Enemy From The Past (Unseen Enemy Book 4) (3 page)

Dean’s voice sharpened. “You have her?”

“I’m at her apartment now.”

“Where the fuck has she been for the past week? Emma’s been going out of her mind with worry.”

“I know. Olivia and Jenny too, from what Dallas and Chris have told me. I picked her up last night from Curves.”

Dean paused. “Fuck me. What was she doing at that place?”

“Trying to drink all the whiskey in the state, if her bar tab was any indication of her intentions. The owner found Kat’s cell and called me at two a.m. I brought her home.”

Dean sighed. “Is she OK?”

“She’s still sleeping. She just puked for an hour, though, so she may feel better the next time she surfaces.”

“You want to stay there?”

“Damn right I do.” Jim glanced at the closed bedroom door. “I don’t think any of us can trust her as far as we can throw her right now, and my thinking is that if I leave here, she’ll grab the packed suitcase in her living room and disappear in to the sunset.”

“What? What suitcase?”

“Yeah. She’s got one by the door, ready to fucking bolt.”

“You asked her about it?”

“Nope. She just got up, puked, passed out again. Conversation’s been fleeting.”

“Yeah, OK, then. I’ll call Mitch and Jase. I know Jase especially wants the extra hours. You stay right there and wait for her to drag her hungover ass out of bed. You don’t go anywhere, man, not until she offers up some answers.”

“That’s exactly my thinking.”

“Good to know we’re on the same page. I imagine Emma will call the ladies, so don’t worry about telling Jenny or Liv. Just hang tight, and get us all some information.”

“That’s the plan.”

“And do you think she’s OK? Emotionally, I mean?”

“Honestly? I don’t think so. I think she’s a mess about something, and I’m going to find out what it is.”

“Go easy on her, Jim.” Dean’s voice was suddenly gentle. “You know something about her ain’t right. We all know that, yeah? Just – just let her tell you when she’s ready.”

“I’ll try to cool my jets,” Jim said darkly. “If I don’t strangle her first.”

Chapter Three

Jennifer Sawyer hung up her cell phone, feeling relief in every nerve and muscle in her body. Despite the fact that Emma didn’t know much about where Kat had been for the past week, Jenny was glad to hear that Kat was home, and that Jim was basically standing guard.

Chris Brooker lay on his side and gazed at her. “Kat?”

“Yeah.” She pressed her naked curves closer to his massive body. “She’s home. She’s in one piece. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

He nodded. “She OK?”

“I’m betting not. Just dropping off the planet like that? That’s not her.”

Chris ran his hands up and down Jenny’s back, but he didn’t nod this time. The thing was that he’d long suspected that Kat was actually very,
very
good at just dropping off the planet. And he wasn’t the only one: Dallas, Jim and Dean had all mentioned at different times how cagey Kat was about personal details and her past. She changed her hair color constantly. She worked for cash-in-hand. She had a burner phone. The guys hadn’t asked him, but Chris knew that Dallas had checked in to Kat, and knew way more than he was letting on.

Maybe it’s time for Dallas to share with the group, huh?

But he didn’t say any of this to Jenny. No sense worrying her until he had something solid. And hell, who knew? Maybe after this little disappearing act, Jenny, Emma and Liv could get Kat to come clean about what the hell was going on with her. Chris was certain that the women weren’t going to just let Kat get away with this; he foresaw a serious grilling in her future.

Jenny relaxed against him, and he smiled down at her. Sometimes he just couldn’t believe that he was here, in her bed –
no, our bed
– touching her, kissing her, making intense and passionate love to her.

Just five months earlier, he’d thought it would have been impossible for any of this to happen. Back then, he’d been deathly afraid that Jenny had been far too damaged by what had happened to her up in that cabin. But the woman was stronger than anyone he’d ever met, bar none, and together, they’d worked through her fear.

She’d had a panic attack last night, though, her first in a few weeks. It had surprised them both, but it also reminded them that she was still healing. The truth was that Jenny would definitely be healing for years. Probably forever. And Chris wanted to be the man she turned to for comfort and love; he wanted nothing more than to be where he was right at this moment.

“Chris?”

“Yeah, hon?”

“Can I talk to you about something?”

Right away, he was on high alert. He recognized that voice: it was the one she used when she wanted or needed to talk about anything to do with sex.

Maybe she wants to talk about the panic attack last night? What set it off?

“Of course you can. What’s up?”

She was fidgeting, which was another sign. Gently, he took her hands in his, kissed her chilly fingers, held them to his lips. She took a deep breath.

“I was thinking – I was wondering…”

“What, baby?”

“I was wondering if you’d – you’d kiss me.”

He stared at her, stroked her long blonde hair off her flushed cheeks. “I kiss you all the time.”

“No. I mean…” She moved his hand down her body, down to her lower lips. He stroked between them, almost groaning. She was still hot and wet from their lovemaking earlier, and his cock stiffened. “If you’d kiss me down here.”

Jenny’s whole body was responding to Chris’ finger circling her clit. She’d come just twenty minutes before, but she wanted more. It seemed like she always wanted Chris. She was sure she’d never finish being grateful to him for helping her to retrain her body to accept a man’s touch without fear, or shame, or disgust.

Chris sucked in his breath at the thought of finally kissing her pussy. She was scared of it, he knew, and she’d avoided it. Until now.

“OK,” he said. “Let’s talk about it… what worries you?”

Jenny ran her fingers over his strong collarbone. “Not being able to see your eyes.”

“Yeah. I know that’s important to you. You need to see it’s me.”

“Right. Also… I’m worried about being so… so…” She struggled to find the words.

“Open?” he suggested gently. “Exposed? Vulnerable?”

“Yes.” She sighed. “Yes, exactly.”

“Well, there are a few things we can try, baby.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe you can be on top.”

Jenny cocked her head. “That works?”

“Sure.” Chris lay down flat on his back, pulling Jenny up on his body as he did. “I’d be on my back like this, and you’d be up here.” He spread her generous thighs and tugged until she was open and resting on his chest. “You’d be in control. You could set the pace, move like you wanted. You could look down and see my eyes.”

Her breath caught as she pictured herself spread over Chris’ mouth, riding his tongue, meeting his eyes between her legs as she came. He heard it, and smiled.

“It seems you like this idea…”

“Yeah.” Her pussy was swelling, moistening. “Yeah, I do.”

“So… we’ll try it tonight?”

“Yes.” Her answer was a moan.

“Fuck, baby.” Chris pulled her down to him, kissed her again and again, frantic and hot. “I’m going to think about nothing else at work today.”

“Me either,” she whispered.

They stared at each other, loving the love they saw in the other’s eyes. Finally, Chris broke their gaze and looked at the clock.

“I’ve got to get going, Jenny.” He sat up. “Lots of jobs lined up today.”

“Yeah, I know.” She kissed him softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too… and I’m going to love making you come against my mouth tonight.”

Jenny gasped as her pussy pulsed. His gray eyes turned hot and smoky and he wrapped her arms and legs around him.

“I think you want me to make love to you again, baby,” he growled. “Do you?”

“Yes.” She arched at the thought, and her aching sex brushed his erect cock. “Yes, please.”

They were both an hour late to work that morning.

**

Emma Cartwright clutched Dean’s hand tightly, her nails almost digging in to his skin. He was so nervous and tense that he didn’t mind. He barely noticed, actually.

They were in Doctor Fife’s office, and they knew it as well as they knew their own bedroom. Emma had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia the previous summer, and had been ill for the entire duration of their relationship – although for the first three months that they were together, Dean had had no idea that she was sick. He had discovered her cancer by accident, and he still shuddered when he thought about finding Emma that way.

He looked at Emma now, saw her biting her full lip. Her eyes were almost purple with worry, and her beautiful face was pale.

“Hey,” he said softly.

She looked at him.

“Deep breaths, angel. We’ll get through whatever it is, right?”

Emma nodded.

The door opened and they both sat up straighter. Doctor Fife breezed in and grinned at them, and they both relaxed right away. He didn’t believe in a professional poker face and never hid any news from them, so if he was smiling, he had something good to say.

“Emma!” Hal Fife said cheerily. “I have wonderful news for you!”

“I’m responding better to the chemo?” she asked.

“Nope… better than
that
, even.”

Emma and Dean stared at him. Hearing that Emma’s bone marrow transplant had resulted in a better response was about as good as they had been hoping for.

“Better?” Dean asked, his green eyes stunned. “What can be better?”

“Remission.”

Total silence.

“Remission?” Emma whispered.

“Yes.”

“How can you be sure?” she said.

Hal opened the folder in front of him. “I have the results of your last tests. There are no leukemic cells at all, Emma. Not in your blood, not in your bone marrow. Your bone marrow is working normally again – that’s a direct result of your transplant.” He smiled at her. “You show no signs whatsoever of the leukemia.”

“But – but that’s impossible.” She shook her head, dazed. “It’s – it’s too fast. You said I could maybe expect remission in the autumn… it’s just April!”

“It’s not impossible, actually,” Hal said. “It’s rare, to be sure, but I’ve seen it before. You’re a psychologist, Emma, so you know how a patient’s mental state can have a massive positive effect on their medical recovery. And you, my dear, have one hell of a positive mental and emotional outlook.”

It suddenly occurred to Dean that Emma was actually cancer-free, for the first time since he’d known her. “My God, baby.” He blinked at the tears in his eyes. “Emma…”

She looked at him, and he saw she was uncertain.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“I – I don’t know.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m just – I think I’m in shock.”

“I know,” Hal said. “You’ve been doing this every day, for so long now, you’ve forgotten what it’s like to not have to be sick. This is common, Emma, this sense of unreality.”

“And – and what are the chances that the cancer will come back?” she said.

“Emma,” Dean said, baffled. “Why are you asking about it coming back?”

“Because sometimes it does,” she said, almost angrily. “Because being in remission isn’t being cured. I’m – I’m scared to believe it.”

“Emma.” Hal was gentle. “Honey, this reaction is totally normal. Your mistrust, and your disbelief. It’s OK. Listen, go home with Dean, and let it sink in. Come back on Monday at about noon, we’ll talk again then. Alright?”

Emma nodded, and got to her feet. “Thank you. I’ll see you on Monday.” She tried to smile. “Maybe then I’ll feel like it’s real.”

She was quiet the whole way home, and Dean didn’t push her. When they got home, she went to their bedroom and shut the door, without a word.

Dean stood outside in the hallway, worried. He had no concept at all what she was thinking or feeling, and that freaked the crap out of him. He felt like he’d gone to the hospital with Emma and returned with a stranger. But he let her be, and he only knocked on the door to tell her that he was going to work.

We’ll talk when I get home… she just needs some time to adjust to the shock. She’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.

Chapter Four

When Kat opened her eyes again, the April sun was too low in the sky for it to still be morning. She squinted at her clock and sighed when she saw that it was well past three o’clock in the afternoon. Carefully, she sat up, wincing at the pain in her head. But at least she didn’t feel like throwing up anymore.

She sat and listened, but the tiny apartment was quiet. She hoped that Jim had left, but she wasn’t betting the farm on it. More likely the man was sitting out there on the sofa, silent and lethal and motionless, waiting for her to set toe in the living room so he could pounce, like some sleek jungle cat. Kat could just imagine the look he’d give her with those golden eyes: sharp and suspicious. And he’d be right to do it, too.

“I can hear you,” he called from the living room, and she jumped. “I heard your breathing change. Come on out, sweetheart. It’s time to talk.”

She closed her eyes and whimpered.

“Stop whining,” he said. “I’ve made you a coffee.”

Resigning herself to the inevitable, Kat dragged herself out of bed and then noticed that she was in her underwear.

Holy Lord… how did
that
little detail escape my attention this morning?

She found her pj bottoms and ran her fingers through her short hair. Nothing to do about the shadows circling her eyes, or her pallor, but a coffee might make her feel semi-human, at least. She walked out to the living room slowly, afraid of what was coming next.

Jim was sitting there, a book on the table in front of him. A steaming cup of coffee caught her attention and she sniffed the air with appreciation.

“Thanks for the coffee,” she said.

“Uh-huh.” His eyes were nailing her to the spot. “Come sit.”

Kat lowered her aching body in to the chair across from him, and lifted the coffee to her lips. She sighed.

“God, that’s good.”

“You hungry?’ he said.

She shuddered. “Oh, man. No. Thank you.”

“OK.” He leaned back, his body open, his face closed. “So. Where the fuck have you been for the past week?”

She almost laughed.

God. This is just so – so
Jim
.

“Here, mostly.” She took another sip of coffee. “Just hanging out here.”

“That’s interesting, ‘cause your neighbor said she hadn’t seen you in days.”

“Sure. Because I was
here
. Like, in this chair. I didn’t leave this apartment until five nights ago.”

“Food?”

“I ordered in. Slept late. Let the mail pile up downstairs.”

Jim regarded her. “Why?”

She shrugged, looked away from that intense golden stare. “I just – I needed some time on my own.”

“Why did you turn off your phone?”

“Same reason.”

“The girls have been worried sick. Why’d you do that to them?”

She shrugged again.

“That’s not an answer, babe.”

“It’s the only answer you’re going to get.”

“Like hell it is. You just fucked off on every single person in your life who cares about you, and now you think you can just swan on in, act like nothing happened? Like you didn’t scare us all to death? No way, Kat. You tell me what’s going on with you, and I mean right now.”

She started to get angry. “It’s none of your damn business.”

“Oh, you think?” Jim leaned forward, his upper body somehow appearing even larger. “It
is
my damn business! You want to know why?”

“Why?”

“Because I got a phone call at two o’clock in the morning to come and get your drunk ass from a pick-up bar out on the highway. You were surrounded by ex-cons eyeing you up and down, and if Jax hadn’t done the decent thing and helped you out, where do you think you could be right now?”

She stared at her hands.

“You know what happened to Jenny, right, when a bunch of drunk assholes got ahold of her? You looking for something like that to happen to you?”

Enraged, Kat got to her feet. “Don’t you
dare
imply that what happened to Jenny was her fault, like she went
looking
for it!”

“Oh, I know
she
didn’t, sweetheart. But there
you
were – alone and wasted in a bad place. Were you looking to get yourself hurt for some reason? You punishing yourself for something?”

Kat opened her mouth again, and was stunned and horrified when a sob burst out. She covered her mouth and turned away from Jim, trying to hide her tears.

Right away, he was there, holding her. He ran his fingers through her hair as she cried, her legs weak and trembling under her. Kat just rested her head on his broad chest and let it happen, she just let herself be comforted.

“Shhhh. Sweetheart, it’s OK.” He felt her shaking get worse and he held on tighter. “Kat, please. Tell me what’s going on so I can help you.”

“I – I can’t.”

“Kat –”

“
I can’t
!” She shoved him away from her as she screamed, she shoved hard, and he backed up. “Stop asking me, Jim. I just – I can’t talk about it.”

They stood staring at each other.

“Kat.” His voice was as soft as she’d ever heard it. “I know what a person on self-destruct looks like, OK? And baby, that is all that I see when I look at you. You carry on the way you have been? You’re going to get hurt. Bad. I’m not going to let that happen.”

“Jim. Just leave it alone. Just – let me go.”

“Go where?”

She faltered.

“You have no idea where you’re going, do you?” he asked. “You’ve got the suitcase packed and by the door, but you have no clue where you’re off to next.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Let me guess. The plan is to get to the station, and take the first fucking bus or train leaving Colorado. Is that right?”

Kat avoided his stare, trying not to let him see that he was bang on. But he knew.

“Yeah, I thought so.” He moved closer to her again. “What are you running from?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Are you a criminal? Did you kill someone? Rob a bank? What?”

“No.” She looked shocked. “No.
I
didn’t do anything wrong.”

He heard the inflection in her words. “So who did?”

She pressed her lips together, to stop herself from saying any more.

Jim studied her, and sighed. “OK, fine. Don’t tell me today. But I’m not leaving this apartment until you
do
tell me.”

Kat glared at him. “No way. Get out.”

“Nope. I know the second my back is turned, you’ll run for the hills. That’s not happening.”

“Get out!”

“Make me.” Jim sat down on the sofa again and crossed his arms.

“Jim…”

“No. You don’t want me here? Call the cops and have
them
kick me out.” He watched her eyes widen. “But you don’t want the cops here, do you? No, you don’t want the cops anywhere
near
you. I can tell. If they came, there’d be a lot of official paper, right? You’d have to produce an ID. File a report. Go on the record. All the things that a woman on the run avoids like the plague.”

She swallowed.

“
Or
…” He held out his hands, palm-up. “You could just tell me what’s going on with you. Seems like the easier of the two options, huh?”

“Jim, please.” The despair in her voice hurt him, but he stayed tough. “Please, let it go.”

“I won’t, Kat. I want you to let me help.”

“You can’t.”

“I don’t suppose you’ve noticed, sweetheart, but I’m not some random shmuck off the street.” Jim tried to keep his voice level. “I’m a trained Ranger. I can handle shit.”

“Yeah, I know. But…”

“But nothing. I can keep you safe from the guy you’re running from.”

She jumped at his words, and that’s when Jim knew that his calculated shot in the dark had hit a bullseye. Their eyes held, and he saw the truth shining out of hers.

“What did he do to you, Kat?”

Kat was mute, frozen.

“Who was it? Tell me.”

Silence.

“Is he still looking for you?”

Silence.

“What will he do if he finds you?”

Kat closed her eyes.

“Look at me. Kat, look at me.”

She forced herself to do so, and was surprised to see all the anger gone from his face. Now he was gentle, careful.

“Kat.” He took a calming breath. “I am asking you to please trust me. Can you do that?”

She was quiet for a few seconds, and Jim could tell that she was seriously considering his question. Finally, she said, “I don’t know. It’s hard, what you’re asking. I – I
want
to trust you. I promise. But – I haven’t trusted anyone in a long time, Jim. I think I may have forgotten how.” She gave a brittle laugh. “Hell, I barely trust myself most of the time.”

“I get all that. I do.” He stepped closer. “I know all about not trusting a soul, least of all myself. But can I tell you something?”

“Yeah.”

“I trust the guys, and I mean, completely and totally.” Jim reached out and touched her cheek, was gratified when she didn’t move away. “You think you can trust them too?”

“I don’t know,” she repeated.

“OK, how about this,” he said. “Let’s drop this conversation right now. You go get cleaned up, we’ll order in some food, because you have nothing in the fridge but yogurt and some
very
questionable eggs, and I ate all your cereal. Tomorrow’s Sunday, and me and the guys were supposed to meet up to play poker at my place. How about I ask them to come here instead? We can all talk.”

“About what?”

“About how we can help you.”

Her mouth fell open in shock. “What?
All
of you?”

“Honey, do you have any idea who we are and what we can do? What kind of training we’ve had?”

“Um. Sort of.”

“Let me put it this way: if you want four guys to watch you’re back, we’re it. And with Dallas’ resources at his security company, you have direct access to an amazing amount of information. I’ll bet we could find out exactly where this fuck who’s after you is right at this second. You get me? We can get you out of the dark, Kat, put you back in a position of power.”

She thought about that.

“But we can only keep you safe if you level with us.” His eyes were unflinching. “
Everything
, Kat. You hear me?”

Kat nodded.

“You agreeing?”

“No. I’m agreeing to think about it.”

“Fine. Let me know before we turn in tonight what you want to do.” Jim grinned at her, and she finally relaxed when she saw that he looked like himself again. “Now, go have a shower. You look like hell, girl. And you want to order Italian or Chinese?”