I'll Be Seeing You (9 page)

They pulled up in front of the terminal and Cole helped her from the cab, keeping her held securely against him. He wanted her home and away from this shit as quickly as possible. He wanted her home and safe.

Katherine slept most of the flight back, her body curled up against his. Cole quickly got her to the house and settled in. He made her relax on the sofa while he got her some wine and began to throw something together for dinner. Shit! He thought with a shake of his head and a small grin. Just when in the hell had he become so domesticated?

***

They sat at the table, quietly sipping wine as they both picked at their meals; neither one having much of an appetite. Their visit with Stewart weighed heavily on them both, and Cole knew that it had drained Katherine emotionally as well as physically.

“Katherine,” Cole said, breaking the silence, and she looked up from her plate and gave him a small smile. A smile that caused his heart to skip a beat. Christ, she was beautiful, he thought with a shiver. What did he ever do to deserve this woman walking into his miserable life? “Do you think that you would be able to recognize this asshole’s voice if you came into contact with him?”

Katherine set her fork down and shrugged her shoulders, her brows furrowing together slightly. “I…I don’t know. He always whispers.” She shivered; her body tensing as the memory of that voice ran across her mind.
Mine.

Cole watched her quietly, wanting so much to take her fear away. This woman had been living like a ghost for the past ten years and it was high time that she just
lived.
She deserved to be happy. She deserved to know what it was like to be at peace. Not constantly afraid.

He set his own fork down, slipped off the chair, and knelt down beside her, taking her hand in both of his. “Did he have an accent, or something that stood out to you?”

Katherine shook her head, her eyes looking into his in silent apology. “Nothing that I can think of. He…he never says much. He just plays that song,” she finished with a shudder and Cole pulled her into his arms, rubbing her back soothingly as they knelt on the floor together. She buried her face against his neck and took a deep, cleansing breath, finding strength in the fact that his strong arms were wrapped around her. There was peace here in his embrace. A peace that she had never thought could have ever existed. When Cole held her as he was, her world seemed normal.

Cole stood, pulling her with him, and swept her up into his arms, walking toward the bedroom. He just wanted to get her into bed and hold her. She needed to rest, and he’d be more than content to just lay there with his arms around her. Jesus, who would have thought?

He set her down beside the bed and carefully removed her clothing. Pulling back the covers, he eased her down onto the mattress and covered her up. He shed his own and crawled in beside her, pulling her up against him.

“Get some rest, Sweetheart,” he whispered against her mouth before kissing her gently.

Chapter 7

Cole walked out of the bathroom to the sound of his cell phone beeping. He dashed over to the night table and grabbed it, glancing down at Katherine as she slept peacefully… looking like a freaking goddess. Her hair was fanned out around her face, giving her an angelic, almost ethereal look that nearly shook him to his core. She was beyond anything he had ever seen before, quiet, peaceful…beautiful.

He hit the button and walked toward the door, not wanting to wake her. Their visit with Stewart had drained her more than she was willing to admit and she needed to get some much needed rest.

“McKenzie.”

“Cole,” Captain Newman spoke from the other end of the line, and Cole could tell from the tone of that one word that this was not going to be good. Christ, talk about a goose walking over your grave. “I need you down here…now.”

Cole’s jaw clenched as that sinking feeling hit his gut with the force of a bazooka. “What’s up, Captain?” he asked, trying to keep that deep, sickening feeling at bay. But it was a strong, gnawing presence that just wouldn’t be ignored.

“Shit, Cole,” Mike murmured, sounding utterly exhausted. The tension in his voice was rolling through the damn phone line like a physical presence. “We think we may have found a link between your girl and some unsolved murders.”

Cole felt his entire body turn to ice. He hadn’t been expecting that one at all. “What?” he ground out, his fist clenching at his side.

“We did some digging and it seems that there have been girls murdered in every city that she’s lived in. The bitch of it is; is that they all bear a striking resemblance to her…except for one thing.”

“And what’s that?” Cole asked, although he really didn’t need to; the feeling as if he was going to be sick proved that. He knew what was coming. He knew it deep down to the recesses of his soul.

“Hair color.”

“Fuck,” he breathed, knowing that Katherine was naturally a strawberry blonde, but had changed it to try and hide from this bastard. “How many?”

“Just get your ass down here and I’ll brief you.”

“I want a black and white sent over to watch the house until I get back,” he informed him, a muscle in his jaw twitching as he ground his teeth together so tightly that he feared they would shatter. There was no way on God’s green earth that he was bringing her down to the station to hear this. Not until he knew what was going on. “I’m not leaving her unprotected.” It was a simple statement of fact.

“It’s already on the way,” Mike replied, and with that he ended the call, leaving Cole to stand there, grinding his teeth, a very bad feeling sweeping over him. If Mike was sending over a cruiser…this was far worse than he had even thought. Fuck!

“What’s going on?” He swung around to find Katherine standing there in the doorway behind him, looking like a damned vision. Her beautiful eyes were still hooded from sleep and she had thrown on one of his T-shirts; and damned if his body didn’t instantly take notice. Christ, she looked like a damn dream standing there with her sleepy eyes and mussed up hair -and he felt a sharp tug right to his heart.

“I need to go down to the station,” he informed her, walking back toward the bedroom, trying hard to keep the panic from his voice. He had to keep a clear head and he knew that if he looked at her for one more moment standing there; he wouldn’t. She followed behind him, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“What’s happened?” she asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed as she watched him move around the room and gather up his clothes. She could feel the tension radiating off of him as if it were a palpable thing, and it was seriously freaking her out. Something in his demeanor just wasn’t right.

Cole slipped into a pair of jeans and walked over to her, sighing. “Katherine, I need to know something,” he spoke softly, not wanting to let his fear for her show. But it was twisting at his gut to the point that it was making it difficult to breathe. He just had a very bad feeling about all of this.

“Anything,” she whispered, her voice shaking slightly. She didn’t like the tenseness of his body, or the worry in his eyes at all. There was definitely something going on, and it wasn’t good.

“How many cities have you lived in?” His tone was soft, yet there was that underlying worry that had her hands trembling instantly.

“Three,” she answered quickly, trying to take a calming breath. “Not counting…home.”

“And did you change your hair color each time that you moved?” he asked, and a small part of her couldn’t help but feel as if she was being interrogated.

Katherine nodded slowly, causing that damn vice in Cole’s stomach to twist another notch. Christ!

“I…I was a red-head, then blonde…and now, this,” she told him, looking up into his eyes in confusion. “Why? What does my hair color have to do with anything? I mean, I also changed hair styles. I only did it to make it harder for him to… Cole, please tell me what’s going on.” Desperation was seeping into her voice and Cole took her by the arms and pulled her up against his warm, solid frame…needing more than anything at that moment to feel her heat, to hear her heart beat against his in that strong, steady rhythm that made his knees weak. He needed to know that she was safe.

If this bastard had indeed been killing women that looked like Katherine… well then, shit! When was it going to be that the surrogates were no longer going to be good enough for him… and he came after the real thing? He knew that he was escalating from the simple fact that he had been in her house when she had been there. From what she had told him, he had never been that brass before. What was next? That thought sent a chill up his spine.
You won’t get near her you son of a bitch!

“Baby, it’s just a lead right now. I’ll know more once I talk to the Captain.”

“I’ll go with you.” She tried to pull from his embrace but he held fast, burying his face in her hair, just needing to hold her for a moment longer and feel her warmth against him. He was suddenly chilled to the bone. This woman was breaking down walls that he hadn’t even realized that he had built, and it was throwing everything off. She was tilting his world on its axis like nothing ever had before, to the point that he didn’t know which end was up anymore.

“Stay here…please,” he breathed against her ear, his words a gentle plea. “I have someone coming to watch the house. I promise that I won’t be long.”

Before she could even think to voice a protest, he turned his head and his lips were on hers, firm, demanding…almost desperate, and she had no choice but to respond in kind. Her hands slid up into his hair and pulled him closer, her tongue sparring with his for dominance, each one feeding their own hunger.
This was life
she thought with a shiver.

Much too soon there was a soft rap on the front door and he broke away, cursing under his breath darkly as he looked at her in apology.

He grabbed a shirt and slipped it on as he made his way out of the bedroom, leaving Katherine standing there, worrying at her bottom lip. Wondering just what in the hell was going on. She grabbed a pair of shorts and tugged them on, following behind him.

***

She found Cole standing at the front door, talking to the uniformed officer, barking out orders to the man, who only stood there silently and nodded, looking extremely uncomfortable. Cole turned and saw her, his expression softening in an instant when his eyes met hers.

“Matt, do you see this lady?” he asked pointing to Katherine, and the man nodded. “I don’t want you to let her out of your sight; got it? No one but me is allowed anywhere near this house.”

“Of course, Detective,” the young man responded, nodding to Katherine with a nervous frown.

Katherine felt her cheeks heat when Cole walked back over to her and kissed her once again; deeply, obviously not caring in the least that the young officer was watching them intently, and she couldn’t help but wonder if this was his way of staking claim. Cole was a strong, dominant male and it seemed as if he didn’t care who knew that he was screwing around with her.

As much as that thought should have thoroughly pissed her off, it only caused a sense of peace to wash over her for some odd reason. Most likely, she surmised with a shaky sigh, because it made her feel safe, wanted… something that she had not felt for a very long time. She hadn’t really felt safe since her mother had been alive, and she had never before felt this protected or cared for. She knew that she was sliding down a very slippery slope with this man. She could so easily fall for him…but she couldn’t allow that. He didn’t need her craziness invading his world…poisoning it as it had hers. He had disrupted his life way too much as it was already because of her. It wasn’t fair to him to let him keep get in deeper and deeper. She knew that there was the strong possibility that she would have to move yet again, and when that time came, she silently wondered–would she be able to give him up?

He lifted his head and met her eyes, and she could see the emotion in his expression…the worry. “Stay in the house,” he commanded softly, and smiled that earthshattering grin when she nodded. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised. “And make sure to lock the door behind us. Matt will be right outside in the car…if you need me, call.” He kissed her again quickly before ushering the officer out of the door ahead of him, but not before telling her to lock up once again.

Katherine bolted the door as asked and headed to the kitchen, needing a cup of coffee desperately. Her nerves were shot. What the hell could have happened that Cole was needed down at the precinct? Katherine stared out the kitchen window, not liking this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach at all. It was a sense of foreboding that was sucking the air from the house, only to leave a dark, oppressing feeling of doom.

***

As Cole walked through the doors of the station, Ben came rushing over, his mouth set in a tight line as he fell into step beside him. “Mac, are you here to talk with the Captain?” he asked, following right behind him as Cole stomped down the hall like a force of nature, his steps determined.

“Yeah,” Cole replied, not even breaking stride. He needed to find out just what in the hell was going on and handle it. He rapped sharply on the Captains door and walked in.

Mike looked up as Cole entered, holding a file in his hands. “Have a seat, guys,” he said, his expression troubled. Cole glanced at his partner, who quickly grabbed a seat and gave him a guilty shrug.

“Just what in the hell is going on?” he asked, directing his question to his Captain as his gaze went back and forth between the two men, but it was Ben who spoke up.

“Look, Mac,” he said, his eyes darting around the room in embarrassment. “Once I heard who she was, I did some digging around. Something about the resemblance between her and that strangulation victim of Smith and Cortez’s really bothered me. I mean…I would have sworn it was her.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head slightly. “It gnawed at my insides and I just couldn’t let it go. I’m sorry; I know you hate it when I go behind your back…but,” he hesitated, not sure if he was going to have to face his partner’s wrath. “I saw the way that you looked at her when I stopped by the house…and I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t just some nutcase that you were getting involved with. I had to make sure that you were thinking with your head and not your dick.”

Cole’s jaw clenched as his body became rigid. He was pissed as hell that Ben had taken it upon himself to check out Katherine, not to mention that he wanted to deck the bastard when he had called her some nutcase, but a part of him was also thankful that he had found a possible connection. Christ, he was so wrapped up in her that his head had been completely up his own ass!

He glanced at his partner and gave him a look that made it clear that he was letting it go, but was not completely happy about it. “She is not a nutcase,
asshole
,” he ground out. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to punch something.

Ben cleared his throat nervously and shot him an uncomfortable smile. “Yeah, I get that. But I was just watching your back, buddy. I really just wanted to make sure that you weren’t thinking with the wrong head, and when the Captain told me that you had taken a leave…well, I just felt the need to check things out.”

“All right, let’s stop with the pissing contest, you two,” Mike said, tossing the file that he held in his hand across the desk in Cole’s direction. Cole scooped it up and opened it, his blood turning to ice as he realized that it was filled with the photos of at least six dead women. Fuck!

Cole studied the pictures carefully, immediately seeing the resemblance to Katherine in each one’s features. Some had similar bone structure…lips…noses. Shit! The only difference was the hair color…and the eyes. No one had eyes like Katherine.

“Once I knew who she was, it wasn’t hard to track where she’s been,” Ben explained hastily. “She’s used a variation of her name with each move, but she kept it pretty traceable. I mean, we just need to confirm what her hair color was in each place to confirm my suspicions. But in every city that she’s lived in, there has been at least one unsolved murder. Raped and strangled. No one’s ever tied them together because the profile didn’t fit; different hair color, different areas, absolutely nothing to connect them.”

“Shit,” Cole breathed, the force of it all hitting him like a sledgehammer to the chest, knocking the wind right out of him. Christ, this son of a bitch was not only stalking Katherine, he was killing her…time and time again. These women were just replacements for the real thing. Surrogates for what he wanted most in this world… Katherine.