Authors: Aliyah Burke
two went at it. Ernst quickly got the upper hand; and as he held Kirby in a
position that could easily turn deadly, the men acted.
―Get off him, man,‖ the friend said as he took a swing at Ernst. Dimi-
tri stopped him while Maverick went to Ernst and touched his shoulder.
―Let him go, Ernst,‖ the deep voice said.
―No,‖ Ernst refused. ―This is the bastard who beat Kacy!‖ Ernst
shook his head and tightened his hold on the man beneath him. Kirby tried to
mumble something, but stopped when Ernst shoved his face into the dirt
more. ―Shut up, you asshole!‖ he hissed.
Maverick grabbed his wrist and said, ―Stand down! That‘s an order!‖
The eyes that looked at him flared defiantly for a moment before Ernst did as
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he had been told. Ever so slowly, he got off the man and pulled him, none to
gently, up after him.
Once both men were back on their feet, Ernst grabbed him around
the throat and squeezed. ―You come near Kacy again, call her, or even
breathe in her direction, you will be the one who needs the cops. I will find
you wherever you go and make you pay.‖ His voice was as warm as the artic
color of his eyes. ―Trust me when I say there isn‘t a single place you can hide
from me.‖
Eyes wide from lack of oxygen, Kirby moved his mouth soundlessly;
when Ernst let go, he snapped. ―I will file a report on you!‖
Maverick spoke up. ―All I saw was him helping you up from the
ground.‖
―Me too,‖ Dimitri said as he moved in closer.
Grabbing the man by the shoulder, Ernst put a pinch on him that
made the feeling on the left side of Kirby‘s body leave. ―Don‘t make me come
after you. You won‘t like the results. If I even
think
you are bothering her I
hunt you down. I love her, and I will be damned if I let you terrorize her. Are
we clear?‖ His fingers tightened, making Kirby stumble.
Eyes that had once been smug as he‘d scared and tormented a wom-
an were fearful as Kirby was terrified of a man who was seriously intent on
doing him some harm. ―Clear,‖ Kirby muttered. ―I won‘t bother her.‖
―Good. But if you do,‖ the warning came, ―there are so many pres-
sure points that I would love to test on you.‖ Applying even more pressure to
his hold, Ernst watched the man‘s eyes fill with pain. ―Glad we understand
each other.‖ Abruptly, Ernst let go and Kirby dropped to the ground, unable
to hold himself up anymore.
Looking at the two men with him, Ernst brushed the dirt off his tux-
edo and said, ―Let‘s go back to the party.‖
Understanding that he was done with Kirby, the men nodded. In the
back of his mind, however, Ernst wondered what would‘ve happened had
Maverick not pulled rank. Silently, the three men disappeared, leaving Kirby
and his friend alone in the darkened area.
Back at the party, Ernst endured stares from the rest of the Team, but
none of them said anything to him. He danced with a few of the bridesmaids,
but didn‘t drink anymore alcohol.
He left when Dimitri did. Getting into his truck, Ernst drove himself
home to his empty and quiet apartment. Turning on some music, he changed
and began to workout until his body was drenched in sweat.
Showered and once again clean, he sat down on his leather couch. It
was well after two in the morning, but his head wouldn‘t give him a mo-
ment‘s rest. Standing abruptly, Ernst walked over to his stereo and turned off
the heavy metal, turning on some light jazz instead. It was a CD he had
bought so Kacy would have some music to listen to when she was at his
place.
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Aliyah Burke
Kacy
. ―What am I going to do about us?‖ he asked the walls of his
domicile. ―I know I love you, and I know Kirby was a big reason you didn‘t
want to get involved with me. But how do I convince you he won‘t bother
you anymore and that I would die before I let anyone hurt you again?‖
Ernst stretched out on his couch, draping his leg over the back as he
tried to find a solution for his dilemma. Kidnapping her wouldn‘t work,
although the idea of taking her far away so it was just the two of them held
gigantic appeal to him.
―I‘d go to D.C. but I don‘t know how she‘d take that,‖ he muttered as
his leg dropped back to the cushion with a thud. ―She will be back tomor-
row…‖ he paused and looked at his wrist, ―later this morning.‖ It was
already early on Monday morning.
So Ernst stayed on his couch for the rest of the night, listening to
smooth jazz and imagining him and Kacy making love as the music played
around them. Didn‘t she understand she was the other half to his soul? How
could she not know how important she was to him?
The clock read six when his beeper went off again, jarring him
awake. Grabbing his gear, Ernst jogged down the steps to his truck and drove
to the base. Just when she was coming home, he was leaving.
Kacy shut the door to her van. She was back at that creepy house to
help Brett finish up the last little bit. At least he had done that small room in
the basement so she didn‘t have to go there again.
As he was settling the bill with the owner, a sleazy-looking man, Ka-
cy remained by her vehicle. She, Brett, and his new wife Lisa were going to
go to dinner this Friday night. She was waiting for Brett to tell her where they
were going to eat.
He walked towards her. ―Thanks so much for the help, Kacy. I am
going to write you a check right now for your part.‖ Brett opened his van and
took out his checkbook.
―Don‘t worry. I trust you. Where are we going to eat? I want to get
cleaned up first.‖
Just being in that house makes me feel dirty
, she shivered.
―Lisa hasn‘t made up her mind. Why don‘t you go home and I will
have her call you when she makes up her mind? I know she thought we
would be here longer than this; so knowing her, she is probably still trying to
figure it out herself!‖ He laughed at his wife‘s inability to make up her mind.
―That sounds like a plan to me.‖ Kacy got into her van. ―I will see
you in a bit then.‖ Starting her van she waved to Brett and drove away.
Kacy was feeding her fish when her cell phone rang. ―KT Electric.‖
―Kacy, it‘s Lisa. Brett said for me to call you when I finally decided
on a place to eat.‖
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147
―Hey, Lisa. I‘m ready so tell me where to go.‖ Kacy put the fish food
away and picked up her car keys.
―Well, since I love teriyaki food I was thinking of that place by
Foun-
tains
that serves it. It is called
Bento Teriyaki
. What do you think?‖
―I know that place. Works for me. How long before you want to meet
there?‖ Kacy knelt down to tie her hiking boots.
―We are on our way now. How long before you can be there?‖ Lisa‘s
friendly voice questioned.
―Not much more than fifteen minutes. I‘m on my way out the door
now.‖ She walked into her garage and slid behind the wheel of her Camaro.
―See you both in a few.‖
―Great,‖ Lisa said and hung up.
Moments later, Kacy was parking her car at the restaurant. She
climbed out and met Brett who was outside waiting for her. ―Hey, Kacy,‖ he
said with an easy hug.
―Hey, yourself. Where‘s Lisa?‖ she asked, brushing her hair back
from her face.
―Left something in the car,‖ Brett said, rolling his eyes playfully.
―I see.‖ Kacy turned to face in the same direction as Brett and wait for
his wife to reappear. She sat down on the bench and stretched her legs out.
―Oh, here you go.‖ Brett handed her the check.
Kacy took it without looking at the amount, folded it up, and slid it
in her pocket. ―Thanks.‖ Looking at the man who took a seat beside her made
her smile. ―You look so much happier now that you have that band around
your finger.‖ She nudged him with her shoulder.
―I am.‖ He turned his brown eyes to her copper ones. ―Kacy, I never
dreamt I would be this happy.‖ His smile flashed bright against his dark skin.
―Well, I can think of no one more deserving. She is great for you.‖
Kacy looked at the approach of his wife Lisa and added, ―Even if she is
forgetful!‖
―Good thing she doesn‘t want to work with me,‖ he teased as his
wife got closer.
―I wouldn‘t want to see that mix.‖ Kacy said as Lisa tripped over
something small in her way. The two friends stood and Kacy hugged Lisa
when she finally made it to where they waited. ―Good to see you again,
Lisa,‖ she whispered into her friend‘s ear.
―Sorry, but I forgot something in the car. Well, I thought I did, but it
was in my pocket the whole time. I swear,‖ Lisa bemoaned as she leaned up
to kiss her husband. ―I would lose my head if it wasn‘t attached!‖ With an
easy shrug she added, ―Let‘s eat!‖
Brett and Kacy exchanged glances, but neither of them said a word
about her losing her head. It was nothing short of the truth, so both of them
bit their lips and kept silent as they walked inside the building.
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Aliyah Burke
The three friends sat at an outside table drinking coffee and hot
chocolate. It was getting cold out, but all of them were outdoorsy people and
so were content to sit in the chill of the evening.
They chatted about work, and future plans of Lisa and Brett. When
Lisa was talking about starting a family was when Kacy saw him.
Ernst. Chief Ernst Greeley Zimmermann. He was walking down the
boardwalk with another man she didn‘t know. They were accompanied by
two women. The one holding onto Ernst tugged his face down for a kiss, an
act that put the final nail into the coffin that surrounded Kacy‘s heart.
Forcing her attention back on Lisa, Kacy stayed focused on her
friend‘s face, determined not to look at Ernst as he passed their table. She
even shifted her body so it was facing away from the man who could set her
traitorous body on fire.
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T H R E E
Ernst pulled away from the woman on his arm. The only reason he
was there was because a fellow Chief had asked him to do this double date.
This woman didn‘t seem to get the hint that this was only a friendly dinner.
Ernst wanted nothing remotely sexual to do with her.
―Stop kissing me,‖ he said for the umpteenth time.
―All the women are jealous of me. I have such a handsome man on
my arm,‖ the blonde cooed as her long nails curled possessively around his
bicep.
Rolling his eyes, he kept walking. A shiver ran through his body, a
shiver only Kacy Travis had been able to create in him. Looking around, he
saw one of her electrician friends, Brett, who was sitting with a woman, but
no Kacy.
―Kacy,‖ he whispered.
―What did you say?‖ Jamie, his date, asked.
―Nothing. Just thought I saw someone I knew.‖ Disappointment
filled him as he didn‘t see her, but his body told him she was near.
They walked past the table and all Brett did was meet his gaze before
looking back at the woman sitting next to him. Not one word crossed his lips.
Ernst and the three people he was with moved further down the
boardwalk and eventually disappeared from sight.
―He‘s gone, Kacy,‖ Brett said.
Moving back to their table from where she had been hiding, Kacy
took her seat again. ―Thanks, Brett.‖
―Is that the one, Kacy?‖ Lisa asked as her hand covered the still-
trembling one of her friend.
―That‘s him.‖ Her voice only shook a little bit. He still looked so
handsome. His hair was longer than she remembered, but he still moved
with that natural flowing ability she loved about him. It had been four
months since he‘d walked out of her house, and he still affected her all the
way to her core.
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Aliyah Burke
―I thought you were dating,‖ Brett said.
―I told him that it wasn‘t working out.‖ Kacy admitted.
―Then why hide from him?‖ Lisa wasn‘t as dumb as people thought
her to be.
―Because I am not ready to face him, especially when he has a date
on his arm and I am without one.‖
Because I am ashamed of my stupid behavior.
―You love him,‖ Lisa observed as she leaned against her husband.
All Kacy could do was shrug her shoulders. ―Maybe.‖
―Have you told him?‖
―Lisa, I told him to get out of my life. Why would he want to hear
anything that I have to say now?‖ Kacy drained the rest of her hot chocolate.
―Because I saw the way he kept staring at me as if I was going to ac-
knowledge him in some way,‖ Brett added his perspective.
―Right,‖ Kacy scoffed, needing to find some anger to hold onto or she
would find herself calling him. ―He was scared you would tell me he had
some hoochie on his arm.‖
―Sounds to me like someone is kinda jealous,‖ Lisa observed, arching
her perfect eyebrows.
―Am not,‖ Kacy huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. ―I don‘t give a
rat‘s ass what that man does.‖
Standing up, Lisa kissed her husband on the cheek and looked at the
pouting Kacy. ―Come on, Kacy. We are going out. Brett, I will be home later,