by Melissa Good
She turned back, hesitating before she opened up the file Mark had sent her. It was a complete, a very complete, outline on Kyle Lewis. “Did you know Kyle was discharged with prejudice from the Marines?”
Kerry looked up with a start. “Oh, I forgot you did that. Um, yeah, I did.
He really resented that, but I never knew why. He just used to tell people he’d been set up.” She put the top on Dar’s fish, and smiled at them. “There you go.”
The two fish explored their new home suspiciously, immediately heading for the twinned bridge where they could keep an eye on each other. Kerry wandered over to where Dar was sitting again and perched on the corner of the desk. “Yeah, that’s him.”
The picture Mark had included was of a handsome, sharply featured man with silvered hair and direct, intelligent hazel eyes. Dar glanced over his record, then flicked her eyes to Kerry’s face, which was cool and expressionless. “He was in charge of a training exercise that went bad—six men died and three were wounded.”
Kerry nodded a little. “You think he was framed? That’s what he says.”
A shake of her head. “I don’t know. Based on the report, it seems pretty cut and dried. He told the group to go ahead into an area that had been Tropical Storm 365
blocked off as off limits due to a live mining exercise,” Dar said softly. “Two of the three injured had their legs blown off.”
The blonde remained silent, then they both looked up at a tap on the door. “You expecting someone?” Dar asked quietly.
“Colleen’s out shopping, she thought I wasn’t going to be here today,”
Kerry answered, just as quietly, as she moved across the carpet and peered out the security hole. Her eyes widened. “It’s Kyle,” she mouthed back to Dar.
Another tap. Dar motioned her back and she came to her side.
“Tell him you’ll be right there,” Dar whispered.
Kerry licked her lips, her heart pounding in reaction to seeing Kyle’s face.
“Coming!” she called out. “Hold on.”
Dar had closed out her sessions, and now she took Kerry by the shoulders. “All right, just take it easy. I’ll duck behind the door there, and you just let him in and pretend nothing happened last night.”
Kerry sucked in a breath. “I think I can do that.” She nodded. “He’s probably here to take notes and report back.”
“Probably. You keep calm. I’ll be right here. Trust me, Kerry, if he touches you…” Dar left the threat unfinished.
The blonde woman kissed her lightly. “My hero,” she said with quiet insistence. “Okay, you go hide, let me let the slimeball in.” Dar’s presence gave her courage, and she watched her companion tuck herself away behind the bathroom door while she padded over to the front door, taking a deep breath, then pulling it open.
Hazel eyes immediately fastened on her, running over her as though she were a racehorse. Kerry stiffened in pure reflex. “Oh, hello, Kyle. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I bet.” He smiled at her. “Can I come in?”
“Sure.” Kerry stepped back and watched him enter, getting a whiff of his distinctive cologne as he passed. He was dressed in a sport coat and slacks and was impeccable as usual. “What brings you to Miami?”
“Oh, this and that for your father—as usual.” He turned full circle, regarding the room with a slightly puzzled air. “I thought I’d stop in and see how you were doing.” Now his eyes came to rest on her. “You’re looking good. Put on a little weight, though, haven’t you?” Another smile. “Your mother will be devastated.”
Kerry perched on the corner of the couch, very aware of the silent presence at her back. “Actually, I feel better than I have in a long time. I think I was a little too thin before.” She met his eyes unflinchingly.
“Tch. Not according to your mother.” He shook his head. “You don’t want to disappoint her, Kerry, you know how important appearances are to her.” It was funny, Kerry thought. Not a sound came from Dar, but she could swear she could hear the taller woman’s teeth grinding together. Hers were.
“Well, she’ll just have to live with it, I guess. I leave on Wednesday.”
“Oh yes, I heard you told her you were thinking of staying.” Kyle looked around again. “Nice place, can’t say I blame you.” He looked back at her.
“Now, you know that’s not going to happen, right?” His voice was friendly and sweet. “It’s time you came home and settled down, Kerry. They’ve 366 Melissa Good planned the wedding for April.”
Kerry looked right at him. “That’s a matter between me and my parents, Kyle,” she stated softly. “So I guess I’ll be talking to them about it next week.”
Kyle came up to her suddenly and frighteningly fast. “You’re going to be a good girl, aren’t you?” he asked softly. “You’re not going to get your father upset now, hmm?”
Kerry swallowed, feeling a lifetime of concession laying on her like a blanket. “I hope not, but as I said, that’s between them and me.” She deliberately remained seated, her arms crossed on her chest. His eyes bored into hers, and Kerry knew if Dar hadn’t been there, she would have been in a lot of trouble.
A fingertip found her chin. “Be good,” he warned softly. “I don’t like having to deal with your father when he’s upset. It makes me…anxious.”
Kerry looked past his eyes and up, and found herself staring into a pair of pale blue chips of ice, framed by a set, furious face so close behind Kyle, it was a wonder he didn’t hear her breathing. “Kyle, go home,” she said quietly. “I’m not a kid anymore, and you’re not my keeper.”
He breathed on her for a moment, hesitant. “Now I know you’re going to have to come home. This place isn’t good for you, Kerry.” He reached out to grip her jaw in a sudden, savage move.
It never completed, as he found his wrist held by long, powerful fingers.
Slowly, he turned his head and found his eyes captured by incredibly blue ones in the face of a stranger. “Who the fuck are you?”
Dar smiled, with a total lack of humor. “A friend.” She released his hand, then moved a step closer to Kerry. “Who doesn’t like to see other friends being manhandled.”
“Lady, I don’t know who in the hell you are, but you’d do better for yourself to keep out of my business,” Kyle told her. “Got me?” His voice dropped in menace.
“You know, my father had a name for people like you,” Dar replied in a conversational tone. “But you probably don’t want to hear what it was.” She gave him an amused look, very obviously not intimidated by his threat.
He studied her. “Oh, let me see here, are you Kerry’s… special friend?”
His mouth twisted into a sneer.
“No, I’m far worse than that,” Dar responded with a smile. “I’m her boss.” She handed him her business card. “Here, make sure you spell the name right.” She moved a step closer to him. “Now, are you done threatening, browbeating, and insulting my employee?”
Kyle flicked his gaze at the card, then up at her face. “Be careful, Ms.
Roberts. This is family business, and you’re not welcome in it.”
Ice blue eyes stared back at him unflinchingly. “Be careful, Mr. Lewis.
You’d be surprised at what businesses I choose to take an interest in,” Dar replied very softly. “Or what happens when I do.”
He chose not to answer that. Instead, he turned to the silent blonde woman at Dar’s side. “Well, always nice to see you, Kerry.” A forced smile shaped his lips. “It will be good to have you home on Wednesday. Perhaps we can continue our discussion then.” He pocketed Dar’s card, then turned and walked to the door, yanking it open, then exiting and slamming it behind him.
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A momentary silence fell, then Kerry sighed. “Well. That was pleasant.”
She turned and gazed at her companion. “But it could have been a lot worse, thanks.”
“Obnoxious little son of a puta,” Dar cursed disgustedly.
“Piece of…” She exhaled. “What a horse’s ass.”
Kerry leaned against her. “Yeah.” She sighed. “He certainly is. This coming weekend’s not going to be pleasant.” Briefly, she contemplated not going and was startled at how tempting that was. “I’d rather be here, eating turkey roll on white bread and watching that watchamacallit marathon they’re doing on cable.”
“Well…” Dar kissed her forehead. “If you decide to cop out, let me know.
I’ll stick around and come share turkey roll with you, okay?”
Kerry circled Dar with her arms. “You don’t know how tempting that is, but I have to go. I’ve got to get this over with.” She sighed. “And tell them I won’t be home for Christmas.”
Dar hugged her back. “I’ll be there with you in spirit, you know that, right?”
Kerry looked up at her. “I know that,” she murmured in wonder.
“It…helps. I never could have answered him like that otherwise.”
The dark-haired woman brushed her bangs back gently. “You did a good job of it,” she informed Kerry. “He was looking to push your buttons.”
“Mmm.” Kerry let her head rest against Dar’s shoulder. And he did, too. It was just like there was a warm layer between her and his words, even the meanest of them. “Always has to get his digs in.”
Dar looked over her shoulder without really seeing anything, her mind on strategy. “Maybe it’s time someone did a little digging at him,” she commented. “C’mon, let’s go cause some trouble.” She lead Kerry back to the desk and sat down. “He have a favorite airline?”
“Delta, but…” Kerry peered at the screen as Dar activated a session.
“Delta, today, from here to DC…his name… Ah.” She typed in a sequence and pulled up something. “There you go, there’s his flight PNR for his return.” She looked at Kerry mischievously. “You know what you can do in here?” A shake of the blonde head. “This.” Dar typed in a four-letter sequence and the screen disappeared. “Poof. He no longer has airline reservations.” She smiled at the screen. “Welcome to the Information Age, Mr. Lewis.” Kerry covered her eyes.
DAR THREW ENERGY into finishing her work list, clearing out several items in a row and keeping half an ear on Kerry, who was puttering around in the kitchen. She knew Kyle’s visit had unsettled Kerry, and she impatiently answered some of the dozen or so urgent mails she had waiting, anxious to get them out of the way so she could go back to… Go back to what, Dar? Playing around? Her lips quirked . Yeah. So much more interesting than telling José he had to go back to the drawing board on two accounts and typing in an official answer to the complaint lodged against her by Peter. Jerk. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, considering how to phrase the response. “He screwed up the account, Alastair sent me out there to bail him out, and I did. What’s 368 Melissa Good the problem?” She drummed her fingers on the keyboard and then backspaced. “No, she’d kill me if I said that.”
“What’s wrong?” Kerry appeared, resting an arm on her shoulder. Her hand had a soft cotton mitt covering it, and she was carrying a mixing spoon which smelled very distracting. Dar immediately licked it and grinned at the smaller woman’s squawk of surprise. “Dar! Cut that out!”
“Mmm. Whatever that is tastes great,” the dark-haired woman replied.
“This. Peter filed a formal complaint against my conduct and I have to answer it. I’m trying to find a politically correct way to say ‘bite me’ and not have Mariana pull her hair out.”
“It’s meatball sauce. I’m trying a new recipe for spaghetti and meatballs,”
Kerry answered absently, peering at the document. “I figured that was pretty safe.”
Dar’s eyes brightened. “Haven’t had that in a while,” she stated. “I don’t usually order it in restaurants; the meatballs generally taste like pressed oatmeal.”
Kerry nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Hey, listen, why don’t you say that you were asked to evaluate the situation, and the client decided they wanted to negotiate with you directly.” She glanced at Dar. “That’s what happened, right?”
“More or less,” Dar acknowledged. “Truthfully, Gerald Easton is an old friend of my father’s. He’s known me since I was a kid.” She sighed. “He just really didn’t like Peter’s style, so he called and bitched at Alastair.”
“Hmm.” Kerry exhaled. “Okay, you can say that you had prior experience with that contract, and the client felt more comfortable dealing with you.”
A faint smile curved Dar’s lips. “You’re pretty good at this stuff.”
Green eyes twinkled. “Debating, remember? You have to sometimes say the same thing four different ways in order to get your point across.”
Dar laughed. “I’d love to have seen you up there. Nothing I like better than a good debate.”
Kerry blushed a little and grinned. “The contest I won was the one thing my father came to. It was pretty high profile, and he had such a good time doing the chip off the old block thing in the audience.” She looked a little sad.
“It felt good to win that.”
“You ever think of going into politics yourself?” Dar inquired.
A soft snort. “No way. If I’d wanted to spend my life deceiving people I’d have gone into marketing, thanks.” She gave Dar a wry look. “You’re not going to tell me you think public servants do it for the pleasure of serving their fellow countrymen, are you?”
“No.”
“Whew. I didn’t want to burst that bubble for ya, let me tell you, Dar,”
Kerry informed her. “It’s a disgusting business.”
Dar grunted softly. “Tell you what, why don’t you type up an answer for me, and I’ll go stir your sauce.” She slipped out of the chair and plucked the spoon from Kerry’s hand. “Fair trade?”
Kerry sat down, the chair warm from Dar’s body and glanced up. “Try not to eat it all, okay?” she teased, getting a flash of a smile in return as she Tropical Storm 369
turned her attention to the screen.
Dar padded into the kitchen, lifting the cover off a cast iron pot on the stove and releasing a moist cloud of garlic and spices into the air. “Ooo.” She stirred the sauce gently as she thought about the report that had come back about Kerry’s father. The usual, mostly. Minor kickbacks, some reported bribery, nothing concrete. But there were two anonymous bank accounts she was investigating further, and a very strange series of transactions from what looked like a private credit line in his name only. No sense, she’d decided, in letting Kerry see the report until she was finished and had something concrete.
And then what? Dar exhaled. Despite everything, she suspected Kerry still loved her parents, and her family. Doing something to hurt her father would hurt her as well, and as much as Dar wanted to slam the man for what she considered a disgusting persecution of her friend... Would that really serve a purpose? Maybe the information would come in handy to her, though, in her arguments for staying here. And I want to give Kerry all the ammunition for that I can, right? Of course, there was always the possibility it wouldn’t work. That Kerry would allow herself to be persuaded to leave. That’s what you’re afraid of, isn’t it? Dar’s eyes closed as she absently stirred the sauce. You’ve only known her for a month, Dar, the thought of living without her can’t possibly hurt you that much. But it did.
She felt so comfortable with Kerry. Her usual wariness around people seemed to evaporate around the blonde woman, and she found herself basking in the warmth of a true friendship for the first time in a long while.
She hadn’t suspected she missed having that in her life quite as much as she did, and now something was threatening that. She didn’t respond well to threats. They made her want to do crazy things like beg Kerry not to go home.
Or go home with her. Oh yeah. She laughed uneasily to herself. That would win a popularity contest, you just show up at her parents’ house. Let’s see…um… “Hi, the company is instituting a new program in which supervisors must visit all of their
employees at least once over the holiday, and I’m starting with Kerry. Do you mind?”
Yeah. She was so involved in her thoughts she didn’t even hear Kerry calling her name until a warm hand touched her back and she jumped. “Wh— Oh, sorry.” She stepped away from the stove and handed Kerry back her spoon.
“Here. I was just…um…”
“A million miles away,” Kerry supplied, gazing at her curiously. “You all right?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking, that’s all.” Dar chuckled. “You finished in there?” She was a little embarrassed to have been caught daydreaming. “I, um, I’ll go take care of that other stuff.”
Kerry gave her a worried little frown, but nodded. “Okay, yeah, take a look at what I wrote. See if you like it.” She patted Dar’s side. “Do you like garlic bread?” Dar nodded. “Silly question. I guess I’ve got some of those breadsticks in the freezer. I’ll put them up, too.”
The taller woman chuckled. “You like doing this, don’t you?”
Kerry shrugged. “I guess, I mean…I don’t think I’d bother for myself. In fact, I know I wouldn’t. I generally just come home from work and grab some 370 Melissa Good carrots or something, but it’s nice to take trouble for someone who appreciates it.”
Dar regarded her seriously. “I do appreciate it,” she replied quietly.
“Very much so.”
That got her a big smile “I know. I noticed your kitchen doesn’t get used much,” she teased gently. “I have nightmares thinking of you there with your Egg McMuffins and chocolate milk.”
Dar laughed in pure reflex. “Nah, you’ve got me all wrong.” She shook her head solemnly. “It’s Croissanwichs or nothing.”
A poke. “You should take better care of yourself.” Kerry mock scowled.
“That’s going to catch up with you one day.”
“Play hard…die young,” Dar half joked.
“I’d rather you didn’t,” Kerry replied very seriously. “I’d like to have you around for a long time.” An awkward silence fell, as stunned blue eyes looked at her. “I’m sorry,” Kerry finally muttered. “That’s an incredibly presumptuous thing for me to say.” She turned back to the stove and bent over the pot, only to feel hands grip her shoulders gently.
