Willow

by Raven J. Spencer

  “I don’t understand.”

  Crystal’s words came to mind. What had happened to her?

  “I made it look like I swooped in and rescued you…”

  “Which you did. I’m not exactly proud of that, but—”

  “You should have never been in that situation. I was supposed to monitor Dale. I remember how for days, nothing happened. Then one night, I went to a bar. Just one drink. I met this woman, and one thing led to another…”

  “Oh my God.”

  They were supposed to catch them all in one swoop, Dale and his most trusted employees. Instead, Dale had gotten away that night. Kat found herself surrounded by his goons, tense, terrifying minutes where she’d been on her own until Franklin finally remembered the gather the intervention team and move in.

  She didn’t know what to say.

  “Okay. Thanks for telling me. What about Crystal?”

  “She was working with the former assistant director. We believe she didn’t know everything, but for sure she wasn’t working with us. When they covered for Franklin, it wasn’t to do him a favor. They didn’t want to expose the Annex to more scrutiny.”

  Kat remembered many tearful arguments between them, relieved she finally knew the truth. She could never completely trust her, and that had little to do with the fact Crystal had relationships with men. She had always lied to Kat. That was the problem.

  “There have to be consequences, of course,” Madelyn Garner explained. “We won’t need the Annex any longer, so that program will be completely shut down. However, we’d like Mr. Garrett to stay on as a consultant.” She continued, “This will result in a vacancy. We are interested in hiring you back. You’d be filling Franklin’s position.”

  Dumbfounded, she looked from the woman to Franklin who nodded.

  “I won’t lie, I’m not entirely happy about all of this, but I had to come clean, and it’s worth it. We got Dale and the rat within the Agency. At the end, it’s still a win for the good guys. Say yes, Kat. Somebody told me my backyard looks amazing, but this is what you’re meant to do.”

  Kat leaned back in her chair, taking her time. “I am flattered by your offer, Ma’am. However, I left the Agency and made my peace with that decision years ago. I have no desire to come back. Thank you anyway.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” Franklin grumbled.

  “You don’t have to make a decision right now. Think about it, and get back to me in ten days.”

  “Thank you, Madam Assistant Director. I don’t think I will change my mind.”

  Kat got up and they shook hands again. Franklin followed her outside, voicing his irritation. “What is this all about?”

  “You know. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was done. It’s not about what you did…you saved my ass anyway, so I guess that counts. I still don’t want to come back.”

  “Come on, Kat. Don’t you think that we who can, owe it to the people to make the world safer? For someone like Willow?”

  “Low blow, Franklin. Willow can take care of herself just fine, and by the way, she takes care of business too. You don’t have to worry. I know you love working for the Agency. You took a hit telling the truth, though I’m grateful you did. We’re good, but you don’t get to tell me what to do. Not anymore.” She stopped when they had reached the lobby. Willow got up from her seat and tossed her paper cup into a garbage can.

  “You’re done, that’s great. Dad, I’ll see you later. Kat was going to take me out for breakfast.”

  “Is that so?” he asked, giving Kat a speculative look. “In that case, maybe you can convince her not to be so damn stubborn, and take a great job opportunity.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Willow promised.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “What do you want to do?”

  They had sat down in a small café in town, waiting for their orders. Willow thought this was the appropriate question to ask Kat, who was obviously struggling with her decision.

  “I like my business. I told you before, I like the work, putting my hands in the soil, creating something beautiful.”

  “But? You didn’t answer my question, by the way.”

  “I don’t know. Do we really have that kind of responsibility? To do a job because not everyone can do it? When is it enough?”

  Willow didn’t know if she had an answer. Being at the center of a tug of war involving the Agency, a dangerous criminal and his network, and her own company, she kept asking herself if her work was helpful to anyone, made a difference. Did it, really? Did it count if Kat was happier planting trees and flowers, arranging fire pits? She knew her father was addicted to the work. It was his life, more than his family or any of the women he’d become involved with over the years. Kat had dedicated most of her adult life to the Agency. Who could blame her if she wanted out, this time for real?

  “If you feel like you have nothing to give there, but everything in your business, then you have your answer. If you think there’s something unfinished…maybe you should look there.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Willow picked up her cup, warming her hands on it. “I’ll finish up my contracts. If they’re happy with it, there might be more.”

  “Not that you really need it at this point.”

  “No. We could get away for a few days. That might make your decision easier—and you don’t have to let Dad blackmail you into anything. It’s not like he did everything right.”

  “I know,” Kat said. “I’d rather stay here, give it a few days, then give Garner my final decision. “Will you help me take my mind off it every once in a while?”

  The unexpected turn of the conversation, the words rich with suggestion, made her body react immediately. After the unexpectedly rough times, they certainly deserved a timeout.

  “I’d do it right now, but it would have to be a hotel. You haven’t been to your place in weeks, and mine…Well, you know. I don’t live alone, which, by the way, is something I should finally tackle.”

  “I could help you with that. Now, a hotel sounds fine to me…”

  Kat paid for their breakfast mid-meal, and they left, neither of them willing to waste any more time. However, when Willow pulled up in front of the high rise minutes later, Kat looked dejected. “I can’t have you pay for this.”

  “Oh, you totally can. I have many ideas on how you can make your contribution. Come. It’ll be great.” She knew she’d eventually have to face her father, tell her own truth and deal with his, but it didn’t have to be right now.

  She and Kat could have a moment away from all future responsibilities.

  Willow booked a suite for one night, and they took the elevator, all marble and gold, up to their floor. Once inside the bedroom, she wasted no time getting out of her clothes.

  “I’ve been so exhausted the past couple of days, and I think you’ve been too. Let’s put all of this behind us. Start fresh.”

  She knew that in Kat’s case, it wasn’t only about their beginning of their relationship and Judy’s role, but the betrayal by a former colleague and lover.

  “I’d like that,” Kat, still fully dressed, whispered, pulling Willow’s naked body into her arms. Her nipples hardened against the soft fabric of Kat’s shirt. She shivered when Kat reached out to play with them, the sensation igniting a liquid jolt between her legs.

  “See?” Her voice was breathless with lust. “Paying for this room is nothing.”

  “I wouldn’t call it nothing.”

  Kat’s fingers brushed over her ribs, over her stomach, her hips, closer to where she wanted them. Not close enough.

  “Relax. There’s no need to rush now,” Willow whispered.

  Kat steered Willow to the bed, sat her down at the end and gave a gentle push. Willow had only a moment to get used to this position before Kat parted her thighs and sank to her knees between them. Willow tensed in anticipation, then let out a sigh in relief when she felt the intimate touch of Kat’s tongue exploring her sex
, her hands firmly on Willow’s trembling thighs.

  Kat drew back, asking the all important question: “Is it good like that?” her voice the warm, velvety tone of undisguised lust.

  “What do you think?”

  “I want you to say it.”

  “Please, keep doing it. God, yes, it’s good. You know damn well…”

  Her last words were lost in a moan as Kat resumed her task with enthusiasm. The waves of ecstasy soon touched her core, making her toes curl. Kat never wavered. Willow watched, incredibly turned on by the image, until she couldn’t take it any longer. She sank back into the mattress, enjoying every deep warm explosion of sensation until it was over.

  Willow lay still for a few heartbeats, enjoying Kat’s soft kisses all over her, until she reached for her and straddled her hips.

  “What happened to ‘relax, there’s no need to rush?’” Kat asked, laughing breathlessly.

  “Who says I’m going to rush you?”

  Kat didn’t say anything after that, trusting her judgment instead as she let herself go. Willow took her time, using her fingers to pleasure her until Kat’s body welcomed them into wet heat, accepting them gliding deeply into her. Willow kept up the slow rhythm, then moved faster as she felt Kat getting closer to her climax and then go all the way.

  “You don’t have anything to prove to anyone,” she said as they were lying together, both catching their breath. “Not to me, or anyone else. I want you to be happy.”

  Kat brushed a strand of hair away from Willow’s face as she leaned over to kiss her.

  “I am right now.”

  * * * *

  They both had the same message from Franklin, asking them to come to dinner on the weekend. Willow gave him a simple yes, while Kat made it a condition they would not be talking about the job.

  To her surprise, Franklin accepted.

  They couldn’t hide out in this room forever, she knew. She had to get back to his estate, finish her contract. Willow wanted to find a place of her own.

  She had to admit it felt good to know that Dale was finally behind bars, and that she could make some contribution to solve the case. That didn’t mean she wanted to change her new life for the old, complicated, and dangerous puzzles—did it?

  Eventually, they had to go back to Franklin’s, because most of their clothes were there, and they got ready for dinner in their separate spaces.

  When they met on the landing, Kat was glad she had packed for all eventualities. Willows little black dress looked classy and expensive. Her own, dark blue, wasn’t that expensive, but at least she new it was fit for a formal dinner at her former colleague’s. It didn’t matter that she could have a promotion into his job should she want it—the job had always been a passion for Franklin, never about the money.

  And for her?

  They walked down the stairs to the den where Franklin sat with another guest, a woman slightly younger than him, her features familiar. Kat made the connection a split-second before Willow exclaimed, “Mom! What are you doing here?”

  “We’re complete! Kat, meet Savannah,” Franklin said cheerfully. “Do you want a drink?”

  Kat was happy to accept—Willow looked like she needed one.

  Savannah rose to greet Kat.

  “I think Franklin is right, we can all use something to ease us into tonight’s dinner conversations. Kat—I know you haven’t made a decision yet. I hope you’re still considering the offer. Madelyn tells me that according to your record, you were one of the best agents of your class.”

  Kat cast a quick look at Willow who shook her head, as blindsided as her. So much for no shop talk.

  “Thanks. I guess.”

  Savannah laughed. “You made Franklin promise not to talk about it, so I said I’d do it. We could use you. I know you like what you do now, but if anything Franklin tells me is any indication, you were dedicated to the job as well. We go above and beyond to eliminate some of the biggest threats to our freedom, and I believe—”

  “We?” Willow interrupted her incredulously.

  “Yes, we. That’s how I met your father. And from what I hear about you and Kat, it’s all in the family now. Franklin, I think we can skip right to the champagne.”

  “I haven’t decided yet…”

  There was a part of her, Kat had to confess, that longed to go back to her younger self, a time when she had been less jaded and more confident that they could change the world. She hadn’t told anyone.

  Before Franklin’s confession, she didn’t think it would even be possible. It was only now that she came to realize the full extent to which she’d been haunted by the idea that some of it might have been her fault.

  It wasn’t.

  She had done everything right. This time, she had someone by her side she could rely on…and Willow’s mother was part of the family. There were different options for her now.

  “I don’t know yet,” she said when Willow stole into her room that night. “I think first we should work on getting you your new place. This sneaking around is weird.”

  Willow snuggled into her arms. “My mother is working for the Agency. Talk about weird.”

  “They seem to be cool though.”

  “Yeah. All in the family. Are you ready for that?”

  Kat laughed and kissed her softly.

  “I believe I am.”

  * * * *

  Epilogue

  “Come on, let’s go find Mommy. We’re going to plant your tree soon.”

  Kat thought that Anna, barely a year old, probably couldn’t care less about the tree with her name planted in the backyard of their new home. She liked the idea though. A friend of hers who specialised in this sort of thing had sold it to her, and today was the big day.

  She loved what her life had become. She’d nearly let one incident, one relationship define the rest of her life, unable to trust, unable to regain her purpose. At the crossroads, she’d chosen the right path. She was certain of that.

  She turned to her wife and daughter with a smile. “Let’s do it right now.”

  The vibration of her cell phone interrupted the idyllic scene.

  “Sorry, I need to take that. I’ll be right back with you.”

  Kat walked a few steps away to listen to what the caller had to tell her. “I’ll be there,” she said. “You just have to give me a couple of hours. I’m in the middle of something important here.”

  “That’s right, I hear today is the tree-planting day,” Madelyn Garner said. “Come in after dinner, then we get started.”

  “Will do, Ma’am. I’ll see you there.”

  Kat ended the call and went to join her family again.

  Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this story. Would you consider leaving a short review? They make a difference.

  If you’d like to explore some more, you can find a list of all my titles below:

  www.amazon.com/author/ravenjspencer

  The Surrender Universe & The Gift

  The Surrender Series (Penny Elliot & Carter Forbes)

  Surrender Your Heart

  Surrender To Me

  Surrender Forever

  Surrender & Joy (A Penny & Carter Christmas story)

  Borderline

  Surrender Series 1-3 (bundle)

  The Gift (can be read as standalone)

  Emily & Colette (Emily De Marco & Colette Grady)

  Absolution

  Conviction

  Standalone

  Willow

  Exposed

  Harem

  Three To Tango

  The Italian Apartment

  A Perfect Dream – A Lesbian Erotica collection, featuring:

  A Perfect Dream

  A Second Chance

  Off Screen

  A Sweet Deal

  An Intimate Case

  A Complicated Arrangement

  An Unexpected Development

  A Happy Ending

  encer, Willow