She nodded. He observed her face, saw that she looked troubled.
“What’s up?” he asked. “What are you thinking about?”
She shook her head.
“Come on, Kat.” Jim kept his voice low. “Talk to me, OK?”
“It’s just what you said about time.” She sighed. “You think it actually heals all wounds?”
“Honestly? No.”
Kat was startled. “No?”
“No. Healing wounds is one thing; learning how to live with them is another.”
“So… you think that time just teaches us how to live with stuff?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “That’s how it works for me, anyway. What do you think?”
Kat gave a mirthless laugh. “In my case it does neither.”
Jim engaged in a small internal tussle, then decided to go ahead and ask. “Hey, Kat?”
“Yeah?”
“That bender that you went on… when you just dropped off the planet for a week.”
“Yeah.”
“What set it off?”
She sighed.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.”
“God, Jim. You know everything else. I see no reason not to tell you the whole thing.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. I mean, I trust you completely. I trust you with my life.”
At those words, Jim felt his chest start to fill up with a strange emotion. It built, swelled, expanded, moved up his throat. He was horrified to find that he longed to tell Kat that he wanted nothing more than to take her to bed and love her. He forced the words down, suddenly scared to death that they’d break free and loose somehow, just erupt from his mouth and run wild in the world at large.
“The first day that I took off work,” she said quietly. “That was an anniversary of sorts.”
“What happened?”
“It was exactly five years before to the day that he broke in to my house while I was sleeping, and I locked myself in the bathroom to get away from him. It didn’t work, of course. He broke the door down and got to me – and he punished me for hiding. For making things harder for him to get to what was his.”
Jim took a deep breath, trying to stay in control of his rage.
“And it was almost exactly one year later that he beat me bad enough for me to lose the baby.” Kat was quiet. “It’s one hell of a week, and I never cope well with it. The first few days, I just stayed here at my place and tried to pretend it wasn’t happening, and I actually did OK. Not great, you understand, but OK. Then the day approached when the baby died, and I just… lost the plot.”
“That was when you went out to Curves?”
“Yeah.”
“Why there?”
“Because I didn’t figure I’d run in to anyone I knew, and it’s the kind of place where drinking at ten a.m. isn’t frowned upon. It’s open twenty-four hours, and people leave you alone if you put out the right vibe.” Kat shrugged. “Seemed ideal.”
“I guess so.”
“But things got… out of control. I’m glad Jax called you, to be honest.” She looked up at him. “I wasn’t in a good place in my head. Like, at all.”
“Was something different this year?” he asked. “Harder?”
She nodded. “Yeah. On top of everything else, I was trying to build up the courage to leave Denver. I – I was trying to convince myself that it was time to go.”
Jim leaned back against the back of the sofa. “I see.”
“Yeah. I was getting myself ready to move on. To start all over again, away from all of you. And it was killing me.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said.
“I know.” Kat smiled at him. “But I’m glad now that I didn’t run… I’m glad that I’m still here. With you.”
He paused. “I’m glad too.”
“You are?”
“Yeah. I am.”
“Oh.” She knew that was an idiotic response, but she couldn’t seem to think of anything else to say. “I’m glad that you’re glad.”
Jim laughed now, and she smiled. The man smiled rarely, but he laughed once in a blue moon, and so whenever he did, she thrilled to hear it. His laughter was deep and low and sexy, and it rumbled out of that broad chest like thunder. It tickled her to death every single time she heard it, and never failed to charm her within an inch of her life.
“So.” His eyes were warm. “You in the mood for pizza? I don’t feel much like cooking tonight.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. Are we going to argue about the toppings again?”
“Of course we are,” he said. “We argue about every single other damn thing, don’t we?”
“Yep. We sure do.”
They grinned at each other, both wishing that they could shut the other up by kissing them. That would be the best way to end any argument, they thought.
**
Sully scanned the darkened street. Every instinct in his body was telling him that he and Cordelia were about to hit pay-dirt.
Why would the good sheriff be four towns over, at almost midnight on a Thursday, in a grocery store parking lot? He’s up to something.
Next to him, Cordelia looked tense. He longed to touch her hand, but held himself back. He needed to be cool and alert, not distracted by her absolutely amazing soft skin and lush curves.
Focus, man. Come on now.
He saw headlights in the rear view mirror, and without a word, he pushed Cordelia down and covered her body with his. She went rigid with surprise, but she stayed quiet and motionless. Sully inhaled the sweet scent of her hair and almost groaned.
Goddamn. She’s so sexy.
Cordelia was barely breathing: Hunter was right on top of her, his massive chest pushing her down and in to the front seat. She felt his strong, steady heart beat against her back, felt his warm breath on her neck. His arms were wrapped around her, holding her still and offering safety, and she closed her eyes to savor the sensation of being completely surrounded by this gorgeous man.
Dear God. He feels good.
Cautiously, he raised his head a bit. Ferguson was getting out of his car, talking with the two men who had just arrived. Sully and Cordelia were mostly hidden in a small loading area behind the grocery store, but he could see enough. He reached for his binoculars and peered through them.
“Anything?” she whispered.
“Yeah. Hand me the camera, OK?”
She picked it up off the floor and gave it to him. She stayed flat on her chest, and watched him snap a dozen pictures before lying down on her again. She clutched the seat, beating back the insane urge to turn over to face him, to pull his mouth down to hers.
“They’re leaving,” he breathed in to her ear. “Stay still, OK?”
She nodded.
Hunter lifted his head a bit, ducked, looked again. He sat up all the way, and started the car. Cordelia followed his lead and sat up too, trying to look unaffected by having had his muscular body flush up against hers.
“We’re going to follow them?” she said, relieved when her voice came out steady.
He glanced at her. “Yeah. I’ll keep my lights off, and we’ll see where they go now. You OK with that?”
“Yes.”
They drove for about twenty minutes, following the car tail-lights ahead of them. The back roads were surprisingly well-lit, and the moon gave lots of illumination, too. Cordelia stared straight ahead, wondering just where the hell Ferguson was going.
Is he going to do something that we can actually use to help Kat? God, I sincerely hope so.
The brake lights flashed up ahead and Hunter gently pressed down on his own brakes. They followed more slowly, both looking to see if the men had stopped, or turned off.
“Th
at way,” Cordelia said, pointing to the right. “You see them? Just past that patch of trees?”
“Yeah.” He followed, looking around to make sure nobody else was nearby.
“Look.” Cordelia pointed again. “What’s that place?”
He squinted. “I don’t know. Maybe an abandoned building?”
“Why would the sheriff head out to an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere?”
“Damn good question.” Hunter pulled off the road and drove a little ways in to the trees. He killed the engine. “Stay here, OK? I’m going the rest of the way on foot.”
“OK,” she said, trying to quell her feeling of unease.
He checked his gun, then looked at Cordelia. “Now, listen.”
“I’m listening.”
“No matter what you hear, you stay in the car. If you see anybody, you duck. If anyone tries to get in here, you drive away. Run them over if you have to. You hear me?”
“Yes. And you?”
“Don’t worry about me, Cordelia. I can take care of myself.” He opened the door. “You stay here, on this side of the car, ready to bolt if you have to. If anything happens, you drive like hell and don’t look back. Get to the hotel and call Dallas when you get there and you’re safe. Promise me.”
“I promise.”
“OK. I’ll be back soon.” He eased the door shut and she slid over to the driver’s side. She watched his broad shoulders in the rear view mirror until the darkness swallowed him whole. Her stomach tensed up, but then she reminded herself that Hunter Sullivan was a trained Marine who’d seen years and years of action in Iraq. If anyone could approach a group of questionable people without being seen or heard, it was him.
He’ll be fine. Just stay here and stay calm.
Time passed. After thirty-four minutes, she officially started to worry. After an hour and six minutes, she was scared. And after an hour and thirty-eight minutes, she was ready to run through the woods after him. But she stayed put, her eyes darting around and around, listening hard for anything at all. But all she heard was the wind in the rustling branches.
Finally, after one hour and fifty-one minutes, she saw movement in the mirror. She jumped, stifling a startled yelp, and watched as Hunter stealthily came back to the car. Cordelia heaved a huge sigh of relief and moved back to the passenger side. He opened the door, slid in, shut it quietly.
“They’re leaving now,” he said. “We’ll let them go, and head back to the hotel.”
“OK.” She suddenly realized how happy she was to have him back safe and sound. “Did you see anything interesting?”
“Oh, yeah.” His dark eyes were hard. “I did.”
“Something to get this guy?”
“Hell yeah, Cordelia. We’ve got him.”
Chapter Eleven
Almost three weeks later, Jim opened the door to the Solid Security offices for Kat. They had rushed over as soon as Dallas’ assistant had called them, and they were both slightly breathless.
“Kat? Jim?”
They turned to look at the woman speaking to them. She was beautiful, short and curvy in all the right places, her dark skin clear and soft.
“Yes.” Kat smiled, recognizing the voice from the call that evening. “Are you Cordelia?”
“I am.” She extended her hand. “I am so, so glad to meet you.”
“And you,” Kat said. “Thank you for everything you did for me…”
Cordelia waved her hands. “No problem, Kat.”
Jim shook her hand too, his eyes darting around the massive office space. “Is Dallas here?”
“In the conference room,” Cordelia said. “Come on this way, OK?”
They followed her down the hallway and Dallas met them at the door. He ushered them in, sat them down, poured them all water. A huge man came in now and shut the door behind him. His dark eyes took them both in, and Jim for one knew that he was looking at a man who had the ability to seriously crack some heads.
“Guys, this is Hunter Sullivan,” Dallas said.
“Sully,” the giant man corrected him. “How you folks doing today?” His gaze rested mostly on Kat.
“OK,” she answered.
“So, let’s get on with it, right?” Dallas’ blue eyes were hard. “We called you in to tell you that Sully and Cordelia have found a way to make sure that Michael Ferguson goes to jail for a long, long time.”
Kat set her glass down on the table with a crash. “They – what?”
“Uh-huh. Turns out, the sheriff is pretty heavily involved in some drug trafficking.”
Jim cursed under his breath. “God, this guy’s a dickhead.”
“Agreed,” Cordelia said, her voice cold. “And he’s managed to bribe, blackmail, and coerce two other police officers in to helping him with his little pharmaceutical side-business.”
“How?” Jim said.
“By threatening their families.” Sully glanced at Dallas, not sure how much to share. At Dallas’ nod, he carried on. “Once we found out about his drug business, we followed him for a few days, took lots of pictures, and managed to figure out the other people he was meeting. After some discussion with Dallas, we approached the two men we saw in the photos most often, and they confessed. They crumbled, actually.”
“They were relieved,” Cordelia said quietly. “I mean, after they finished being scared, and we got their families somewhere safe.”
“What did he do to their families?” Kat said.
“The one man’s wife was attacked while she was in Portland doing some shopping. The day after it happened, Ferguson told the cop that it would happen again – and she’d be hurt far worse the next time – unless he helped. The guy caved right away to protect his wife.”
“I can understand that,” Jim said.
“The second guy… Ferguson threatened his kid.” Sully’s face was twisted in a grimace. “And of course, once they’d started with the drug business, he had that to hold over their heads. He is truly a piece of garbage, I can assure you.”
“Yeah, that’s what he does,” Kat said, her face pale. “He uses your loved ones against you, traps you in your own life.”
“Yeah, he sure does,” Sully said. “So we got everyone out, and the two men willingly – I’d even say eagerly – confessed to everything. We got the cops and DA involved, and they have more than enough from the two accomplices, plus from our investigation, to send Ferguson away for at least twenty years.”
Kat heaved a sigh of relief. “Really?”
“Yep,” Dallas said. “He’s being held right now, and I’m in daily contact with Ellen. She’s reporting what’s happening at that end.”
“Did you talk to her and Nate?” Kat asked Sully.
“Sure did. Nice people, even though they flat-out refused to tell us your real name,” Sully said. “Their lips are sealed, Kat, and all they care about is keeping you safe, I swear. Anyway, we met at their house one afternoon while Ferguson was playing squash, and they told us all the local gossip about the man. Seems he’s been an abusive ass all over the place, and although Ellen didn’t have anything official or on-the-record, she was pretty certain she knew of some women he’d hurt.”
Kat closed her eyes, and Jim immediately reached for her hand.
“Hey,” he said. “You OK?”
She looked at him, managed a small smile. “I think so.”
“He’s gone,” Jim said softly. “He can’t get to you. You hear me? He can’t hurt you, not anymore.”
She nodded, and took a deep breath. “So… what now?”
“What now?” Dallas grinned. “Go live your life, Kat. The man is no longer a threat, or even an issue. It’s over, hon.”
“It’s over?” she repeated, sounding afraid to believe it.
“Over,” Jim said. “And you get to live without looking over yo
ur shoulder, not ever again.” His golden eyes glowed at her. “Kat, you can stay here with us.”
“I can?”
“Yep.”
“Yeah,” she said, realization starting to dawn. Jim watched the knowledge move over her face, and he thought he’d never seen anything so beautiful. “I can.”
**
From the kitchen, Jim quietly watched Kat. Even two hours after leaving Dallas’ offices, she still looked shocked, disbelieving. Jim supposed it was quite an emotional and mental adjustment for her to have to make: from flat-out running in fear for her life to being able to sit in one place and take a breath.
She can stop now… I wonder if she even knows how to do that anymore?
“OK,” he said. “So I’ll just pack up my stuff and I’ll be out of your hair in about ten minutes.”
Startled, Kat stared at him, her green eyes very dark. “You’re – you’re leaving?”
“Now that Ferguson’s in jail? Of course I am.” He managed a grin. “Isn’t that what you’ve been waiting on for the past month? Now you can order your pizza exactly as you like it, and never run out of hot water, and you get your sofa back.”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s all true.”
“Right. So – I’ll be off.” He folded the dishtowel neatly and headed in to the bathroom to collect his razor and toothbrush. Kat watched him go, frozen and stunned.
Well, what the hell did you expect? God, he’s been on that crappy sofa for a month and never uttered one word of complaint… but come on. He must be dying to get back to his own space.
Jim packed up his last few belongings with a heavy heart. He’d delayed walking out the door for as long as possible – God, I must have washed that same damn dish for fifteen minutes – but the time was now here. No more putting it off: Kat would want to call her folks and give them the news, she’d probably want the girls to come over and celebrate with a bottle of wine or two. He had no place here, not anymore.
You did what you were meant to do… you kept her safe and sane, and now you’re out of the picture, man. Just go.
He sighed, walked down the hall to the living room. Kat was standing now, and he looked at her.
Enemy From The Past (Unseen Enemy Book 4) Page 11
