by Julie Miller
She felt Trent’s compassionate gaze on her but couldn’t look up to meet it. Not without the tears spilling over. Refusing to turn into an emotional basket case of fear, fatigue and regret, Katie picked up her own coat off the back of the chair and slipped into it.
She was pulling her knit cap on when Max ended his call and rejoined them. “Campus security hasn’t seen anybody matching Katie’s description of the unknown man tonight, but they’ll keep an eye open for anyone matching his general description. I took the liberty of encouraging them to track Sergel and Price’s whereabouts when they’re on campus, as well. I gave them the plates, make and model of their cars and texted the same to you, in case either one shows up someplace they shouldn’t.”
Trent was bundling up to face the wintry night, too. “You read my mind, brother. I’ll follow up with Katie’s list to see if anybody else jumps out as having some kind of motive.” He thrust out his hand. “Thanks.”
“I’m keepin’ tabs on what you owe me, junior. Don’t worry.” Max laughed as he shook Trent’s hand. “I’ll make sure everybody else has left before I head to the lab.” His goodbye included Katie. “See you two in the morning.”
“Good night, Max. Thanks.”
The burly detective dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Take care, kiddo.” He exchanged a couple of fake boxing moves with Tyler. “You be careful, little man.”
“I will. Bye, Max.”
By the time the work lights were out and they said good-night to the security guard, Katie’s car and Trent’s pickup truck were the last two vehicles in the parking lot. Trent set Tyler’s book bag in the backseat and knelt down in the open doorway to buckle him in and steal a quick hug while Katie stowed her own bag and started the engine. “You did a good job tonight, Tyler. For a while there, I forgot it was you onstage and thought you were Tim Cratchit. I can hardly wait to watch the whole show on Friday. I’ll be sure to tell Padre what a good job you did, too.”
“Padre?”
Trent grinned. “Yeah. Your mom told me that was the name you gave him. I picked him up last night. He’s going to be staying with me for a little while, until he gets some meat on his bones.”
Tyler made no effort to hide his gap-toothed smile—or stifle the yawn that followed. “Tell Padre I said hi. And that I want to come see him Saturday. And don’t give him away to anybody until I get there, okay?”
“I won’t. I’ll tell him you’re coming.”
Katie looked across her son to the big man kneeling there and mouthed, Thank you. Even though his eyes had drifted shut, her son was still smiling. She buckled herself in. “Good night, Trent.”
But when Trent started to leave, Tyler’s eyes popped open. “Mom? Do you think anything scary will be written on your computer at home?”
He must have been more aware of tonight’s events—and more frightened by them—than she’d realized. She reached across the console to cup his cheek, hating that a nine-year-old should have a worry mark on his forehead. “No, sweetie. I don’t see how anyone could get into our apartment. We’ll be fine.”
He roused himself from his sleepy state and sat up straight. “What if that man who took pictures of us is there? Can we call Trent if we see him?”
Katie was at a loss. How could she make Tyler’s fears go away when she wasn’t sure what was happening around her and whom she needed to be afraid of? “Sweetie, if you see that man...or anyone who... Of course, we’ll call the police. I don’t want you to be afraid. I—”
“And you’ll stop doing whatever is making him so mad?”
She looked past those wide blue eyes into Trent’s, wishing she knew how to answer Tyler’s question. Trent’s eyes had darkened like steel at the worried timbre in Tyler’s voice. He reached into the car and palmed the top of Tyler’s head. “Tell you what. I’ll follow you and your mom home. Give the place a good once-over before you lock up. I’ll make sure nobody’s there who shouldn’t be.” He pulled his gloved hand into a fist and held it out to Tyler. “Sound like a plan, buddy?”
With a nod, Tyler bumped his small fist against Trent’s and settled back into his seat.
Trent’s gaze sought hers this time. “Are you okay with that?”
Okay with Trent reassuring her son and making sure they were both safe?
Katie nodded. “I’ll see you at home.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tyler’s head had lolled over onto his shoulder and he was snoring softly in a deep sleep when Katie pulled into her parking space at the apartment complex where the two of them lived near the Kauffman and Arrowhead stadium complex. Trent had pulled into a visitor’s space and joined them by the time she had her and Tyler’s bags looped over her shoulder, and she was leaning into the car to unbuckle her son.
“Wait.” A gloved hand closed around her arm and pulled her aside. “Let me.” Trent took her place at the open door and reached in to lift her sleeping child into his arms. “Lock up and lead the way.”
With a nod of thanks, she closed the door and locked the car. Then she reached up to tug Tyler’s scarf and collar around his face to protect him from the cold night air. Katie was just as aware of Trent’s bulky frame blocking the wind as he followed behind her as she was his constant scanning back and forth to ensure that no one seemed unusually interested in the trio coming home late at night. Trent’s intimidating stature and the gentle surety with which he carried Tyler against his chest made her feel at once protected and a little nervous. She’d known the teasing Trent, the caring Trent, the solid-as-the-earth Trent most of her life, and there was a deep comfort in that familiarity. But there was a harder edge to the cop who didn’t back off from asking tough questions, his quick ease at taking charge and asserting an authority that allowed no argument, a staunchness under fire that was both exciting and a little unsettling.
Still waters run deep.
The observation lodged in her head and refused to recede as she tapped her key fob against the lobby’s automatic door lock, and again to get inside to the bank of elevators that would take them to the second floor. The elevator doors closed and her nose filled with the crisp scents of snow and cold on their clothes, the sweeter scent of a little boy who’d eaten red licorice backstage in the greenroom, and a muskier scent that was male and sexy and not any kind of boy next door or old-friend-like in the least.
What was wrong with her tonight? Had those threats stripped away a layer of composure she needed to keep her world in order? Why couldn’t she stop analyzing the subtle changes she’d noticed in Trent tonight? He’d matured into a powerful Mack truck of a man who bore little resemblance to the lanky teen she’d once hung out with. The shadow of his late-night beard emphasized the angles and hollows along his cheeks and jaw. He moved with the easy yet purposeful stride of a predator guarding his territory. She’d gotten a glimpse of his temper tonight and been reminded that he was more complex than the nice guy who could make her laugh or make her feel safe. Had she just not allowed herself to analyze his size and scent and changeable demeanor before? Why had she overreacted to a simple kiss to her hair earlier? Why should her curious mind be so fixated on the man riding silently in the elevator beside her?
Even seeing Trent step out of the elevator first to look up and down the hallway to make sure it was clear felt different than all the times she’d had him over for a home-cooked meal or a bit of mending in exchange for putting together a bike for Tyler’s birthday or teaching him how to hit a pitched ball or helping her replace a headlight on her car. And when had his jeans started hugging those muscular thighs with every long, sexy stride? Stop looking!
Feeling something very close to lusty attraction, and uncertain she wanted to feel anything like that for any man, Katie darted around Trent with her key to get the door open. Her soft gasp of breath at the rustle of her wool sleeve brushing against his nylon coat was like a mental
alarm clock, waking her from this ill-timed fascination with the man.
“Make sure it’s locked before you insert the key,” Trent whispered. “Any sign of a break-in and we’re turning around.”
Feeling less sure of her relationship with this version of Trent Dixon, Katie obeyed his direction. She twisted the knob and felt the solid connection there. “It hasn’t been tampered with.”
After unlocking the door and pushing it open, she waited for a few seconds after he carried Tyler past her and inhaled a deep, senses-clearing breath before bolting the door behind her. She bought herself another second to shake off this discomfiting awareness that fogged her brain by taking off her gloves and cap and tossing them on the kitchen table with their bags before following Trent down the hallway to the two bedrooms there.
Trent had Tyler’s gloves and hat off and had her son half sitting on the edge of the bed, half leaning against him. Smiling at the sweet picture of man and boy, and refusing to acknowledge the pang of feminine awareness that instantly warmed her body, Katie knelt beside them. With Tyler’s head resting on Trent’s ample shoulder, Katie peeled off his jacket and clothes and changed him into the superhero long johns he wore for pajamas.
Katie tucked Tyler under the matching bedspread and sheets and bent over to kiss his soft, cool cheek. “Good night, sweetie. Pleasant dreams.”
“G’night, Mom,” the sleepy boy muttered. “’Night, Trent.”
“Good night, buddy.”
Katie turned on his night-light before joining Trent at the open doorway. They watched Tyler for a minute or so until he sighed and rolled over, fast asleep, secure in his own bed. Exhaling her own sigh of relief, Katie backed out of the room and pulled the door to behind them. “Thank you for helping with him,” she whispered.
“Never a problem.” Trent stuffed his cap and gloves into the pockets of his coat as he followed her to the kitchen. She pulled out a stool at the counter and invited him to sit while she hung her coat, along with Tyler’s, over the back of a chair. Then she opened the top of Tyler’s book bag and pulled out his homework folder and the remnants of his lunch. Trent unzipped his coat and settled onto the stool while she checked to make sure Tyler had completed his schoolwork at rehearsal.
“Is it too late to offer you a cup of coffee?” she asked, making the effort to sound as normal as she would on any other night Trent visited, despite battling the disquieting urge to shoo him on out of the apartment so she could sort through all these feelings buzzing to the surface tonight and get herself back in order again. “A couple of cookies, maybe? We baked Christmas cookies with Aunt Maddie this past weekend.”
“I’m not hungry.” He took out his notepad and pen. “I thought of this on the drive over. Before I leave, I want you to check your bag again. Tyler’s, too. I want to make sure I’ve got all the details before I write up my report.”
Katie squeezed the brown lunch sack in her fingers and turned to him. “You don’t think this is about me? You think he got into Tyler’s stuff, too?”
Trent’s eyes had cooled from that intense storm cloud from earlier in the evening to an ordinary, calming gray. “I’ve got no evidence to think that, but I know the best way to get to you is to do something to that little boy. So humor me, okay? I want to make sure I cover all my bases.”
Any last chance at reclaiming normalcy vanished at the idea of Tyler receiving one of those disturbing threats. She immediately dumped the squished sack and sorted through a sandwich bag with bread crusts and pretzel bits and an empty applesauce container. She thumbed through the folder of papers, scanning each page to make sure there were no extra messages or bright red lipstick scribbled on one. Checking each pocket of the bag, she found the deck of gaming cards he had been playing with earlier at rehearsal. All the children took books and games to keep them occupied when they were backstage waiting to go on. “This looks like the normal mess I unpack every evening.”
“Now yours. Is there anything missing? Anything that’s been tampered with besides your laptop? Anything been added that wasn’t there before?”
“Some loose things spilled to the bottom of the bag when he pulled the computer out. But it’s all my junk.” Katie opened the matching navy, white and lime-green billfold and fingered through some ones and a twenty, along with the receipts she’d tucked in with them. She checked her debit and credit cards, pulling the cards halfway out of their pockets and pushing them back in. “I don’t think whoever it was stole any...”
Katie’s mind sorted through several snapshots of memories that hadn’t meant anything at the time. She touched the clear plastic window where she kept her driver’s license and a couple of punch cards for a local coffee shop and pretzel cart. Her shoulders tensed. Oh, no. No, no.
“What is it?” The wood stool creaked as Trent rose to stand beside her. “Katie?”
“These two punch cards are switched around, and the corner of this one is bent. I’m sure it wasn’t before. And my license isn’t centered like it was before. I think he pulled them out and stuffed them back in. He searched through my things.”
“He pulled out your driver’s license?” He reached around her to lift the billfold from her grasp and inspect the cards.
“Maybe.” She looked up at him over her shoulder. “Do you think he was looking for my home address? If it was someone from the play, our numbers and addresses are already on the cast-and-crew list. Why would he need to check my license?”
“To throw us off the scent? Because he was gone the day Price handed out the contact list? Because he isn’t a part of your show?” Trent muttered something under his breath. “Maybe because this twisted perp has some kind of obsession with you?”
Like the bitter wind blowing outside her windows, a chill swept through Katie, freezing her right down to the bone. “Obsession?” Hugging her arms across her waist, Katie shivered. “My father was obsessed with my mom. He didn’t like her to be with anybody when he wasn’t around. He barely tolerated her being with me. And when she tried to get away from him, to help me get away...” Joe Rinaldi had killed her mother. Katie’s vision blurred with tears. “What if this guy shows up here or does something to Tyler?”
Katie was rattled. She was exhausted. And she was afraid. When Trent put an arm around her shoulders, she turned in to his hug. Pressing her cheek against the soft nap of his flannel shirt and the harder strength underneath, she slid her arms around his waist beneath his jacket and let the heat of his body seep into hers.
The other arm came around her at the first sniffle. “I won’t let him hurt you, sunshine. I won’t let him hurt Tyler, either.”
She nodded at the promise murmured against the crown of her hair. But the tears spilling over couldn’t quite believe they were truly safe, and Katie snuggled closer. Trent slipped his fingers beneath her ponytail and loosened it to massage her nape. “What happened to that spunky fighter who got her baby away from Craig Fairfax and helped bring down an illegal adoption ring?”
Her laugh was more of a hiccup of tears. “That girl was a naive fool who put a lot of lives in danger. I nearly got Aunt Maddie killed.”
“Hey.” Trent’s big hands gently cupped her head and turned her face up to his. His eyes had darkened again. “That girl is all grown-up now. Okay? She’s even smarter and is still scrappy enough to handle anything.”
Oh, how she wanted to believe the faith he had in her. But she’d lost too much already. She’d seen too much. She curled her fingers into the front of his shirt, then smoothed away the wrinkles she’d put there. “I’m old enough to know that I’m supposed to be afraid, that I can’t just blindly tilt at windmills and try to make everything right for everyone I care about. Not with Tyler’s life in my hands. I can’t let him suffer any kind of retribution for something I’ve done.”
“He won’t.”
Her fingers curled into soft cotton
again. “I don’t think I have that same kind of fight in me anymore.”
“But you don’t have to fight alone.”
“Fight who? I don’t know who’s behind those threats. I don’t even know what ticked him off. It’s just like my dad all over again.”
“Stop arguing with me and let me help.”
“Trent—”
His fingers tightened against her scalp, pulling her onto her toes as he dipped his head and silenced her protest with a kiss. For a moment, there was only shock at the sensation of warm, firm lips closing over hers. When Trent’s mouth apologized for the effective end to her moment of panic, she pressed her lips softly to his, appreciating his tender response to her fears. When his tongue rasped along the seam of her lips, a different sort of need tempted her to answer his request. When she parted her lips and welcomed the sweep of his tongue inside to stroke the softer skin there, something inside her awoke.
Katie’s fingertips clutched at the front of Trent’s shirt, clinging to the warm skin and muscle beneath. She tried to keep things simple, to indulge herself in a little comfort without forgetting the rules that kept her world in order. But with fatigue, charged emotions and the history between them to combat, the rules suddenly didn’t make much sense, and the friendly embrace gave way to a real, passionate kiss.
Sliding her hands up, she smiled at the ticklish arousal of her palms skimming over the scruff of his beard. Trent tasted the width of that smile with his tongue before touching his padded thumb to the corner of her mouth and demanding she open fully for him. With a breathless moan in her throat, she obeyed. As he plunged his tongue inside to claim her, she was quickly consumed by the searing heat of his kiss.
Trent unhooked the band of her ponytail and sifted the falling waves through his fingers. For a moment, Katie thought they were falling. But she quickly found the anchor of Trent’s shoulders as he sank back onto the stool at the counter and pulled her between his legs. Drawn to the heat that instantly flared between them, she pushed the cool nylon of his coat down his arms and moved in closer. He released her only long enough to shrug the coat off and let it fall to the floor before he gathered her close again. Katie wound her arms around his neck, and his hands slipped down to palm her butt, lifting her squarely into his desire, letting her body fall against his.