Hunter's Way (26 page)

“I care about you. I’m trying to help you.”

“Robert, please, I don’t want this kind of help from you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking from Samantha to Amy. “What do you want me to do? Just stay away? Just pretend that I don’t love you? Pretend that we’ve not been a couple for two goddamn years?”

“Why does this have to be about you, Robert? What about what I want?” Amy shifted uncomfortably, then retreated to the kitchen to give them some privacy. “I can’t just shut it off like you can, Samantha. I’m sorry. This is such a shock, you know. One minute we’re fine, and the next, you tell me that you don’t want me in your life anymore. How the hell am I supposed to act?”

“I don’t know, Robert. I only know how I feel. And you’ve got to stop this. Give it some time, Robert.”

“Time? You think that’s going to make me feel better?”

“What do you want me to say to you, Robert? I’m truly sorry, I am.”

He stared at her for the longest moment, then turned away. “Okay. I’m sorry, Samantha. I’ve been acting like a lovesick teenager, I guess. You’re right. I need to give it some time. I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said.

“I’m going to be fine, Robert. And thank you for caring.”

He nodded. “Okay. Will you promise you’ll call me and let me know how you are? I mean, maybe we could get dinner one night.”

“I’ll call you, Robert. I promise.”

He nodded again. “Well, tell Amy I’ll see her around, okay?”

“I will.”

He hesitated, taking one step toward her, and Sam was afraid he was going to kiss her. But he finally turned and left without another word. When the door closed, Sam glanced toward the kitchen.

“You can come out now, Amy. I think it’s safe,” she called.

The swinging door to the kitchen popped open and Amy stuck her head out, looking around.

“What did he say?”

Sam smiled. “As if you weren’t listening at the door the whole time.”

“I was not. Do you want something to drink? Are you hungry?”

“I think… a beer,” she said. “I am hungry, but I want to wait until Tori gets here.”

“Are you sure she’s coming? I mean, she hasn’t called at all today,” Amy reminded her.

No, she hadn’t called. Sam wondered what she’d been up to all day. But she would come, Sam didn’t doubt that. “She’ll be here. She told me she would.”

Amy had just handed Sam her beer when a loud banging sounded on the door.

“Hey guys, it’s me.”

Sam smiled, but it was Amy who opened the door. Tori stood there with two boxes of pizza and a six-pack of beer.

“Thanks.” She walked in and smiled at Sam. “Hungry?”

“Very.”

“Good.” She handed the beer to Amy and placed the pizzas on the low table in front of the sofa. Then she squatted down next to Sam. “How was it today?”

“Okay. They came and took a statement.”

“Yeah. Travis freaked out when I told him.” At Sam’s raised eyebrows, she explained. “Detective Travis from CIU. He was the guy that showed up late, wanting a statement.”

“I remember.” Sam reached out and lifted the hair away from Tori’s forehead, looking at her stitches. “Still hurt?”

“No.”

Then Sam frowned. “What about the ones on your side? I forgot about them.”

Tori stood up. “The damn nurse poked around them last night. She said to leave them in another couple of days. Apparently, my swim yesterday didn’t do them much good.”

“About that, how did you get out? And don’t say you’re part fish,” Sam teased.

Amy watched them from the kitchen, smiling at their interaction. It was so different from what she’d seen with Robert in the past. There was a playfulness between them that never had been there with Robert.

“I have long arms.”

“And?”

Tori put her arms behind her back, demonstrating much as she had done with Travis. “I pulled my knees to my chest, slipped my hands under my feet and brought them to the front.”

“And all without drowning. My, you are good.”

“I’m very good,” Tori said and raised her eyebrows mischievously.

Sam laughed, then turned serious as Tori stared at her. “What?”

“It’s so good to hear you laugh,” Tori said quietly. She walked over and sat down, taking Sam’s hand. “You’re going to be okay, right?”

“It might take me a little while to get back to normal, but I’m going to be fine, Tori.”

“Yes, I think you will. Because you’re strong that way. I tried to imagine how I would be reacting if it were me, and I don’t think I could hold up like this. I think I would…”

“Retreat again?” Sam guessed.

“Maybe. Probably.”

“No, you wouldn’t. Because I wouldn’t let you.”

Tori squeezed Sam’s hand. “I’ve got some really good news. Lab results came back on their blood tests.”

Sam smiled. “Yeah? Negative?”

“Negative. No HIV.”

“Thank God.” She reached out and hugged Tori. “That’s fabulous.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Amy finally pushed away from the door, walking over with a beer for Tori and a handful of napkins. “I should probably be going,” she said.

“No. You haven’t eaten,” Sam said.

“Please stay, Amy,” Tori offered.

“Depends. What kind you got?” she asked with a smile.

“Two of everything. Pick off what you don’t like and put it on mine.”

Tori sat down on the floor and opened both boxes. They all grabbed a piece, groaning at the first bite. It was the only thing any of them had eaten all day.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Detective,” Amy said around a mouthful.

“Oh? From Sam? Or nasty rumors?”

Amy grinned. “Samantha too, but mostly nasty rumors,” she admitted.

“Well, they’re mostly true.”

“They are not, and you know it,” Sam said. “Even Dr. Peterson, the profiler, asked me if it was true that you’d
pushed
your partner out of a
three
-story window. And he works for the department.”

Tori only shrugged. “Rumors are rumors. And it’s not like I have a lot of friends on the force who can vouch for me.”

“Is it true you punched out a Captain for botching up a warrant that caused someone to walk?” Amy asked.

“No, of course not. It was a Lieutenant.”

“Are you serious?” Sam asked. “And you still had a job?”

“I got suspended for a week.”

“You are amazing,” Sam murmured. “And again, that’s not a compliment.”

“Oh, Sam, I’m much better now. I’ve been told you’re a good influence on me. Even Sikes said I was nearly bearable.”

“He said that?”

“That I was bearable?”

“That I was a good influence on you,” Sam said.

“Yeah, he did.”

“Hmm, imagine that. What are we going to do if people actually start liking you?”

Tori smiled. “I have no idea.”

Amy drank from her beer, watching as they watched each other. Maybe they hadn’t talked about it, but there was some very real chemistry going on here. Again, she noticed how different the interaction was with Tori as compared to Robert. She had been out with Samantha and Robert on numerous occasions, and she never once witnessed the teasing banter between them that Samantha seemed to enjoy with Tori. And Samantha had been right. It was almost as if a lightbulb had gone on as soon as Tori walked in the room.

“Listen, you guys, I’m going to call it a night,” Amy said. “Thank you for the pizza, Tori. It was nice to finally meet you.”

“No problem. Nice to meet you, too.”

Sam walked with Amy to the door and hugged her. “Thank you for staying with me today. I really needed that, Amy. I appreciate it.”

“What about tomorrow?”

“I’ll be okay. I’ve got an appointment, anyway.”

“The shrink?”

“Yeah.”

Amy motioned to Tori, who was still eating. “She’s staying, right?”

“Yes.”

“She’s cute as hell,” Amy whispered.

Sam blushed. “Yes, I know.”

“Not at all like I imagined.”

Sam rolled her eyes.

“Call me tomorrow, okay?”

“I will. Drive carefully.”

Sam closed and locked the door, then turned to Tori. She was still on the floor, leaning back against the sofa. A beer bottle was shoved between her legs. Sam pulled her eyes away, resuming her position on the sofa, not far from Tori.

“She’s nice.”

“Yes, she is.”

“So what were you whispering about?”

Sam blushed. “She said you were cute as hell.”

Tori grinned. “She did, huh?”

“Don’t get a big head.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Then Tori raised an eyebrow. “So, how are you really?”

“If I don’t think about it, I’m fine,” Sam admitted. “It seems almost like a dream.” Sam looked away. “But I know it’s not.”

“You have an appointment tomorrow, right? You want me to take you?”

“Thank you, but I think I need to be able to do this by myself. If I can’t leave the house without being afraid, I won’t be much use to you out on the street.”

Tori nodded. “You know Malone won’t let you back until she clears you.”

“I know. That’s why I want to go alone. I don’t want to be out long. Besides, we’ve got a case.”

“Yeah. About that, they got a match on the shoe prints. Size seven.”

“Seven? That’s small. Could be a woman. We haven’t even thought our guy could be a woman,” Sam said.

“Not a woman. Remember the semen match from the first two,” Tori said.

“Oh, right. I’m sorry. I’m not thinking clearly.”

“Don’t be sorry. I thought the same thing.”

“Wait a minute. What about the guy at the bar? He was small.”

“Yeah. But we don’t know who he is. I thought maybe tomorrow night I might go back there and see if he shows.”

“You shouldn’t go alone.”

“I’m thinking I might recruit Sikes and Ramirez. Get them to play a couple. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

Sam grinned. “I’d pay to see that.”

They sat quietly for a moment, then Tori reached up and tugged at Sam’s jeans. “You tired?”

“Yeah, I am. It’s been stressful. CIU stayed an hour and a half. They’re thorough, that’s for sure. Then Robert showed up,” she said.

“Oh yeah? How did that go?”

“Not good,” she said quietly. “He’s trying to help, but… we just end up arguing about our relationship. He actually showed up announcing that he was taking me out to dinner. He said I couldn’t hide in here forever.”

“Jesus Christ,” Tori muttered. “Does he not understand what happened to you?”

“You know, I’m not really certain that he does. He asked me if I was feeling better, as if I’d been down with the flu or something.”

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to admit what happened,” Tori suggested. “If he doesn’t talk about it, then it’s not true.”

“You’re probably right.”

Tori stood up. “Come on. Let’s get this cleaned up. A good night’s sleep would do us both good.”

They put the leftover pizza in the fridge, then Tori went to the spare bathroom to shower. Sam brushed her teeth, getting ready for bed. She wondered if Tori would sleep in here again tonight or if she would prefer the sofa. Sam hadn’t considered that maybe Tori was uncomfortable sleeping with her. She met her own eyes in the mirror, remembering the way Tori had held her. She really wanted Tori to hold her again tonight. But she would offer the sofa, just in case.

She was again sitting in the living room with a glass of wine when Tori walked out of the shower, clad as before in shorts and a T-shirt with her feet bare. She walked over and took the glass of wine that Sam had poured for her. They sat much as they had the night before, with feet propped on the table.

“I appreciate you staying with me, Tori. I know you’re used to being alone,” Sam said.

“This is nice. Much better than my apartment and a hell of a lot better than the cot in the locker room,” she said.

“Why do you stay there so much? And don’t say because you work late and it’s easier than driving to your apartment.”

“My apartment is just an apartment. Just a place to sleep. It’s not really a home,” Tori said quietly. “I have a bed and a recliner and a TV. That’s about it.”

“Your boat is home,” Sam said.

“Yeah, it is. But now, every time I go out there, I’ll think about what happened to you.”

“No. What happened to us,” Sam corrected.

“I think maybe I’ll move her to another marina,” Tori said. “There are a couple of other small ones out there. I want you to be able to come out, you know.”

Sam reached over and took Tori’s hand. “Thank you. And you’re right. It would be tough going back. Right now, anyway. Maybe in a few weeks…”

Tori watched as their fingers entwined. It was so easy to be with Sam. So natural to touch her like this. She raised her eyes, meeting the gentle green ones that looked back at her. It occurred to her then how it had become between them. The quiet teasing, the innocent touches, the shyness that she saw in Sam’s eyes sometimes. What was she thinking? What was she feeling? Was it anything like the thoughts Tori had been having lately?

“Bed?”

“Mmm.”

“Do you want me… I mean, would you rather I slept out here?” She felt Sam’s hand tighten, then release.

“No. I mean, would you rather sleep out here?”

Tori smiled. “Let’s see. A bed or a sofa? That is a tough choice,” she teased.

Sam stood and pulled Tori to her feet. “Bed.”

Tori slipped out of her shorts and crawled under the covers, again waiting until Sam turned out the lamp. In the darkness, she felt Sam shift, felt her move until they were almost touching. Then Tori slowly reached for her and pulled Sam into her arms. Sam snuggled against her immediately, her arm folding across Tori’s waist like before.

Sam took a deep breath and released it. Tori’s arms tightened around her and Sam felt… heard Tori’s rapid heartbeat. Her hand rested along Tori’s hip and without really thinking, she moved it under Tori’s T-shirt, wanting to touch warm flesh. She felt Tori tremble, heard her quiet intake of breath. She closed her eyes, fighting off the feelings that were threatening to consume her. But God, she so wanted to touch her.

Tori fought to squelch the desire that had settled firmly over her like a heavy blanket, nearly choking her. Sam wasn’t making it easy. In fact, she wondered if Sam had any idea what she was doing to her. And if she had any sense at all, Tori would remove Sam’s hand from under her shirt. But she was powerless to do any such thing. Sam’s hand was warm, soft upon her. And it had been so long since anyone had touched her. At that moment, all she wanted to do was pull Sam on top of her, feel her weight as it pressed down against her… and kiss her. She closed her eyes and wondered what Sam’s reaction would be. Would she be shocked, angry? Or would she feel Tori’s desire and match it?