Illusions of Love (10 page)

Hilliard
referred me to Seth, a detective in the fraud unit. I was going to work along
with him. I had a couple officers go pick Leslie up. I was pretty sure she
would be pretty angry
.
and I was looking forward to it. I stood waiting for them to bring her in. Seth
told me to page him when I had her. My cell phone started ringing. I looked at
it, it was Cole. I was wondering if he already knew.

“Hello,”
I said cheerfully.

“I
love how you sound like you didn’t just back stab your husband,” he spat.

“I
don’t know what you mean,” I said feigning ignorance.

He
scoffed. “You had Leslie detained. Why?” he growled.

“I’m
sorry I can’t comment on an open investigation,” I said quietly.

“Figures,”
he muttered and hung up.

I
sighed and put my phone away. This was going to be a very long night.

Leslie
came stalking in followed by the two officers I sent for her. “This is
ridiculous. What is it you think I did?” she asked angrily.

“I
will discuss that with you. Show her to room two and get her a drink if she
needs it,” I said sweetly. She glared at me and marched off after the lead cop.

I
went to retrieved Seth. He was a nice guy. He was always telling bad jokes and
he didn’t seem like the detective type. We walked to the interrogation room. I
could hear Leslie’s high pitched voice from outside the interrogation room.

I
walked in and Seth followed. The plan was that I lead, and Seth would just
observe. I was a little startled to see Cole sitting in the chair next to
Leslie.

“Cole
you should wait in the waiting room,” I said softly. I wasn’t sure how I was
going to tell him what Leslie gave to the media. I didn’t think him being here
was a good idea.

“I
am allowed to have whoever I want in with me. Just tell me what this is all
about. You have obviously cooked something up because you are jealous,” she
said haughtily.

“Believe
me when I say this has nothing to do with jealousy. I actually stumbled on this
and I wanted to question you that is all. You are not under arrest,” I said
smoothly.

“Just
get on with it. It’s late and we want to go home,” Cole snapped.

“Go
ahead,” Seth said shrugging.

I
opened the file and started placing papers in front of her. They were the
medical reports, personal letters, and police reports pertaining to Cole.

“What
the fuck is this? How the hell did you get these?” Cole yelled as he glared at
me.

“A
reporter gave them to me. He claims they were sold to him by Leslie for ten
thousand dollars,” I said as I watched Leslie.

“What?”
Cole growled glaring at Leslie.

“You
can’t prove anything,” she hissed at me.

“The
reporter that gave them to me identified you. He gave me all the copies in
return I’m not going to release his name or affiliations. Who else would have
copies of all these documents?” I asked watching Cole.

He
was glaring at Leslie and I could see her wavering under his gaze. “Only me,”
Cole growled. “I had copies and she had copies. Since I didn’t sell them it is
obvious she did. I do not want to press charges I will handle her in my own
way. Is that all?” Cole asked me calmly.

I
looked at Seth and he nodded. “If you don’t want to press charges you can
handle it civilly,” Seth said and stood.

“You
are free to go,” I said to Leslie.

She
glared at me like she wanted me dead. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she
hired the man that tried to kill me. Cole got up and stormed out. “You will pay
for this!” she hissed then hurried after him.

“That
is your husband?” Seth asked skeptically.

“He
probably won’t be for long,” I said amused.

He
smiled. “Well I am recently single if it doesn’t work out,” he said playfully.

“I’ll
consider it. Thanks for the help,” I said as I gathered my papers. He nodded
and walked out.

I
walked back toward my office. I was both happy that Cole knew and a little
worried he hated me. I could understand why he was angry. He probably felt
betrayed. I opened the door to my office and Cole was sitting in the chair in
front of my desk. He looked at me and his expression was unreadable.

“I
want everything you have. All the papers, everything. That is private and you
should have told me about it to begin with.” His voice was cold and distant as
he spoke.

I
handed him the folder. “I wiped the file on my computer, and I warned the
reporter to wipe the files too.”

“Why
would he give this too you? What did he have to gain?” he asked angrily.

“He
gave them to me in return for an interview. He claimed they might help me find
out who sent the goon after me. He thought it was the girl you were seeing,” I
said as I took a seat.

“Tiffany
moved out of state. The last I heard she was in school. Are you investigating
her now?” His eyes were blazing with anger as he spoke.

“It’s
a dead end. Tiffany is in lockdown. She hasn’t had a visitor in over six months
so I doubt it is her,” I said quietly.

His
expression changed from anger to worry. “How do you know that?”

“She
was court ordered there after attempting to kill herself. It’s in her records,”
I said quietly.

He
ran his fingers through his hair. “I suppose you want an explanation?”

I
shook my head. “I just wanted you to know what was going on, and I knew Leslie
wouldn’t talk to me unless I forced her.”

He
watched me as I clicked through my files. There was a brisk knock on my door
and Captain Hilliard peeked his head in. “One month Winters, get out of my
precinct.”

I
sighed and rolled my eyes. “I’m going.”

“Good,
be gone,” he said amused and shut the door.

“This
sucks,” I muttered as I gathered my coat.

“You
have to take a month off?” Cole asked as he watched me.

I
nodded. “In order to look into Leslie I had to sacrifice and promise to take
time off.”

“Come
home with me,” he begged watching me.

“I
am going back to the hotel now,” I said confused.

“No,
home to Pine Hollow as my wife,” he said watching me.

I
looked at him not sure what to say. After everything I didn’t know what to do.
It would have been nice to ignore everything and just play his wife, but I
didn’t know if I could. I wanted too, more than anything, but something was
stopping me and I didn’t know what to say.

Forgiven: Final Volume

He
looked determined as I watched him. I wasn’t sure if I could say no, but I
really wasn’t sure if I could say yes either. He stood up quickly and moved
closer to me. “I know you don’t trust me Katie, but I am asking you to give me
a chance. You have a month of, we could start over and see where it goes. If it
doesn’t work out then you can come home and forget about me,” he said softly.

I
looked up into his eyes and I felt my breath catch. The scent of his cologne
and the sound of his voice was overwhelming enough, but the desperate look in
his eyes was even harder to say no to.  “Ok, we can try it,” I said quietly.

He
smiled and pressed his mouth to mine. His tongue touched mine and I felt my
body come to life. I had half a mind to throw him across the desk, but I was
sure the captain would be checking in again to make sure I was gone. “Let’s go
back to the hotel. We will leave first thing in the morning,” he said sounding
relieved.

I
nodded and reluctantly moved away from him to gather my things. I still wasn’t
sure if this whole thing was a good idea, but I was going to try. I wanted to
be with Cole, part of me hadn’t moved on because I wanted to be with Cole.
Maybe things would change, then again maybe things would get worse than they
were before. “Ready?” I asked and smiled once I was sure I had everything.

He
nodded and offered his hand. I smiled and took it. He led me out of my office,
toward the exit.

Once
we were in the car I was more nervous. I wasn’t sure if I made a good choice. I
hoped I was. Cole reached over and squeezed my leg. “I figured we could call
room service for dinner,” he said and smiled.

I
nodded. “Sounds good,” I said trying not to sound too breathless. Even his
touch made me crazy. I hated to admit it, but I was still madly in love with
Cole. I just didn’t trust him. I couldn’t trust him blindly like I had before.
I made the mistake once and I didn’t want to make it again.

It
didn’t take long until we were back at the hotel. The last time we were at the
hotel together we had an awkward discussion. It seemed like every discussion
between us since we broke up was awkward. There were camera men haunting the
entrance to the hotel like always. He drove into the private garage and parked.
He climbed out and I followed. He smiled and took my hand. I couldn’t help but
feel a little giddy at his touch.

The
elevator doors opened and we stepped inside. He moved closer to me and I felt
my pulse quicken. His hand released mine and went to the small of my back. “I
can’t wait to get to the room,” he whispered as he leaned into me.

I
smiled and closed my eyes as he kissed my neck gently. “I am looking forward to
it too,” I said softly.

The
elevator doors opened and he took my hand and led me into the room. As soon as
the door shut he pressed his lips to mine. He didn’t even give me a minute to
take my coat off. He peeled my jacket off as he kissed me, and pushed me
backwards toward the bed.

I
giggled as he ripped my shirt open. His hands went to the waistband of my
pants. He was quickly undressing me, but I hadn’t had a chance to undress him.
I yelped startled as we fell back onto the bed. I didn’t even realize we were
that close to the bed.

“You
are so hot,” he whispered as he slid my pants off, taking my shoes with them.

You’re
not so bad yourself,” I said amused as I watched him strip his shirt and pants
off. He smiled and climbed on the bed.

He
pressed his mouth to mine and kissed me gently. “I want to renew our vows when
we get home,” he said softly.

I
watched him for a second then sighed. “Don’t you want to get to know one
another? I mean we were kids when we got married. We may not even like each
other anymore. I mean ya the sex is good, but that will eventually get old.”

He
scowled. “I resent that statement. It will not get old,” he said trying to
sound offended. His scowl was turning into a smile. He couldn’t keep a straight
face for anything.

“What
about the rest of what I said? You don’t think we have both changed a lot?” I
asked as I ran my fingers through his soft hair.

He
watched me for a minute like he was considering it. “Why weren’t you with
anyone else then?”

I
groaned and pushed him aside as I sat up. “Do we have to talk about this
tonight?”

“Katelyn
you don’t ever want to talk about anything. It is like you are trying to make
our relationship about sex. You won’t let me in,” he said sounding pained.

I
stood trying to relax. “I just need time to figure out what I am doing. I am
not saying it won’t work out, but why does it have to be serious? Why can’t it
be about sex, just for now?”

He
looked away from me like he was considering it, but he really didn’t want to
answer “I guess for now it won’t hurt anything,” he said softly.

I
smiled and climbed back on the bed. I pressed my body to his and kissed him.
“Thank you,” I whispered softly.

He
smiled. “I would do anything for you. You have to know that.”

I
pressed my lips to his again and enjoyed the feel of his mouth on mine. He
rolled me so he was pinning me. He kissed my neck as he undid my bra, and
tossed it aside. He slid my panties down and I closed my eyes as he laid kisses
over the heated skin between my thighs. I had a feeling it was going to be a
very long, but fun night.

I
woke up when I felt his hand slide up my belly. He cupped my breast and twisted
my nipple making me groan. “Time to wake up,” he whispered he slid his hand
down my belly, and rested it between my thighs.

I
smiled. “This is a nice way to wake up.”

He
laughed as he nuzzled my ear. “We need to get going,” he said amused. He popped
my clit making me gasp; then he hopped out of the bed. I groaned as I sat up.
He walked to the bathroom and started the shower. I reluctantly followed
because I knew he wouldn’t leave me alone until I did.

I
followed him into the shower. The hot water was a little bit of a shock, but I
immediately relaxed. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck gently.
“Are you going to object to staying at my parent’s house while we visit?” he
asked softly.

I
stiffened a little at his question. He had to know I wouldn’t like it. His
mother hated my family. I didn’t spend much time around her, but I knew enough
to know she hated my guts. “Your mother agree to that?” I asked confused.

He
cleared his throat like he was slightly hesitant to answer. “Yes, reluctantly,
but yes,” he said sounding slightly amused.

“Cole
she hates me. Why do you want to put either of us through that?” I asked
confused.

“I
want you two to get along. You are my wife and she is my mother. You two have
to get along at some point. What happens when we decide to have children?” he
asked sounding slightly annoyed.

“Whoa,
who said anything about children? Aren’t you moving a little fast?” I asked
nervously.

He
laughed softly as he nuzzled my neck. “I don’t think I am, but apparently you
think so.”

I
sighed trying to decide what to say. I didn’t want to upset him, but this
supposed vacation was starting to seem like a bad idea. “I guess I can always
stay with my uncle if she isn’t nice.”

“She
will be nice. She promised me,” he said sounding slightly amused like he didn’t
really believe her.

I
turned in his arms and looked up at him. “I promise you she hates me. You
remember she had you arrested for trespassing in your own cabin.”

He
shrugged. “She was just a little angry. She has gotten over it. People change
Katelyn despite what you seem to think.”

I
sighed and laid my cheek on his chest as I wrapped my arms around him. I hoped
he was right. I hoped people could change as much as he claimed.