The Shifter and the Dreamer (2 page)
Chapter Two
Katy hadn’t slept well. Dreams chased her throughout the night. The past, the present and the future all twisted and turned. Cameron’s face smiling at her the first time they made love, then his face when she told him she was moving, and finally the pity when he’d found out her secret—or one of her secrets.
It had been a stressful day when they’d made it back to her apartment. It was always her apartment they spent the night in. Katy knew that bothered Cameron, but she couldn’t help that she felt more comfortable in her own space. Ever since she was very little and had no control over her life, she’d clung to what she could call hers. Her apartment was one of the few things she was never able to relent on her control over.
The day had started normally enough. But they’d been sleeping together for too many months without anyone knowing. Of course it couldn’t last. Another member of their squad had finally seen them sharing dinner the night before.
It was strictly against the rules to become romantically involved with your partner. Knowing this, Katy had tried to fight her attraction to Cameron, but he’d pursued her so skilfully, she’d fallen in love long before they slept together.
That day the special agent in charge had called them both into his office. After a stern warning about rumours inside the building, he’d cautioned them against continuing any relationship that wasn’t purely professional. Katy had done her best to avoid both Cameron and the subject for most of the day. But once they’d walked into the apartment, Cameron had turned on her.
“I don’t care what the rules are,” he’d said. “You’re mine, and I won’t give you up.”
Katy hadn’t agreed. While they were good together, it was no reason to end one or both of their careers. She’d argued with Cameron for hours but when he’d asked her point-blank if she loved him, she couldn’t lie. She should have told him no and demanded he leave. Requested another partner and put everything they’d had behind her. But she hadn’t. She’d cried in front of him for the first time. He’d opened his arms and she’d walked to him, accepting his love and giving in.
He’d made love to her almost desperately that night, holding onto her so tightly she had bruises the next morning. It had been glorious and was imprinted in her mind for all time.
And then the next morning her sister called. She’d been in the shower and Cameron had answered. He’d been as shocked as
Allysa
had been. And by the time Katy had walked into the bedroom wrapped in a towel, they’d already spoken for several minutes.
And that was when everything else fell apart. Cameron had offered the phone to her without a word. When Katy put it to her ear, she could hear her sister still talking.
“An only child?”
Her sister’s words echoed in Katy’s head. “Katy told you she was an only child?”
Katy had hurt them both more than she’d ever meant to. But her sister was a part of her life she hadn’t shared with anyone. She knew one day she would have to return to her old life. Turned out she was right. Cameron had stormed out while she tried to calm
Allysa
down.
That was the last time Katy had been with Cameron.
Katy had already accepted the job in Greenwood as Sheriff when she told him she was leaving. It may have been the coward’s way out, but by then she didn’t care. Her apartment had been boxed up and the truck packed. He couldn’t have talked her out of leaving if he’d tried. Not that he had.
“Earth to Katy.”
Katy’s head snapped up and her sister laughed. “What?”
“Oh, nothing!”
Allysa
continued to laugh as she poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot that Katy had made. “I’ve just been calling your name for five minutes now.”
“Oh, sorry, lot on my mind.”
“I heard about Amanda Caldwell,”
Allysa
offered, sobering.
“You knew her?” Katy hadn’t thought of that. Hadn’t considered how the murder would affect her sister.
Allysa
shrugged and sat down across from her. “Not well, but yeah.”
“I’m sorry I hadn’t thought about that. She was your age.”
“We had a couple meetings we both attended. We weren’t friends but were friendly enough. She was real quiet…shy, you know?”
Katy watched her sister take a drink of her coffee. Katy took a drink of her own and grimaced since it had turned stone cold.
“She worked at the elementary school,” Katy told her.
“Yeah, about a year now,”
Allysa
confirmed.
“I think everyone liked her. She was a good teacher, cared about her kids, about their future.”
Katy knew her sister was a good teacher also. She taught history in the junior high school and coached girls’ softball. Katy started making plans in her head to interview other teachers, Amanda’s friends, and some of the busy-bodies in town. Which reminded her—“Where did you hear about this, exactly?”
Allysa
shrugged.
“Small town.”
Katy laughed briefly and got up to dump out her cold coffee. Refilling her travel mug, she looked outside the kitchen window to the backyard of the pretty, ranch-style house they shared. She sighed.
“It was bad, huh?”
Katy turned around and looked at her sister. “Very.”
Allysa
stared back and when she cocked her head, Katy wanted to laugh, but her sister’s next question stopped her.
“But that’s not all that’s bothering you.”
Katy frowned at being so readable. “No.”
Katy wasn’t going to elaborate but her sister sat there and waited. Damn, but she knew her too well.
“This might be connected to the serial killer in Dallas,” Katy informed her.
“Shit,”
Allysa
said, jerking in her chair.
“Yeah.”
“He could be here?
In our town?”
Allysa’s
voice shook. Katy didn’t want to upset her, but she wanted…no,
needed
Allysa
to protect herself.
“No. Yes. I don’t know. Listen to me,
Allysa
. I don’t know if it is him. It could be a copycat or someone just driving through town. I don’t want this to get out before I know if it’s connected. But you need to be careful. If something happened to you…” Katy tried to explain. But she wasn’t any better at sharing her feelings with
Allysa
than she had been with Cameron.
Allysa
nodded. “I understand.”
Katy took a good look at her sister. When she’d moved back she had been shocked at how much
Allysa
had changed. Katy had always kept a picture in her head of the sweet, innocent eight year old who had hung on her every word.
Allysa
had turned into a woman Katy was proud to call family. She could take care of herself and had for several years. But
Allysa
was special—even more so than Katy.
That didn’t absolve Katy of her responsibility to take care of
Allysa
. Now that she was back she would have to make sure her job didn’t affect her little sister. And that included anyone who came with the job. Like the guests they would have soon.
“I called the Feds. They should be here sometime today,” Katy told
Allysa
, partly to make her feel better and partly to give advance warning.
“Okay.”
Allysa
took a deep breath. “I can’t believe this.”
“Me either,” Katy agreed and left it at that.
Several minutes went by before
Allysa
put it together. “You called the Feds?”
Katy nodded.
“The Feds from Dallas?”
Allysa
asked with growing amusement.
Again, all Katy did was nod.
A smile broke out on her sister’s face. “And from your appearance and zoning out, I can guess which Fed they’re sending.”
When Katy didn’t answer,
Allysa
laughed.
“Well, I’d say that puts an interesting spin on things,” her sister offered.
Allysa
knew what had happened between her and Cameron. She knew everything.
Katy frowned. “Whatever.” She silently prayed
Allysa
would leave everything alone. No such luck.
That just made her sister laugh harder. When she came around the table and put her arms around her, Katy was barely able to hold back a growl.
“Before you go in, you might want to check your clothing. Your shirt’s buttoned wrong,”
Allysa
told her.
Katy cursed as
Allysa
ran out of the room, her laughter staying behind.
* * * *
Cameron parked the rental car in front of the Sheriff’s Office in Greenwood,
“You okay?” his partner asked him.
Cameron nodded and looked out of the windshield into the station. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he lied. In all the scenarios he’d thought…dreamt about, he’d never expected to be reconnected with Katy this way. Not with a serial killer loose. Luckily Ryan didn’t call him on his lie, just waited until Cameron took several deep breaths.
They got out and stretched their legs. The closest airport was a three-hour drive. They’d made good time but still the sitting hadn’t been fun.
“Sure is pretty here,” Ryan commented carefully.
“Yes it is,” Cameron agreed. Not able to put it off any longer, he headed for the door.
The office was like many other small Sheriff’s offices in the state. A woman who looked to be about fifty sat in a front desk on the phone, and four deputies in uniform sat in desks behind her. Cameron looked around for the Sheriff but didn’t see her.
“We have no comment at this time,” the woman said pleasantly into the phone before hanging up and looking at them. She seemed to take in their suits and frowned. “You the Feds?” she
asked,
her accent deep and true.
“Yes, ma’am.
Special Agents Morris and Waters.”
Cameron pulled out his badge.
She looked at him suspiciously but nodded. “The Sheriff’s expecting you,” she told them before standing and turning on her heel.
Cameron watched her walk back to an office across from them. The blinds were down so he couldn’t see inside. She knocked on the open door.
“Those Feds are here, Sheriff.”
Cameron didn’t hear a response but the woman glanced over her shoulder at them and smirked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Then Katy came out of the office, wearing a khaki uniform, black boots, and a frown. Her long chestnut hair swayed in a braid behind her, her green eyes were alert and sharp, and she watched him as he watched her approach.
“Special Agents, thank you for coming so quickly,” she said in that professional tone you use with strangers.
It grated on his nerves but he let it go…for now. “Sheriff,” he said, just as professionally.
Her eyes didn’t give anything away and Cameron was really looking. “Please come back.” She turned and walked quickly to her office.
Cameron and Ryan followed Katy. If he sneaked a look at her ass as she walked ahead of him, who would blame him? His hands itched to feel her flesh again. Those perfect round cheeks of hers always fitted perfectly in his hands as he lifted her up and pounded her into the nearest wall or whatever surface was closer.
Ryan cleared his throat and bumped his shoulder. Cameron pressed his lips tightly together and pulled in his desire. He drew on his well-known control and focused on releasing all thoughts.
As he walked closer to Katy’s office, he felt the calmness the control wrapped around him. Ryan relaxed next to him, sensing he was okay. He should have been embarrassed his partner had picked up on his feelings, but he wasn’t going to worry about it. Ryan was discreet and he trusted the man.
Katy waited until they were inside her small office before closing the door and moving to her chair.
“I really do appreciate you coming so fast. I didn’t know if I should wait for the two of you or continue with the investigation,” Katy told them as they took a seat.
Cameron noticed she’d not looked at him since he entered her office. Her eyes stayed on the file in front of her. Point one for him. His presence bothered her. Good.
“What have you got so far?” he asked, his voice losing the professional tone to a more intimate one.
As Katy pushed the file forwards her hand shook. Cameron picked it up and glanced at her before opening it. He quickly went through the file before handing it to his partner. Ryan did the same before laying it back on the desk.
“We need to see the body.
The dump site.
And talk to whoever found the body,” Cameron told her. He could do his job. But he wasn’t about to let Katy out of his sight. The more time they spent together, the better he would know how to handle her when they talked. And they would talk…at the very least.
“Do you think it’s him?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know yet. If it is, then we’re in trouble, but one step at a time. Where’d the victim live?”
She looked at him finally and Cameron felt the punch. Her eyes, which were still crystal clear, held something in them. An emotion he had only hoped to still see. While she was worried and angry, she was also fighting herself. He knew every feeling she kept hidden. For the first time in a long time, he felt deep hope.
“Not far from here,” she interrupted his thoughts. “Do you want to go there or to the dump site?”
“We’ll go to the apartment first.”
Katy nodded and stood. “I’ll take you over. I got the key last night from her mom and went through it. I didn’t see anything out of place. I don’t think she was taken from there.”
Cameron nodded but remained silent as he made a gesture for her to precede him.
Katy stopped to talk to one of the deputies. He was in his late forties and looked over at them with a frown. Cameron got the impression that no one in the Sheriff’s office was happy they were there, but then he’d expected that. Nodding, the man said something too low for Cameron to hear. Katy shook her head then turned back to him.