Desire Unleashed (32 page)

Ice drained his cup and stood. Wolf stood too, he wasn’t thick and took the hint. Ice was twitchy and wanted to be alone with his woman. Ever since the moment Ice had laid eyes on this girl, he’d been different. “Come on guys, time to hit the road,” he said.

“What are we leaving so early for?” Hawk complained. “There’s a game on soon that I want to watch, and I haven’t finished my cake.”

Frosty eyed Hawk as if he had too heads. “Shove the cake in your mouth and make a move. Kathy’s got to make a statement then she should be resting,” he explained patiently in the hope that Hawk would catch on.

“Come on kid, you can watch it at my place on the big screen, you too Havoc, what do you say?”

Wolf’s invitation was accepted, and Ice and Kathy escorted them to the door.

“Thanks for coming guys, and a special thanks for the flowers Hawk, I really appreciate it.”

“Sarah will pop over later to see how you’re doing,” Frosty said.

As the door closed, they all heard Ice plain as day say, “Now, babe where were we?

“The Iceman’s melting.”

“I’ve got fifty that says it’ll be a June wedding.”

“You’re on.” Wolf and Havoc shook on the bet.

Chapter 19

There were several times during their relationship when Kathy thought Shane was on the verge of saying something monumental, but he always pulled back, and she never pressed the point. After her ordeal with Baker, she was sure he was going to ask her to move in with him. But as the days following her rescue lengthened into weeks, and still not a hint from him, her disappointment grew, and she couldn’t shake off the sadness that settled on her. Although Shane was a gem and did his utmost to make their life coast along as carefree as before, she wanted more, longed for more. Recurring nightmares and bouts of nausea that she attributed to frazzled nerves added to her melancholia. The scar was a visible reminder too. She had hoped once the stitches were removed and she returned to work the sick feeling would pass and she’d be able to put the whole nightmare behind her. It wasn’t to be though. She was still plagued by illness, but she did her best to hide from Shane.

Kathy rolled over and switched off the alarm. She didn’t want to get up. Her head was woolly, but she couldn’t delay forever, and she had to get ready soon or run the risk of missing the bus. Thank God it was Friday, and tomorrow she could sleep in.

Throwing off the covers, she stood but immediately had to sit back on the bed. Her stomach was doing back flips again. Usually, the queasiness would pass in a few minutes, but today it worsened. Kathy covered her mouth and dashed to the bathroom. As she lifted the toilet lid, her stomach heaved, and she threw up in the bowl.

Eew, that was unpleasant. Afterward, she felt marginally better, mopped her face with a damp cloth, and rinsed her mouth before showering.

Ten minutes later, she dried off, slipped into a pale blue blouse, and tugged on a denim skirt. It was a little snug, and she had to breathe in to close the zip. She fixed her hair in a braid, and slipping on her pumps, gave herself a cursory glance in the mirror. She patted her belly and thought, time to cut back on desserts.

In the living room, she snatched up her handbag and keys and hurried from the apartment, arriving at the bus stop just in the nick of time. She counted her blessings; the next one wasn’t for another thirty minutes and that would have made her late for class.

The journey took close on a quarter hour, long enough for Kathy to conclude that it was time to see the doctor. She could kill two birds with one stone; get something for her nausea and a prescription for the pill. Something she’d been meaning to do for weeks but kept putting off, having spent enough time with doctors during her mother’s illness to last a lifetime.

Her relationship with Shane was strong, and she ached to feel him inside her without any barriers. He would prefer it too, she felt sure. Rubbers were a necessary convenience, but men didn’t really like those things, or so she’d heard.

Kathy rang the doctor’s office on her break. The only available time left was eight o'clock the following morning. It would mean getting up early and leaving Shane, when she’d rather be in bed making love, but this was important for both of them, so she accepted the appointment.

The hands of the clock dawdled, like a watched pot waiting to boil. The end of the day was slow in coming. With the weekend looming ahead, Kathy was hard pressed to contain her excitement. Shane had the next two days free and they were spending them together. Over the past ten weeks, he’d made her deliriously happy, but with his job, their schedules didn’t often overlap, so two whole uninterrupted days in his company was a luxury.

They fit so well together, like pieces of a puzzle. The connection was established the first time they’d eyed each other across the room at Shenanigans. He was as perfect for her as she was for him.

Although officially having completed his stint as trainer, Shane had spent the past few days training the divers at sea and was due back later today. She hated the emptiness she felt inside when he was away. It was as if an intricate part of her was missing, and she couldn’t wait to have him back where he belonged, to take him to bed and love him as only she could.

Tonight would be perfect.

Shane had made reservations for seven at the Italian restaurant where they’d had their first date. Afterward, they would take in a movie or go to Shenanigans for a dance. They hadn’t been back since that first time when she’d nicknamed him Adonis, how he’d laughed when she’d told him about that. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.

Kathy glanced at her watch—the kids had been terrific all day. Even Timothy and Martin had been perfect little angels. She decided to reward their good behavior with a story. Reading the book though, it took all of her concentration to stop willing the hands of the clock to move to three fifteen when school would finish for another week.

The clanging of the school bell signaled the end of the day. Kathy closed the book, and the children slipped on their backpacks in readiness for her to march them to the school gate. Anne was on afternoon duty, so Kathy didn’t have to wait. She left her charges, said good-bye to her friend, and caught the three-forty bus home. It was running ten minutes late, but nothing could dampen her spirits; she still had plenty of time to wash her hair and paint her nails.

Back at her apartment, Kathy scrunch dried her long chestnut hair until it tumbled down her back in a curtain of unruly waves. She added little diamante studs to her ears, secured the left side of her hair back with a sparkly comb, and sprayed her neck and wrists with perfume.

As the time drew nearer to Shane’s arrival, she slipped a slinky dress over her black lacy bra and matching thong, it was a simple style but classic. The scooped-out back highlighted her figure and the higher neckline was flattering without revealing her scar. She added the pair of high-heeled stilettos with thin glitzy straps that she’d bought the day of the shopping spree with Liz. It was the first opportunity she’d had to wear them. The whole outfit was chic and made her feel elegant and sophisticated. She was just putting the finishing touches to her makeup when a knock sounded at the door.

*

“Wow babe, you look good enough to eat.” Ice eyed her up and down as he held her at arm’s length. Like a thirsty man discovering an oasis in the desert, he drank her in. “I’ve been thinking about this for days.”

“Me too, I’ve missed you so much. Two whole days together, no interruptions.”

“You ready to go then?” Ice really wanted to hustle her into bed, but she was dressed to kill and obviously looking forward to their night out.

“I’ll just get my purse.”

He waited while she locked up then, tucking her hand into the crook of his arm, guided her down the steps and into his truck. The engine fired but before engaging the gears, he took her face in his hands and kissed her hard on the mouth.

“I needed that,” he said then put the vehicle in motion. Kathy leaned her head against his shoulder, and they converged into the traffic, a comfortable silence filled the cabin as they drove over the Silver Strand to San Diego.

* * * *

At the restaurant, the waiter seated them by the window. Déjà vu—the crisp white cloths, the candlelit table, just like the first time, except there was no violent storm, and Kathy was no longer nervous or quite so naïve. A lot had transpired since then.

“Can I get you something from the bar?” The server directed the question to him.

“What do you fancy, Kat?”

“Sparkling water thanks.”

Ordering the water and a beer for himself, Ice reached across the table for her hand and brought it to his lips. “It’s good to be back, babe.”

“It’s good to have you home.”

Studying her over their meal, Ice found her comfortable, like an old pair of jeans that fit just right. It didn’t matter if there was a lull in the conversation. The silence wasn’t awkward like it was with some women who constantly needed attention. And bonus, she was a piece of eye candy, every red-blooded male in the room had ogled her when they walked in, but she’d only had eyes for him. The sex they shared was incredible; she was like a wildcat in bed and never turned him down. Even now, he could tell she was champing at the bit, and the lust reflected in her eyes mirrored his own.

Ice glanced at his watch. Ninety minutes had elapsed since they’d arrived. Each course had been more delicious than the last, but with the meal over and the bill settled, he was keen to make a move.

As they left the restaurant, he fished out the keys from his pocket and flicked the remote unlocking the car doors. “Where to babe?”

“Three guesses.”

He didn’t need three, one was more than enough. Mutually agreeing to skip Shenanigans, they drove straight to the apartment. The first thing that caught their attention as they pulled into their building was the black and white parked out front. When they got to the landing, they were surprised to see Detective McKenzie knocking on Kathy’s door with one hand and clutching a mobile phone to his ear with the other.

“I’ll call you back,” McKenzie mumbled as he caught sight of them. “Hi, how are you both doing?” The question was rhetorical, McKenzie continued without pause. “I’m glad you’re both here, so I can give you the news personally,” he said, thrusting his hand forward first to Kathy’s hand and then his.

Ice took the keys from Kathy and unlocked her door. “What news would that be, Detective?” he asked tersely, ushering them into the apartment. McKenzie and he had come to an uneasy truce since the night of Kathy’s abduction, but tonight he wished him to blazes, he had other things on his mind.

*

Kathy cast her mind back to that night at the hospital, a night tattooed in her memory forever. At one stage these two men almost came to blows, fortunately though, the detective suggested a compromise that was acceptable to Shane. Kathy recalled how aggressive Shane had been. She’d thought he was going to knock the detective down, and it scared her. He was always so controlled, but that night, his control was in major jeopardy.

The guys spoke about him as Ice by name, Ice by nature, but he hadn’t been that night. His emotions had burned. Had the detective not backed off when he did, there would have been bloodshed in the hospital emergency room.

“As I said before, I wanted to come by and tell you this myself folks.”

McKenzie had her full attention and fearing that Baker had escaped, she shifted closer to Shane, he looped his arm around her shoulders and said, “Tell us what, exactly.”

“No need to worry, it’s nothing bad, leastways not for Kathy.” McKenzie took a deep breath. “Len Baker was found dead in his cell at eight o’clock this morning. I tell you, that boy was one sick puppy from one hell of a dysfunctional family. The old man abused him and his mother all his life. At fifteen, after her death, the kid was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The father was convicted of her murder three years after that and died in jail two years ago.”

Kathy’s compassionate nature overrode her loathing of Baker. “How awful,” she exclaimed. “He really didn’t stand a chance with that upbringing.”

“He was probably holding it together by a thread because that’s not the end of it. Baker had been communicating on the Net under the name of Sonny and acting on advice received from Socrates…”

“You mean there’s someone else involved, he had a partner?” Kathy interrupted, her voice quivering. The nightmare might not be over yet. Shane steadied her with a touch on the arm.

“No, Kathy. Baker was quite deranged. He believed he’d been communicating with Socrates, but in actual fact, he’d been e-mailing himself. He sent messages from one account as Sonny, asking advice, and he answered from another account signing off as Socrates. His hard drive revealed dozens of e-mails testifying to it. Now comes the scary part, Socrates was the name of Baker’s dead father.”

The more the detective spoke about Len Baker, the more horrifying the picture became. “We also established that you weren’t his first victim. In fact I’ve got a team out there now digging up the place.”

“Where does Dawson fit into this?” Shane asked, his jaw rigid and set.

“They went to the same high school. We’re pretty sure Baker used Dawson in the original bungled attempt on Kathy. Baker silenced him, so he couldn’t spill the beans.” The detective concluded and stood to leave.

“We appreciate your coming to tell us McKenzie.” Shane tucked her tighter under his draped arm as she gave an involuntary shiver. “Don’t think about it anymore babe, at least you won’t have to go through the trauma of facing him in court.”

“He’s right Kathy, at least you’ll be spared that, and you’ll sleep a lot better knowing that he can’t harm you or anyone else ever again.” The detective extended his hand to her then shook Shane’s. “Well, I’ll be on my way.”

They both watched from the doorway as McKenzie disappeared down the stairs.

“Let’s go to my place,” Shane suggested.

Kathy was still trying to assimilate all that Jesse McKenzie had said as Shane ushered her into his apartment.