by Brandi Evans
"I'm going to have to mention that when I see her."
"Don't you dare!" She tossed her napkin at him. "She'll kill me if she knows I told you."
"Then you, my dear, shouldn't have told me."
She couldn't argue with that. She'd been too caught up in the flow of their conversation that little "until we die" secrecy vow had slipped her mind.
A frantic pounding on the front door slammed the brakes on the fun, and Maddox's smile slid away. He was on his feet in an instant, all cop.
"Sarge, guard," he said, pointing to Kat.
The dog jumped up from where he'd been sitting beside her and stood between Katlyn and the door. She pushed to her feet, too.
Maddox checked through the peephole, alert morphing into concern, and yanked the door open. "Heather, what happened?"
A woman burst into the room with a crying boy in her arms. The woman had red hair cut in a bob. She wore a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans that looked as if they'd been covered in flour, wiped clean, covered in flour again, wiped clean again, and then lather, rinse, and repeat ad nauseam.
The boy was about five, his hair the same color as Maddox's. He wore black shorts and a Captain America T-shirt. Given the way he cradled his right arm against Cap's shield and burrowed against the woman, Katlyn didn't need her nursing licensure renewed to know the boy had hurt his arm.
Behind them, a girl with strawberry blonde hair the same color as the woman's shut the door, a white box in her hands and fear on her pretty freckled face. Even her rainbow-splattered T-shirt couldn't dim her concern.
"Reid misjudged the top step and tripped," Heather said. "I think his arm is broken.
"Kat," Maddox called, but she was already halfway to them.
"Have a seat," Katlyn told the other woman, motioning her to the sofa.
Heather didn't move. She stared at Katlyn as if trying to judge this stranger in her presence. Katlyn couldn't blame her. She may not have a child of her own, but the instinct for a mother to protect was strong. And essentially, Katlyn was a stranger.
"It's okay," Maddox said to Heather. "She's a nurse."
"Okay, yeah." Heather sat as instructed.
Katlyn knelt beside mother and child and smiled. "Hi, Reid. My name's Katlyn, and I'm a nurse. Is it okay if I check out your arm?"
The kid had Maddox's blue-gray eyes, so either Heather was an ex-wife and this was Maddox's kid or Heather was the sister Maddox had mentioned and this was his nephew.
The kid nodded and bravely held his arm out. Katlyn was immediately relieved not to see any open breaks or deformities. She could see the spot where he'd hit the concrete, though. Nasty gashes and scrapes covered the area around the elbow. The wounds didn't look as if it would need stitches, but she'd need to clean it to verify.
"Can you straighten your arm all the way out for me, Reid?" Katlyn asked.
Reid did as instructed.
"And now bend it back toward you… out again… and back in. Great job! Did any of that hurt too badly?"
"N-not really."
"Great!" Movement furthered her initial assessment. If he had a break, it wasn't significant. Still, she plastered on her most reassuring smile. "And now, I'm going to touch your arm, okay. Don't try to be super brave this time. If it hurts, I want you to tell me, okay."
When he nodded, she started well outside the spot of impact. That would definitely hurt. Instead, she worked her way toward the gash. She couldn't feel any knots or other tell-tell signs of a fracture. He only started to squirm when she reached the edges of the abrasion, and she wasn't about to push on that without properly washing her hands or gloving up.
"Very brave," she said when she'd finished. "And now, if it's okay with you, I'm gonna steal your mama for a few minutes while we find what we need to bandage this up and clean it for you."
"Okay." He dried the few tears still on his face.
Maddox dropped onto the seat beside Heather and reached for Reid. "Come here, kid. Let's see if we can't find something on TV that your mom will one-hundred percent object to us watching."
The first hints of a grin touched Reid's lips.
Heather smacked the back of Maddox's head. "Maddox Westbrook, watch it, or you'll be the one in this family with the broken arm tonight!"
Okay, this was the sister. Definitely the sister.
Katlyn led the other woman toward the kitchen, where the first aid kit lived. The moment they were out of line-of-sight, though, Heather grabbed Katlyn's arm.
"It's broken, isn't it?"
"I don't think so," Katlyn said honestly.
Heather closed her eyes, and two of the tears she must have been holding back leaked free. "I thought, when you asked me to come with you, you had bad news."
"No. I'm sorry. I just didn't know if you'd want to talk about this in front of Reid. I'm not a doctor, so I was hesitant to say it wasn't broken and then end up being wrong, ya know."
She nodded. "What should we do now?"
"He'll need an ice pack. The cold will help with swelling. You can alternate that with heat for comfort. He should probably take some ibuprofen for pain relief and swelling. Also, we're gonna need to clean and bandage the cut. And obviously, if the pain gets worse, go see a doctor, but I don't think he's hurt too badly."
"Thank you," the other woman said and pulled Katlyn into a bear hug. "I'm so glad you were here, or I may have found myself on the way to the ER!"
"Is she your girlfriend?"
Maddox turned to his niece, Amy. She watched him with curious green eyes. Reid sat curled up next to him as Star Wars: The Force Awakens played on the TV, but Amy was twelve and had no time for movies, not when there was gossip to be had.
Maddox played coy. "Why would you ask that?"
She rolled her eyes. "Your table is set for two, and there are candles and soft music. You wouldn't do that unless she was your girlfriend."
"Maybe. Or maybe this's all a ploy to trick you into thinking she's my girlfriend."
"Whatever." She motioned to the white box she'd placed on the coffee table. "You asked mama to bring strawberry cheesecake from her bakery, and you know what they say about strawberries…"
His mouth fused into an "O" shape, and a dozen questions ping-ponged through his head. Who are they? How does Amy know them? How did she know strawberries were viewed as aphrodisiacs? Also, how the fuck did she know about aphrodisiacs!
But before he could ask a single question, Heather and Kat returned. Kat held the first aid kit, a giant pan—he was pretty sure she'd called it a stockpot the other day—and one of the old towels they used when they bathed Sarge. A sweet, friendly smiled curled her lips, and he could easily imagine her with a patient at a children's hospital. He could also imagine her tending to their kids, which was when he knew he'd passed the point of no return in their relationship.
Kat knelt beside Reid. "I'm gonna clean up that scrape for you, okay? And then, when I'm done, I'm gonna put an ice pack on it. The cold will help with the pain."
He nodded and bravely held his arm toward Kat. She laid out the towel, folded it in half on the sofa beside Reid, and placed the pot on top. Once she put his arm over the pot, she got to work cleaning the cut. The scrape was too big for any of the bandages in the first aid kit, so she created a makeshift bandage out of gauze and medical tape. When she'd finished, she applied the ice pack.
"All done," Kat announced with a triumphant smile. "And since you were so brave, I've got a special treat for you that I made myself." She turned and took the spoon and ramekin Heather held.
"What is it?" Reid leaned in to look at the red sauce. "It kinda looks like strawberry jelly."
"It's my homemade, super sweet strawberry sauce. My mama used to make this for me whenever I was hurt. She would give it to me and say, "Katie-Baby, I took the sweetest nectar from the rarest flower in all the world to make this for you."
Reid giggled. "No way. That's not true."
"Yeah, you're probably right," she said, laughin
g. "But it is super yummy, and it'll taste ahhhhhhmazing on that strawberry cheesecake your mom brought."
Reid instantly perked up. "But Mama said we couldn't have any of the cheesecake, that it was for Uncle Maddox."
Kat offered Reid the sweetest of smiles. "I'm sure I can talk your uncle into sharing a couple of slices. Isn't that right, Maddox?"
When she said the last bit, she turned her smile on Maddox, and when she did, there was nothing sweet about it. That was pure, calculated seduction, and at that moment, he couldn't have denied her anything.
"I brought an entire cheesecake," Heather supplied when Maddox took a bit longer than it should have to answer.
Maddox managed to wrangle together an answer, gaze never leaving Kat. "Of course, you can, kid."
Reid turned excitedly to his mom. "Did you hear that, Mom? We get cheesecake, too!"
"I did." Heather held out a hand to Reid. "Why don't you and your sister get to the table while I put the dessert on plates."
Before he could answer, Kat spoke up. "How about I get the plates, and you four head to the table."
"I like that even better," said Heather.
So, with Reid and Heather headed to the table and Kat headed to the kitchen, cheesecake in hand, Amy leaned in close and whispered to him, "She's definitely your girlfriend."
"Yeah," Maddox said, grinning like an idiot. "She definitely is."
She hadn't expected regret to come in the form of Maddox's family.
Katlyn stood in the kitchen and poured creamer into her coffee. The cream cut through the dark coffee and lightened it. She'd once equated that process to his presence in her life. He lit up all the dark places inside her, and he still did. But on the flip side, one could say the blackness darkened the light.
She was the darkness in his life—at least, she could so easily be. She brought evil and death into his life merely by existing, and somehow, she'd made him fall in love with her. So yeah, she could quickly destroy his life, and if that happened, she'd never be able to forgive herself.
Oh, she wouldn't ever do anything to hurt him directly, but between Jeff and the Group, they could easily destroy his life. That fact had hit home last night with crystal clarity when she'd met Maddox's family. How devastated would Heather and the kids be if Maddox were killed for helping her?
The children obviously loved their uncle dearly, and Heather unquestionably adored her little brother. After seeing the love the four shared, Katlyn fell even more in love with Maddox. The "goofy uncle" was yet one more side to him she cherished.
Cop.
Dom.
Kind man.
Family man.
The last one changed everything. The idea he could be murdered because of her was a knife to the chest, but after meeting Heather, Reid, and way-too-clever-for-her-own-good Amy, the pain turned into a hunk of magma in her stomach.
The patter of paws on tile and the jangle of tags alerted her to two new arrivals.
Maddox wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed a kiss to her neck. "You seem very contemplative this morning. Is something wrong?"
"Everything's wrong, Maddox. Every-fucking-thing is wrong."
He eased her around to face him and tilted her face up to look at him. "Talk to me."
"I'm scared, Maddox, more scared than I've ever been, but I'm not scared for me. I'm scared for you." She took him by the wrists and held tight. "Please drop your investigation into the Group. Drop it and walk away."
"I can't do that, and you know it. Bringing Harris in means looking into the Group."
"But I need you to walk away. Please, Maddox. I've never needed anything in my life this much. I'd never be able to forgive myself if you got hurt, or worse, because of me. I'm not worth it."
"Oh, fuck that." He kissed her hard. "You are worth it, a million times over."
She laughed, but the sound was harsh and full of mockery. "I'm not worth it, and I'm not saying that because I think I'm worthless," she added quickly before he could object. "I'm saying it because, to me, you're worth so, so much more."
She saw her words land, saw their impact in the tightening of his lips, in the wrinkling of his forehead, and the darkening of his eyes.
"I love you, Maddox."
"I love you, too, which is why I can't let this go. The Group helped Harris get you from me once, and if he got his hands on you again, it would break me. Do you understand what I'm saying? It would fucking destroy me. There'd be no coming back from that." He dabbed at the tears on her cheeks and rested his forehead on hers. "If you died, I might as well lie down and die with you. I've already worked one crime scene when I thought you'd been killed, and it nearly destroyed me. I was so angry and terrified that, at one point, I punched Carter."
She understood because it was how she felt about losing him.
Things had changed irrevocably since she'd become his submissive, since he'd become her Dom—more still, since they'd fallen in love. She'd gotten exactly what she'd wanted: she wasn't just a case to him. Funny how it was now everything she wished she hadn't gotten.
He couldn't back off any more than she could, which was why, after he left for work, she started packing.
Maddox couldn't focus.
He didn't like the way he and Kat had left things that morning. He'd felt her closing off to him, even as she'd kissed him goodbye.
On his desk, his cell rang. He plucked it up and checked the display: Kirkland. Just before accepting the call, Maddox snapped his fingers to get his partner's attention.
"Detective Westbrook," he answered automatically.
"Hey, man, it's Kirkland. You up for a meet this afternoon?"
"Yeah, sure. You got something already?"
"Maybe. Not sure yet. We'll talk in person. Half-past noon work for you?"
Maddox checked his watch. It was a quarter 'til eleven. He'd hoped to drop by and check on Kat at lunch, maybe bring her something from Heather's bakery, but if Kirkland had something, Maddox needed to go. He and Carter could head out early for lunch and still manage everything.
"Sure," Maddox answered. "Where?"
Kirkland hesitated a moment. "Text me enroute, and I'll send you a location. Sound good?"
The hairs on the back of Maddox's neck prickled, but he didn't call out Kirkland on his response. The agent was keeping something close to his vest.
"Sure," answered Maddox. "Text you on this number?"
"That's affirmative. See ya soon." Kirkland disconnected.
Maddox returned his phone to his desk. "That was Kirkland. He may or may not have anything."
"Well, then that may or may not be helpful."
Maddox nodded slowly. "Let's go get coffee."
A few minutes later, they stood in the alley behind the station, no coffee in hand, and Maddox relayed his conversation with Kirkland.
"You're wondering why he's hesitant to give his location, aren't you?" Carter asked.
"Of course, I am, and I'm pretty sure you are, too."
"You're not wrong about that. It's certainly sketchy." Carter cocked his head to the side. "Did he sound sketchy?"
Maddox didn't need to ask what his partner meant. "No. He sounded cautious, which makes me wonder why. And that makes me wonder if he suspects someone here in the department or at the precinct."
"Or he suspects the monitoring is on his end."
"Yeah, there's that, too." Because this was Carter, and because Maddox knew he could, he said, "Kat asked me to drop the investigation this morning, and I can't actually blame her. This entire situation is a fucked-up mess."
"Genny hasn't come right out and asked that exactly, but I know she'd be happier if we did. Hell, I'm terrified. I dropped her off at the club on my way in this morning. She said she wanted to work on inventory at the bar, but we both knew it was because neither of us wanted her to be alone, especially with our house being segregated to the very back of the housing addition."
Loving a cop wasn't easy under the best of circumstan
ces, but it was damn-right terrifying when the cops you loved were actively poking a hornet's nest.
"I wish I'd have known. I would have taken Kat. It was hard to leave her this morning. Something's bothering her."
Concern softened Carter's face, but his gaze sharpened. "When I dropped Genny off, Brock said Katlyn flipped out at the club and used her safe word."
Maddox could lie and avoid a long conversation, but this was Carter. He'd pry the information out of Maddox one way or the other.
"Do you remember the sub I told you about from back in my college days, the one with the kitten mask?"
Carter nodded. "Yeah, the brand-new sub, the one who's the reason you call all your subs kitten. You remembering her all of a sudden?"
Maddox nodded. "You might say that." In this alley, Maddox had told Carter Kat was a sub, so it seemed fitting Maddox drop this new bombshell here. "Kat is my kitten, which I realize sounds stupid when I say it that way, but it's her, Carter. It's fucking her."
For a long moment, Carter didn't speak, but Maddox swore he could hear the gears in Carter's head grinding to a halt.
"She's what? How? When did—what?"
"Last night." He told Carter everything, including when and how Kat remembered and why she'd ended up having to use her safe word.
Carter scrubbed a hand over his face. "She's your… wow."
"Wow just about covers it."
Silence stretched between them a long moment, neither rushing to fill it.
The sounds of the city serenaded them. Dallas wasn't at the peak of the lunch rush, but she was getting there. If they wanted to make it to Maddox's before they met Kirkland, they needed to go.
"We should probably get a move on," said Maddox, and Carter nodded.
Maddox thought he should call Kat enroute and see if she wanted to go by the club and hang with Raven. It'd give him some peace of mind, and hopefully, being with a friend would do her good. But even as he pulled his cell from his pocket, it began ringing, and when he caught the name on the display, he drew his brows together.
"Caroline," Maddox began, "I wasn't expecting a call from—"
"Is Katie with you?"
