Blurred Lines by KD Williamson (5 page)

Gunshots rang out from inside the house. It sounded like the Fourth of July. Or a battlefield.

They both pulled their weapons, hunkered down to avoid the windows at all cost. Travis watched her. She mouthed, “Call it in.”

He nodded, and did just that.

“ETA five minutes. There’s a car in the vicinity,” Travis whispered.

Kelli scanned the nearby houses. Thank Christ no one came out to be nosy. “Find some good cover. We’ll wait for backup.” Kelli watched as he jumped the hedge, leading to the neighbor’s house. She could barely see him through the thick greenery. He continued to waddle toward their car.

Kelli started to do the same.

The sound of running footsteps made them both move faster. They needed to find cover. Now. Then, everything happened in slow motion. Someone was shooting at them, and Kelli watched helplessly as a bullet caught Travis and sent him flying face first into the concrete. Blood as black as pitch pooled around him.

He didn’t move.

Rage and fear gripped her and propelled her forward. Kelli could almost feel the hot breath of the shooter rippling down her neck. She ran and laid down suppressive fire as she moved toward the car. White-hot pain seared her upper thigh, and she dropped to the ground. She stared at her leg. Black liquid oozed from the wound. Kelli’s body flooded with adrenaline and gave her just enough energy to drag herself across the lawn. She tried to get to cover…to get to Travis. Before she could make it, someone grabbed her injured leg. Kelli nearly blacked out from the pain. One man kicked her gun away as another pulled her back toward the house. Kelli yelled and cursed in defiance.

Behind black masks, they laughed as she struggled.

Then, they stopped. She glanced up to see a nine millimeter pointed at her head. Fear lanced through her but the rage overpowered it. “Do it!” she yelled. “They’re gonna take you down so fucking hard—”

The sound of approaching sirens cut through what Kelli thought was her final
fuck you
.

“We need to go. Now,” one of them yelled. They released her and ran toward a car across the street. Kelli pulled herself up only to be launched backward once again as a bullet slammed into her chest.

Kelli awoke with a gasp and tried to sit up in bed. The dull ripple of pain reminded her that her body was shit. She looked around the room to get used to being back in reality. It was nice and boring…all white and sterile. Perfect, which was just what she needed after coming out of that fucked-up Salvador Dali-esqe dream. Her hands shook as she wiped sweat from her forehead. Her pajamas were wet and clammy and stuck to her body. Kelli closed her
eyes
and waited to get off the tilt-o-whirl. When she opened them again, there was still a little tremor left in her hands, but it was a big improvement. Kelli inhaled as deep as she could and for once appreciated the hospital tang in the air.

Sounds filtered in through the open door. For some reason, the noises calmed her. It was a coping skill she developed when her nightmares first started. Voices, laughter, phones ringing, they all wove around her body and soothed her like a comfortable blanket, grounding her in the moment.

She shook her head and ordered her memories to leave her the hell alone. The dream world wasn’t a place she wanted to go back to anytime soon, but she knew she would. Kelli wanted to blame the painkillers, but after being in the hospital just over a week, she told the nurses the higher dosage wasn’t needed anymore—total bullshit. But Kelli didn’t like being fuzzy headed. She could blame her confinement, but that was a crap excuse at best. This wasn’t the first time she had been hurt, but it was the worst.

After all that sweating, her throat was bone dry. She reached for the pitcher of water on the night stand, and a stab of pain stopped her from grabbing it. All she wanted was a shitty glass of water. Kelli ignored the mounting ache in her chest. She growled and muttered curses, but the McCabe stubborn streak refused to let her give up. Helplessness was not her thing.

“Kelli what the fuck are you doing? Why didn’t you just call a nurse?” Sergeant Bruce Williams, her ex-partner, asked as he walked into the room. He filled a paper cup and handed it to her.

Kelli glared, but took the drink. He was a good man and knew her well, but there was a huge difference between Travis and him. Travis would have pushed the pitcher closer instead of doing it for her. To Kelli, this made all the difference in the world. She crumpled the cup in her hand, throwing it across the room.

“Fuck! I hate this. I fucking hate this!” Kelli blew up. She could barely breathe, but that was beside the point. She needed to get out of this bed. She needed to see Travis with her own eyes. Maybe that would keep the damn nightmares away.

Williams was a bear of a man with broad shoulders and a barrel chest, but he was soft around the middle, kind of like the Michelin Man. His caramel-colored skin was lined more with experience than age, set off by distinguished, well-groomed gray eyebrows, mustache, and bald head. He watched her. The usual teasing glint in his eyes was missing. As she ranted, he sat there quietly.

“Say something!”

His eyebrows shot up. “You done?”

Kelli sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah,” she answered softly, deceptively. He was about to piss her off. She just knew it.

“Good. Because you could be dead.”

She ground her back teeth together. “I know that.”

“Do you? Do you really? Because I see pity party written all over your face.”

Her anger flared to life. The feeling was simple, base. She could do anger all day long. “Stop trying to get in my head,” Kelli demanded. Goddamn him. The man saw everything.

“Why? Because you don’t like being in there? Can’t always hide behind jokes and a husky voice.”

“Whatever.”

“I know you better than most, Kelli.”

Kelli snorted. Her thoughts pushed her back to the past. Right now, it was easier to reopen old wounds than to deal with newer, more fucked-up ones, and something about the way he said her name caught her by the throat. The words just fell out of her mouth. “Not anymore, old man.”

Williams’s eyebrows formed a nice little “V” right above his nose. There was a flash of hurt in his eyes, followed by surprise. “I thought all of that was water under the bridge.”

“It is, but it doesn’t keep it from stinging every once in a while.”

“I’m calling you on your shit. What’s done is done. It happened. I can’t take it back. You didn’t want to be my partner anymore because of it. You got your space. That’s a long time to hold a grudge.”

“You were part of my family.” Kelli paused. “He was barely gone a month, Williams.” He understood the point. There was no need to continue.

He had on his poker face. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Williams sighed. “You know why, and it’s been almost two years. It’s petty to bring it up now.” He narrowed his eyes and studied her for several seconds.

Kelli squirmed. She didn’t like to be observed like some bug under a glass.

“You’re deflecting,” Williams said.

“That’s ridiculous bullshit.” Kelli glared. Goddamn bullet wounds kept her from walking away like she wanted to.

“Uh-huh. You haven’t changed that much. Something’s going on in that head of yours, and this old crap is a lot easier to deal with.” He stood.

Kelli’s stomach twisted, and for a moment she regretted letting anyone in that deep. Meanwhile, there was another part of her that relished it. In the past, he’d been there to drag her out of any dark hole she fell into.

“I was going to stay, visit for a little while, but now, that’s shot all to hell.” He paused and sighed again. ”Listen, when and if you want to talk, I’m here. Just because I don’t watch your back anymore doesn’t mean I don’t have it.”

Kelli looked at him sharply. She knew he would listen, but there were times when her shit was just her shit. She nodded slightly.

“Good. See you later.”

She watched him go without calling him back. Kelli pressed the controls on the bed to make the incline sharper. This angle gave her a better view of the open door. Williams was right. There was no need to wallow. There was no need to let a harmless dream strangle her with the fucking lights on.

She stared out the door for what seemed like hours, watching the hustle and bustle. Her mind was calmer, but she still didn’t want to be stuck inside her thoughts. Her brain wasn’t the most pleasant place to be. She blinked as a large section of white paper floated in front of the entrance. The writing on it made her grin like an idiot.
Luck of the Irish
.

The sign stayed there for a few seconds before a face she hadn’t seen in a while peeked out from around the corner. “I see I put a smile on your face so my job is pretty much done.” Booker sniffed and tipped the brim of the tattered Sonics cap in her direction. He was an older black man with skin the color of toffee. He had definite swagger even in the old jeans and tattered T-shirt he wore. “They must be taking good care of you because you are looking
good
.” He sat in one of the chairs by the bed, making himself comfortable.

Kelli smirked.

Booker leaned forward and studied her. “What…a nurse got your tongue?”

Kelli chuckled. These nurses would rather flog her. “Nope. Not at all. I’m just a little shocked.”

“You shouldn’t be. You’re my girl. I wouldn’t be living if it wasn’t for you. Of course I’m gonna come check on my favorite detective. I wanted to give you some time, but I was sitting at home bored. Figured you would be too. So, here I am.”

“Thanks, but you didn’t have to, Booker. Don’t feel obligated. It’s been years since—”

“You wound me,” Booker interrupted. “I know how long it’s been…six years, and it’s actually been two since I’ve seen you. Don’t mean I forgot anything. You saved my life McCabe. You were the best thing that happened to the drug enforcement unit. Anybody else would have left my ass in the gutter. When I heard about what happened, I had to see for myself. Had to see that you were okay.”

Kelli’s face flushed with heat. “Well, I’ve seen better days.”

“I’m sure, but in no time you’ll be rocking those pantsuits and looking deadly.”

Kelli laughed. It rumbled in her chest and was out of her mouth before she could do a thing about it. The sound increased in volume and depth without her permission. She winced in reaction. No matter the pain, it was good to really laugh again.

Booker grinned.

“Thanks, Booker. I really needed—” The familiar flash of a white lab coat and blond hair caught her attention. “Nora!”

Seconds ticked by, and Kelli wondered if Nora heard her or if she was ignoring her. She smirked. After their last meeting, it had to be the latter.

“Ms. McCabe, if you need assistance, the red button connects you to the nurses’ station.” Nora Whitmore appeared in the doorway.

“No shit? I thought it just made the toilet flush.”

Booker snorted.

Nora’s face reddened, and her mouth fell open. Kelli smiled. It had been a few days since Kelli had seen her. A little light teasing couldn’t hurt.

“Ms. McCabe, I don’t have time for games.” Her expression changed from stunned to stern as she narrowed her honey-brown eyes.

Booker leaned in and said, “Damn she says your name like you stink.”

Kelli glanced at him knowingly.

“I won’t stand here and be insulted by your vagrant—”

Kelli bristled. The annoyance that was bubbling underneath the surface seeped out of her pores. She was going to make sure she got the last word this time.

Booker whirled around. “Listen here, lady. Don’t judge a book by its cover. What you see isn’t always what you get, in my case especially. I don’t know about yours.”

Kelli’s gaze bounced between the two of them. Nora’s face turned almost purple, and she pressed her lips so tightly together that they looked like they weren’t there at all. Kelli got a strange sense of satisfaction from that. “Well, I guess he told you.”

Nora opened and closed her mouth several times. “I assure you. I didn’t mean—”

Kelli waved, dismissing the comment to clear the way for a different approach. “People say crazy shit when they’re flustered, especially when I do the flustering.”

Nora’s eyes darkened. “Your arrogance…how is there room for it all?”

“I have a big head?”

Booker chuckled.

“Something has to occupy the space. Common sense has obviously defected.”

Kelli glanced at Booker and pointed at Nora. “That’s what flustered looks like.”

He nodded.

“Is this how you are going to pass the time during your convalescence?”

“If you keep falling for it, yes.”

“My time is more valuable than this encounter will ever be. Please don’t waste it.”

Kelli disagreed. This was priceless. “All I can promise is, while you’re in here with me, you’ll be kept on your toes.”

“Is that what you’re calling it?” Nora asked.

“Yep. Got something better?”

“I have better things to attend to, and your—”

“Vagrant?” It felt good to throw the word back in her face. After everything that had been beating her up the past few hours, it felt even better to play this game with Nora.

The blush returned to Nora’s face. “No! 
Your friend
 should be the one to entertain you.”

“Is that your way of apologizing for being rude?”

“I didn’t intend to be offensive. I was…” She glanced from Kelli to Booker.

“Flustered?” Kelli interrupted and offered helpfully.

“You can’t be this insufferable.”

“Yes, I can.”

Nora blinked and just stared before she turned and left the room. Kelli was disappointed. She’d hoped for more.

Booker whistled. “She’s way more high-strung than you’ll ever be, but I see what you did there. Thanks.”

Kelli nodded, but felt a flash of guilt. She’d been a little harsh.

They talked and laughed for several more minutes before Booker stood.

“Okay, I won’t keep you, but don’t worry, this won’t be my last visit.”

* * *

Nora entered one of the residents’ lounges and was exceedingly grateful to be alone. She pressed the back of her hand to her face and could still feel the heat emanating from her skin in waves. She was appalled at her behavior and didn’t understand how her brain, which was always functioning at the highest level, would allow her to say such things. The situation was very off-putting. Nora couldn’t remember anyone who had ever talked to her that way. So without reserves or history to pull from, her mind misfired every time she saw Kelli McCabe. Embarrassment found a home on her shoulders, weighing her down and forcing Nora to sit. Her professionalism had abandoned her again, and for a moment, human decency had as well.