Crossing Lines (Cops and Docs #2)
Read Crossing Lines (Cops and Docs #2) Online
Authors: K.D. Williamson
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Table of Contents
Other Books from Ylva Publishing
Books in the Series
Cops and Docs
Blurred Lines
Crossing Lines
Dedication
To my Michelle—I’m at my best because of you. Thanks for putting up with me, asshole mode and all.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Jove Belle for her continued guidance and honesty. To the fans, both the old and new...thank you for the boost. Last but not least, thanks to my family for the support.
CHAPTER 1
Kelli took a long swig from her beer and flipped through the channels on Nora’s TV. She stopped on
Sex Sent Me to the ER
. She had to give it to The Learning Channel; there was always something interesting on. Despite that, Kelli yawned. She was tired as hell and still getting used to marching the concrete trail through the city for work. Thank God, she didn’t have a lot of open cases. Or maybe the lieutenant was going easy on her. Good thing Nora’s bed was the expensive kind of comfortable. Not that they did much sleeping… Not at first, anyway. They had settled into a routine over the past couple weeks, especially with Kelli back on active duty. No matter how late Kelli worked, they made time to be together. As far as Kelli was concerned, it was the best way to end her nights, especially after dealing with the shit stains of Seattle.
Dinner smelled incredible. She didn’t know what it was, but the aroma made her mouth water. She was smart enough to stay out of the kitchen. Anything Kelli touched usually turned out like hot garbage. She was fine with take out, but cooking was Nora’s way of taking care of her. Kelli should have felt smothered by all the attention, but she didn’t. There were times when she still wanted more…more touching, more laughing, just
more
. Twenty-four hours wasn’t long enough to fit it all in. Kelli had no problem admitting that she was a greedy fucker when it came to Nora. Needing…
wanting
…someone like that was definitely new.
The doorbell rang.
Kelli glanced toward the kitchen and called out, “You expecting anybody?”
Seconds later, Nora poked her head out. She looked surprised and a little confused. “No. I have no idea who it could be. Would you take care of it, please?”
Kelli nodded and stood, but she instantly went on alert. It could be family dropping in, but that was unlikely, so she checked the camera feed on Nora’s iPad.
Taylor Fuller, the intern who had sued Nora for sexual harassment, was standing at the front door. “Holy shit.” Kelli wished she could melt her with heat vision or, better yet, drop a piano on her, cartoon style. She enlarged the image to get a better look. Fuller was very fidgety. She couldn’t decide whether to cross her arms over her chest or leave them hanging. Taylor shifted from foot to foot, and her hands were balled into fists. She sure as fuck wasn’t coming over for high tea. Kelli studied Taylor, searching for obvious weapons and bulges in her clothes. There were none, but her mouth was moving. It looked like she was muttering “bitch” over and over again.
Dammit all to hell. No one could be this stupid. Nora didn’t need this. For the first time in weeks, things were going well for her. Kelli would deal with this herself. She retrieved her gun from the lockbox Nora bought for her and clipped the holster to her belt.
Seconds later, she jerked the door open. “Have you lost your goddamned mind?” Kelli didn’t wait for a reply. She grabbed a handful of Taylor’s shirt, dragged her back a few steps, and closed the door behind her.
Taylor’s eyes went wide and, for a minute, she looked scared as hell. Good.
“Didn’t count on me, did you?” Kelli gave her a little shove.
Taylor pushed Kelli’s hands away and put her nose in the air. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care that you’re here.”
“I’m a cop, dumbass. You’d better care. Now, get the fuck outta here.”
Taylor’s face reddened, but she had the balls to stand her ground. “No…no! She was always on my ass. She ruined…everything. I made friends here! Now I have to—”
If she didn’t think Taylor coming here was dumb as fuck, Kelli might have been impressed with her nerve. “Listen here, little girl.” Kelli deliberately got in her face and thoroughly enjoyed watching her flinch. “Grow the fuck up. Sometimes you have to work for shit. Obviously, you didn’t want to. That’s not Nora’s fault. Get your shit together and move on. You lied. You were caught. Now you have to pay for it.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are? You don’t touch me. And you don’t tell me what to do.” Taylor took a step toward Kelli.
“I’m going to touch you all the way into a pair of handcuffs if you don’t back the fuck up.” Kelli crossed her arms over her chest and smiled.
“Don’t you fucking laugh at me. I’m not going to just let this go. This is the last time someone treats me like shit.” Without warning, Taylor lashed out and threw a punch at Kelli’s face.
Kelli dodged the swing and almost laughed when Taylor pitched forward. Before she could try again, Kelli caught Taylor, twirled her around, and wrenched her arm behind her back.
Taylor cried out in pain.
“Assaulting a police officer is up to five years in prison. Is that what you want? Is it worth it? Is it?”
“No, please!” She turned to look at Kelli. The pain and fear in Taylor’s gaze was obvious, but Kelli didn’t expect the tears.
She wasn’t moved at all. “You sure? I’d be more than happy to oblige. If you come anywhere near Nora… Let’s just say I’m not a good person to cross.”
Taylor stopped struggling, and Kelli let her go.
“Believe me?” Kelli asked.
Taylor wiped at her face with the back of her hand. Kelli had no doubt that the tears were real, but Taylor didn’t look all that scared now. She glared at Kelli, but had the common sense to step away. “Yes, I believe you.” She smiled, and Kelli expected to see a snake’s tongue flick out. It was that slimy. “But you should believe me, too.”
Kelli threw her hands up in the air. “Oh come on! Don’t be so fucking clichéd. Let it go. You’re young enough to start over. Be smart and be done with the dumb shit. It didn’t work out the first time, and it won’t now. You probably wanna tell your boyfriend too.”
Taylor laughed. “He got me into this mess. He can rot in hell for all I care.”
“Well then, you got a shit load of enemies, little girl, and there is just one of you,” Kelli continued.
“Whatever. I think I’m going to do just fine on my own.”
“Uh-huh, it’s good to have high self-esteem. Now, get outta my face,” Kelli said. This fake sparring match had gone on long enough. Kelli had won, hands down.
Taylor backed away and continued to glare.
Kelli waved and smiled. That girl was a bad egg, but they were easy to get rid of… Just throw them in the trash. Taylor was full of shit, but there was always a chance that she was serious. Kelli was just going to have to stay here every night to make sure she didn’t come back. She snorted. Like she needed an excuse in the first place. Kelli watched Taylor’s car disappear up the road. After a few more seconds, she turned back toward the door. When she opened it, Nora was waiting just inside. The soft look in her eyes made Kelli’s heart turn over in her chest. “I’m not sure if we need to watch out for her or not, but I didn’t want her to ruin—”
Nora interrupted her with a kiss.
Kelli smiled and pulled Nora closer to deepen the caress. Slowly, they parted.
“I can go smack around a few more people if that’s what it gets me,” Kelli said teasingly.
Nora grinned. “Dinner’s ready.”
“Mmm, don’t know if it’s gonna be this tasty,” Kelli said, as she nibbled on Nora’s neck.
Nora laughed even as she turned her head to the side to give greater access. “Did you just say—”
Kelli groaned and steered them toward the kitchen. At least she could help dish everything up…maybe. That didn’t really take skill. “Yes, I did. Who knew I was so goddamned corny?” What was next? Poetry? She remembered a couple dirty limericks.
“It’s not the first time, but I won’t complain,” Nora said.
“Good to know. What’s for dinner? Because that smell—”
“Flank steak with chimichurri sauce, fingerling potatoes, and honey-glazed carrots.”
“I have no idea what a chimi-what’s-it is, but you had me at steak and potatoes.”
“I knew I would.”
Nora had her even if she’d made gruel.
* * *
Nora was not one to cuddle, but that didn’t keep her from snuggling closer to Kelli. She certainly wasn’t prone to waxing poetic, but that didn’t keep her from taking advantage of the tiny bit of moonlight that filtered inside the bedroom to watch Kelli in slumber. She was an ugly sleeper. Kelli’s mouth was wide open, and Nora even saw a glimmer of drool. Her forehead was wrinkled as though she was deep in thought, even while asleep.
Nora smiled into the semidarkness. That she thought it was truly adorable said volumes about how deeply Nora was wrapped up in Kelli. She traced the contours of Kelli’s face with her gaze and then reached out with her fingertips to do the same over the crinkle in Kelli’s forehead, to her nose and her cheeks.
Kelli mumbled, “Wassit…huh?”
“Shhhh.” Nora made comforting noises, hoping to lull Kelli back to sleep.
Kelli grumbled, fidgeted, and threw a leg over one of Nora’s before she stilled again. Nora wiggled to adjust, until their naked bodies were flush against each other. Even in her sleep, Kelli shivered and moaned in reaction.
Nora took a deep, shaky breath. She had never affected someone like this before and vice versa, but that was obviously what led them here…now. She wasn’t sure why she was awake. Perhaps, she just wanted to bask in what she had, something incredibly special. As a lover, Kelli could be commanding, but she was gentle when Nora needed her to be, which helped to ease Nora’s fears of losing herself in this
thing
between them. As a result, Nora felt safe enough to let Kelli into the deeper parts of herself. Kelli was also a generous, caring person and, somehow, she always knew what to say…what to do to make things better, to make Nora laugh, to make Nora feel. All of this was starting to be too good to be true. She pressed her face into Kelli’s neck and refused to allow doubt to creep up on her.