The Broken Road (The Broken Series)

by Ruff, K. S.

“I ran across his business card in your rolodex the other day. We're trying to keep your office exactly as you left it, just in case you come back,” Ann responded with teary eyes.

  I leaned over to give her another hug. “I still want to come back.” I silently studied my friend. Ann seemed nervous, which was unusual for her. She was normally very self-assured. I wondered whether Justin had been hard on her when I refused his plane ticket.

  “What about Kadyn?” Kimme asked. She seemed surprised by my response.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted honestly. “I suppose he could tempt me to stay.”

  Charlie smiled knowingly. “When do I get to meet him?”

  “Dan’s bringing him by around one o’clock,” Kimme announced, much to my surprise. I hadn’t realized that was the plan.

  Eventually, everyone drifted back to their desks. I wandered up to the front of the office so I could talk to Ann. She was sifting through the mail. I touched her shoulder gently, since she hadn’t seen me enter the room. “Can we talk?”

  She glanced around nervously. “Sure.”

  I lowered my voice so Justin wouldn’t overhear us. I hadn’t seen him in the office, but I didn’t want him overhearing us if he was around. “Ann, I want you to know I’m not mad at you. You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t know about Justin. You were just trying to help me get home. Please, don’t feel bad about what happened. I still consider you one of my dearest friends.”

  Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I was afraid I’d compromised our friendship. I didn’t know you and Justin had a falling out… that you had told him you didn’t want to see him. I thought you two were still friends.”

  I sighed heavily. “I know. I should have told you what was going on. This isn’t a good place to talk about what happened, but please stay away from Justin. He’s not what he seems.”

  She nodded as she swiped at her cheeks.

  My eyes softened. “How’s Mac feeling? Is he still sick?”

  Ann reached for some tissue. “The cancer treatments have taken a lot out of him, but he’s doing better. He asks about you all the time.”

  I nodded. Mac often joined us for happy hour after work. We had celebrated his birthday shortly before I moved to DC. He was an amazing man, a WWII veteran who had earned the Purple Heart. He was considerably older than Ann, but she was crazy in love with him, and Mac felt the same exact way about her. I smiled at Ann. “Why don’t you give him a call to see if he’s up for company? I’d really like Kadyn to meet him. Maybe we can swing by before we leave for Spokane.”

  Ann reached for my hand. “Mac would love that.”

  I squeezed her hand. “Good. Then consider it done.” I walked back to Kimme’s office to see how Kadyn and Dan were coming along.

  They showed up a few minutes later. “I’ve decided you can keep him,” Dan announced as they strode into Kimme’s office.

  I rolled my eyes, then rose from my chair. “Gee, thanks, Dan.”

  Kadyn pulled me in for a kiss.

  My eyes trailed over his body. “You’re unharmed?”

  He smiled. “Yes.”

  “What did you guys do?” I couldn’t resist asking given Dan’s mysterious behavior.

  Dan folded his arms across his chest. “That stays between Kadyn and me.”

  Kadyn shrugged as he followed Dan’s lead.

  My eyes flitted between Kadyn and Dan. “Okay, be that way.” I linked my arm with Kadyn’s. “I’m afraid my friends would never forgive me if I didn’t drag you around the office and introduce you to everyone. They’ve listened to me talk about you all morning long, so it’s only fair I give them a face to link to all those stories.”

  Kimme laughed at the tortured look on Kadyn’s face. “You only have twenty-two people to get through…”

  Dan settled into my chair. “Your escort is on standby, so let me know when you’re ready to leave town.”

  I laughed. “We have one more stop to make after this. I think it’ll be another hour or so before we’re ready to leave town.”

  Dan nodded. “That’s fine. Take your time.”

  I took Kadyn up to the front office so I could introduce him to Ann. Then we worked our way back down the hall. When I popped my head into Charlie’s office, he invited us to sit and talk for a while.

  Charlie asked many of the same questions my father had asked of Kadyn, but Kadyn took it all in stride. After thirty minutes or so, Charlie stood and shook Kadyn’s hand. Then he walked around the desk and gave me one last hug. “I approve,” he whispered into my ear.

  As Kadyn and I walked out of Charlie’s office, Justin passed by us in the hall. His dark brooding eyes locked on mine, but he didn’t say a word.

  * * * * * *

  Our drive back to Spokane was uneventful. I was thrilled Kadyn had met my family and friends, and I was relieved my cousin was doing so well. I was thankful Justin hadn’t confronted me and that we hadn’t run into Michael or Tom while we were in Helena. Despite the fears and concerns that had led me back to Montana, a lot of good had come from this trip.

  We were on the return flight to Baltimore when Kadyn revealed what he and Dan had been up to. He seemed thoroughly amused when he described the events. “Dan took me out to the mountains to some biker bar in York. I’ll admit I was a little nervous about his intentions at first. It struck me that he could kick me out of his truck at any point, and I would be lost for days.”

  I groaned. “I’m sorry. I know Dan can be a bit unpredictable at times.”

  “Don’t be. I had a really good time. It was a little early for lunch, but Dan insisted we order burgers. He claimed they had the best burgers around, and they really were quite impressive. When we finished eating, Dan drove into a remote area of the mountains and revealed an impressive stash of guns that had been covered up in the back of his truck. We set up targets and shot them up until we ran out of bullets.”

  Dan’s methods for delivering messages could be a bit frightening at times, but deep down inside I knew he was an honorable guy. Still, my mind pinged with all the things that could have gone wrong with that scenario. “Well, I’m thankful he didn’t water board you in some misguided attempt to reveal your true intentions toward me.”

  Kadyn burst out laughing. “Oh, he’s fully aware of my intentions. Dan is quite skilled at getting information out of people.”

  I smiled as I turned to look out the darkened window. I was curious about Kadyn’s intentions, but I wasn’t about to ask the question when I knew I wasn’t ready for his answer. Eventually, the hum of the airplane’s engines lulled us both to sleep. We woke just as the plane touched down in Baltimore.

  As we drove back to Alexandria, it dawned on me that my family wasn’t the only thing I was going to miss. I was going to miss spending most of my time with Kadyn and falling asleep in his arms. Something had changed between us, something big… but I still wasn’t ready to admit what it was.

  Chapter 8 – When it rains

  Kadyn and I settled into a comfortable routine. We took turns cooking dinner for each other, and we didn’t part ways until midnight on weeknights. Kadyn started sleeping at my place on the weekends, which was making sex increasingly more difficult to resist. Still, Kadyn was patient. He seemed determined to build my trust and desire while slowly coaxing me for more. His restraint was unlike anything I’d ever known, and it made me want him even more.

  It was a Wednesday night in mid-November. Kadyn and I were peeling open our own individual pints of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Kadyn with his Strawberry Cheesecake and me with my Chocolate Therapy. We were just settling in to watch the latest release of Fast and Furious when my house phone rang.

  “Hello?” I answered around a mouthful of chocolate ice cream.

  “Hi, Kri. This is Patrick. I’m really sorry, but I need you to meet me at Rockefeller’s office. He just finished reviewing the materials we pulled together for the Homeless Health Improvement Act, and he doesn’t feel prepared enough to introdu
ce the bill tomorrow. I know it’s late, but can you meet me at the office and help me pull together some more information for him?”

  I glanced at the clock on my DVR. It was just after eight o’clock. I had heard stories about how Senator Rockefeller would make these late night demands of his staffers, but I had never been subjected to one before. Still, this bill was important to me. I glanced over at Kadyn.

  He stopped eating his ice cream. He was now studying me with both eyebrows raised questioningly.

  I forced my attention back to the phone. “Are you serious?”

  “….as a heart attack. I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll bring Starbucks...” he offered enticingly.

  “I’m pretty sure that qualifies as a government bribe,” I responded sarcastically. I sighed loudly as I resigned to the fact that my quiet evening at home, snuggled up on the couch with Kadyn, was not going to happen. “All right. As long as you’re taking orders, I want a grande... no, make that a venti, toffee nut latte, extra hot, with an extra shot of caffeine.”

  He didn’t even scoff at the order. “You got it. See you there!”

  I rolled my eyes as I hung up the phone. Patrick sounded entirely too excited about working late at night. The guy seriously needed to get a life. I eyed my ice cream and wondered how bad it would look if I tried to take it with me.

  Kadyn was still studying me. “So, what was that all about?”

  I perched on the arm of the couch. “I have to go into the office. Rockefeller needs us to pull together some more research so he’s better prepared to introduce the Homeless Health Improvement Act tomorrow. Evidently, these late night requests aren’t all that unusual. The guy doesn’t sleep… like ever. Patrick is meeting me at the office. I'm really sorry, but you’re going to have to watch the movie without me. I’ll try to be quick about it, but this could take a few hours.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Kadyn asked with a concerned look on his face.

  I shook my head. I was quite certain that schlepping into DC was the last thing he wanted to do. “No. That’s okay. I'm not sure they’d let anyone who didn’t have a Senate ID into the building this late at night. Patrick will be there, and they have security guards all over that place. I’ll be fine.” I smiled reassuringly.

  “Okay,” he conceded hesitantly. “I’ll walk Cade for you. Do you mind if I stay here until you get back? Mason and Gabi are over at my place, and I got the distinct impression they were looking forward to some alone time, if you know what I mean.” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

  I nearly choked on my ice cream. I licked the chocolate off my mouth, then kissed Kadyn lightly on the lips. “I would love it if you were here when I got back home.”

  Kadyn pulled me into his lap. “Don’t work too late,” he murmured. His lips met mine in a kiss that tasted of chocolate covered strawberries.

  I touched my fingers to my lips. “Wow. That’s really good.” I stood in front of the couch, feeling thoroughly conflicted. It really sucked going into the office at this time of night. I grabbed my spoon and my tub of ice cream and headed for the door. No way was I getting through this without Chocolate Therapy.

  * * * * * *

  Patrick smiled knowingly as he approached me in the lobby of the Senate Hart Building. “The commute is a lot different this time of night, isn’t it?”

  I nodded. “How is it that a fifteen minute drive takes an hour or more in rush hour traffic?” I couldn’t resist whining about the commute. It had become a rite of passage.

  Our shoes echoed as we crossed the lobby. Aside from the security guards, we appeared to be the only two people in the building. Patrick handed me the coffee as we approached the stairs. “Well, you could rent a place on the Hill and walk to work. I’ve been looking for a roommate since Deb moved out, and Jamie is insisting on another girl. You and Cade could move in with us. You could walk Cade during lunch and put an end to those long commutes…”

  Patrick was a smart guy, but he had no clue how ludicrous that idea really was. “I’m so not renting a room in your party house. I value sleep entirely too much to room with a bunch of twenty-somethings.” The fact that Kadyn and I were both still twenty-somethings wasn’t entirely lost on me.

  Patrick flipped on all of the lights as we entered Senator Rockefeller’s office. We made our way upstairs and settled into our respective desks, directly across from one another. Patrick booted up his computer. “Why don’t you add the list of co-sponsors at the beginning of his talking points; and I'll compile a list of hospitals, health care systems, and advocates who have expressed support for this bill?”

  I flipped my computer on. “I want to look over those CBO estimates again. We need to make sure the senator is prepared to answer any funding questions.” I glanced at Patrick as I took a sip of coffee. “Are you still comfortable with this bill? Do you think we did the right thing by framing this as a pilot project?”

  “I like how this bill awards startup funds to hospitals that want to deliver mobile medical services to homeless people, especially given how vulnerable that population is,” Patrick responded as he began typing on his computer.

  “Me too,” I agreed, “but I seriously doubt this bill will pass Congress, given our current economic environment.”

  “Rockefeller seems to think that it will,” Patrick rebutted confidently. “Look at all of the bi-partisan support it has received so far.”

  I raised my coffee cup in the air. “Here’s hoping you’re right.”

  He laughed as he leaned over and tapped his coffee cup against mine.

  We slid into silence as we began pulling material together for the senator. It was nearly midnight when Patrick finally announced, “I think we’re done. Why don’t you head home? I'll lock things up here and run this over to Rockefeller’s house.”

  I shut down my computer. “Thanks, Patrick. I really appreciate all the time you’ve poured into this bill. I can’t wait to see the senator introduce it tomorrow.”

  Patrick nodded. “We’ll have to go out and celebrate afterwards.”

  I gathered up my things and started down the hall. “Sounds good. Let’s go to Thunder Grill. I’ve been dying to have another mango margarita.”

  Patrick laughed. “Thunder Grill it is, then. Drive safe. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  I said goodnight to the guards as I walked out of the building. I pulled my coat tight as I made my way toward the Thurgood Marshall Building. I couldn’t believe how much the temperature had dropped. The cold, damp air chilled me to the bone.

  I waved at the guard sitting at the security desk as I entered the lobby. I took the stairs to the parking garage. The parking garage was nearly empty, so it wasn’t difficult to find my jeep.

  I stopped short when I noticed I had a flat tire. “Just great,” I mumbled as I questioned whether the tire still had enough air to drive home. Then I noticed that it wasn’t just one tire that was flat. All four tires were nearly resting on their rims. As I crouched down to inspect the tires, my skin crawled with what felt like a million ants. My tires were slashed.

  There was no way I was waiting around for someone to tow my vehicle at this time of night, so I grudgingly made my way back up to the lobby. I couldn’t believe how calm Kadyn had been when his tires were slashed. I was furious it had happened to me. I headed straight for the security desk when I exited the stairwell.

  “Forget something?” the security guard asked teasingly.

  I shook my head, suddenly exhausted. “No. Someone slashed my tires. Is it okay if I leave my jeep here and have it towed in the morning?”

  “Sure, but give me your name, phone number, and license plate number. I’ll send someone down there to take a look at it and file a report.” He hesitated as he glanced at his watch. “The metro at Union Station is already closed. Do you have a ride home?”

  “I’ll just take a cab.” I scribbled my license plate number on the back of my business card and handed it to him. “Thanks for yo
ur help.”

  “You’re welcome. Be safe,” he called as I headed out the main doors.

  There were a number of cars and taxis sitting outside Union Station. A surprising number of people were still milling around. The saxophone player was sitting at the base of the Columbus Fountain, polishing his sax. He looked tired, but he smiled when his eyes met mine. I was saddened by the thought that he might sleep there, so I walked over and dropped ten dollars into his case.

  “Thanks,” he said as I turned to walk away.

  I was surprised by the sound of his voice, so I turned back around. It was the first time he’d ever spoken to me. I met his gaze. “I should thank you. I love listening to you play. Are you calling it a night?”

  His smile widened, showcasing charmingly crooked teeth. “Yes.”

  My eyes softened. “I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

  A light rain began to fall as I turned toward the cabs that lined the street. I noticed Habib standing by one of the blue top cabs. He was staring right at me.

  “Habib!” I called out as I walked toward him. “Talk about being in the right place at the right time!” My smile widened when I reached his cab. “You are truly a sight for sore eyes.”

  Habib smiled back tightly. “I was just picking up my brother, Abdul. Do you need a ride?”

  I laughed. “Do I ever! I had to work late tonight, and when I went to get in my jeep, I discovered my tires were flat. I was just looking for a cab to take me home, and here you are! Your timing couldn’t be more perfect.”

  Habib frowned. “I’m sorry to hear about your jeep. I'm officially off duty, but I would be happy to give you a ride home.”

  “Thanks, Habib. You are a lifesaver.” I smiled as he opened the front passenger door for me. He clearly remembered my affinity for riding shotgun.

  I turned to introduce myself to Abdul, who was already sitting in the back seat. “Hi. I’m Habib’s friend, Kristine.”

  His only response was a rather ugly scowl.

  I was shocked by his rudeness. I couldn’t believe he was related to Habib. I didn’t breathe another word as I turned back around.