by Traci Hall
“K. You might have some control issues to look at. This is just a beach. Not the Sahara.”
“I agree that I like to know what is going to happen next. I also understand that life is very unpredictable. I’ve built my world very carefully, so that the bumps are manageable. I can handle them.” She put her hand on his arm, her chest tight. “If you go out there today, what is to stop that creeper from taking another shot at you?”
“Nothing.” His jaw hardened. “We’re counting on it.”
“Excuse me?” K lifted her head, catching Joe’s green-gold eyes before he glanced away. “You have a plan in place?” She lowered her voice. “The one with kinks in it?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you about it.”
“No, you were going to distract me with your favorite place to watch the sun come up with coffee and donuts.”
“It almost worked.” He gave her a charming smile that she didn’t buy for a minute.
“No, sir.” K was aware of the morning people passing by on their way to the beach, so she spoke quietly. “Are you putting yourself out there as a target?”
“I’m just going to follow all of my normal daily routines.”
“Joe!”
“I’ll have two tails.” He started walking toward the patrol car. “Come on, K. I want to get you home.”
She didn’t like it. “Where are they now, these people who supposedly have your back?”
Joe, hands full, gestured with his chin toward a bench to her right. “Reece showed up fifteen minutes ago. Old guy on the bench to your right, reading the paper.”
K peeked, caught the guy watching, and glared. “And?”
“Sue is wearing a pink apron at the ice cream shop, sweeping the sidewalk.”
Sue saw K looking and waved. “Morning!”
K waved, but muttered to Joe, “And just how is she going to protect you? Beat the guy over the head with her broom?”
“I am going to be fine,” Joe said, opening the trunk of the car and putting the blanket in the back. He had guns and boxes of ammo, too. She’d never held a gun before and the weapons looked dangerous.
K peeled off her fleece and handed it over, feeling the loss of warmth while acknowledging the true chill in her bones came from seeing with her own eyes that Joe was in danger. That he knew how to protect himself with deadly force.
“I’m glad you know how to use these things,” she said, her voice small to her own ears. “Please be careful today.”
“I’m gonna come out on top, K.” He looked as if he wanted to kiss her, but she looked toward the guy on the bench, aware that she was being scrutinized by Joe’s peers while wearing an expensive tailored suit coat and rolled up pajama pants.
“I know that you are. Believe it or not, Joe, I understand why you want to catch this guy. He’s got you in limbo.” A flash of black drew her attention. “Joe, there’s the Charger!” Sure enough, the glossy black car was slowing down as it passed by, then did a quick turn down the street toward them.
Joe slammed the trunk shut and stepped in front of her, his hand dropping to his waist. The car, blaring dance music, rolled to a stop and two girls spilled out of the driver’s side, while the guy driving kept his hat pulled down low.
“Are you her?” The brunette wearing a leopard print fabric tube as both top and bottom asked, leaning on her platinum haired friend, peered at K with blurry, party-tired eyes. “Are you Gwen?”
K’s shoulders relaxed as she tried to pinpoint their accent. “Uh, no.”
“We love her! We saw you yesterday by the park. We’re on vacation from Amsterdam.” The two giggled, then shrugged and got back in the car. They drove away, music shaking the vehicle.
K looked at Joe and dissolved into nervous laughter. “No danger from them unless you’re worried about a contact high.” Did he have a gun at his waist? She hadn’t felt it while they were on the beach. Or had he gotten one from the trunk when she wasn’t paying attention?
“Do you get that a lot?”
“No. But they were from a different country!” She patted her platinum waves. “I’ll have to tell my hair dresser to keep up the good work.”
Joe relaxed, his eyes flicking toward Sue and the old guy on the bench.
She reached out to touch his arm. “I’m sorry for being such a girl. Believe it or not, I’m usually pretty even-tempered. Maybe the wrong one of us is in therapy. You’ve got the patience of a saint.”
Chapter Sixteen
“It’s taken a lot of introspection and hard work to be this way. Trust me, I had a short fuse and quick fists. A big mouth and shitty attitude. What did I care? I spent a lot of years embedding myself into the drug scene. There were times I lost focus of my center.” He always touched his chest when he talked about it. “I don’t ever want to do that again.”
Kay rose up on her tip-toes to plant a firm kiss on his mouth. “Your authentic self, or soul, is hard to hold on to, but it’s all we have.”
“I knew you’d get it,” he said, brushing her hair back from her cheek. She’d been through the storm too. And survived.
How to convince her that he was safe enough to love? It would be easier once he caught whoever wanted him dead.
Celia Langston and Dax Smith came around the corner toward Ambrosia by the Sea. “That’s Celia,” he said. “She’s the owner of the café I told you about. She uses all organic stuff. Tastes amazing.”
K nodded. “Is she expensive?”
“What do you care?” Joe asked, watching the couple walk into the shop. “You’re loaded.”
“About that, Joe. I’m just starting out in my practice. Things are not what they seem.”
He rubbed the patch beneath his lip and looked at her. “How so?”
“I really did give my last twenty to the cabby. I’m here to get paid from Rita. We were going to exchange the freshly signed divorce papers for a freshly signed check. I borrowed a dress from her closet yesterday. I might have to borrow something else today.”
“Holy shit.” Joe shook his head. “I had no idea. No wonder you went for an angry swim. You’re stuck here?”
“Pretty much. I don’t even have enough on my credit card to buy a ticket back to Chicago.”
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sorry for all the times he’d teased her about being rich.
“Why would I? We just met, and I’m not your problem, Officer Joe.” She looked over his shoulder, her face draining of all color as she lifted her hand. “Joe! The Lincoln!”
Joe turned to see the formidable black car driving toward them at record speed with no intention of stopping. K grabbed him by the arm.
“Move!” She shouted even as he had his arm around her waist, rolling them out of the way before getting run over. The Lincoln slammed into Joe’s patrol car, smashing the rear end and sending the bumper flying.
“K, find Sue.”
“I’m not leaving you!” She stayed at his side, not touching him or getting in his way as he drew his gun. The driver’s side door flew open just as the passenger’s side did.
Two men all dressed in black with ski masks over their faces, but Joe sensed this was personal to him. Did he know these guys?
He hoped to hell that Reece was able to call in for back up. The show down was now, whether he was ready, or not.
“Get down, K.”
He felt her behind him.
“Hey, Narco,” a Hispanic voice sing-songed. “Pretty piece of tail you got there. I knew you were a cop.” He traced his finger up his side and gave a cruel laugh. “Remember me?”
Joe’s memory of that voice, of that hand carving at his body, turned him cold. The plan, the one with the kinks in it, had called for immediate arrest of the bad guys, not this hang time where they could chat over the old days. “How’s Jorge doing in prison, Arturo? Making lots of special friends?”
“Burning for vengeance,” Arturo retorted, pulling the ski mask off. His ruddy f
eatures were a less attractive version of Jorge’s. His greasy black hair and wild beard didn’t help. “I promised I would bring him your lying tongue as a memento.”
He heard K stifle a cry. How to get her out of danger? Joe, gun drawn, stepped in front of her as the passenger, rifle held high, walked toward them on the right, while Arturo came at them from the left. “Juanito is dead because of you, and you will pay the price.”
The passenger pulled off his mask, too, baring an ugly mug that seemed to be a family trait.
K walked them backward, her hands fisted in the back of his t-shirt. “Curb,” she whispered. “Step up.”
Was she leading them toward the ice cream shop? Or any of the buildings for cover? Joe didn’t dare take his eyes off of the cousins. As it was, if the passenger ran for K, he’d have to shoot him, which would leave him an open target for Arturo.
Buried rage he’d spent so long trying to pacify eagerly rose to the surface. Clear-eyed, senses finely tuned, he knew he’d only have one chance. This wasn’t how he’d planned for this to go down at all.
They were on the sidewalk now, a half-block away from the ice cream parlor. Across the street was the fancy dog place, and Aruba on the corner wasn’t yet open for business, but the Grille’s few employees watched from the restaurant’s windows.
From his peripheral vision he saw the empty bench where Reece had been sitting, but the officer was nowhere in sight. Sue had dropped the broom on the sidewalk. He assumed she was inside the shop.
If he could just get K to Sue, then he could concentrate on the cousins.
“Where you going, mamacita?” Arturo laughed. “We have lots of fun to have yet this morning.”
Joe burned with controlled fury. No way would Arturo lay one hand on K.
K didn’t say a word, but her fear was palpable. It added to Joe’s anger, but he couldn’t be emotional, or he risked losing control.
Where was Reece? Where the hell was the Calvary he and the chief had set up last night?
Nobody expected for the dirt bags to be early risers.
Adrenaline spiked through his bloodstream, making him hyper-aware. He turned toward Arturo just as the other cousin lunged for K. A sharp pain pierced his shoulder.
“Get down,” Sue shouted from behind him. He felt K duck and the cousin with the rifle sprawled back, a neat hole in the center of his forehead.
He sensed K reluctantly going with Sue but then he had to focus as Arturo came for him, eyes bulging with madness. “Another cousin down,” Joe said.
“I shot you,” Arturo said, lifting to aim his pistol again.
Cold fury straightened Joe’s aim. The pain meant nothing –it was kill or be killed with only seconds to decide. A shot sounded from the direction of the puppy store and Arturo stumbled, shooting high as Joe also pulled the trigger.
You’ve got this, son.
Arturo kept coming like a mad bull. Joe took a deep breath, then lunged forward, slinging his forearm around the guy’s throat. Joe, behind him now, snapped hard to the right. Arturo’s strength was superhuman, probably drugs, Joe thought as he held tighter.
“Let me go, so I can finish killing you,” Arturo ground out, his eyes bloodshot, spit on his lips. “Like I should’ve done before.” Joe wrenched Arturo’s neck in anger so dark it clouded his vision but at the last instant he released his hold just enough so he didn’t break Arturo’s neck.
Instead, he flipped the cousin so he fell face down on the pavement, picked his head up by the back of the hair and slammed his face hard into the concrete. The bastard passed out. “Death is too easy for you, Arturo. Maybe you and Jorge can be cell mates.”
Sue handed him plastic ties. Reece barked into the phone for paramedics on the scene. Joe looked around for K.
She raced out of the ice cream parlor with a handful of towels. She dropped to her knees next to him, her brown eyes a little on the wild side. “Hang on, Joe.”
She patted him down, finding the hole going through his shoulder. She pressed the clean towels to either side.
“Hey, hey,” Joe said, her silent tears as she tried to fix him making him want to cry. “I’m all right.”
“You’re bleeding,” she said, her tone matter-of-fact. “Not all right, Joe.” She pressed hard against the wounds on either side.
“Are you okay?” he asked, starting to feel a little woozy.
“You saved me again.”
“You gave me the head’s up.” He put his hand over hers, realizing the towel was already wet with blood. Probably not so good.
“You just turned the color of glue, Joe.”
Sue leaned down to pat her shoulder. “All right, hon. The ambulance is here. We need to get him to the hospital. Why don’t you meet us there? Only authorized personnel allowed in the back.”
Joe tried to tell Sue that he wanted K with him, but his tongue didn’t work and somehow his eyes weren’t open. He heard Kay sniff, then felt the press of her mouth against his forehead as she said, “Don’t you leave me, Joe. I’ll meet you there.”
*****
K reached the condo, rushing past Luis and Marge, and ran straight up the stairs rather than wait for the elevator. As soon as she got to the bathroom, she threw up the coffee and donut. The whole run home she’d been grateful that Joe was alive. But when she saw him shot, bleeding, facing someone who wanted to kill him—not like in a damn movie—she’d felt an overwhelming sense of loss, of death, of grief.
She knelt by the toilet, then shakily got to her feet, went to the sink and rinsed her mouth. Shower. The warm water rinsed away the scrapes on her hands and cheek from where she’d fallen, but it was nothing to what Joe was going through. She had to be there. He’d probably need surgery. Maybe she could donate blood. How the hell was she supposed to make this better?
She put on her running shorts, her tank top and sneakers, knowing she could run the three miles in twenty-five minutes. Grabbing her bag, she shoved in the sweater she’d borrowed yesterday. Hospitals tended to be cold, and she had no intention of leaving until she knew Joe was all right.
Princey scratched at his door and she squirmed with guilt, but she just didn’t want to take the time to go out. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she raced down the stairs to the lobby.
“Luis, would you please walk Princey for me? I have to go.” With each step she took, her heart beat the truth of her feelings for Joe.
Chapter Seventeen
K ran steady, making it to Holy Family in twenty-two minutes. The entire way she alternated between pleas for his recovery to an invisible Someone and making a list of all the reasons why she and Joe wouldn’t work out. Yet for everything she logically told herself, her heart found a solution.
Long-distance relationship? Skype and free tickets with Jet Air miles made it possible to connect often. Military families made it work all the time.
He said he loved the ocean, which for her had grown into some sort of boogeyman in her mind. The Atlantic was a kinder, calmer ocean here on the Florida coast than what she’d grown up with. She’d missed the kiss of waves around her ankles more than she’d realized. And Joe made her feel safe, as if he could stand up to Namaka no matter the storm and shelter them both.
He knew how to make her hot with just a look of his golden-green eyes. A lifted dark brow. She liked feeling as if she were something to be treasured. The fact that this incredible man found her worthy of his love humbled her.
She had to let him know she cared. He had to be okay. I’m coming, Joe.
His job put his life on the line. Watching him today made her realize that he was damn good at what he did. He needed her in his corner. Someone strong enough to be at his side, no matter the crisis. Entering the air conditioned hospital was a relief in more ways than one. It cut off her thoughts while cooling her down. She went straight to the desk and asked to see Joe Porter.
“Hey,” a woman called from the waiting room.
K turned to see Sue, minus the pink apron. “Hi! Ho
w is he?”
“Just got out of surgery,” Sue said, tilting her head. She had short light brown hair and a nice smile, but her expression wasn’t overly friendly. “I’m waiting for the doctor.”
“Good. I’ll wait with you.”
An awkward silence dangled between them. K cleared her throat and took a seat a few down from where Sue was sitting.
“Did you run here?” Sue asked.
“I don’t have a car. I’m visiting a client.” K looked nervously toward the swinging doors separating her from Joe. Would they catch her if she snuck down the hall?
“How’d you meet Joe?” Sue asked. “Why didn’t you take a cab?”
“Joe pulled me from the ocean a few days ago, freak riptide. And it was faster to run than wait for a cab. Have they said anything?”
Sue nodded, clearly not understanding why K was there. “Doctor said before they operated that the bullet went clear through his shoulder, damaging the clavicle. They’ve got to get the bone fragments, and hope there isn’t permanent nerve damage.”
K crossed her legs, hugging her middle as she dug the white sweater from her bag and put it on. She didn’t care if he was made of metal parts so long as he was alive.
“So, do you have a thing for Joe?” Sue asked, her mouth in a thin line as if she disapproved.
Was the woman jealous? Did she like Joe? They probably had more in common than she and Joe did, but still...K tapped her fingers along her phone case. “Yes. I really do.”
The doctor, a middle aged man in a white coat and a bow tie, came out of the back. He saw them both sitting there and smiled. “Joe is doing just fine,” he said. “He’s a very lucky young man. Half an inch lower, and that bullet would have hit a major artery.”
K pressed her hands to her stomach, rising to her feet. “He’s okay?”
“Resting now,” the man said. “You can go in, if you’d like, but just for a moment or two.”
