Chapter 4
Will was at loose ends. It was because he’d had great sex for nearly two weeks and now Katie was freezing him out. Damn it. On impulse, he got in his car and drove into town. They could go back to just sex and pick up where they left off.
When he arrived and jogged around to her side of the house, he saw her car was parked in its usual spot. But so was another one. A Honda. Who the hell was here?
He’d damn well find out. He stalked to the door, used the key she’d recently given him and walked inside. He knew he was being irrational—what if she screwing somebody else right now--but he went in anyway. As soon as he walked into the kitchen, he smelled and saw a difference. Furniture had been moved—it should go to the dump—and the walls, counters and appliances had been scrubbed.
Music came from the living room. He followed the noise. Katie and another woman were humming along to Sweet Caroline .
The one on the ladder grinned down at him. “Well, who do we have here?”
Katie spun around. “Hell, Will, what are you doing here?”
“I came to settle our spat. So,” he added. “Who are you?”
The ladder lady climbed down. “I’m Mary Donovan.”
“Katie has a sister?”
“I’m her best friend.”
He didn’t know she had a best friend. That was good, he guessed.
Katie said, “Do you want to talk to me?”
“Yeah. But tell me what you two are up to.”
Mary said, “We’re cleaning the house. We’re almost done.”
“For what?”
“Are you blind?” Mary asked.
“Okay, the place needs an overhaul.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Kate crossed to him. “Will, come into the kitchen with me.”
An alarm buzzed. Mary checked her watch. “Uh, oh, time to feed Henry.”
“You got a baby here?”
“No,” the woman said heading to the bedroom. “The smells would be bad for him.” She looked cute in raggedy short shorts and tank top. So did Katie. When the woman returned with a purse, she said, “I have to go nurse my son at our Dad’s place.”
“I’m confused.”
“She’s married to my brother.”
The woman took off her head scarf. Her brown hair tumbled to her waist.
“Hey, Katie’s hair used to be long like that.”
“I know. I hate that she cut it.”
That makes two of us.
Mary left. “I’ll be a while. I’m going to have lunch with Dad then take Henry to my mother’s. Can I bring you two something?”
“No.”
“No.”
“O-kay.” Mary walked out and they heard the door close.
Katie turned to him. Turned on him. “What the fuck, Will? I said I needed time.”
“I said we could go back to just sex. You’ve had enough time, though I don’t know for what.”
She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “You are something else. But no thanks. I decided I’m ready to be done with you.”
He walked over, close to her. “No you’re not.” He leaned over and whispered, “Your nipples are hard. I can see them because you aren’t wearing a bra.”
“No, Will.”
“Why not? You enjoyed me. I enjoyed you.”
“No.”
“Okay.” He rolled up his sleeves. “What’s left in the house?”
“We’re nearly done with cleaning. We were going to paint next.” She gestured to the cans off to the side. “Mary picked out the color. She said it would make the whole place look bigger.”
The doorbell rang. “She also ordered a new kitchen set and some other things with same day delivery.”
He arched a brow. “She paying for it?”
“No, I am.”
“Okay. I’ll start in the bedroom.”
She went to the kitchen.
He went into the bedroom. They’d moved all the furniture to the middle and a ladder leaned against the wall.
He got to work.
* * *
Katie worked like a madwoman, trying to ignore the fact that Will was helping her. She was still angry at his attempt to change their relationship to more than just sex. She finished cleaning the living room, then stalked to the kitchen and painted for an hour. The light came in from the bare window and bounced off the white walls. She knew she’d find the same in the bedroom.
When she went back into the living room, she found him painting the edges of the wall next to the ceiling. So she took another can and worked on the side he’d already cut in.
All told, it took them three hours to paint the small apartment. The music played but they didn’t speak. Then he went into the kitchen and came in with two beers. He dropped down to the floor, leaned against the couch and handed a bottle up to her. He sipped his all the while listening to the music and staring at her.
So be it. She sat too. He turned down the music. “It looks great,” she said. “Thanks for your help.”
“Yeah, you should call Mary and tell her we’re done.”
“No. We have to clear away all the paint stuff.”
“Katie…let’s…”
“No. Besides, I’m staying overnight at her mother’s house with her and the baby.” A small smile crooked her mouth. “Like we did when we were little except no baby of course.”
His brows skyrocketed. “So you do know how to have fun.”
She rolled to her feet. “I have to shower and change.”
“Me, too.”
Her gaze narrowed on him. “Just sex?” she asked.
“Yeah, just sex.”
“Okay. I’ll call Mary.”
* * *
Will had finally gotten his bearings with Katie and was feeling good. He went out to his backyard and sat sipping his coffee. Happy. Or happy enough. He wished he’d hear from the Secret Service.
An hour later, his phone rang. The caller was blocked. His heartbeat went right to a thud. “Will Kirkland.”
“Mr. Kirkland, Anderson Jacobs here.” The Special Agent in charge of the Secret Service.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m informing you that the panel investigating your case has found you negligent on the 5/15.”
Now, his heart clutched. “In what way?”
“Eyes on the target, Kirkland. Always.”
Something came to him. “The president considers me his best agent. He’s told me so.”
“The president is still isolating.”
“So he doesn’t know you’re canning me?”
“We’re not canning you. But you’re getting a permanent demotion.”
“Doing what?”
“No more protective duty. You’re assigned to Treasury.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ll have my resignation in your email today.”
“Are you sure, Will?”
“Very.” He disconnected. And sat back down. The entire trajectory of his life had changed in an instant.
* * *
Will had left Kate after their shower sex and she went to spend the night with Mary. They had a ball, eating popcorn in her bed, painting each other’s nails, reliving old times. They talked about the future, too. She admitted to Mary that there might be more between her and Will than she knew consciously. Mary had let go of a very unladylike snort. “You think?”
She’d gone to work almost happy. But she hadn’t heard from Will.
“Get it together, Donovan,” Landry said, nastily. She hated when he was on nights the same as she was.
“What’s with you, Landry? Man, are you grumpy.”
“Me? Fuck you.”
“Unfortunately, I heard that.”
Kate’s eyes widened and Landry jerked around. “Chief. I um…”
“In my office.”
Fuming, Landry headed into the squad room. The chief crossed to Kate. “Would you have reported the verbal abuse Donovan?”
“No. I told you I don’t want them to get more ammunition to hurt me.”
His gaze narrowed on her. “What happened to Lt. Kate Donovan of the past?”
“You demoted her.”
His eyes widened and she realized her cockiness. But he said, “Fair enough.” He was about to leave when he saw the list in front of her. “What’s that?”
Tired of concealing everything, she said, “Kirkland is missing. I was thinking about where he could have gone.”
“Missing or not wanting to see you.”
“Hah. He’d want to see me.”
The chief frowned. “Did you call Rodriguez?”
“Yes. He hasn’t seen Will either.”
“Does he have any other friends? Women friends?”
“I don’t know that he does. But we can’t rule that out.”
Chief Thomas’ face softened. “Why don’t you run a check on his credit cards. See if they’ve been used. If not, we’ll worry.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Katie got to work in the government database. It didn’t take her long. “Hey Smith,” she said to the officer who came into the reception area. “Could you watch the desk for me for a few minutes?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
She went to the chief’s office. His door was open.
From the doorway, she said, “His card was used at the Lyle Avenue Motel.”
“On the outside of town. Sorry to tell you Donovan, but this looks like he may have a girl. Other than you.”
“I guess he can be with whoever he wants.”
She went back to the desk and finished her shift on automatic pilot. Afterward, she went to the locker room and changed into jeans, a shirt and sneakers and left the precinct. She drove directly to the Lyle Avenue Motel. His car stood out in the lot. And there was one next to his, which probably meant he did have a girl, as Thomas had said. She stood staring at the place.
Something niggled at her. She remembered when Will found her flirting with some guy at Al’s after that first time with him. And don’t even think about sleeping with the guy who was here or any of these jerks. I don’t like to share. Later, he promised the same.
Damn it, she wasn’t going to second guess herself now.
Exiting the car, she yanked the tie out of her hair, and ran her fingers though it as she walked up to the door. She knocked.
Nothing.
She knocked again. And again. She took out her phone and dialed his. She heard it ring inside. Let it ring. He didn’t answer. She knocked hard. Harder. She was thinking about kicking in the door when it opened.
Will stood before her. Dressed only in shorts and a T-shirt, he reeked of booze. “Hell, Will.”
His sleepy eyes raked her lasciviously. “Ready for just sex, baby?”
“Not when you’re like this.” She pushed passed him and he slammed the door shut. She saw a couple of empty bottles.
“You’re drunk and a mess. Go take a shower.”
“I don’t want to…”
“Shut up.” She literally dragged him to the bathroom. He had trouble with his shirt, so she ripped it off him. Unbuckled his belt and pushed his jeans down. “Get in.”
He saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
She turned the water on.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“No. Clean yourself up.”
He mumbled an expletive.
Meanwhile she found his keys in his pants and went to his car. Sure enough there was a go-bag in the trunk. Some habits die hard. She brought it back to him. Dropped it in the bathroom. Then left.
He came out a while later wearing a sweat suit. He smelled like his soap. He was barefoot and sat on the side of the bed.
She asked, “What happened?”
He stared at her.
“Will, tell me why you did this.”
Still, he waited. Finally he got out, “I heard from the Secret Service.”
She’d never thought of that. “What did they say?”
“I’m out of protective duty. The SAC said I could have a place in Treasury until I could retire and get a pension, which is only three years.”
“Hell.”
“I told them to fuck off.”
“Really?”
“No. I quit, though.”
“Oh, Will.”
She touched his arm.
His head dropped. “I don’t know who I am, without a protective job, you know.”
She swallowed hard. “I know, Will.”
He gave her a meaningful look. “Of course you do.”
Suddenly, he bolted up and raced to the bathroom. She could hear him retching. Instead of leaving him alone, she went inside, knelt next to him and ran her hand around his back. “Go ahead and get it out.”
When he finished she got him to the sink, he used his toothbrush, then leaned on her back to the bedroom. She let him flop on the bed. His eyes closed.
She sighed. He had it as bad as she did. The hopelessness. The anger. The dread of the future.
Glad she came to the hotel, she dropped into a chair beside the bed to wait for him to wake up.
* * *
Will awoke. His head pounded but his body felt better. Boy, he must have slept a long time. And his mouth felt clean. He turned over in the bed. Next to it was a glass of water with three ibuprofen pills. He gulped down both. Where did they come from? Oh, man. He remembered. Katie had come here. He had a vague recollection of her going into the bathroom with him. He stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan whir. He remembered more than that.
He’d lost his position in the Secret Service.
The door opened. Pleasant scents of coffee and food wafted into the room. Along with Kate. “You stayed here for four hours?”
“Uh, huh. I was searching home wall hangings online for my house.”
He chuckled.
She set the food down and sat next to him on the bed. “You told me what happened. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
“I don’t know what to do, Katie.”
“Getting drunk is a start. I went on a bender like that for a long time.”
“Yeah?”
“Then I threw myself into exercise. I lost weight but gained a lot of muscle.”
He waited.
“Then I had no choice. I surrendered myself to it.”
“By living in a hovel?”
“A very pretty hovel, now. I accepted my fate. And learned to ignore the need for my colleagues’ respect. That’s about where I am now.”
“My colleagues abandoned me.”
“Not your friends, though.”
“No.” He sighed. “I’m glad my Dad never found out.”
“My dad accepted what happened. Told me to take their punishment and rise above it.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Yeah. And I couldn’t quit because I had to support myself.”
“Are you hoping you’ll go back to being a lieutenant?”
“I don’t know. I’m just trying to make it through each day.”
“That’s where I came in.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” She stood. “Let’s have coffee and breakfast. She walked to the table and chairs and set out food. They ate.
Afterward he asked, “Were you on night duty?”
“Yes.”
“You need to sleep.”
“I will. Later.”
He cleaned up the food, then grasped her hands. “Let’s go to bed.”
“And fuck?”
“Let’s see how this goes.”
* * *
It was just a kiss. It was cataclysmic. It was dangerous. But she fell into it anyway. Her mind whirled with the taste of him, different somehow. He brushed his lips over hers, once, twice, three times. She grasped onto his neck. “More…” she said when he drew away.
“Hmm. Much more.”
He turned her to her back. She was shocked. “I want…”
“I know what you want.” He kissed her neck, her shoulders, her spine. He did the same to her waist. Katie fell into a haze of sensation.
She felt herself being turned again. As soon as she was prone, he started all over again. Her nipples beaded hard. She got wet. Really wet. He tended to every part of her.
When he whispered, “Ready?”
“No.”
“What?”
She rose up on her elbows and pressed him to his back. And kissed him. Slowly, sensuously, lovingly. When he could take no more she moved her mouth to his chest, his tight abdomen, the curls at his groin. “No, no,” he said. “Not like this.”
When she hesitated, he added. “Come up, Katie. Please.”
She sat up. “Condom?”
“In my wallet in the drawer.”
When that task was taken care of, he said, “Straddle me.”
She lifted her legs over him.
He eased inside her. Slowly. Never like before, which had tended to be quick and forceful. She went up and up and up. He plunged in further and she tumbled over. He thrust again. This time, faster, harder. She came before he did and got to enjoy seeing him erupt. Calling her name. Then he exploded inside her.
He cradled her cheeks after he came down. She gave him a searching look. Said, “That wasn’t just sex.”
“No, I guess it wasn’t.”
“You shouldn’t…”
He pressed his fingers on her lips. “It’s a fait accompli . Not sure we can ever go back.”
Fear filled her. “I don’t know how to go forward.”
“Neither do I. We’ll figure it out.”
She laid her cheek his chest.
They slept.
* * *
When they awoke for the second time, they made love again then fallen back to sleep. It was early afternoon by the time they roused. Will looked over at her. “I don’t know how to act now. This is…new to me.”
“Me too. But I think just sex is a flop between us.”
His eyes filled with mirth. “Yeah.”
“You’ve never been conflicted about a woman?”
“No. Relationships have always been easy for me.” He glanced over. “ You are anything but.”
“I think I’m flattered by that.”
He chuckled then turned his body towards her. “Where do we go now?”
“My apartment. I need a shower and I want you to see it finished up.”
“All right.” He rolled out of bed, grabbed his sweatshirt and slid the top over his head. As he stuffed his feet into his pants, he added, “I hope we can pull this off.”
They drove separately to her place. Her landlord was coming around the corner as they walked toward him. “Hey, Ms. Donovan. I went inside when your sister called and said there was a leaky pipe. Did you do all that cleaning and painting and refurnishing?”
“Yes. I never thought to ask you for permission.”
“It’s great. I’m going to give you a month’s rent free. But I’ll have to raise the price of the apartment after that.”
Kate felt the familiar frustration in her stomach.
Will said, “No good deed goes unpunished.”
The guy’s face reddened. “I get it. I’ll give you two months free. Then raise it $100 a month.”
As they walked to the door, she said, “I could get angry about this.”
“Don’t. It’s only money.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“I know. I inherited a big house, $500,000 dollars in insurance and I got the money saved from my job of 17 years. You can have some of it.”
“Hell, no! I’ll get a second job when I run out of what I saved by those free months.”
He shrugged.
When they got to her door, Will smiled hugely. “Great color. And the spring wreath is pretty cool.”
“I hadn’t seen the wreath. Must be Mary came back and did some things.”
They went inside. The kitchen sparkled. The appliances had been sprayed with silver paint, the cupboards a teal blue. The floors were shiny and there were new lights above. The beautiful teak table had been set against the only window—pale yellow curtains. “Nice. Have you seen all this?”
“The painting and the table, yes. The lights and curtains, no. But we did the floor together.”
“Do you like all this?”
“I’m afraid I do. I have to say, it cheers me up when I’m here.”
“I hated you living…”
“In a dump.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been a real jerk. Not my usual style.”
She leaned against the counter. “How do we keep from doing that, Will? I’ve done nothing but distance everybody in my life since I was demoted and a real relationship hasn’t been in the cards for me in a long time.”
“I’m not sure.” He gave her such a genuine, affectionate smile, and her insides turned to mush. “But I know a place to start.”
“Where?”
“In the shower.” He grasped her hand and tugged her into the bathroom.