HellKat (24 page)

Her eyes roamed the empty space as if looking for a clue to make sense out of the madness. Or better yet, a door to step through to make the crazy all go away. Then, when the mounting pressure in her chest became unbearable, she released a purging scream. Her hands clamped down on her mouth, eyes slammed shut as hot breath warmed her palms.

She refocused and regained her self-control, mostly.

Her eyes opened and flicked to the refrigerator. She stalked over to it and pulled out the remaining bottles of Cristal and summarily smashed them one after the other on the tiled floor all the while cursing her father, cursing her family, and cursing her life.

Tantrum officially over, she straightened her posture and her dress, and slipped unruly tendrils behind her ears. She surveyed the wreckage and made a mental note to have the manager charge Parker triple for his mess with hefty tips to the cleanup staff. She sidestepped the broken glass, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.

Headed for whatever hell awaited her next.

“Jesus! You look like you’ve been through the wringer!”

Kat’s attention jerked in the direction of the familiar deep voice halting her midstride on her march through the hotel lobby. A warm, wide grin split her face. Almost a year had passed since she’d seen him close up, smelled his aftershave. And damn, the man looked good. The zing of chemistry ricocheting between them reminded her of why she’d had to cut the cord.

She parked her hands on her hips, the twinkle back in her eyes. “And you sound like a man who knows he won’t be getting laid.”

He shook his finger at her, head cocked as he cut between plush seats to reach her. Arms wide in invitation, they hugged, and then separated.

“Rough times.” His face was genuine with concern, his voice soft with sympathy.

She sighed, shook her head, and looked away. “Just when I think it can’t get any rougher, I find out I’m wrong, again.”

He nodded in understanding and gave her shoulder a squeeze of support.

“Hey, you said some guy named Manny would be following me around today.” She folded her arms and eyed him doubtfully.

His large hand rounded his square jaw and hid the divot in his chin.

“Well, another assignment came up, so I’m filling in for him.” He gave her a sidelong glance.

“Really? The head honcho picking up a shift on a simple babysitting assignment … because no one else is available,” she said, her voice thick with sarcasm. His lips pressed together to stop the spread of an obvious smile. “Boy, business must be really good if you’re
that
short-staffed. Or has your charming personality scared them all away?”

“Oh, you have not changed a bit.” His brown eyes dropped down to take her all in, then settled back on her eyes. “You’re still a ball-buster.”

“Well, it could be your lucky day, Walsh. I made quota upstairs with all the balls I just busted. So I may cut you some slack,” she tilted her chin down, “but don’t test me.”

He chuckled. “Duly noted.” His face lit with delight. “Hey, remember that great little hole in the wall not too far from here? They had the juiciest pulled pork and creamiest coleslaw this side of the island.” He waited for her to catch up.

Kat took the trip down memory lane, younger days, tighter wallets, less complicated times. “Yeah, Greg’s Grub. Lexington, right?”

He seemed pleased she remembered. “Why don’t you let me take you there? It’ll give us some time to catch up.”

She watched him with suspicion. “Would Manny have taken me there?”

“Hell no! I’d fire his ass for dining with a client on my dime.”

She nodded as an old friend who knew all the inside jokes. “Are you paying?”

“Of course! It’d be my treat.”

“And your ‘treat’ won’t end up on Tucker’s invoice, right? I mean surely you wouldn’t take his money for this job
and
charge him for taking me out to eat, would you?”

His hand thumped flat against his chest. “Oh, now that hurts, Kat. That really stings that you think so little of me.” His head turned away, most likely to hide his guilty grin.

“A big tough guy like you will get over it, I’m sure.” He brought his handsome face back to her with a failed attempt at indignation. “Here’s how it’s going to happen, Walsh. Lucky for you, or maybe not, I am starving. So, we’re going to that hole in the wall, with two conditions. One: I will pay for anything I order. And two: You will pay for anything you order, with
your
dime,
not
Tucker’s. And by the way, while we’re there, we’re going to discuss exactly what you’re charging him. Because whatever it is, I’m sure it’s too much.”

****

Dan loaded his seasoned potato wedge with sweet barbecue sauce and then tossed it down the hatch. “Well, in my experience, the board is always a good place to start when I’m looking for dirt. I just happened to hit the mother lode this time, thanks to your dickhead brother.” He jabbed another wedge into the sauce. “Jesus, does that guy deal with anybody other than dirtbags?”

Kat filled their glasses with more iced tea from the pitcher left at the table of their corner booth.

“He needed rubber stamps so he could appease creditors, and you and I both know money can buy a shitload of those.” She added some sugar and gave her tea a stir. “I can only imagine what else I’m going to find. I’m actually interviewing a couple of firms to do the forensic work. I don’t have time to do it all myself. I have my own company to think about.” She set the long spoon on the table and brought the tangy drink to her lips.

“Correction, Kat.” He held up two fingers. “You have two companies to think about now.”

She licked her lips and pushed the nearly empty plate away.

“I never wanted it, any of it.” Sadness gnawed at the edges. “It’s already cost me too much.” Her thoughts drifted to Kyle.

“Then you’re going to have to make it pay off.” He gave her a weak smile. “Cassie doing okay holding down the fort?”

“Yeah, she’s doing great. Tough as nails. We’ve had some issues with clients and a distributor here and there. I don’t have any proof, but my gut tells me Parker’s causing trouble. Anyway, between Cassie and our sales reps, it’s been ironed out. But after today, I’m not sure what to expect next.”

She followed Dan’s gaze as he scanned the cozy restaurant. The man always worked, which had a lot to do with why their no-strings arrangement had been successful for all those years. They’d both been unrepentant workaholics.

“Is it Parker you need protection from?” His focus swung back to her.

“I don’t think I need protection. That’s Tucker’s idea. After the bombshell I intentionally dropped on Parker today, I think I’m actually safer than I was before. He needs to find out what I know now, and how. And even more importantly, he needs to find out if anyone else knows. After he sees the news tonight, it’ll be obvious it’s gone beyond just shutting me up to get what he wants.” She relaxed against the red pleather booth. “Even if he could get JAMESCO back, in his deluded fantasy world, it’s going to be tough to run it from a prison cell.”

Dan’s expression shifted to that of a man connecting the dots. “Are we still talking about the board he bought and paid for? Or something else?” He folded his arms, planted his elbows on the table, and stretched toward her.

Kat bit at her lip. Tucker knew everything about what she’d discovered in Queens, but no one else did. She hadn’t meant to tell Dan, not yet, but his expression conveyed he’d read her. Even after not seeing him for so long, they’d fallen right back into their easy rhythm. Theirs was an uncomplicated bond they’d had for so many years, until he’d wanted to complicate it, and she’d shut him out.

“Kat? Do you think he had something to do with your mother’s murder?” She remained silent. “I never liked that fucker, you know that. Never liked the way he looked at you.”

“Tucker noticed too.”

“He’s not right in the head, Kat. If you think he’s responsible, you need to go to the police with whatever you have.”

“I’m going to, I already told you that.” Dan shook his head in disagreement and pushed back to rest against the seat, arms crossed. “I know what I’m doing, Dan. And I’m doing it my way.”

His features tightened. “Of course you are. You always did. No matter what anyone said … or felt …” He pointed his judgment at her, clearly wanting to say more.

“Is that a criticism of the present? Or the past?”

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he regarded her as if he were comparing a before-and-after picture in his head.

“What the hell are you doing with a horse rancher from Montana, anyway? I mean, really? Seriously, Kat, come on. Are you just killing time with this guy?”

She snorted, flabbergasted. “You mean like I did with you?” His jaw ticked. “Tucker isn’t paying you to dredge up
our
past. And if you’ve been killing time thinking I’d change my mind at some point, well, you’ve been
wasting
time.” His eyes swung out over the heads bobbing in conversation and the servers balancing wide trays of food.

“Did you suddenly learn how to share the road?” His voice sounded cynical as he continued to search the premises, always multitasking.

“Excuse me?”

He gulped down the rest of his drink and then crunched ice like he had a grudge against it. “Never mind.” He picked up his phone and checked for messages. “So, where to next?” His finger tapped and scrolled. No eye contact.

“I think it’d be best if you had Manny or someone else pick up the rest of your shift.”

His eyes flicked to hers. “No way in hell. You’re not getting away that easy.” He pulled open his sport coat and pocketed his cell. “Not this time.”

****

He’d thumbed through magazines in her office, had made calls across the hall in the conference room, and had inspected the exit and entry points of J&P more than once. He basically kept her in close proximity, as if she were a felon with the words “flight risk” stamped on her forehead. In general, he’d been a pain in the ass and in a sour mood since their pissing match at lunch. Even though she’d ignored him while she attempted to be productive at work, she felt his eyes on her, judging her choices, especially the ones involving men.

Now she stood inside the front door of her apartment, assessing the tossed and torn cushions, drawers dumped, dishes smashed. Parker hadn’t wasted any time; probably paid someone to tear the place up. The news blurb had to have been the final straw. She’d watched it in her office with Dan. A headshot of her mother with the tips hotline number underneath had been displayed for a solid three seconds. She had Dan and his connections to thank for the airtime, which had served to dampen some of the resentment she’d aimed at him today.

He hollered from her bedroom. “It’s all clear, Kat! I’m calling it in.”

She stepped over a busted lamp, cracked picture frames, and an upended side table. As she entered her unholy wreck of a bedroom, Dan glanced over his shoulder at her. “You might want to clean up the mess from your nightstand over there before the police get here.” His tone sounded amused, even a bit mocking. “Your rancher must be better with horses than he is with women.”

Oh, she really wanted to smack his smug face. Her colorful assortment of toys lay scattered on the floor, some peeking out from under the bed.

“Actually, I need to get rid of them.” Her eyes met his. “For the first time in my life, I’m with a man who doesn’t need backup.” She winked and watched the self-satisfaction fade from his face. He stormed out the room and made his call out of earshot.

Served him right. Even with all the fun they’d had in the past and his help with her current problems, she wasn’t about to put up with his juvenile, male ego bullshit.

She scanned the destruction surrounding her. Estimated the time necessary to sort through the mess and organize her life once again. She dropped down on the edge of her bed with a weary sigh. Her elbows rested on her knees, face cupped in her hands.

Gears ground in her brain about the best way to present this situation to Tucker. He’d want to rush back. He hadn’t wanted to leave in the first place, hadn’t wanted her to stay without him. But she’d refused, insisting he go alone. The recent difficulties at Diamond Industries required him on site for a while. And the longer he put off those troubles, the deeper the hole would get, and the quicksand in it, which was the same reason she’d stayed behind in New York. They both needed resolution so they could move forward, wherever forward might take them. The sooner, the better.

Her vision snagged on an upturned heap. A ravaged object came into focus. She reached out and grabbed the photo Claire had taken of her and Tucker on their horses. The glass had been shattered, the picture scored with something sharp, their faces now unidentifiable. Her breathing accelerated and fear tickled up her spine.

“I doubt this was random, Kat.” Dan stood in the doorway. “A unit should be here in a few minutes.”

She nodded numbly. “I didn’t think he’d react so quickly. I mean, I know the firestorm hasn’t let up since the reading of my father’s will, and today I poured gasoline all over it—twice.” Her focus hadn’t left the ruined photo. “But I never thought he’d be so obvious about it. I pegged him as sneakier, more cunning. This feels off.”