agent know you left him this stuff?”
“I don’t know…probably.”
“Oh, Kaylee, you’re going to have to go back at some point.”
“Like hell.” Kaylee had believed she could run off into the night and disappear. She wasn’t all that important so they’d forget about her. “I can’t go back. You don’t know what kind of man Nino is.”
“I don’t mean back to him.” Emma stood. “You have to testify. We’re going to have to call that agent…soon.”
“You’re totally insane. Nino will kill me.”
“You’ve got a better chance if you turn on him. Come on. I’m on your side.”
“You saw the scars on my back,” Kaylee said. She hadn’t thought about turning against him, just running from him and making sure she stayed alive. “That was only my first warning. I don’t think I’ll get a second.”
“Look.” Emma took Kaylee’s hands again. “I can help you with the FBI, get them to offer you a deal for your testimony. I can make sure no charges are brought against you for lying and protect you. They do this shit all the time.”
“What about Blaine?”
“We have to keep this from him for now, at least until I get a chance to call the feds and figure out our next move.”
“Why should I trust you?” Kaylee stood and paced at the edge of the bed. It felt good to get some of this off her chest. She’d been carrying such a heavy load, but by unleashing it meant she had to trust.
“Because I’m all you’ve got,” she said. “And I’m very good at what I do.”
Kaylee nodded in acceptance. Working with Emma was better than trying to take off and hide, waiting for someone to kill her.
“I need to do some digging. I’ve got some contacts in Chicago, but understand that this will be happening pretty quickly once I call that agent.”
Kaylee plunked down on the bed again. “I’ve really screwed up.”
“Get over it,” Emma said. “You have the opportunity to right a bunch of wrongs, and I’m going to hold you to it.”
Kaylee felt safe with Emma and trusted her. “I hid some files in my father’s safe,” Kaylee said. “Along with the agent’s business card.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Emma yanked Kaylee by the arm. “You told Blaine you didn’t touch anything else in the house.”
“I didn’t want anyone to know I had this stuff. Every time Blaine caught me running, I was going for the files.”
“And then to get the hell out of Dodge.”
“I was scared. Blaine thought I killed my father. I was being interrogated—”
“Yeah, I ge
t it.” Emma tugged at her arm. “Let’s go get the files before Blaine gets back. Can you keep this from him?”
“I have so far.”
Kaylee had always been afraid of basements in any house, but her childhood basement just seemed like a creepy movie. The cemented walls had weird water stains that in the dark would come alive. Heck, they came alive when the basement was all lit up.
“Why are we doing this?” she asked Blaine, staring at the grungy walls. The musty smell overpowered her, and she sneezed.
“Because if there is a secret room, I’d bet my paycheck it would be down here.”
She continued to knock on the walls, trying to hear something that sounded different from her last knock. At least that’s what Blaine said to listen for. “This is nuts.”
“’Nuts’ would be doing nothing.” He took out the tape measure and then bent over, pulling it across the floor. His hair fell in his face, getting in his eyes. He kept flipping his head or using his hand to brush it from his beautiful face.
“Oh, for the love of God,” she said, unable to take it anymore. “Here.” She took the ponytail holder out of her hair and started to gather up his. “If I didn’t love your hair so much, I’d tell you to chop it all off.”
“You like my hair?” He winked.
“It’s so ‘Indian’ like.” She shoved him in the shoulder and went back to knocking on the wall.
“Wanna be my squaw?”
“Savage.” Unable to resist the familiar banter, she looked over her shoulder and smiled.
The smoldering look he cast her as he closed the gap between them should have frightened her, but all it did was ignite the passion deep within her. His powerful body backed her against the wall, and his fierce, steaming eyes made her shiver.
His tongue rolled across his lips as he dipped his head closer. A strong thigh shoved her legs apart as he pushed against her core. Immediate heat poured from her body. It baffled her how one man could make her feel so much, so quickly, allowing her to forget everything else.
There was no denying the passion he invoked in her, and no stopping it either. She slipped her hands under his shirt, feeling the muscles in his back tighten. The warmth of his lips, then the probing of his soft, but demanding tongue made her legs feel like rubber.
“Yo, Dark Man, get up here,” Toby called from somewhere above them.
“Busy right now.” Blaine cupped her face, his breathing haggard.
“You’re gonna want to see this; sucking face can wait.”
“He’s always had shitty timing,” Blaine muttered. “Be right up.”
“What are we doing?” she whispered.
He pulled her to his chest and kissed her tenderly. “Saving your ass.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
He closed his eyes. “When it’s time for you to take care of other things, you can walk away from me if you still want to.”
“I won’t have a choice.”
“We always have choices, but I guess you haven’t learned that yet.” A slow smile appeared across his face. “Trust me,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “And don’t deny yourself simple pleasures.” He patted her bottom and then pushed her toward the stairs.
“What’d you find?” Blaine said as they approached the top of the stairs.
“We might want to get Dave here.” Emma pointed to a spot in the hallway where a picture used to hang. “Did you know about that safe?”
Kaylee shook her head, confused. She thought she knew everything about this house. She thought everyone was nuts for thinking there was a secret room. Nothing secret in this house but who her biological father was. “I knew about the one in the bedroom and the one in Dad’s den. This one must be new.”
Blaine flipped open his phone and walked away, barking out some orders to whoever answered.
Kaylee took a small step toward the painting that leaned against the wall on the floor just below the safe, one of her father’s favorites. “When we spoke right before he died, he told me he had some news for me. News that would be tough to take.”
“You think he knew who your father was?” Emma asked, standing next to her.
“I don’t know. He never wanted me to ever find that out. At least that is what he told me after Deslin died.”
“Why?” Emma asked, as Blaine motioned everyone to the kitchen.
“Because he didn’t want another scandal. He didn’t want people to talk even more than they already were. It was as if we acknowledged my paternity, it would negate the fact that he’d raised me.”
Blaine pulled out a chair, then turned it and straddled it. “Sit,” he ordered to the rest of the room. “We’ll wait for Dave.”
“What crawled up your ass?” Toby asked.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m just tired.”
“You have to have some thought about who your father might be,” Emma said.
“I didn’t even know he wasn’t my father until we…until…”
“Until our son had died.” Blaine took her hand and laced his fingers through hers.
“It’s hard to look at any man my parents’ age in this town and wonder if my eyes look like his. Or if I have one of his traits. That’s part of why I left.” Kaylee turned and faced Blaine. “I never lied to you,” she whispered.
“But you didn’t talk to me either,” he said.
“That cuts both ways,” Kaylee said. “My dad wasn’t approving of anything I did that wasn’t his decision. His plan. So when we lost Deslin, he…he made it even harder on me, and I was so utterly broken by the things he said…”
“I know,” Blaine squeezed her hand. “He could be downright mean.”
“My father didn’t think I could manage on my own. He sent me to Europe. Then he wanted to set me up at his firm because he didn’t think I was capable.” And the reality of her unsuccessful attempt to have a life of her own came crashing down. She looked deep into Blaine’s eyes. “You’d left, and your mother didn’t think you were ever coming back. So, I set out to prove my father was wrong about me.”
“He was wrong about you,” Blaine said. “But I want to know one thing.”
“What’s that?” Kaylee asked.
“I saw the newspaper clipping of your engagement.”
Kaylee laughed. “When I met Nino, I was a cocktail waitress. He came in all the time, asked to sit at my table. Tipped well. But I was struggling to make it on my own. He offered me a job. I took it. He was nice. Sent me flowers. Treated me like a queen until I said yes to marrying him. Then I found out who he really was, but it was too late.”
“Did you love him?” Blaine asked.
She shook her head. “He played me. Hit my weak spots. I knew from the start he wasn’t the man for me, I just wanted to prove my father wrong. Childish and stupid, I know.”
“Not really,” Blaine said. “Your father set you up to fail. I know you miss him, and I’m sorry he’s gone, but he, whether it be consciously or subconsciously, sabotaged everything you did.”
“I don’t think it was failure he set up, but he wanted to put me in a bubble, like he tried with my mother. It backfired.”
Blaine’s chair scratched across the floor as he pushed it and stood. “I think Dave’s here,” he said.
Kaylee watched Blaine close the door with a gentle tug instead of slamming it like she sensed he really wanted to do. Her father had always been a hot button with him. Her dad had treated Blaine’s father like a subpar human being. When Kaylee got pregnant, her father essentially disowned her, unless she had an abortion. That wasn’t going to happen, so he pushed her out of his life, thinking she’d come running back.
Out the window, she could see Dave’s pickup roll down the long drive.
“You okay?” Emma asked after Toby had gotten up and left the room.
“I am,” Kaylee said.
“You’re not the warm and fuzzy type, are you?” Emma asked with open arms. “My family’s extremely affectionate. I can’t wa
lk into my parents’ home without a big hug and kiss.”
“My parents didn’t understand the meaning of human contact. That was really hard for me when Blaine and I first married, but I got used to it until…I think I’d like a hug.” Kaylee walked into Emma’s arms. It was an uncomfortable feeling at first, but Kaylee could get used to it.
“Aww, can I join in? Better yet, can I take pictures?” Toby teased as he waltzed back into the kitchen.
“Never going to happen, so you can just forget it,” Emma said.
“You two naked? Together? Or me watching?”
“Oh…my…God. How the hell did I ever end up in love with an idiot like you?”
“I’m easy to love; it’s the loving back part that’s got me all confused.” Toby’s smile was as warm as the affection and love he had in his eyes.
He circled his arms around them both, whispering to Kaylee, “After he finds out who did this, and you take care of your little problem, give him—and yourself—the chance to heal and find each other again.” Toby gave Emma a kiss on the temple, then turned and met Blaine and Dave by the door.
Kaylee wanted nothing more than to be in Blaine’s arms again, forever, but she couldn’t even think about it. Not yet, anyway.
“Kaylee,” Dave said, slipping out of his wet coat. “Do you have any problem with us searching this house?”
Kaylee glanced at Emma, who nodded. “Do what you need to.”
“You realize anything we find, incriminating or otherwise, could be taken in as evidence,” Dave added.
“I understand.”
The house phone rang.
“Should I answer it?” She didn’t feel like this was her home anymore and didn’t know who would be calling her anyway.
“Answer it,” Blaine said.
Kaylee picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Darlin’, I’ve been looking for you,” the voice on the other end of the phone echoed in her ears.
She gripped the receiver and swallowed. Her heart pounded frantically against her ribs, and when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t form any words.
Nino had found her.
“Come now, sweetheart, I can hear you breathing.”
Kaylee glanced down; Emma had taken her hand as if she knew who was on the other end of the line.
