For Kaitlyn's Sake

by Dani Criss

  Jake nodded. “Get some Polaroids of this. I’ll have Eddie call the police and get a report filed on it.”

  While the security guard went inside to use the phone in his office, Jake borrowed Max’s cell phone and called Katie. He could picture her in the apartment, pacing and worrying, waiting for some word from him. When she answered on the first ring, he knew that was exactly what she’d been doing.

  “I’ll be here a few minutes more,” he told her.

  “Did someone try to steal your car?” she asked, still sounding shaky.

  Jake wished he could lie to her, tell her anything but the truth, but he couldn’t do that to her. She needed to be fully aware of what Fallon was doing. She had to be on her guard.

  “Someone vandalized it,” Jake said, seeing her silhouette at the balcony doors. She held the phone in one hand and had the other arm wrapped tightly around her waist.

  “Fallon,” she said tonelessly, the emptiness and distance back in her voice.

  “Yeah,” he said tightly, wishing he could have caught the bastard and given him what he deserved for putting Katie through this. “Looks like it. I’m waiting for the police. As soon as they finish, I’ll be up. Why don’t you go back to bed?”

  She gave a hollow laugh. “As if I would be able to sleep.”

  Letting out a weary breath, he went back to Max. The man was an artist with a camera, Jake thought, examining the photos laid out on the trunk of the car.

  “Got several to give to the cops,” Max said, shooting another angle of the words painted on the passenger side. “There should be plenty left over for you.” He straightened, and closed up the camera. “Who’s the ‘she’ in ‘she’s mine’?”

  “Kaitlyn Adams,” Jake said, selecting several of the photos he wanted to keep. In the morning he would put them in a safe place. “Soon as we finish here, I want you to come up and meet her. I want her to know your face.”

  Max nodded, then inclined his head toward the squad car coming around the side of the building. They gave the officers a rundown on the situation, answered their questions, told them who they suspected had done this, then waited as the cops gathered what evidence they wanted.

  “We’ll have to take the golf club,” one of the men told Jake. “We’ll check it for possible prints and hold it for evidence, then we’ll get it back to you.”

  He shrugged. “Keep the damn thing.”

  The officers left, Eddie and Frank went to find something they could use to secure the garage door, then Jake led Max up to the apartment. Kaitlyn was standing a few feet from the door when they walked in. She’d been pacing, Jake figured.

  “This is Max Slater,” he told her. “Study his face, because he’s one of the people who will be looking out for you. He probably won’t be in uniform the next time you see him. He’s just picking up the slack on patrols for a while.”

  Kaitlyn nodded. This would be another of the new faces in her life, she thought, studying the man as she’d been told. He was as tall as Jake, his hair not quite as dark and his features rougher than Jake’s. There was a sadness, a painfulness, in his whiskey brown eyes that told her the man was going through his own personal torment. Kaitlyn doubted his troubles would have a happy ending.

  Rob showed up a few minutes later. She sat on the couch beside Jake while the three men discussed details of the incident, but she wasn’t listening to the conversation. Her thoughts were on Fallon and the fact that he’d known how to find Jake’s car, Jake’s apartment. He’d known she was there and he was warning Jake off.

  Relentless. Obsessive. The words from the book. They described Fallon perfectly. He was destructive and would undoubtedly become violent. It was just a matter of time.

  What was she going to do? How long could she go on dealing with this, living in fear? How would she survive? How would her mother handle this? Kaitlyn couldn’t expose her to the danger and the fear, yet there was no way to keep her sheltered once she got out of the hospital. She would find out and would be frightened for her daughter.

  No matter where Kaitlyn went or what she did, the man would somehow find her as he’d found her here. She would never be free of him and the threat he represented. Never be completely safe. And there was very little she could do about it.

  “By the way,” Rob said, getting to his feet, “I spoke to Fallon’s shrink. Seems the bastard took a swing at the good doctor during their last session. He was supposed to make an appointment with another of the doctors in the clinic, but he never did. We may be able to pick him up for parole violation.”

  “That’ll carry more of a penalty,” Jake murmured.

  Rob nodded. “The doc also said that in his opinion Fallon is brilliant and unbalanced.”

  A dangerous combination, Kaitlyn thought, hugging her arms to her chest.

  “And we finally located the former girlfriend’s parents,” Rob continued. “They haven’t heard from their daughter since the day before she disappeared. Three months ago, they hired a private investigator to look for her. He hasn’t found a trace of her yet.”

  “The parents don’t think she disappeared on her own?” Jake asked, frowning.

  Rob shook his head. “They say she was terrified the last time they talked to her. Said she told them Fallon was going to kill her if she didn’t get away from him.” He glanced at Kaitlyn. “Interesting coincidence—seems she has red hair, too.”

  Kaitlyn got to her feet, unable to listen to any more.

  “Going back to bed?” Jake asked her.

  “Yes,” she replied flatly. “Until he makes his next move.”

  Jake watched her walk away, not liking the slump of her shoulders or the lifelessness in her voice.

  Thirteen days later Jake knew something had to change. Kaitlyn had become completely withdrawn. He was certain she wasn’t sleeping at night and she definitely wasn’t eating much at all. She went to work each day, but there was no enjoyment in it, or in anything else. The only time she forced herself out of her melancholy was when he took her to the hospital to visit her mother. Gloria Adams was improving slowly and Kaitlyn didn’t want to impede her progress, but as soon as they got in the elevator to leave, Katie went back into her shell.

  Jake didn’t know how much more of this he could take. She had no animation, no pleasure, no real interest in anything. He’d taken her out to dinner several times, only to have her leave her food virtually untouched. Last weekend he’d invited Rob and Shelly to go to the movies with them, hoping the company would stimulate Katie, but while she was there physically, mentally she was in her own unhappy and fear-filled world.

  She couldn’t go on this way, he thought, walking into her office building shortly after three o’clock. Mary had called him to say that Kaitlyn had a headache and should go home. When he entered the office, Mary pointed to the other room.

  “I got her to put her head down on the desk,” she said.

  A sure sign Katie’s headache had gotten the best of her, Jake knew. He’d seen her plow on with headaches that would incapacitate most people, but eventually she came to the point where she’d pushed herself too far.

  This was one of those times, he realized angrily as she raised her head. Her eyes were clouded with pain. Her face was drained of color. Every muscle in her face and neck was drawn tight in an effort to fight off the pain.

  “How long have you had this one?” he demanded.

  “It started last night.”

  Why hadn’t she said something before it had gotten this bad?

  “Come on,” he said, gently rolling her chair away from the desk. “I’m taking you back to the apartment.”

  She didn’t protest his making her leave early, as she would have in the past But lately she hadn’t protested anything he insisted she do. He’d once thought he could do without that stubbornness of hers, but now that it was gone, he longed to have it back. A little of it, at least. He was losing the essence of Katie and he didn’t like it one bit.

  He got her into th
e apartment and took her down the hall to his bedroom. After sitting her on the edge of his bed, he went to fill the whirlpool tub. A long, hot soak would start the relaxation process, he hoped. He found a prescription bottle in her purse, gave her two of the pain tablets, then ordered her into the tub for at least twenty minutes—an order she obeyed without even a hint of objection.

  She who had never taken orders from him in the past was now letting him tell her what to do. Once, he’d thought that was what he wanted and needed from her, but now he knew that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t stand seeing her beaten down like this.

  When she came out of the bathroom, he had the bed turned down. The pain pills were slowly kicking in, he thought as she eased under the sheet and light blanket. He began to gently massage her back and shoulders, easily finding the knots of tension, listening to her soft sighs whenever he hit exactly the right spots. Very soon she was asleep.

  He found a container of chicken soup in his freezer—he’d made a batch for his mom to help her get over a summer cold and had put the extra away for an emergency. He sat the container on the counter to thaw, hoping he would be able to convince Katie to eat some later. -

  Meanwhile, he needed to plan his strategy. The Katie he’d known was gone and it was up to him to bring her back. How to get her past the fear was his main concern. She’d yielded to her fears and was paralyzed. He would have to give her a gentle push out of that paralysis.

  But doing so would cost him dearly. The way she was now—very manageable—he could easily protect her. She didn’t balk at his restrictions, didn’t object to having someone with her at all times. If she regained a measure of her independence, that could change, thus making his job more difficult. More nerve-racking. Did he want to put himself in the position of having to worry about her?

  At nine o’clock he heated a bowl of the soup and warmed half of a croissant, then took a tray to Katie, along with two more of the pain pills. He knew from experience she needed to completely relax to get over the headache. Still groggy from the first pills and still in some pain, she wasn’t real enthusiastic about the food, but Jake managed to get most of it down her. Then he gave her the medication.

  “Will you stay with me?” she asked as he picked up the tray.

  “I’ll turn out the lights and be right back.”

  In the kitchen he placed the dishes in the sink, then called the service and told them to make their reports to Dallas and Max that night Fallon had pulled one of his stunts every night and the telephone had gotten Katie out of bed each time. Tonight Jake wanted her to sleep soundly and without interruption.

  Katie was still awake, waiting for him, when he got into the bed. She tucked herself against his side and sighed. Then to his surprise, she began to run her fingers through the hair on his chest, brushing her palms over his nipples. The exquisite torture made him throb, but he couldn’t summon the will to stop her——even when her hand moved lower and lower. Only when she reached the waistband of his briefs did he catch her hand.

  “Make love to me, Jake,” she said.

  He closed his eyes and groaned inwardly. What he wouldn’t give to do exactly that, but she was doped up on pills and still in pain and still afraid. Her defenses were down. It would feel so good to have her under him, to explore her body with his hands and mouth, to feel her come alive for him. When that happened, though, he wanted her fully aware, a willing participant, no baggage between them, no resentment afterward.

  He kissed her hand, laid it firmly on his chest, then pulled her closer to nuzzle her ear. She moaned sleepily. She would be out like a light soon. He would cuddle her until then.

  “Tell me that again when you’re not medicated,” he whispered to her. “I’ll take you up on it then.”

  She pressed a kiss to his shoulder, then fell asleep. Jake lay awake for a long time, trying to decide which he needed more—to have her depending on him, yet withdrawn and afraid, or to have her back, spirit and spunk and all the stubbornness and independence that were her.

  Either way, he was afraid he would lose.

  Chapter 11

  Jake’s decision was made the next morning when she sat at the table, picking at her breakfast. He couldn’t stand the distance in her manner, the fear in her eyes, any longer. He yanked the plate off the table, pleased to see the look of shock cross her lovely face. So there was life behind that empty expression.

  “Headache gone?” he asked brusquely after he’d scraped her breakfast into the sink.

  “Yes,” she said, still registering surprise. “Thank you for taking care of me last night.”

  He breathed deeply and steeled himself to do what he had to do. “I’m glad I could help, but now it’s time you started taking care of yourself.”

  More surprise, then full-fledged alarm flickered across her face. “What do you mean?” she asked hesitantly.

  He had to turn away from the silent plea in her gaze, then he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. “Come on,” he said over his shoulder. “You need to get packed.”

  Kaitlyn felt her heart catch. Her breath lodged in her lungs. Packed? Surely she hadn’t heard him right. He hadn’t said... He didn’t mean... But when she raced into the guest room, he had her suitcase open on the bed.

  He’d said she could stay as long as she needed, and she needed to still. Fallon had broken out windows on the first floor of Jake’s building, had vandalized cars in the parking lot, had spray-painted his warnings and obscenities on the building—all without ever being caught. The police could never find him.

  Fallon was toying with her, terrorizing her. He hadn’t shown up at her office during the day, as if he somehow knew the security staff had orders to call the police if they saw him. But if she went back to her house, he would transfer his attentions there. She would be an easy mark. Jake had to realize that.

  He pulled several hangers out of the closet, dresses, skirts, blouses. “You want to fold them, or shall I?”

  She looked at the determination in his gaze and felt her stomach knot painfully. “You can’t throw me out,” she said past the lump in her throat.

  “It’s time you went home, Katie,” Jake said, softening at the panic in her eyes. He wanted to pull her into his arms and promise to protect and take care of her forever, but he knew he would end up with only the shell of the woman she was. He couldn’t bear that.

  “Home to what?” she demanded. “Having my alarm go off every night? Jake, I can’t do this.”

  “You can. You have to—”

  “Why? Am I in the way here? Encroaching on your love life, perhaps?”

  He dropped the clothes on the bed, then stormed over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and hauling her up against him. “The only love life I want is with you,” he growled.

  Kaitlyn went very still as he lowered his mouth to hers. For all his anger and determination, the kiss was surprisingly gentle and tender. This was the man who had cared for her last night and for the past two weeks. He caressed and coaxed, tempted and teased. One hand on her nape, the other arm around her back, he held her against the hard length of him. His tongue brushed her lower lip. She opened her mouth to his gentle exploration.

  But behind the tenderness was all the passion she craved. An ache deep within her flared to life. She wound her arms around his neck, threaded her fingers through his thick hair, traced his lip with her tongue. He groaned, a deep, primal sound that only fed the fires he ignited. Then his hands were around her waist and he was holding her away from him. His breathing was as ragged as hers.

  “I want you, Katie. The real you,” he added, peering down into her puzzled expression. “The past two weeks you’ve been just going through the motions. Not sleeping, not eating. You’ve been withdrawing further and further—”

  “And throwing me out there as an easy target for Fallon will solve that?” she cried. How could he not understand? Where was the sympathy and compassion she’d come to expect from him?

  “
Never, ever, will I allow you to be an easy target,” Jake said. “You will have protection at all times. It’ll just be handled differently.”

  She pulled out of his light grasp, knowing this was a battle she would not win. She pointed to the doorway. “Get out so I can dress and pack the rest of my things,” she said.

  He opened his mouth as if to say something, decided against it, then walked out, closing the door behind him.

  Jake turned his attention to his driving. Katie sat ramrod stiff beside him in the Caprice he’d borrowed from the agency’s fleet until his own car was out of the shop. Anger still radiated from her. As much as he hated having her upset, though, he knew this was a sign of progress. Anything was better than the nothingness she’d been experiencing.

  “Anger can be a good thing in this case,” he said, noting she didn’t comment as he drove south past 119th Street instead of turning onto it. “It can be empowering. You can use it to assert yourself in this situation.”

  No response. He kept trying, hoping she was listening. “The thing is to hold on to it, but not let it get the better of you to the point where you take unnecessary or dangerous risks.”

  Kaitlyn sighed. Wasn’t going home a dangerous risk? Apparently Jake didn’t see it that way. Nothing she’d said had deterred his determination to get her out of his apartment.

  “You don’t want it to create a false sense of security,” he continued.

  “Pardon me,” she said, unable to hold her tongue any longer, “but as I see it, I have no sense of security at all.”

  He gave her a sympathetic smile. “That’s what we’re going to get you now.”

  She shot him a quick glare, then turned back to her window and the scenery passing by. At 167th Street, just when she was beginning to wonder if he was taking her out of the city, he made a left turn onto a gravel drive. Once the dust settled she saw the old house with the wide front porch. A man in his early forties came down the steps to greet them. He and Jake shook hands vigorously.