“Bullshit. I know Sean and Williams have been trying to get you to go out. It’s a beer, Kelli, and some laughs. You have to reconnect with these guys.”
Maybe he was right…a little, but it wasn’t the same. “Yeah, probably, but you’re not there.”
Travis brought a hand to his chest. “You’re waiting for me? Aww, that’s sweet and everything, but no fucking excuse. Put a beer and some cheese sticks in front of an empty seat. I’ll be there in spirit. Hell, until these holes in my head heal, I could probably get you on radio too.”
He really was an ass sometimes. She laughed. That medieval contraption they’d had him in after his surgery saved his life, but at least they could laugh about this part now. “Whatever.”
“I’m serious, and you can bring Nora along.”
Kelli glared. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“That’s not her scene. Those places are a little low rent.”
“So are you, and she likes you,” Travis said wryly.
Well…damn. “True.”
“You’ll be there. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She’ll be fine.”
Nora would brighten any cop bar. Could be an interesting experience. “Something to think about.”
“Mmm-hmm. You do that. We’ll talk about it tomorrow when I’m in my new room.”
“Your new room?” Kelli was a little confused.
“Yep, I’m done with ICU. I should have been moved last week, but they were being overly cautious.”
“Well shit. It’s about time. You tell your dad?”
“Yeah, he’s back to his stoic routine, but he was here. I guess that’s all that counts. He’s leaving next week.”
“Don’t forget, you have my mom to smother the crap outta you. Balances shit out a little.”
“I know, right? I’m not worried, but let me put this bug in your ear. Tomorrow, when you come to visit, just know that these fries are lonely without a bacon cheeseburger.” He looked at her with hope shining in his eyes.
Kelli laughed. “You’d better start kissing my ass now then.”
CHAPTER 2
On autopilot, Kelli drove toward their latest crime scene, in the Holly Park area. There was no need for GPS; she knew every bump and turn in this city. Kelli’s mind was free to roam, and her thoughts went straight to Nora. Things between them were going good, and Kelli wanted to believe that she’d earned a reprieve after all the shit she’d been through. That didn’t stop the creepy, little voice in the back of her head that warned that the other shoe always dropped. Shit was ridiculous. It had to be. The way Nora touched her…the way she looked at her. All that was real. So that voice? Didn’t know what the hell it was talking about.
Taylor Fuller’s surprise visit, though, that made the voice even more persistent. Fuck it. Just because she was a cop didn’t mean she had to be cynical about everything. Yeah, she’d seen some heinous shit and had even lived some of it. That made going home every night to a woman like Nora, so much sweeter. Thinking about it brought a smile to her face.
Williams cleared his throat in the most loud and obnoxious way possible.
“We’re on our way to a crime scene, and you’re grinning like an idiot. Are you aware?”
“Yep.” Kelli smiled wider.
“Well, unless you’re going to share, can you stop? It’s kinda freaky,” Williams said.
“Maybe.” Kelli glared at him. “Was there something you wanted?”
“I’ve been staring at you the past ten minutes. You’re in your own little world.”
“That staring thing? So not healthy,” she said.
“Uh-huh. Thought you were going to drool on yourself a time or two. I was concerned.”
“Were you always like this? I don’t remember you being this annoying.” Kelli tried to take her enthusiasm down a notch, but she couldn’t. She was too damn happy. Her next best option was to distract Williams by going on the offensive.
“A man can change.”
“Do you have a point?”
He shrugged and grinned. “So…you can tell me. Dirty thoughts about that doctor of yours?”
Poor guy. He was putting himself through an unnecessary identity crisis, trying to act like Travis. But Travis’s shoes were way too big to fill. There was nothing young and hip about Williams. He was more like Old Faithful. It was a nice gesture, though, and amusing as hell. “I want the boring old Williams back, please.”
“Hey now, I thought I was doing pretty good. If you squint hard enough, I’d pass for forty-five. Isn’t that the new thirty?”
“No, it’s the new forty-five.”
She stopped at a red light. Williams glared at her.
Kelli’s mouth twitched.
“I saw that.” His grin was triumphant. “I must be doing something right.”
Kelli rolled her eyes. “Listen, I know what you’re trying to do and thank you. You can stop now, before you strain yourself.”
Williams didn’t say anything.
Kelli glanced at him to see that he was looking out the window.
Shit, did his feelings just get hurt? “Bruce?”
“Hmm?” He looked at her, but he had his poker face on.
“Just be you. I know it’s been a while since we’ve done this, but when we were partners, you were the boulder to my rock. That’s who I need you to be now, too.”
He smiled slightly. “Yeah?”
Kelli smirked in his direction. “Yeah.”
Williams nodded and looked out the window again. “Okay, I can do that.” He paused. “Just because I’m a middle-aged man doesn’t mean I can’t suddenly be into the whole lesbian fantasy thing. So…spill.”
“Jesus Christ.” Kelli sighed and looked heavenward. Instead of responding, she turned the radio up.
*
Kelli glanced at her watch. It was time to go. Her eyes were starting to cross. The case they’d caught earlier had pretty much solved itself. There were way too many stupid people in the world. The phone records she was combing through for one of last week’s cases weren’t going anywhere, and she had a feeling in her gut that it was a dead end anyway. Her gut was usually right. Kelli stood and stretched. As she moved from side to side, something popped, followed by another crack farther down in her back. Felt good as hell. Kelli opened her desk drawer to get her keys, gun, and cell.
“You cutting out?” Williams asked.
“Yeah, nothing is gonna come from this.” She nudged the stack of papers.
Williams shrugged. “Probably.” He closed the thick folder that he had been looking through. “Beer?” He held up a hand. “And if you say no, I’m probably going to shoot you.”
“Aim for the shoulder.” Kelli smirked.
Williams rolled his eyes. “Oh c’mon. What is with you? Is she that good?”
God yes. Kelli glared instead of answering him.
Williams glared right back and laughed. “You’re going to be one of those people, huh?”
“What people?” Kelli posed the question, but she had a pretty good idea what he was about to say.
“One of those people who gets in a relationship and forgets about everybody else.”
Well, he was never one to mince words. “Ouch, goddammit.”
He shrugged. “Needed to be said.”
“It’s not that. Going out like that… It’s not the same without Travis.”
“We’ll put a beer in front of an empty seat and get him on the phone if we have to.” Williams looked at her expectantly.
Kelli chuckled. “Travis pretty much said the same thing. This little posse has been together too long if you two are thinking alike.
“Well, he’s fucking right.”
Kelli threw up her hands. “Okay, fine. Just not tonight. I need to prepare Nora for something like that.”
“Really? We’re not that bad. It’s just me and Sean for christsakes. Didn’t she have dinner with your mother?”
“Yeah, she did. I de
finitely had to get her ready for that, too.” Kelli didn’t think he needed to know that it was the other way around.
“All right then. We’ll be at Beck’s if you change your mind,” Williams said.
He sounded disappointed. Why the hell did Travis always have to be right?
*
Kelli leaned against the kitchen island and watched as Nora bent over in front of the open refrigerator. The skirt she wore tightened around her hips and ass, giving Kelli quite the eyeful. Yes, she was indeed a pervert, and she loved every second of it.
“What do you want?” Nora asked.
Kelli chuckled and kept on looking.
A few seconds later, Nora glanced over her shoulder at Kelli. Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead as she tracked Kelli’s gaze. She smiled slightly. “To drink.”
Kelli laughed out right. That statement didn’t improve matters any. “Surprise me.”
Nora pulled out a bottle of Sweetwater 420.
“Good one.” The brand was Kelli’s beer choice at the moment…anything Sweetwater. Except for the blueberry kind. There was something about fruit in beer that didn’t sit well with her.
“Thank you.” Nora slid the beer across the counter toward her.
Nora watched her as she popped the cap with the opener on her keychain and took a swig. Kelli set the beer on the counter and stared right back. Nora looked a little ruffled. Her face was red and there was a faraway glint in her eyes. She’d seen that expression several times the last couple weeks. “What is that look for?”
Nora cleared her throat. “I’m sorry? What are you referring to?”
“When I…” Kelli glanced down at her beer then back to Nora. A light bulb turned on. “You get off on watching me drink beer?”
Nora’s face reddened even more. “Just out of the bottle.”
Kelli smirked. “And here I was thinking I was the pervert.”
Nora walked around the island and reached for the beer. “Not at all.” She took a small sip and grinned.
“Thank God.”
Nora took another drink.
“Can I have my beer back?”
“I actually like this one,” Nora said.
“I know. You drank half of it last time.”
Nora took a larger swig. She looked so damned dainty, but then, it hit Kelli. Nora may appear delicate, but she wasn’t some wilting, fucking flower. Somehow, Kelli knew she would fit into her life wherever she wanted her to and dress it up real nice. With that notion in mind, Kelli said, “The guys have been bugging me about going out. You wanna come with me?”
Nora just stared. “Have you been rebuffing them because of me?”
“Well, no.” Kelli smirked. “Trust me when I say, I like what you do so much better, but that’s so not the point.”
Nora’s lips quirked into an almost smile. “When?”
“Well, Travis bitched at me about ‘reconnecting with the guys,’” Kelli made air quotes, “a couple days ago. Williams and Sean are actually out having a drink right now. So I guess tonight. It’s early still.”
“You mean…right now? Are you sure you want me there?” Nora sounded and looked a little reluctant.
Kelli chose her words carefully. She wanted Nora to feel welcome, and she wanted her to understand that her life and the people in it were open to Nora if she wanted it. “Hell, if you were with me sifting through dumpsters for evidence, it would be a good time, and I hate that.”
Nora laughed, and her expression changed to something soft and full of wonder. “How do you do that?”
“What?” Kelli asked.
“Know what to say.”
Kelli shrugged. She didn’t. But this was Nora. Somehow her words just came out that way.
Nora picked up the beer and took a long pull. Then, she gave the bottle back and bent forward to brush her lips against Kelli’s. In turn, Kelli deepened the kiss, chasing the flavors of two of her favorite things…beer and Nora.
Nora pulled back slightly and said, “Let me change my outfit and feed Phineas. Then, let’s go.”
“I got him. You go ahead.”
“Okay, give me ten minutes.”
A few seconds later, Kelli stepped outside and into Phineas’s fenced-in habitat. It was large and clean, but Nora had a guy for that, so it wasn’t surprising. There were a few bales of hay in the corner, and his huge-ass bowl was next to it, similar to the one in the house. Phineas, himself, lay nearby on a huge, cushy mat just like the one in his room. Kelli held up the bag filled with vegetables and grass pellets, and shook it.
“What’s up big guy? Look what I got.”
Phineas didn’t waste any time. He got up and trotted toward Kelli. He was a fast fucker for his size. He nudged Kelli’s leg and brushed against her.
Kelli laughed. Phineas made a huffing sound and headed back toward his bed.
“You can’t tell me you’re not hungry.”
Kelli watched as he picked up one of the large stuffed toys that was near his bedding. He came back toward her. Phineas pressed the stuffed frog against Kelli’s leg. She’d learned a while back that he wasn’t into playing catch, but it was his way of sharing and being social. Kelli scratched him on the snout.
“Even trade? But why don’t you keep both?” She filled his bowl. He abandoned his toy for the food.
“He’s always more playful with you. I’m really glad you two get along.”
Kelli turned to find Nora behind her. “Probably because he knows I’m a big-ass kid.” Kelli smirked.
“I think you could be right about that,” Nora said.
Kelli glared.
Nora grinned. “I might have to keep the video feed and put it up on YouTube.”
“Uh-huh.” Kelli headed for the door, but as she walked past Nora, she smacked her on the ass. “Let’s go.”
Nora laughed.
*
Nora stood outside and glanced up at the Beck’s Bar and Grill sign. There was nothing ostentatious about the building itself. The brick construction blended in with the others next to it. Even the sign was plain. She didn’t know what she was expecting. Someone exited, letting out the sounds of laughter and low strains of music. This was sure to be an experience, and she wasn’t worried in the least.
“You okay?” Kelli asked, as she snaked her arms around Nora from behind.
Always protective. Nora turned to look at her. “I am. Are you?”
Kelli smirked. “Touché, but yeah.”
Kelli stepped away but kept a hand pressed to Nora’s back. When they entered, the smell of stale beer and fried food wafted toward her. It was a potent combination, but not unexpected. Rock music filtered in from the sound system, yet it wasn’t overwhelming. Nora scanned the area. A majority of the tables were full, and there was no space left at the bar. Everyone looked as if they were having a good time. Most of them seemed to be laughing and in various stages of conversation. The mood was instantly contagious. Nora wanted to be part of the revelry as well, especially with Kelli present.
A familiar figure stood and waved.
Nora waved back. “There’s your brother.”
“I see him.” Kelli guided her forward.
When they arrived at the table, both men stood.
Kelli chuckled. Nora glanced over her shoulder to see Kelli rolling her eyes.
“What?” Nora asked as she sat down.
“They suddenly have manners. Last time I checked, I’m a woman too.”
“I prefer to think of you as just McCabe.” Williams tipped his beer toward her.
Sean laughed and drank from a bottle of Blue Moon.
“The name’s Bruce Williams by the way.” He offered his hand to Nora. “Heard a lot about you, but we’ve only met in passing.”
Nora shook his hand and smiled. His skin was warm and calloused. For some reason, he reminded Nora of an older, distinguished looking walrus—big, but seemingly harmless. “Nice to meet you.”
“Would you look at this? More manners.
Aren’t you supposed to be burping and leering at women half your age by now?” Kelli couldn’t help but to tease.
“Shut up, McCabe. I can be nice.” Williams glared, but his smile showed through.
“Yeah, only when you want something.” Kelli smirked, scooted closer to Nora, and threw an arm over her shoulders. “So, she’s mine. Remember that.”
Williams roared with laughter. “Doesn’t she have a say in this?”
Nora didn’t expect their antics to start so soon, but she was enjoying the banter, nonetheless. “Yes, doesn’t she?” Nora asked and looked at Kelli, who was grinning and her gaze was full of affection.
“Oh, look out. This one is quick.” Sean pointed at Nora.
“She has to be around you assholes,” Kelli said.
“Yep, she does.” Williams nodded.
A waitress appeared.
Nora asked for a bottle of Sweetwater. When everyone was done with their drink order, Kelli leaned closer and said, “You didn’t have to order beer.”
Discreetly, Nora looked around the table. She wanted to fit in. “It’s appropriate. And you’ll drink whatever is left over.”
Kelli shrugged and smirked. “Probably.”
“What kind of food do they serve here?” Nora asked.
“Burger, fries, wings…stuff like that.”
“I thought so. I’m starving.”
“You’re gonna eat this shit?” Kelli was surprised.
“If it’s good.”
Kelli shrugged and grabbed a menu from the middle of the table. “Decent, but the bacon-wrapped, red jalapeños are excellent.”
“Let’s start with that then.” Nora didn’t mind spicy.
“Share some fries? You’re not a ketchup person are you?” Kelli stared at her as though the answer would decide the fate of their relationship. Her mouth was in a grim line, but her eyes held a sparkle of amusement.
“Not at all.”
“Knew there was a reason I liked you,” Kelli said.
Nora smiled.
A throat cleared rather loudly.
Nora looked up to see Williams waving and grinning. “Forget about us?”
Truthfully? She had. Sometimes it was like they were in their own little world. Heat rushed to Nora’s face, but she powered through it. “Get your own jalapeños.” Nora gave him a mock glare.
Crossing Lines Page 2