by Sheila Kell
Finding himself alone, he followed her path through the archway into a small kitchen. Again, her rear was to him as she pulled a half-gallon of milk from the refrigerator. He stifled a groan and not from his neck wound. She’d obviously fallen in love with some guy and gotten pregnant. Trent had no right looking at her like his next fuck.
If he ever had Kelly in his bed, she’d never be just a fuck. That he knew without a doubt.
“Kelly, why don’t you have a pet? A cat at least?” There was no telling where his mind pulled those questions from. In all the time he’d visited her, he’d never thought to ask and the idea of her at least having a pet to battle loneliness cheered him. He’d witnessed the love she gave to two of the Hamilton family pets, Bob, the cat, and Dottie, the dog. He almost grumbled about Dottie. The dog still didn’t like him. He wasn’t a threat to her master, Kate. She was happily married to Jesse. Not that he’d ever tried to be with Kate to begin with. She’d been nothing more than a colleague at the FBI.
“The landlord doesn’t allow them.”
In his mind, that answer didn’t work at all. She deserved the companionship of a pet, plus didn’t kids need a puppy or kitten while growing up? “We’ll have to fix that.”
A chuckle floated through the air from her. A sweet, melodic sound that settled soothingly in his heart. “You’ve met my landlord, Trent. You should know better than to think you’ll change his mind.”
That asshole hadn’t even come to mind when he’d thought of changing her circumstance in relation to a pet. He saw her with a dog and a yard. There was no yard here.
“Are you having some hot chocolate?” She reached inside the cabinet for a mug.
“Sure.” It’d been probably a year since he’d last had Kelly’s hot chocolate and it sounded like a damn good consolation for his injury. His mouth watered at the fact that she warmed milk and used real chocolate. “Got any marshmallows?” he asked hopefully. The thought of the hot drink almost vanquished the forming headache. Almost, but not quite.
She laughed again. “Of course.” Reaching in the pantry, she retrieved a bag of miniature marshmallows, then held them up to him with a beaming smile. “Just for you.”
“If those are for me”—he captured her gaze in all seriousness—“you’d best check the date.” They’d need a long-ass shelf life since he hadn’t been here in about five months, and it had been much longer since he’d asked for marshmallows.
“Don’t worry. They’re fine,” she sought to assure him.
When Kelly finished making the beverages, she handed a bright pink mug with a flamingo on it to him. It said something about keeping calm. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she laughed. He loved that laugh. It touched his tortured soul and lightened the load he carried.
No problem had ever seemed too big with her. She’d been there when he’d made the decision to leave the FBI, start his own security firm and then decide to join HIS. Her wisdom and welcome ear had made all the difference when he’d made those choices. Plus, she’d been a damn good nurse when he’d been shot. And, yet, he wouldn’t consider unburdening himself now.
With a quirk of his eyebrow, he lifted the mug. “Let’s exchange.” He changed his mind after he read hers, “I’m a journalist, not a female journalist.” Couldn’t people have plain old mugs anymore without some stupid saying?
Settled in the living room, they carefully sipped their cocoa with an uncomfortable silence filling the air. It was damn odd for them, and Trent didn’t like it one bit.
A rich warmth coated his tongue as he swallowed the beverage. With a perfect temperature so it didn’t burn, the heat slid down his throat to his stomach where it settled, bringing relaxation and calm to his world. Then, he almost laughed out loud watching Kelly try to cross her legs. Her slacks swished across each other halfway before that protruding belly of hers got in the way, and she settled stocking feet back on the floor. He did a double take. When had she removed her boots? Great observation skills he had going on today. That belly of hers threw him for a loop bigger than he thought.
Drinking more cocoa, he didn’t know the right way to ask. They had always been open and honest with each other. Hell, he’d shared stuff with her he had never shared with anyone else. Enough stalling. Taking a deep breath to calm his unexpected nervousness, he decided to bite the bullet. “How far along are you?”
“Six months.”
A slice of anger wedged itself at the base of his spine. “That means that you had to be pregnant before I left. Why didn’t you tell me?” That was a bit presumptuous of him. She didn’t need to tell him anything. Only, he thought their relationship had been closer than that.
She blew on her cocoa before she spoke. “You wouldn’t see me in the hospital.”
He winced at the truth of her statement and his anger melted away. Refusing to see everyone at the hospital had worked to keep her away, someone who could’ve been good for his soul at the time. But it hadn’t worked for the Hamilton men. They would barge into his room regardless of what security told them. Christ, he still had to face all of them. One thing at a time. “I’m sorry for that.”
She took a sip and swallowed. Her slender neck in its lovely arch grasped his attention, and he wanted to kiss his way up and down it.
Stop that train of thought, McKenzie.
“I’m sure you had your reasons.”
He snapped out of the sexual haze he’d almost been sucked into. What had she said? Oh yeah, reasons. Like wishing he could just die already. Between the pain of his injuries and the fact he had survived, he’d never wanted to see another day. He wouldn’t allow his problems to rear their ugly heads when Kelly needed him. “What happened?” He shook his head and chuckled at the absurdity of the question. “Okay, not that what happened, but why aren’t you married? You made no secret of the fact you wanted to remain a virgin until you married.” He swallowed at the thought and worked hard at controlling the burst of anger. At himself, maybe? “He had to be pretty amazing or a shyster. If the latter, I’ll kick his ass for you.” What did he have that made you give up what you’d held dear? Was he that much of a man?
Expecting a chuckle at that statement, his gut twisted at her uncomfortable expression, and he hated he’d done that to her. He was putting his foot in his mouth again and again.
“I was getting married.” She took a moment before continuing, “But, he died.”
“But you still—”
“Had sex beforehand,” she inserted, breaking off his words.
And thank the fuck for that. He’d have been ankle-deep down his throat with that one. Sure they’d talked about it before, but it truly wasn’t any of his damn business. With Kelly, he always wanted to know everything.
“Yes, we slept together.”
Kelly with another man made his insides clench into a fist. He had no right to her—never had, but somehow, he’d always thought she’d be the type of woman he’d marry—if he ever married. So much time had been spent screwing around. Plans for the future were never considered when it came to family. Hell, he was only twenty-seven years old.
“Where’s the father’s family? Why aren’t you with them or your family for that matter?” he rushed out without really thinking the words through before they left his big mouth.
She cocked an eyebrow at him. “You do know women can have a baby without their family around, don’t you?”
He almost laughed, but bit it back since he’d been trying to hold out a serious tone for the discussion. She had him there, but still…. “I get that, but why when you can have help? You have a big family, and I’m sure they’d love to help.”
“How’s your neck?”
Automatically, his hand went to the ice pack that had almost frozen his neck. At the size of the knot there, he’d been damn lucky she hadn’t seriously wounded him. The woman surely packed a wallop. “I’ll be fine. Thanks.”
He let it slide that she’d changed the subject. Maybe he’d pushed too much too fast.
Sighing, she gestured toward his drink. “Do you want a refill? I’m getting one.” After standing, she reached for his nearly empty cup without waiting for his response. He had no idea they’d emptied their hot cocoas so quickly. It was a testament to how good she made it.
Eyes tracking her movements, he realized he’d shoved his foot in his mouth again with his last question. By now he should be gnawing on his knee he had it so deep.
She stopped and turned, both mugs in hand. “Brian Platt was my high school sweetheart. I wanted to come to the big city, and he wanted to run the family ranch, so we broke up before college. I went one way and he went another. After graduating, I moved here.”
“You introduced me to him, didn’t you?” She had. He distinctly remembered meeting the man and feeling a bit threatened. At the time, he’d worried that meant something was wrong with Brian, something that would affect Kelly’s happiness, but then the accident had happened and, well… he’d forgotten.
She nodded. “Yes, when he first came here, about eight months ago. Before he and I started seeing each other and…”
“Before I almost got blown to smithereens?” He tried to instill a bit of levity so she didn’t have to say the words. It was only fair since she’d saved him from talking about her having sex.
She bit the corner of her lip, drawing his eye to where her white teeth nibbled on a place that he’d love to kiss her.
What the hell was wrong with him? He’d learned to control his urges around her a long time ago, but right now, he strongly wanted to hold her and enjoy her luscious body. Pregnancy and all.
“Yes.”
An unexpected searing pain knifed through his heart. She had to have loved this man to agree to marry him and agree to—He swallowed against the lump that had formed in his throat. Agreed to sleep with him. She’d been so firm in that conviction. It was why he’d never hit on her. It was also probably why they were such good friends. The best of friends as far as he was concerned. It had to be similar for her as she’d shared things with him that he couldn’t imagine her sharing with others outside her inner circle of friends.
Knowing it would take her time to warm the milk, he followed her into the kitchen. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, he watched her move about gracefully. Once she’d set the milk to heat on the stove, she turned the tables on him. “Where have you been?”
He didn’t want to allow her to completely change the subject, so he’d stay vague for now. Later, they could talk about him if that’s what she wanted. “Here and there. Most recently, the Gulf Coast.”
Preparing the chocolate, she continued questioning him. “What brought you home now?”
Was that hope in her voice? It was something he couldn’t nail down. He answered the question, but she’d given him the perfect opportunity to turn it around on her. “Megan’s worried about you. Why is that?” He knew, but he wanted to hear it from Kelly.
Not turning around, she shrugged. “I don’t know why she’s worried.”
He leaned off the wall and stepped closer to her. Grasping her shoulders, he turned her to face him. “Really? Something about you acting like you’re being followed everywhere you go? How about someone breaking in here and something being missing that you’re keeping secret from me?”
She started at his final question. He’d caught her, and she knew it.
“Kelly, you can’t hide anything from me. Now tell me what the hell is going on.”
Releasing a loud sigh, she dropped her shoulders in defeat. “I don’t know what to think of it. Lately, I’ve felt like I’m being followed. There’s no reason for it, just that odd feeling. It could be pregnancy hormones.”
She paused and looked away, but he didn’t take the bait and interrupt. He wanted the entire story.
“Megan probably told you that someone broke into my car.” She paused while he nodded. “They took my purse along with a suitcase full of clothes.” Pausing again, he guessed she was considering how much she would reveal. She could consider it all she wanted; he’d have the full story. “Today, someone broke into here, as you know, but he took a bag with some papers.”
They were the oddest sorts of items to be stolen. Her purse he could understand. Thankfully, they could trace if any of her credit cards were used. He’d contact Devon. She wouldn’t get anything back, but it’d all be taken care of properly. The clothing and papers were unusual for a thief to swipe. However—“What’s their connection?”
Looking down, she fretted with her hands. “Besides my purse, they were Brian’s.”
Fuck, what had that man gotten Kelly into? Anger at himself for not being there for her raged within every cell in his body. He didn’t want to ask, but this seemed to be a day for that, so he opened his mouth to insert his second foot. “How did Brian die?”
With a firm jaw, Kelly looked him in the eye. “Hit and run,” she said, and then added, “and it might not have been an accident.”
Holy fucking shit. He should’ve come home sooner.
TRENT ROTATED HIS sore neck and pain splintered outward as he left his apartment where he’d rushed a shower and dressed. At first, he’d wondered who had cleared away the dust, making it livable. Something inside him knew it had been Kelly. No one else would’ve been that thoughtful during his absence. Also, she’d been the only one with a key to his place. And she hadn’t said a word.
Sleeping on Kelly’s couch hadn’t been as comfortable as it had in the past since he couldn’t stop the pain that throbbed in his head and neck. He’d been damn lucky she hadn’t broken anything when she’d hit him. Still he chuckled a little at her trying to help. He wished he’d seen her wielding the bat. Maybe then he’d have been able to direct it to the right person. Since she’d told him it was there, he should’ve grabbed it first, so she hadn’t had the opportunity. But, who’d have thought she’d rush in to assist because she worried about him?
The physical discomfort, along with the concern that someone would come back to her place, had kept him awake most of the night. Oh, she’d tried to push him out the door citing the man had already stolen what he’d wanted and had no need for her. Oh, the naiveté. How little she understood criminals. As far as they knew, she could’ve been the target all along, and Trent had simply interrupted things. His stomach clenched at the thought of her in real danger.
This morning, he’d been hard pressed to leave her before she left for work. Everything inside him screamed that she needed protecting. But, protecting from what? Someone obviously wanted something of her ex-fiancé’s. Since it appeared that they’d finally taken everything she had of Brian’s, there shouldn’t be any more trouble.
He hoped.
Filled with a sense of unease in his gut, he shook his head. There had to be information in that paperwork someone wanted awfully bad. There was no doubt in his mind it had to have been a pro who broke into her place since there was the discipline to sneak in and take only what was wanted and leave behind valuables.
And I missed him with the bag over his shoulder. Great fucking observation skills.
Then again, so had Kelly, but she’d been so focused on Trent after she’d hit him, the thief probably could’ve picked her up and carried her away with her barely noticing until she lost sight of Trent.
That brought to mind the question she’d shared with him. Had Brian’s death been an accident? So what that a murderer had told her that the driver that hit Brian had been hired to kill him? The man had chosen a hit and run, which was fucking stupid in Trent’s mind as there was no guarantee the person would die. If the thefts were related—and he’d bet his most valuable collector baseball card they were—maybe the driver had been supposed to have acquired the stuff first and only meant to scare Brian instead of killing him.
Trent mentally shrugged. Anything was possible. He sighed in frustration. They wouldn’t know unless they found the driver.
The problem was whether to believe the string of unreliable crim
inals.
Kelly had hit rock bottom with her investigation but was hopeful he might find out something. With all she’d shared, he hated to tell her that her hope was wasted unless the criminal network would actually ID the culprit. So he didn’t tell her. Instead, he promised to have HIS look into it. A promise he shouldn’t have made because he had no idea if he could keep it. He was only a team member, no matter what Jesse had said to him in the hospital. “You’re a Hamilton, and, as such, you’re welcome to become a partner with your family at HIS.”
Booted feet on the ground, his warm motorcycle snuggled between his legs, Trent took more of the calming breaths Jamie had prescribed. Finally being back at HIS rattled his nerves. Images of Les’s face before they made the move to save Amber swam before him.
Sweat broke out on his brow, and his pulse ratcheted up several notches. Black dots danced before his eyes. Forcing in another calming breath, he reminded himself he couldn’t change the past, and he had to face the men, no matter their judgment. According to Jamie, he had to look forward and not back.
He could do this. Somehow he’d make it through everything. For Kelly’s sake.
Finally stepping off the bike and settling it with the kickstand, he removed his helmet, shoved it under his arm and started for the front door of Jesse’s home, where in the back he housed HIS headquarters. Trent had heard Jesse planned to install a separate entrance so everyone wasn’t traipsing through the house at all hours. Trent figured that Jesse and his wife Kate had been caught messing around and didn’t want it to happen again. Maybe it was like the time Jesse had caught AJ with a woman on the table covered in whipped cream and AJ holding a jar of cherries, ready to dress his dessert.
Trent chuckled at the story the team never let AJ forget, even though it occurred when he was still with the FBI.
Removing his black leather gloves, he slapped them across his jean-clad leg, ignoring the slight sting with the cold, before tossing them inside his helmet. Riding his bike down the beach where the weather had been so much nicer, called to him, but he squashed it.