First Class Justice (First Class Novels) (5 page)

“Sarah certainly knows what she’s doing,” Katy added. “I was
impressed.”

Mark had put his arm on the back of Katy’s chair and he
patted her shoulder.

“I’m sure you ladies did exactly what you needed to do.” His
words were comforting to Katy and she turned to smile at him.

“Thanks for being here,” she said.

“Well, I didn’t really have a choice,” he chuckled. “I was
subpoenaed!”

“I know, but thanks anyway.”

As the four of them headed back across the street to the
courthouse, Katy realized how much she had come to rely on Mark in just a
matter of days. It had been terribly quiet after they returned from their
weekend to Hood River and he had gone back to New York, and she found herself
counting down the days ‘til his return for his grand jury testimony. She had
told herself that she was missing Janie and that Mark somehow filled that gap.
Dr. LaVaughn had told her in their last session that it was good she was able
to connect to a man in a non-sexual way. Katy had not even thought about Mark
like
that
. In fact, she really didn’t think she could ever think of a
man in that way again. Danny had taken care of that.

They met Sarah upstairs and waited for the men to take their
turn answering questions. Janie and Katy sat together and talked non-stop as
Mark and Matt were each summoned to testify. By three o’clock they were all
done and able to leave. Sarah told Katy she would be in touch in a few days
with an update.

“So what shall we do tonight?” Mark asked.

Matt looked at Janie, eyebrows raised. “Honey?”

“Oh, really? You’ve been married how long now and you’re
calling her honey?” Katy pretended to poke her finger down her throat.

“There are other things I call my wife, but I do it in
private,” Matt grinned.

Janie blushed beet red and looked at the elevator floor.

“Well, dinner for sure,” Mark said, trying to change the
subject. “Let’s get back to the hotel and we can decide.”

Katy looked uncomfortable. “At some point I’m going to have
to go home.”

“We don’t have to think about that now,” Janie grabbed
Katy’s hand.

“Well
you
don’t,” Katy replied. “But you leave in a
few days and I need to figure out what I’m going to do. I guess I just need to
go back and get it over with.”

“I’ll stay with you,” Mark said. “I’ll stay and I won’t
leave until you feel safe again.”

*****

Three days later Janie and Matt flew back to New York and
Mark and Katy checked out of the hotel and went to her house.

“First thing? We change all the locks,” Mark said, pulling
out his smart phone and looking for a local locksmith. “Then we add an alarm
system and get you a Doberman,” he smiled.

“I can’t afford an alarm system and I don’t want a dog!”

“Okay,” he grinned. “No dog, but at least let me do some
research on alarms.”

Mark carried their bags into the house, depositing Katy’s by
her bedroom door and his in the guest room.

“I’m not going to leave until you’re so sick of me you throw
me out.”

“So tomorrow then?” Katy smiled.

“Make some lunch and I’ll get the locks changed,” Mark grinned.

With the new locks and deadbolts installed, added security
on the windows and the alarm company scheduled to install in three days, Mark
was content with Katy’s home being safe and secure, even though Katy was really
pissed off that Mark insisted on paying for the installation and twelve months
of the alarm contract.

“You are NOT responsible for me!” she had hissed at him when
he hung up the phone.

“I never said I was,” he replied nonchalantly. “But I’m not
leaving without knowing that nobody can get in here.”

Katy folded her arms and frowned.

“You will not win this argument so don’t even try,” he said.

*****

Over the next few days, Katy and Mark settled into a
comfortable routine. Mark had set up his laptop on the dining table and spent
most of the day working from there, making phone calls and sending emails, while
Katy was back on a regular schedule at the hospital.

Katy liked to run before work, but as the summer was coming
to a close, the nights were gradually getting longer and she had been hesitant
to head out in the mornings while it was still dark. Mark had offered to run
with her so every morning their day started with a three mile run along the
local park trail. The park was full of tall pine trees and green grass and the
jogging path was serene and perfect. It had been a while since she had worked
out. She hadn’t been out since her ordeal, so she was worried she would hold
Mark back. But he didn’t mind at all. He was used to running in a gym on a
treadmill so he enjoyed being outside. The pace wasn’t a big deal. And he found
that he enjoyed starting his day with her.

They usually ate their evening meal together. Katy would
come home from work and take a hot bath, and Mark quite often ordered in, or
helped her with dinner once she’d had her ‘unwinding’ time. Mark liked to cook,
although Katy told him she was surprised he hadn’t given himself food
poisoning.

“I never said I was good at it,” he’d laughed.

Most of their time was spent at home. Mark had completed
some Mr. Fixit jobs around the house and had taken care of the yard. Katy hated
mowing the lawn so Mark’s offer to do it was welcomed. So it came as a surprise
to Mark when Katy’s mood suddenly changed.

“Why are you still here?” Katy asked as she walked into the
kitchen.

Mark was pouring himself some cereal into a bowl and looked
up at Katy, a puzzled expression on his face.

“It’s 6:30am. Where else would I be?”

“No! I mean here. In my house! In Portland!”

Mark didn’t understand her tone and how different her mood
was from the previous evening. He began very cautiously.

“Katy, I want you to feel safe and comfortable when you are
here, at home. If my being here does not help do that, I can leave. All you
have to do is say the word.”

Katy walked past him and opened the fridge. She pulled out
the orange juice and poured herself a cup.

“Are you ready for me to leave? Do you want me gone?” he
asked.

Katy took a drink of the juice and didn’t answer right away.
Mark just watched her, his eyes boring into her, trying to gauge her mood.

“I just want things to be the way they were,” she finally
said.

Mark put down the box of cereal and turned to her, his head
tilted, his expression softened.

“It’s not going to be the same, Katy. I don’t know what it
was like for you before, and I can’t understand what it’s like for you now, but
I do know that you can’t go backwards. You can only progress forward.
You
have to make the choice how to live your life. Don’t give him any more power.
He can’t hurt you anymore unless you
let
him.”

Katy put her cup in the sink and walked out of the kitchen,
saying over her shoulder as she left, “I know.”

*****

Mark woke up in a sweat.
Shit!
He hadn’t done that
since he was about sixteen. He climbed out of the bed and went to the bathroom,
changing out of his underwear and pajama bottoms and cleaning himself. He’d
been dreaming about him and Katy. It had felt so real. They had been alone on
the beach back in the Columbia River Gorge. He had walked up the sand and seen
her lying there in her bikini. Her legs were long and tan and her hair was
lying on the towel like a golden halo surrounding her head. He could see her
hardened nipples through her top and she parted her legs as he walked to her.
Mark took off his wetsuit and she licked her lips. He knelt down in front of
her and pushed the palm of his hand over her mound and she bucked up to him. He
lowered his head and sucked on her nipples through her bikini and then he
jumped back and his eyes flew open and it had all been a dream; one that scared
the shit out of him.

*****

Katy sat in Dr. LaVaughn’s office irritable and
close-lipped.

“Obviously something is troubling you,” Dr. LaVaughn said.
“Any news on the trial date?”

“The date is set for November 18
^th
, but Sarah
says it will be continued into next year.”

“So what’s bothering you?”

“It’s Mark.”

“What about Mark?”

“He’s still at my house and I know he wants to help, and I
do feel safer with them there. But, I don’t know, he’s mowing the lawn and
doing the dishes and he fixed the garbage disposal that hasn’t worked properly
in years.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“No. It’s not.”

“Do you have feelings for him?”

“NO!” Katy was horrified at the question. “He saw me. He saw
all of it! I’m the last person he would ever want to be with.”

“That’s not what I asked you. I asked if you had feelings for
him, not if he had feelings for you.”

Katy didn’t answer the question. She just stared out of the
window at the river.

*****

When Katy came home from work the next day, Mark was all
packed up and waiting for her so he could say goodbye.

“What are you doing? Where are you going?” she asked.

“I’m gonna head home. You’re doing great. The house is
completely secure and you need to start your life over. I don’t think I’m
helping you do that. But you know you can call me anytime, day or night. Right?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Katy frowned. “I was just, just
frustrated I guess. You don’t have to go.”

Mark took her hand in his and nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

He pulled her to him and hugged her. He kissed her on the
cheek and walked out to his rental car. Katy watched him load his bags in the
trunk and climb in the driver’s seat. He waved as he rolled backwards out of
the driveway and then he was gone.

Katy closed the door and sighed. He was right. She needed to
move on. She needed to begin again. The question in her mind was how.

Matt was excited to hear what his business partner and
younger brother, Mark, thought of the newly remodeled executive suite at MEL
Holdings. It was finally finished and Matt loved it! He swung open the door and
stopped in his tracks when he saw Mark’s face.

“Oh, shit! I’ve seen that face before. Only it was on me.”

Mark looked up at his brother and sighed.

“What happened?” Matt asked.

“I had to leave. Katy’s doing well. But I just couldn’t stay
any longer.”

“Did something happen?” Matt’s forehead wrinkled and there
was hesitation in his voice.

“No, but only because of extreme self-control,” Mark said,
shaking his head. “You know, at first I thought I was there because she needed
protecting. But then I realized that she was probably going to need protection
from me. So I packed my bags and got the hell away before I really screwed it
all up.”

“Have you talked to Janie yet?” Matt knew his wife would
want to hear about her friend.

“Yeah, I called her this morning and filled her in. Of course
I didn’t tell her
why
I left.”

Matt sat down in the chair opposite Mark’s desk and rubbed
his forehead. In the last twelve or so years since they had worked together and
saw each other regularly, he had not seen Mark emotional over a woman. Mark lived
for his work and for the thrill he got from his extreme sports. Women were a ‘casual,
every so often’ kind of thing for him. So Matt knew that this was serious.

“Did you have an opportunity to talk to her?”

Mark shook his head again. “She freaked out when a man
approached her while we were in Hood River. I mean, she remained calm on the
outside but I could see in her eyes she was really uneasy. And then when we
were washing dishes one night, I bumped her arm and she flinched. She’s not
ready for anyone to get close.”

“Well don’t be stupid like I was,” Matt sighed. “I almost
lost the best thing in the whole world because I didn’t have the balls to risk
it all.”

“I know. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t know how much
time to give her. I don’t know if she’ll ever be ready.” Mark was totally
forlorn.

“You’ll figure it out,” Matt said. “Now, tell me what you
think of the office?”

*****

Katy hadn’t realized how accustomed she had become to having
Mark around. She had come to enjoy his company in the evenings as they made
dinner, as they ate while discussing their day, and then cleaning up together.
Then one morning as she began her daily run, it really became clear that she
missed him. Even though they didn’t talk much on the trail, just having him
there with her was more than just comforting. She enjoyed it. And now he had
gone back to his life in New York.

I knew he couldn’t stay forever,
she had told
herself.
I knew he wouldn’t want to stay forever
. Katy decided to talk
about it in her next therapy session. Hopefully the good doctor could help. But
for now she turned on her MP3 player and ran.

*****

The trial date was getting closer and Janie called Katy to
let her know about their travel plans. Even though there was the possibility
for a continuance, Janie had made all the plans anyway. They would all be
arriving in ten days and planned to stay for a week. Sarah had said the trial
would probably only last about three days, but Janie wanted to make sure she
had time to see her sons too. Katy was thrilled to hear they would be staying a
little longer. She had desperately missed her friend and welcomed the
opportunity to spend time with her.

“So you’re staying at the Monaco?” Katy asked.

“Matt’s hotel of choice,” Janie laughed.

“And, um, Mark’s coming in at the same time?”

“Yes. Although I’m not sure how long he is staying. I heard
Matt talking about a trip to Berlin but I’m not sure when he’s leaving.”

“Oh,” Katy said.

“Wait a second,” Janie replied. “Is there…are you…Mark?”