Conflicting Interests (3 page)

It was entirely intentional and Katrina should have seen
that coming. Imogen was the consummate matchmaker, even if her means were a bit
unconventional, poorly timed and completely crude. Apparently Katrina’s near-death
encounter wasn’t enough to stop Imogen.

“No.” Her eyes flashed to Detective Adler’s.

“No?” He held her eyes calmly as her throat started
constricting.
Shit shit shit
!

“Another parent who…” Her voice trailed off as she realized
just how stupid she sounded and how futile her attempt to throw him off was.

His lip pulled up in a slight smirk before he turned to
Imogen. “I need to get a statement from Ms. Page. Would you mind waiting in the
other room?”

“What room?” She snorted. “Have you seen how small her house
is? Sorry and of course. Trink, will you stay with me tonight?” Relief washed
over Katrina at Imogen’s invitation and she nodded instantly. “Awesome possum.
I’ll go pack you a bag and then I’ll wait in the car. Am I cool to touch stuff
without Officer Meany having a cow?”

“Yes. They’ll dust the side door for prints so as long as
you leave out the front you’ll be fine. My partner’s going door-to-door right
now, so if he sees you sitting in your car he may stop and talk to you. Just
don’t compliment his ass and you’ll be fine.”

Imogen’s mouth pulled up in a big grin and for half a second
Katrina was hit with a wave of jealousy. They liked each other. Not
liked
liked each other. Imogen would never be interested in a man she thought might
interest Katrina, but they got on well. Far better than Katrina’s own
experience with the man. But when she looked up to him, his eyes were back on
Katrina and he licked his lips as he watched her. It wasn’t intentionally
seductive. In fact, it appeared completely subconscious but it felt seductive
and she melted for a moment as she bit down on her lip. She might just have a
crush on Detective Handsome Ass.
Fuck.

“What’s wrong with your cat?” He watched the strange-looking
creature wind its way around her leg, tottering over like a drunk old man. Its
eyes were a bit milky and as she reached down to scratch the top of its head
and it arched up to meet her hand, it lost its balance again and fell over.

“She’s twenty-one.”

“And that’s a medical condition?”

“It is to a cat.” Her eyes were distant but she met his with
a small smile. She was still trembling. She’d given him the details of the
attack and he was already not thrilled with just how little he had to go on. It
wasn’t helping that the tech dusting the door had that exasperated look on her
face that said she wasn’t finding much to go on either. Frankly, he wasn’t
expecting much. Her statement suggested the perp likely never touched a solid
surface in her home.

“Any recent altercations, arguments, angry ex-boyfriends I
need to know about?”

“Just a disgruntled parent who showed up to parent-teacher
conferences late.” She smirked at him and he couldn’t help but smile. He liked
her sense of humor. He liked her friend’s as well. He especially liked how
loose her friend’s lips were when it came to the good teacher.
Katrina
.
Too fucking bad she was his witness. That made her quite hands off and yet he
couldn’t seem to stop touching her.

Every time he caught sight of the abrasion peeking out from
under her long bangs or the quickly reddening throat, which left little question
where the man’s hand had gripped her, his hand just instantly moved to brush
the hair back and study the spot or tip her chin to see her throat. “Please go
to the hospital.” His voice was quiet. “I know you’re not likely seriously
injured but I want a medical report on the injuries and photographs. I wouldn’t
ask if it weren’t important.”

She must be in pain.
The abrasion was an angry red
patch of missing skin above her eye and the skin surrounding her eye was
darkening with a bruise with every passing minute. She’d already divulged she
had a large abrasion across her stomach as well from her fall over the edge of
the fireplace mantel. He was a detective short on clues and the only ones he
had were on her body at the moment.

“Fine.” Her voice was quiet and she leaned down to scratch
the cat, if it could be called that, one last time before they stood together.
He walked with her from the house and he stood back watching as she spoke with
her friend.

Her friend nodded in agreement to something before backing
from the driveway in an exceptionally expensive sports car. He spoke briefly to
the officer and the crime-scene tech before he opened his passenger door for
her and rounded the car.

“I thought you said your partner was here?” She met his eyes
as he sank into the seat beside her.

“He is. We drove separately. Is your friend going to meet
you at the hospital?”

“No. I told her I’d call when I was finished. I won’t of
course. I’ll take a cab. It’s late and we both have to work tomorrow. Will they
lock up when they’re finished?”

“Yes. The scene tech is nearly finished photographing and
the officer will lock up when they leave. We’ll keep a patrol unit in the
neighborhood and check on the house periodically to make sure no one comes
back.”

“Do you think he just wanted to rob me?” Her voice was far
too quiet as she spoke and he didn’t like the fear he heard in the slight
tremble.

“I can’t say that for certain.” He was giving her the
noncommittal response because he didn’t want to answer that question
truthfully.

He didn’t think the man wanted to rob her at all. He’d said
nothing to her—he’d demanded nothing from her. He was there for a purpose and
Dillon didn’t think it was random happenstance that he caught her just as she
was conveniently entering her side door. Her house was set off the street too
far for it to be some random asshole out walking around who just happened upon
her getting out of her car.

Nothing about the way it played out left him thinking
robbery was the motive. The man wanted to hurt her, plain and simple, and he’d
been waiting for her. Both left a chill running through his body. The rude
quirky teacher, whom he’d not been able to stop thinking about all weekend, was
a very vulnerable young woman at the moment.

The hospital was buzzing with people who needed far more
care than she did, but with a detective at her side it didn’t take them long to
get her into a semiprivate, albeit ridiculously small, room. The doctor swooped
in, barely looking at her before he poked and prodded at her head, made her do
eyeball aerobics as he shined a light in her face, looked at her throat and
then her stomach and finally met her eyes for the first time without trying to
blind her.

“Lucky girl. You’re fine. Your head’s likely going to ache a
bit for a while but you’ll heal. Now stay here. They need pictures and then you
can go.” The man was then gone and she was alone. But not for long.

Detective Adler walked in with the same scene tech who had
been at her house. The woman was young and pretty, even with a dark-navy
uniform on and her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. Her camera was slung
around her neck and as she walked in beside Detective Adler, Katrina was hit
with that nasty juvenile feeling of insecurity and jealousy again. Katrina
looked like hammered shit and she fucking well knew it. It wasn’t helping
matters that an incredibly good-looking man was walking toward her with a cute
blonde at his side.

“Pull your hair back from your face, please.” The scene tech
spoke without actually looking up at her. No one seemed interested in looking
at her in this place. But as they approached her, she looked up to see
Detective Adler’s eyes studying her intently. His gaze remained glued to her as
she pulled back her long bangs from her forehead and the woman started snapping
pictures from every angle imaginable.

“Now your stomach. Can you lie back please and lift your
shirt?” Her gaze flitted to his just to see him watching her coolly. She leaned
back on the gurney, lifting her t-shirt and bunching it just under her chest.
She could feel her heart thudding and when she glanced to him, his focus was on
the raw and abraded skin across her stomach just above her bellybutton. When
his eyes moved up to hers, they stared at each other. His breathing was deep
and calm but hers was anything but.

“I’ve got what I need. I’ll be in touch, Detective.” She
turned and walked from the room. Katrina couldn’t seem to stop staring and her
breath was coming in shallow gasps. His fingers reached to her hands, which
were still holding her shirt in place and he tugged the hem of the shirt gently
down to cover her stomach.

“Oh…sorry.” She wasn’t sure what else to say. Sorry for
forgetting she was half naked in front of him? Sorry for letting her brain shut
down? He reached a hand to her and she let him pull her up to sit. “I should
call a cab.”

“I’ll drive you.” He didn’t wait for an answer before he
turned from her and started walking from the room. She hopped down from the
gurney and followed him back out to his car. Well this promised to be awkward
as hell.

It was. It was a painfully nerve-racking awkward with a
touch of erotic need thrown in for fun. She wasn’t stupid. She trusted him. She
absolutely trusted him. He was Seth’s father, he’d been in the community for
many years and he was a cop. She literally had no reason not to trust him and
so she trusted. Under the circumstances and after her night, the feel of that
trust was intoxicating. He made the terror she’d felt suddenly feel better. The
relief, his subtle show of concern, his desire to help her all pushed her very
female buttons. What other reason were Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves
attracted to each other in the movie
Speed
? Duh. She got it. Were she
just some sap of a woman on any other day without having experienced some
lunatic trying to kill her, she’d feel nothing for this man. Oh who the fuck
was she kidding? She’d not been able to pull her eyes away from him after the
moment she met him!

“Where does Seth stay when you’re working?” Well she had to
break the tension somehow.

“My sister. She’s divorced. Jake Sayors? You taught him too…”

“Oh sure. Your sister is…uh…” She was snapping her fingers.

“Molly.”

“Yeah. I like Molly. She seems fun.”

“She is. She reminds me a lot of you actually.”

Her gaze flashed to his before she could stop herself and he
glanced to her before she could wipe the quizzical expression from her face.
What
the hell does that mean?

“I just mean she’s quirky. Good sense of humor.”

“Oh.” Apparently he didn’t intend to say she was gorgeous
like her—but then that would be weird.

She gave him directions to Imogen’s mansion on Mercer Island
and as they neared, her heart sped. She wasn’t sure why she wasn’t ready to
give him up tonight. He made her feel safe and while she was sure she’d be
perfectly secure and comfortable in Imogen’s house with high-tech security and
even a security gate, she still wasn’t ready to see him go.

They pulled up to the keypad entrance and she sat like an
idiot for a moment as options raced through her head. She was panicking.

“You can either tell me the code or crawl onto my lap to
enter it yourself. Your choice.” He smirked at her and she shook her head in
mortification. She wanted to crawl into his lap—but she gave him the code
instead.

“Thank you for driving me. I appreciate it.”

“Sure.” He looked at her a moment without speaking. “I’ll be
in touch soon. I’m sorry, Katrina. You didn’t deserve this and I know how
difficult it can be to cope with being the victim of a crime.”

Her eyes were suddenly flashing with tears and she turned to
look out the window rather than share her pathetic emotions with him. But when
his fingers touched hers, she sniffed and turned back to him, giving up on
hiding it.

“You are very lucky but you’re also very strong.” He let go
of her hand quickly, pulling his hand back to rest on the steering wheel.
“We’re going to be spending a lot of time in your neighborhood for a while.
We’re going to increase the patrols and check in with you regularly once you’re
back in your house.”

“Thank you, Detective.”

“Dillon.” His brow flinched and he dropped his gaze to his
lap as though he’d said something wrong. All Katrina could think was just how
much he’d said right. She climbed from his car, tossing a quick wave to him as
she bounded up the steps toward the front door. Imogen was already pulling the
front door open as she approached and the moment she saw Detective Handsome Ass
backing up, she smirked before pulling Katrina into a hug.

* * * * *

“Seth go to bed at a good time?” He was talking to Molly on
the phone. There was no sense waking him up when it was after midnight.

“Oh ‘bout nine or so. You done for the night?”

“Yeah. At least for the time being.”

“Why do you sound weird?”

“I haven’t said anything!”

“You don’t have to. Spill it.”

“You know I can’t do that. Good night. I’m letting you go.”
He hung up quickly, collapsing on his bed.

She was attracted to him.
Fuck.
Not fuck because he
wasn’t attracted to her, not even fuck because he
was
attracted to her.
Fuck because he was so fucking attracted to a woman he wasn’t allowed to be
fucking attracted to. Just…fuck! Oh yeah and fuck because he suspected this
wasn’t the last they’d see of the masked Looney Tune intent on hurting her.
That was the biggest fuck he had at the moment and it left his heart racing.

He liked her. And not just because she was nice to look at.
She was feisty and smart, she was quirky and silly but she was sweet. She was
kind and good except when she was pissed at him. But he’d deserved that.

He fell asleep without even undressing—who knew if he’d be
lucky enough to sleep the rest of the night without another call. But he didn’t
sleep—at least he didn’t sleep through the night. When he woke, he was covered
in sweat and his heart was pounding in near panic. He’d dreamed of her and not
just of her. He’d dreamed of a monster intent on killing her, taking her away
from him. In his dream, she belonged to him and that incredibly possessive and
arousing ownership he felt for her was being threatened.

He didn’t even bother trying to go back to sleep after that.
He rose, showered and left his home at three o’clock in the morning. He drove
to her home and sat in his car staring at her little house that looked eerily
terrifying even to him. He didn’t believe for a second they’d seen the last of
the dark intruder.