I'll Be Seeing You

by Darlene Kuncytes

  ***

  Katherine didn’t know how to respond to his confession. The emotion and anger in his voice made her feel so damn protected, but she didn’t want him to kill for her. That had never been what she had wanted. He was much too good of a man to do that. She didn’t want him to feel the pain of taking someone’s life once again, no matter how much they may deserve it. She knew that Cole carried the burden of that with him every day. No, she didn’t want that. All she wanted was for this bastard to be caught and locked away forever, never to see the light of day again.

  Katherine took his hand in hers and placed it over the bruise, silently letting him know that He would not win. Not this time! He had won for much too long.

  It was at that exact moment that Katherine realized that she was done running. It was high time that she took a stand. And with this man by her side, she knew that she could do that. What they had was damn well worth fighting for. She would protect him; with her very life if need be, but she would not let this monster take Cole away from her. She finally had someone in her life worth fighting for. She was done being afraid…she was so damn done with running away. This was where she was meant to be and she would move heaven and earth to stay.

  ***

  Cole watched as Katherine placed his hand over her breast, her gaze not leaving his for an instant, and he instinctively wanted to pull it away. He couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her, but she only gave him a resigned smile and shook her head slowly.

  “It doesn’t hurt,” she whispered, laying her hand on top of his. “Only you, Cole,” her voice was low, breathy, yet held a stubborn conviction that caused him to shiver. There was that strength that he so admired and loved, and he knew that she had made the decision to stay. He felt as if his heart would burst right through his freaking ribcage. “You are the only one who touches me.”

  The fingers on the hand that touched her skin twitched from the power of her words, knowing that he would do anything and everything in his power to keep her safe; to keep his promise to her. No one would touch her, no one but him…ever.

  “Katherine,” he whispered against her lips, his breath so warm. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you, but whatever it was, I am damn sure glad that I did it. You are my other half, Baby, and I’ve been searching for you my entire life. I promise that I won’t let anything happen to you. I love you more than words could ever say.”

  Katherine gazed up at him, her eyes sparkling with her tears. This was it. This was that one moment in time that a person remembers for their entire life. That defining moment when you just know that this was where you were supposed to be; that this was the sole purpose of you being on this earth. This was what made all of the horrors of the past disappear in a heartbeat. To experience a love so strong, so pure…so right, was mind-blowing. It made her believe that she could do this. That she could have the life that she always wanted…and so much more. That she was not a freak. She was a woman who had been lucky enough to find a man who was strong, kind, loving, and tender. A man, it seemed, who wanted to spend his days being her partner and his nights holding her, and loving her. Yes, this absolutely was what she was willing to fight for.

  Katherine’s hand left his and reached up and cupped his face, unable to find the words. “I love you, Cole,” she murmured softly, the proof shining in her eyes like a beacon, and she saw him swallow…hard.

  Cole groaned and claimed her mouth, his body needing her more than it needed air. His tongue slid against hers with determination, yet was so erotically smooth that she felt her toes curl into the mattress beneath her. His hands caressed her willing flesh, everywhere, as if they were making contact with every part of her body all at the same time. She pulled him down on top of her, losing herself completely to this man.

  “What about spending the day in bed?” he asked against her mouth, and she returned the grin that she knew was quirking his lips.

  “Mm, that actually sounds wonderful,” she rasped, scoring her nails along the small of his back and he growled. “I am recuperating, you know.”

  “That you are,” he murmured, moving to rid them of their clothing in record time.

  Chapter 10

  Katherine came down the next morning to find Cole sitting at the island in the kitchen, his phone to his ear and a cup of coffee in his hand. He gave her a quick smile as she walked through the doorway and jumped up, grabbing her a mug and ushering her to sit down next to where he had been sitting.

  “That’s what I was hoping,” he said, his eyes holding Katherine’s as his mouth lifted at the corner. “That’s all I needed to hear. Thank you, John. I appreciate it more than you know.” With that he put down his cell and wrapped his arms around her, planting a sound kiss to her lips. “Good morning.”

  Katherine wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his smile. “Good morning, yourself.”

  “I’ve got some news,” he said, and watched as her eyes widened. “I was on the phone with an attorney friend of mine who specializes in wrongful imprisonment cases. He’s been one of the leading advocates for over fifteen years, and just his name alone carries some weight,” he explained, pulling her a little more snugly against his body. “He’s going to look into Stewart’s case.”

  Katherine’s mouth dropped open, in absolute awe of this man. “Are you serious?” she breathed, afraid to even hope that what he was saying could be true.

  “Yeah, Baby. I mean, it won’t happen overnight, but at least the wheels have been set in motion.”

  Katherine shook her head a moment before cupping his head in her hands and raining kisses all over his face. “Thank you,” she choked out, her eyes filling with tears. There were just no words.

  Cole kissed her eyes, loving the salty taste of her skin. “No more crying,” he instructed gently, his hands rubbing small circles against her back. “It breaks my heart,” he admitted gruffly, and Katherine sniffled, placing her mouth against his.

  “You are an amazing man, Detective McKenzie,” she whispered against his lips, and she felt his smile.

  “Not at all,” he chuckled, his hands slipping down to the curve of her bottom. “Just doing my job. And anything I can do to bring that smile to your face is well worth it.” He kissed her then, deep and hard, until he finally pulled back only a few precious moments later with an unhappy sigh. “Speaking of doing my job, the Captain requested your presence once again at the station. Do you feel up to it? We can always put it off a day or two.”

  Katherine shook her head, her eyes catching hold of his and holding. “I feel fine,” she said, nibbling at his lower lip a moment before kissing his neck, letting her tongue slide along where her lips led, and she heard a sound come from his mouth that hit straight through her and right to her core.

  “You keep that up and we won’t make it to the station until at least next week,” he groaned.

  Katherine laughed against his skin, soft and breathy. He made that sound again and it was sexy as hell. “Mmm, would that really be so bad?”

  Cole knew her aversion to anything police related, but the sooner they got this over with, the better. He had made several connections to where she had lived and the murdered girls before Ben had told him about Patterson’s call in. It made his body tense just thinking about the similarity between Katherine and the victims. It was all lining up, and not in a good way.

  Cole gathered up his strength and pushed out a deep, regretful groan. All he wanted to do at the moment was to sweep her up in his arms and carry her back to bed. Show her over and over how much he loved her. All in due time…asshole. He needed to finish this. Then, God help her–because he wanted it all. Cole had never been the type to even toy with the idea of the white picket fence, but damned if he didn’t when it came to Katherine. He wanted that fence, and a passel of kids and a dog. He damned well wanted it all!

  ***

  As they walked into the station Cole kept his hand securely at Katherine’s back. They walked through the doors and int
o the bull pen and everything suddenly went quiet as all eyes turned toward the pair. Katherine felt her knees begin to tremble as the overwhelming feeling of being an oddity on display immediately washed over her.

  “Just breathe, Baby,” Cole whispered in her ear, the hand at her back sliding around her waist as he pulled her close up against his side. “Don’t you yahoo’s have work to do?” he ground out, his face set in a tight scowl as he glared at the eyes on them, and the place suddenly came back to life with the sound of talking and papers shuffling, and Katherine let out the breath she had been holding. She knew that most of them had to know by now who she was, and the fact that they couldn’t help but find her a side show attraction made her skin crawl.

  Mike Newman came rushing over to him, looking frazzled. “I was just about to call you,” he said, giving Katherine a quick smile. “Miss Chastain. It’s nice to see you again.”

  “You too, Captain Newman,” Katherine replied, even though it was a bald faced lie. She didn’t want to be here. In fact, this was probably the last place on earth that she wanted to be.

  “What’s up, Mike?” Cole asked. His hold on Katherine was the only thing keeping her upright at the moment, she realized with a start.

  “There’s an agent from the FBI that wants to speak with Miss Chastain. I contacted them after the attack and he showed up this afternoon. He’s in my office.” The captain turned and began walking and Cole gave Katherine a gentle squeeze.

  “I’ll be right there with you, Sweetheart,” he murmured as he guided her towards Mike’s office.

  ***

  The agent stood and faced the door as Katherine and Cole walked into Mike’s office. He was a trim man in his early forties with dishwater blond hair and a cool, detached demeanor. “Special Agent Spencer,” he said, holding his hand out to Cole.

  “Detective McKenzie,” Cole replied, and shook the man’s hand briefly. “This is Miss Chastain.”

  Katherine took the man’s hand and noticed with a cringe that she was trembling. She felt Cole’s hand caress her back lightly, reassuring her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and thank him.

  “Miss Chastain, I was just speaking to Captain Newman and there are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.” The man gave Mike a wry smile. “Is there somewhere that we can speak privately, and give you back your office Captain?”

  Katherine felt Cole stiffen beside her and quickly spoke up. “I’d like Detective McKenzie to be present, if that’s all right.”

  Agent Spencer seemed to study the two of them a moment before giving them a curt nod. “I don’t see where that is necessary but if you would be more comfortable.” He turned back to Mike. “Is there somewhere we could go, Captain?”

  “We can talk in the interrogation room,” Cole practically growled, and Katherine knew that for some reason he was on edge. His instant dislike for the agent was more than obvious.

  “Lead the way, Detective.”

  ***

  Cole closed the door to the interrogation room and pulled out a chair for Katherine, stationing himself behind her protectively. Agent Spencer sat across from her, his eyes meeting hers and he attempted to smile, but it was anything but genuine. It seemed forced and completely fake.

  “I did a bit of searching, Miss Chastain,” he began without any preamble whatsoever, and Katherine could hear the doubt in his voice. Here we go again, she thought with a sigh. “For all intents and purposes, your stalker and the man who killed your mother, is in prison.”

  “Stewart Camden is innocent,” Katherine stated defiantly, her chin raising ever so slightly, suddenly realizing why Cole had taken an instant disliking to the man. He was arrogant and pretentious.

  “Are you certain that this all isn’t just a need for attention?” he asked, and Katherine heard Cole growl from where he stood behind her. Oh, this wasn’t going to be good.

  “Just what in the hell are you implying, Agent?” he ground out, and Katherine could feel his anger permeating the room like a thick, toxic cloud. So not good at all.

  “I spoke with your psychologist, Miss Chastain,” he went on, ignoring Cole completely. “He seems to think that because of the trauma that you sustained with your mother’s murder, and having been stalked for years, that once everything was over, you couldn’t handle the normalcy and invented this scenario of still being…followed.”

  “Wait just a damn minute, you arrogant son of a bitch!” Cole snapped, but Katherine held up her hand, stopping him from going any further. She didn’t need Cole to lose his temper because of his protectiveness of her. She needed to nip this in the bud.

  “Did my psychologist also tell you why I stopped seeing him, Agent Spencer?” she asked, her tone cool and even, her gaze steady as she stared at him, refusing to let the man rattle her.

  “He could only discuss very basic points, Miss Chastain,” Agent Spencer replied, his eyes not wavering from hers, and she had the sudden urge to smack his face. His condescending demeanor was beginning to grate on her nerves. He didn’t know her. He didn’t know what she had been through.

  “He hit on me at our last appointment,” she informed him steadily, and she felt Cole’s entire body instantly stiffen behind her. “Actually, he tried forcing himself on me. So you see, I wouldn’t put much stock into what he has to say. He wasn’t very happy when I threatened to report him for misconduct and have his license taken away.”

  The room was filled with a long silence as the agent studied Katherine. She still held his gaze, not wavering for a moment, and she saw a muscle twitch in his face. Finally, he sighed wearily. “Damn it. I knew there was something off about him,” he finally admitted softly. “I apologize, Miss Chastain. I’m just trying to cover all the bases here.”

  “Well, then do your damned job, Agent,” Cole seethed, angry as hell that she had to go through this.

  Agent Spencer didn’t even bat an eye at Cole’s outburst. He kept his attention on Katherine and she was finding his appraisal of her disconcerting. “Right now, I’m looking into the possible connection between what you have been…experiencing, and the deaths in those areas,” he said finally, his mouth set into a tight line. “I can offer you relocation while the investigation is under way…”

  Katherine shook her head quickly, meeting his eyes. “Thank you, but no, Agent Spencer. I have put myself through my own form of relocation for the past six years. I’m done running.”

  “But, Miss Chastain,” he argued softly. “It would be for your own protection.”

  “She’s under protective custody,” Cole offered, his voice low and even. She could feel the anger rolling off him. To say that he was pissed off would have been a severe understatement. He was absolutely livid!

  The agent looked between the two of them a moment before giving Cole a knowing smile that made her skin crawl. “As highly…unconventional as that is, I suppose that she is safest with you at the moment, Detective. Especially if she is refusing relocation.” He took a steady breath, and then sighed. “Look, I’ll do what I can. All I have to go on is what you have told me and a few police reports that really yield nothing.”

  “She was attacked for God’s sake,” Cole huffed, his hand moving to rest on her shoulder.

  “Yes, well, even that. Her employee stated that he didn’t see anyone. That the lights went out and he was blindsided from behind. The officer at the scene saw no one except Miss Chastain enter or exit the building…”

  “You can’t possibly think that I did that!” Katherine breathed, completely stunned. Is that what he was implying? Oh, dear God. This was a nightmare!

  “I’m not saying that at all, Miss Chastain. I’m merely pointing out that we have nothing substantial to really go on at the moment.”

  “He blew up a goddamned car!” Cole all but shouted, and Katherine grasped the hand that was resting on her shoulder in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Cole wasn’t used to being doubted, and she knew that he was just getting angrier.

&nb
sp; “Yes, and that is one of the reasons why I agreed to look into this at all when your Captain invited me in. That…and the murdered girls. There does seem to be some…similarity.”

  Katherine felt a wave of nausea hit her and gulped in a breath of air. So much blood on her hands. Too much.

  “Agent, whatever you can do is appreciated, but I’m telling you this right now–I’ve got this,” Cole practically snarled at the man, and Katherine could have sworn that she saw him flinch. Yes, Cole was intimidating, all right. “You can work with Captain Newman or my partner; we’re finished here.”

  With that, Cole gently took Katherine’s elbow and lifted her from her seat, his hand instantly resting at the small of her back as he guided her toward the door.

  “Just a moment, Detective,” Agent Spencer said, rising from his chair and facing them.

  “I said we’re done.” Cole ushered her from the room and slammed the door behind them.

  ***

  As they were walking through the now silent bull pen and towards the front exit, Captain Newman called to Cole. He walked up, his mouth set in a frown, his eyes troubled.

  “That was…interesting,” he said, shaking his head. “Only you, McKenzie, could put a fucking FBI agent in his place. Jesus H!” He glanced at Katherine and gave her an embarrassed shrug. “Sorry,” he apologized. Cole graced Mike with a snarky grin, although his eyes still snapped with his anger, and Katherine had the sinking feeling that for some reason, he was angry at her. “Just keep me abreast of everything, Mac. This guy is going to be tough to rein in. Especially now that you’ve marked your territory. I’m sure these guys don’t like to be challenged.” He chuckled slightly before looking to Katherine. “Thank you again for coming in Ms. Chastain,” Mike said, giving her a curt nod before turning and walking back towards his office, shaking his head and chuckling softly as he did.

  ***

  Cole ushered Katherine out the door and down the steps towards his car. When they reached it, he backed her up against it and braced his arms on either side of her head, caging her in.