by Unknown
"I wish I could help you get Nathan but I don't know anything more than what I already told you."
"It's all right. We will catch him one way or another. Homeland Security always gets their guy." He cracked a smile to ease her nerves but she still fumbled with the items as she rung them up and dropped them in plastic shopping bags.
"Judging by the way they crashed my door down tonight, nothing stands in their way either."
Kaiden reached to take her bags but ended up grabbing Katie's hand instead. Electric shocks stronger than any the physical therapist had used during his rehab shot up his arm. His body's primal reaction to Katie took his breath away.
She pulled her hand back and grabbed the bags. As she started to walk away, Kaiden stopped her. "I am very sorry for what you have been through tonight. It must have been very scary to be dragged out of your home like that. You can bet I'll follow up on that and it will never happen to you—or anyone like you—ever again."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Agent James. Like you said, Homeland Security always gets their guy. Even if it's the wrong guy." This time when she turned to leave he let her go. He couldn't deny what she said so he quietly followed her out to the parking lot.
Vibration in the pocket of his tuxedo pants caught his attention. As he checked the text message from his brother telling him all he had missed at the wedding, the squeal of racing tires sounded from somewhere in the dark. As the sound registered in his mind, Kaiden glanced up in time to see a small car with its lights off aim straight for Katie. She walked at least thirty feet ahead of him with the car barreling down on her. Kaiden took off at a sprint, his body slamming into Katie's just as the car blew by.
They lay there, on the asphalt, him on top of her, for a full minute, not moving.
"Are you okay?" Kaiden finally asked.
She mumbled something he couldn't quite make out. Rolling to the side he made a quick assessment for blood or obvious signs of injury.
"Oh, thank God."
"I know, I have no idea where that car came from. If I hadn't gotten to you in time…"
Katie sat up rubbing her left elbow. "No, I meant, thank God I can breathe again. You were crushing my lungs!"
Kaiden laughed. "Sorry about that. You okay now?"
She breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. "Everything seems to be in working order now. Thanks for saving me."
"That makes us even. Well, now that I have saved you and you have saved me that nurse- patient thing is null and void, right?"
"I didn't exactly save you, I just cleaned your wound once or twice."
They both fell silent. Kaiden wondered if she remembered those wound cleanings the same way he did. The same way other parts of him seemed to remember.
He cleared his throat and with that the memories of her touch on his skin from his mind. "We need to get back to your place and check for that ID badge."
Kaiden rose from the ground and extended a hand to Katie. As he reached down to help her up, he realized her bag of silky things had split open when they landed on the ground. Lace and satin littered the ground. His mind once again traveled to forbidden lands as Katie scooped it all back into the tattered plastic.
"I'll wash these out in the hotel," Katie said. "At least they weren't pawed by a panty thief."
Allowing Kaiden to help her to her feet, Katie held the bag close to her and started back toward the truck. She tried to hide it but Kaiden saw the slight tremor in her step. He suspected the case was more convoluted than the agency first thought.
"I wonder why that car tried to run me over?"
"It could have been an accident," Kaiden replied.
"I don't know—seems sort of strange for an accident like that to happen the same day government agents kidnap me and someone trashes my underwear drawer."
"It is strange. Are you sure there isn't something you are neglecting to tell me?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Relax. I am not insinuating you are involved in the case, just wondering if maybe there is something you are forgetting?"
She fell into silence. It looked like she was considering the past months with Nathan. "I don't think so. We had a totally normal relationship until I found him with Mandy."
Kaiden stopped for a red light and turned to glance at her. "Give it some thought. Maybe something will come to you."
"I told you—" Her words were cut off as something slammed into the back of Kaiden's truck.
"Not my new truck!" Kaiden yelled at the headlights in his rearview. Snapping on the hazard lights, he reached to undo his seat belt when the vehicle behind him backed up and crashed into the truck again.
Before he could react, what looked like the same car that had tried to run Katie down in the parking lot pulled around him and sped away. Kaiden jerked the truck into gear and gunned it through the red light.
"We need to find out what that dude's issue is. Hang on!"
Thankfully the streets were mostly empty. They sped after the car but whatever the other guy drove had the advantage with its little size. The car quickly disappeared in the maze of intersecting streets that filled the ocean front area of Virginia Beach.
"Damn it!" he shouted, waving a fist at the dark surrounding them.
"What is going on tonight?" Katie managed between trembling lips.
"Damned if I know. Let's get back to your place so I can find someplace safe for you."
Once he parked in the garage, they took the elevator up to her floor. When they had left the apartment earlier, a uniformed officer had been told to sit on the place until morning since her apartment had technically become a crime scene. As they walked from the elevator to the apartment, the little hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Something didn't feel quite right.
Motioning Katie behind him, Kaiden reached for the .45 caliber Glock at his ankle for the second time in as many hours. Thank God he always carried, even in a tux at his cousin's wedding. The door to Katie's apartment stood open; the space beyond eerily silent.
Holding his gun in front of him, finger on the trigger, Kaiden flattened against the outside wall and listened. Silence. Either the watch officer had fallen asleep or… a moan sounded from inside the apartment.
Oh crap.
Kaiden stepped around the door frame, gun pointed, and did a sweep of the living area. Katie followed him in and started to rush toward a crumpled form by the sofa but Kaiden stopped her with a hand on her arm.
"But he's hurt…?"
"Shhh!" Kaiden whispered, with a nod toward her bedroom, "We might not be alone."
Katie nodded her understanding and stood still as Kaiden made his way through the living room and into the bedroom. After a quick search, he determined the room and adjacent bathroom were empty.
"Clear!" he called out as he returned to the living room.
Katie had dropped to her knees beside the injured officer. From the trickle of blood on his face, it looked like a nasty blow to the head had taken the young man out. The officer mumbled something Kaiden couldn't quite make out.
"Stay down for a minute while I get some ice and a couple of towels. You might have a concussion." Katie had gone all business. He loved watching her in action during his time in the hospital. She represented the polar opposite of Cara. Katie took charge of a situation. Cara needed a man to be in charge, even though she always believed otherwise. Simple decisions were the hardest for her and if he went off the grid for a couple of days and a plumbing issue or a roof issue came up, Cara would sit and wait for him to take care of it, even if the whole damned house flooded. He imagined Katie would have been up on the roof herself or snaking a pipe for a clog. The picture made him smile.
"Why are you smiling, sir? My head hurts like hell. Nothing so funny about that," the officer grumbled.
Kaiden dropped to a knee so they were eye to eye. "I'm sorry, Officer…?"
"Reyes."
"Officer Reyes, I was not laughing at your injury. It was quite another
thought altogether and very insensitive of me. I apologize. Can you tell me anything about what happened here?"
Katie returned then with the bag of ice and a couple of towels. She wrapped one around the ice and handed it to Officer Reyes as she leaned in to inspect his wound. "Head injuries bleed a lot because of all the capillaries in the skin but this actually doesn't look too bad. A huge lump will be the worst of it as the bleeding seems to have stopped. We need to get you to the hospital though and get that brain checked out, just in case."
"I'm fine," Officer Reyes mumbled.
"I'm sure you are, but any trauma to the head can be dangerous." Katie offered the officer a smile and Kaiden felt a prick of jealousy. Quickly squashing it, he got on the phone with an emergency operator.
"There's a bus on the way. I told them it was an officer down so they will haul some ass to get here." Turning his attention back to the injured man, he repeated his question. "Officer Reyes, can you tell me what happened here?"
"I don't know, man, who the hell are you?"
Kaiden pulled his identification from his pocket. "Agent Kaiden James, Homeland Security. I was here earlier when this place was tossed the first time."
Officer Reyes squinted up at him. "Yeah, I think I remember you now. Not too many dudes show up at a crime scene in a tux. You two on a fancy date or something?" He gave Katie's flannel pajamas the once over. "Nah, I suppose not."
"So?" Kaiden prodded impatiently.
"I don't know what happened. I was sitting here on the sofa watching reruns on the game show network when someone whacked me on the back of the head. Next thing I remember is this cutie here waking me up."
Kaiden scowled at the officer.
Feeling possessive are we?
He shook off his annoyance and moved to stand behind the sofa. From where Officer Reyes had been seated, he would have had a decent sight line to the door. If anyone had come in he would have noticed.
"Oh crap."
"What's wrong?" Katie asked.
"That means whoever hit him was watching the apartment after we all left. I cleared your room after we got the other guy. Either that or the big boss knows we caught his man and sent someone else over to do the job."
"That's academy 101, dude. You feds never get anything right." Reyes leaned his head back against the sofa and closed his eyes. "Let me know when the EMT's get here. I need a rest."
Kaiden turned to Katie, trying not to show his annoyance at the young officer. "Go check for your ID badge."
Without a word she headed to her bedroom. A few seconds later she returned, expression grim. "Gone."
"Shit." What a mess this was turning out to be. He should have stayed at the wedding and ignored his phone.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. His muscles smoldered under the weight of that familiar touch. "It's not your fault, Kaiden. How would you know another guy would come back?"
He shrugged and she removed her hand. He instantly regretted the loss of her touch. "Officer Reyes was probably sound asleep on the sofa when that guy got the drop on him."
"Hey, man! I don't sleep on the job! That's reserved for you government guys!"
"The sofa faces the door! How in the hell did he get in here then without you noticing him?"
"Dude! A guy's gotta piss you know!"
"Hold it."
"What? Feds don't piss? Yeah, I guess that must be true since it might get on your cape."
"Gentlemen." Katie stepped in between them. "It's no one's fault. This is about me and Nathan. Neither one of you decided to fall in love with a lying, cheating jerk. You are supposed to get along—professional courtesy or something, right?"
The ding of the elevator and commotion in the hall told them the EMTs had arrived.
Saved by the bell…
Kaiden stepped forward and identified himself as they entered the apartment. It took about ten minutes to get Officer Reyes on his way to the hospital. Suddenly they were alone in the apartment and he had no idea what to do next. They couldn't stay there, in the middle of a crime scene but he had no idea how to convince Katie to leave again.
***
Katie stood in the kitchen, frying pan in one hand and a dozen eggs in the other. She should make something for them to eat. It was nearly morning and she had never gotten around to that frozen pizza the night before. She thought she remembered Kaiden saying he had missed dinner as well. Unfortunately she seemed to have temporarily forgotten how to scramble an egg.
"You need sleep much more than you need an omelet," she muttered, turning to put the eggs in the refrigerator and running straight into Kaiden.
The entire dozen of extra-large eggs flew out of the cardboard carton, splattering against walls, on counter tops and the floor. Yellow yolk ran in rivers down the cabinet doors and egg shells spread around the room like glitter.
Kaiden burst into laughter.
Katie fought back tears.
He reached over and took the frying pan from her other hand and placed it on the cooktop.
"Hey, there's no sense crying over spilled milk. Or broken eggs."
"Look at this mess!" Katie threw her hands in the air in disgust. "Everything is such a mess!"
Her apartment, her kitchen, her life. The proverbial straw had finally broken the camel's back. Katie dropped to the floor in a pile of egg shells and sobbed. She didn't even look up when Kaiden squatted in front of her. After all, half of this mess was all his fault. Well, maybe not his fault exactly but definitely the agency he worked for.
"It's okay, Katie. If you have a mop and a couple of dish cloths, I can have this cleaned up in a jiffy." He reached over and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"Why don't you just go? I'll take care of it. Being with you has become kind of dangerous." A flashback of the near accident at the discount store shot an involuntary shiver down her spine.
"Hey, I could say the same about you. I can't let you stay here. Your apartment is a crime scene now, twice in fact, and I can't let you be here until the crime scene techs have finished processing everything."
"Well, isn't that fabulous. I'm living in a crime scene now. Yippee for me. Things really can't get any worse, can they?"
"If there is one thing my mother taught me: never, ever tempt fate by asking what else can go wrong. Fate can be a real bitch and she will make sure to let you know you ain't seen nothin' yet."
"Lucky me." Katie started to rise from the floor. She needed to get that mop and get rid of the egg before it dried. Unfortunately, her foot found a slick spot. She slid forward and straight into the crouching Kaiden. They tumbled backward onto the tile floor, her on top of him. Neither of them moved except for the rapid rise and fall of Kaiden's chest against her own. Her body reacted to his pounding heart; her pulse racing to keep tempo with his.
"Well, this is awkward," Katie mumbled as she tried to extract herself from the tangled mess of limbs.
"I don't know. Sort of seems okay by me." Kaiden grinned, his arms finding their way around her and holding tight. The bulge pressing against her thigh told her he found it more than okay.
"You must be breaking about ten laws right now." She pushed against his shoulders but Kaiden held fast.
"Just two or three," he replied, his voice suddenly very husky. "I might be about to break a couple more." He lifted his head until his lips were nearly touching hers.
"Hello? Anyone home?"
Katie scrambled off of Kaiden as he jumped to his feet.
"Virginia Beach Police! I'm coming in!"
"Damn! I forgot another officer was coming to watch the place!"
Katie giggled and pointed. "You have egg all over your coat."
"Show yourself!" the voice from the door commanded.
Kaiden pulled off his coat and hung it over his arm. Taking his badge from his pocket, he held it out in front of him and left the kitchen. Katie followed.
"Homeland Security! I have ID! We're coming out!"
They entered the living r
oom to find a police officer holding a gun and eyeing them suspiciously. The suspicion quickly turned to amusement. "What were you two doing? Making breakfast?"
"Not exactly," Katie replied, feeling the burn in her cheeks as the officer continued to study them intently.
"Hmmm… you know you have egg shells in your hair?"
"We had a little broken egg incident. It's all under control now." Katie reached up to feel her hair and stuck her hand in a slimy pile of ick. Trying not to look as disgusted as she felt, she pulled her fingers away and wiped them on the sleeve of Kaiden's jacket. He shot her a questioning look.
"What? It's already got egg all over the back. What's a little more?"
The officer bust out laughing and holstered his weapon. Wiping at tears in the corners of his eyes, he grinned at the two of them. "I like the way you feds do business. Were you taking her into custody or working on—um—interrogation techniques in the kitchen."
"Interrogation." Kaiden extended his hand to the officer. "Kaiden James, Homeland Security. This is Katie McCoy and this is her place. We were waiting for someone to sit on the scene so I could get her to a hotel. Ms. McCoy is under agency protection now."
"Ha! I bet she is." He looked them up and down with a wink to Katie. "Officer Ramsey, Virginia Beach PD. I'm here to babysit the place until we get the all clear from the crime scene techs. Someone's on the way now to check the place out. Had to drag her out of bed since it's the middle of the night. You want me to buzz you on your cell when the place is clear so y'all can secure it?"
Katie didn't say anything. Office Ramsey wouldn't have listened to her anyway. At the moment, she could only concentrate on getting to a shower and cleaning the sticky gunk out of her hair.
"You okay?" Kaiden asked. He and Officer Ramsey were both looking at her questioningly
"What? Yeah, I'm fine, why?" The heat in her cheeks returned.
"You look a little flushed," Kaiden replied.
"It's been a long night. I'm tired. Someone tried to run me down with their car and I have egg in my hair."
Officer Ramsey still looked very amused. "I think it's time you take your—witness—to a safe place where she can shower and get a little rest."