No matter how many times he’d tried to warn her that people weren’t perfect, she’d argue. They don’t have to be perfect. As long as they’re decent most of the time, it’s enough.
Naïve child-like creature! He’d loved her more than anyone else in his world. His parents had doted on her also and were still mourning her death. Now, their once happy home sheltered two sad souls with one terrible memory that trounced so many good ones. The Sunday when the three of them had arrived home from church and found her. That image wiped out any chance of happiness in oblivion.
He’d urged them to sell up and leave. Move to Palm Springs like a lot of their contemporaries. Maybe then, they’d learn to laugh again. He’d be able to visit without the guilt that rode his back that he hadn’t yet caught her real killer.
A dull noise broke into his trance and he listened. It was someone pounding on the door. For a few seconds he thought to ignore it, and then he knew he couldn’t What if it was news about Rhondo?
As a precaution, he grabbed his gun from the hallway desk drawer he always stuck it in when he arrived home, and called out.
“Yeah? Who is it?”
“It’s me, Cory. Let me in.”
Kai replaced the gun, unlocked the latch and swung the door open. He leaned against it in a manner that said “talk here cause you’re not allowed in”.
Cory pushed past and waited for Kai to close up after him. He did so with a sigh and a grin that read clearly “shoulda known!”
“What are you up to?” Cory peered around the room, obviously not impressed if his sneer was anything to go by. “Jesus man, this dump is depressing. Why’d you choose to stay here? I happen to know you’ve got more money than you know what to do with. There’re lots better places.”
“Hey, it’s cool. Has a balcony and it’s furnished. You know I’ll only be here for the short term.”
“I want to talk to you about that, but now’s not the time. Get dressed man. I’ve got two lovely ladies waiting for us in the car and we’re hungrier than all get out.”
‘Naw! I’ll pass—”
“No. You won’t. Get a shirt on and let’s go. Move it!” Cory waved toward the darkened hallway and then crossed his arms. Kai recognized that stance and knew he’d have to literally throw Cory out because he wouldn’t move until Kai agreed.
He shrugged and moved towards the bedroom. “Who’s the two chicks? And one better be your pregnant wife or I’m on the phone snitching on you right now.”
Corny snickered and said. “Debbie and Aurora. They had a ladies night planned that I butted in on. I gotta admit that I don’t like that wife of mine to be outta sight. Don’t know why I get this way. Never thought I’d be the doting kind of husband, but whenever she’s not with me, I get real nervous.”
Kai appeared wearing a bright blue and green plaid shirt and snapping the buttons closed. He rolled the sleeves halfway and reached into the desk drawer for his badge, gun and wallet.
Cory cleared his throat and caught his attention. As soon as he looked up, Cory stared at the gun still clutched in his hand and then he gave Kai the evil eye.
“Sorry, force of habit.” He replaced the badge and picked up his wallet. He had ID there in case he needed it for any reason. Then he slid his gun under his shirt in the back of his pant and opened the door for Cory.
“Shaking his head with apparent disgust, lips tightened, all he said was. “You coulda shaved.”
“You coulda called.”
***
Aurora still didn’t know how she got roped into joining them tonight. One minute she and Debbie had a girl’s night planned, and the next thing she knew, the three of them were in the car heading to pick up Kai.
“Do you think he’ll join us?” Aurora plucked at the cuffs on her black shorts and checked out the old apartment building that in its heyday had been high-end. Just in case he did join them, she felt glad that she’d chosen to wear moderately longer shorts than her usual attire and a girlie-type silky blouse, not too low-cut and tied in the front high enough to show off her rhinestone belly-button ring.
“I’ll bet you ten bucks. You know Cory when he makes up his mind.”
“You’re on. I’ve seen Kai in action, you haven’t and he’s no one’s pushover.”
“I can’t wait to meet him. I’m glad we’re doing this tonight, even if Cory is driving me batty. I’ve never known him to act so skittish about everything. When he was my boss, I thought he had balls of brass. Turns out he’s a marshmallow like someone else I know.”
In a purposely mean voice, Aurora responded. “You’re cruising, my friend.”
Debbie giggled and made a face into the back seat. “Truly, he’s worse than an old mama cat. Always after me about my plans for the day and hates for me to be out of his sight at night.”
“Can’t blame him. Your time is getting close. In fact you could have that baby any day now.”
“Tell me about it. Wish the darn kid would hurry up so we can meet.” Her face fell for an instant and then the car door opened.
Kai slid into the back seat and nodded at her. Debbie held her hand out towards Aurora, open palm up, at the same time as she smiled at Kai. “Hi, I’m Debbie, Cory’s wife and Aurora’s favourite partner who she owes ten bucks to.”
With a growl, Aurora slapped the money into her hand and turned away from Kai’s raise eyebrows. Did every shirt he own have to match the color of his eyes?
Pretending to watch the passing scenery, she listened to him interact with Debbie and was pleased at the attentive and gentle way he treated her best friend.
Cory spoke over his shoulder, breaking in. “I’m taking you all to a favourite restaurant of mine that serves the best steak you’ve ever had. The beer is cold, the music great and the waitresses are gorg…not near as pretty as my wife. I want everyone to enjoy themselves tonight. No shoptalk, nothing but relaxation and a meeting of old friends.”
He pulled into the front of a restaurant lit up with enough lights to brighten a small country in Africa, got out of the car and hurried around to help his wife.
Kai stepped out of his side and Aurora quickly got out hers before he felt it necessary to assist her. Would’ve been awkward as hell and tonight she felt out enough of place.
Darn Cory, getting her mixed up in this bullshit. Why he didn’t just take her word for not wanting to come along, she’d never know. Stubborn as hell, he’d insisted and then used Debbie’s probable hurt feelings as his final weapon. Bloody men!
The place was just the kind of hangout the Aurora liked. Not too fancy, a packed bar, good music, pool tables and a country atmosphere. As soon as she stepped inside, she felt the beat of the fast country song ooze in and her spirits lifted. One thing she loved; and that was dancing.
Five people were getting ready to leave a table near the dance floor and Cory moved them in that direction. In no time they were seated with a beer in front of three and a glass of ginger-ale in front of the fourth. Their orders were placed and a nice atmosphere settled over them as they all breathed a sigh of relief. Aurora decided maybe it had been a good thing to come along and let go of the week’s stresses.
Aurora looked over at Debbie and noticed that her friend had gotten her hair cut shorter so the blonde curls were once more let loose rather than being forced back into clips. Her makeup had re-appeared to make her seem more like the girl she used to be before a rapist had stolen her joy.
Being married and pregnant suited her because the woman glowed. One day, Aurora envisioned, she might be the one rubbing her tummy unconsciously, protectively—lovingly.
Giving her head a shake, she turned away and caught Kai staring. His smile spoke to her as if he’d known her thoughts. Hopefully, her self-conscious glare would back him off. She didn’t wait to find out, but turned away.
As unusual, she skimmed her surroundings, slowing down when she noticed a cowboy and young woman arguing. She shook her head and continued to scan the rest of the room. Everything
looked in place. Kai’s hand on her shoulder brought her attention back to their own table where she noticed Cory and Debbie were schmoozing and Kai looked uncomfortable.
“Would you like to dance?”
Since her body hadn’t stopped swaying, it’d be lie if she said no. “Sure.”
Once his arms went around her, she knew this had been a mistake. It was one thing working beside the man and keeping it cool. No problem. Came with the territory.
But in his arms on a dance floor, the rules totally changed. He should be labelled as a dangerous toxin because her body reacted as if she’d taken a swallow of a poisonous substance. Stuff churned around in her tummy at a great speed, and her pulse rate hiked up way past normal to alarming—made it difficult to breath.
He smelled like a man fresh out of a shower and she peeked at his cheek so close to her own. The whiskers weren’t long enough to be annoying but they did add to the sexy-guy look.
His hips knew how to gyrate better than hers, and as a contest winner, she’d always considered herself to be topnotch. He swung her around the floor in a two-step that with anyone else might have guaranteed him a one-night stand. Not that it happened very often. Rarely in fact, and years before, but the few times she’d given in to a relative stranger had always been after a sweet night of dancing.
Most times she found that men didn’t know how to hold a woman, to take charge—lead. Kai did. With his arms cuddling her into his body snugly, hips against hips and legs brushing, he had it down pat. Without hesitation, she trusted him to guide her so she could live in the moment, take pleasure in the sensations. They glided around the other dancers and her head swirled with enjoyment.
His whispered words broke into her mindless pleasure and shot straight to the point. “You want a baby!” It wasn’t a question.
Shocked, but playing it lightly, she answered. “You propositioning?”
“Just stating a fact. You’re hot. How come there’s no man in your life?”
“I suppose you could also be labelled hot to a certain needy type. So where’s your little woman?”
He pulled back so their eyes could meet. “I dumped her when my priorities became focused on only one thing.”
“Dumped?” Aurora made it sound like ‘who’re you kidding’?
“Okay, so as a gentleman, I broke it off with her. Couldn’t afford any distractions.”
“And she won’t wait?”
“Hope not.” The final sound in his voice left no doubt that in the big scheme of things the woman didn’t really matter.
“Her loss.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished for knife cleaver to cut off her tongue.
He pulled her in close and nuzzled his cheek against hers. Wrenching herself from his arms, she began to walk toward the table only to have him pick her off her feet, swing her around and start dancing again with her barely able to move. She wriggled, and when he let her slide down his body, every sensuous cell inside her screamed “fin-A-lly!”
He picked up the beat and they moved along, his impudent grin and twinkling blues daring her to share in the thrill of a partner made in heaven.
How could she resist? When the music turned to a different beat, everyone separated. Bodies moved sinuously—freestyle dirty dancing. With her eyes closed, and her arms raised, she allowed the music to seep into her soul. Grinding her hips, her pliable slenderness swayed to the pounding rhythm.
She loved the freedom dancing allowed. All her tightened restraints loosened, as the sexy tempo took over.
Words that irked made it through the haze—sick, sad words that caught her attention.
“Bitch, you’re with me. Don’t be looking at him.”
“I didn’t Doug, honest. Ow! You’re hurting me…”
The big oaf’s hand squeezed the back of the girl’s neck. Before she knew she would, Aurora had his hand twisted backwards in a grip that would be sure to break the bone if he tried to move. Bent over, head almost on his knees, she spoke towards his ear. “Hey lover, keep your hands to yourself. This pretty little thing bruises easily. We know that don’t we by the fading marks on her arms.”
Others in the area slowed down to watch but the lighting had been dimmed over the dance floor and so the majority of folks moved to give room and just went on dancing. Regrettably, the alteration had taken place close to the table where the jerk’s pals were sitting. Three stood up and stepped forward to see what was happening.
Kai moved in front of them, his arms out by his side. “A little misunderstanding fellas, nothing more. My date’s got a short fuse when she sees a dude picking on a girl half his size.”
The biggest loser pushed his way closer to Kai—basically right into his face. “Yeah, but it’s his girl so…”
Kai had him in a headlock in seconds, moving so fast that Aurora had a hard time releasing her victim and whipping Kai’s gun from the waistband of his shorts as he spun around, but she did. And she pointed it toward the others who were itching to get into the action. Mysteriously, her badge also appeared.
“Uh-uh! Back off. Collect your stuff now and get the hell out of here. And be glad we’re not arresting you for disturbing the peace.”
“Couldn’t you tell he was a cop?” The shortest of the three aimed his words toward the hillbilly favouring his thumb. He got shoved in reply.
It broke Aurora’s heart when the young girl she’d tried to protect gathered her purse and left with her man. His arm tight around her neck, proof that he still ruled. She threw a ‘what’s-a-girl-to-do’ look over her shoulder that Aurora took as her way of apologizing.
Once they’d exited, Kai pushed his opponent towards the door and stood next to Aurora, feet apart and arms crossed. Knowing he could have taken the gun, she appreciated his courtesy in letting her handle the situation.
Once Cory appeared on the scene, flashing his badge the rest of the bunch cleared the table quickly.
“The steaks are getting cold you two.”
Aurora gave Kai back his gun. Cory took her arm and led her back to their table. “I can’t let you out of my sight without you getting into trouble, Aurora. When will you learn to mind your own business?”
“When all the assholes in the world drop dead.”
Chapter Ten
“She faked it.” Kai’s remark had Aurora’s back up instantly.
“Come on. She’s pregnant. Someone in her condition can get a backache just like that.” She snapped her fingers and dared him to argue. The band had taken a break and the background music didn’t force them to yell.
“That’s true. If it wasn’t for the wink she gave you while she let Cory help her out, I might have gone along thinking her innocent.” His clean-cut fingernails picked away at the label on the beer bottle he’d been nursing for the last hour. Then he glanced up and his laughing blues and grinning lips caught her gaze. “But we both saw her.”
As much as she argued with Kai, she’d seen the sneaky glances that Debbie had shared with her husband during the early part of the evening. When she began wincing and arching her back, Aurora had fallen for her friend’s tactics and truly believed there was a problem. Until the telling wink!
Then she’d surmised exactly what Kai had—that her old partner was setting them up. The fact that Cory had called a taxi to take them home in order to leave Kai the car seemed totally out of character. And the fast exit they’d made which now left her and Kai alone at the restaurant was so suspect as to be laughable. Talk about set-ups. They'd just been royally ‘had’.
“Well at least we know Deb liked you.” Aurora sipped her latest beer. She’d imbibed more than normally, but then she’d danced a lot and needed to cool down. Her long hair stuck to her neck and she gathered it all towards the back and quickly twisted it into a tail and wound it up to sit on the top of her head in a clip.
The silence from her partner made her look up and she found his hot gaze staring at her arched body. The light green filmy blouse clung to her sweaty skin and sh
e wished she’d have chosen something less revealing, less feminine.
“Time to leave. It’s almost closing time anyway and we have a full day tomorrow.” She gathered up her purse and pulled a twenty from her wallet to leave as a tip for the waitress.
“It’s taken care of.” Kai pushed the money back towards her, his tone serious, a warning ringing through. “He’d paid the tab a while back.
She stopped and stared him down. “I worked in a place like this to earn money for college. I put up with drunken idiots, cleaned up their messes and whenever some thoughtful customer left me an extra bit of tip, trust me, it made the night a little more bearable. So don’t question me when I choose to thank a waitress.” Huffy and dismissive, she stood belligerent and ready to argue.
He didn’t say anything, just picked up his cardboard coaster and there, folded in half, was a twenty-dollar bill. He smiled at her, and for the first time since she met the man, without her usual defences in place, she smiled back. Then he stepped up, placed his warm hand on her back, and gently guided her in front of him towards the exit.
Other than her giving directions, they didn’t speak on the way back to her place. Continuous music played on the radio and the lighter amount of traffic made the drive enjoyable. Once they pulled up in front of her apartment, discomfort set in. She didn’t know whether to ask him in for a nightcap or better yet a coffee, or just get out of the blasted car. Leave him with a thanks and see -you tomorrow.
Even though he was her partner, they’d only been together on the job a few days and hadn’t the time to build up a routine or get accustomed to the other’s ways. Blasted hell she hated these kinds of moments. Being at a disadvantage had never sat well with her, at anytime, and her anger at the uncomfortable feeling rang through in her words.
“Look, I don’t have any problem with you coming in for a coffee, but you’ll have to make it fast cause it’s late.”
Roll the Dice (Vegas Series) Page 5