How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was…
Oh God
. She was mortified. She’d actually passed out in front of Jesse.
“Kate, you’re finally awake.”
She turned to find Ariana sitting in the chair next to her. She’d been right. She wore a red suit today.
With a dry mouth, she croaked out, “Water.”
Her sister poured a cup of ice water and handed it to her. “Let me get the nurse.” She walked out of the room.
Kate lifted her right arm and looked at the large bandage on her hand. Her heart raced, nearly exploding in her chest. How bad was it? Would this end her career as a field agent?
Before panic fully set in, Ariana returned with a nurse and a handsome, compact man who walked with a spring in his step.
“Kate, I got lucky. This is Dr. Richardson. He did the surgery on your hand.”
Dr. Richardson smiled at Kate. His smile stretched wide, his teeth strikingly white against his tanned face. “Hello, Ms. Ross I’m Dr. Richardson, an orthopedic surgeon on staff here at the hospital.”
“How bad is it?”
He cleared his throat. “You were extremely lucky. The bullet went through the webbing between your thumb and index finger, so no bones were broken. There is some nerve damage. It’s hard to say at this point if you’ll regain full strength in your hand.” He gestured to her ankle. “The ankle should be fine. You only lightly sprained it. The swelling has already subsided.”
Kate’s heart plummeted to her stomach. “But there’s a chance my hand will be like it was before?”
“Anything’s possible, but as I said, at this stage it’s too hard to say.”
She sighed. All thoughts of possibly leaving the FBI for Ross Communication vanished. She wouldn’t quit until she caught the shooter. The son of a bitch would pay.
Dr. Richardson examined her hand and gave her instructions on care. “I’ll get the paperwork taken care of so that you can leave.”
The doctor left the room, and the nurse who’d patiently waited spoke up, “Ms. Ross, there’s two police officers waiting outside your door to see you. I was told to let them know the moment you were awake.”
She closed her eyes. They were not going to be pleased when they found out she was FBI, and they’d take the case from the Baltimore PD. “You can let them in.”
Two uniformed officers entered the room. “Ms. Ross? I’m Officer Nathan Miller, and this is my partner Arthur Watson.”
Officer Miller looked to be in his young twenties, average height, lean and sporting a crew cut. Officer Watson was shorter and much older with a paunch and some serious hair loss. He looked like he was riding it out until retirement, which had to be soon.
“We need a few minutes of your time to discuss the incident this morning.”
“You should know up front that I’m an FBI agent.” She looked for her purse to get her badge.
Officer Miller wasn’t fazed by her statement. He asked her about her hand then jumped straight into questions. “Did you see the car?”
“I’m sorry, I really didn’t see anything. The car came from behind me, and it was out of sight before I recovered.”
Shit.
She’d be put on medical leave. She hoped AJ led the investigation. He’d share with her, let her get involved.
Officer Miller didn’t take the hint the interview was over and asked more questions until Officer Watson dragged him from the room.
After the officers left, the nurse stuck her head in the room and told her she had two men waiting, one an FBI agent. “They’ve stepped out, but said they’d be right back to see if you’re awake.”
Only one was an FBI agent? She hoped that was AJ. Was Jesse the other man waiting? He’d saved her, but she didn’t want to see his lying, cheating self. Technically he’d only kissed her lightly, but she knew the intent for more had been there.
“Ariana, we’re leaving.” She had her sister pull the IV from her hand, not caring if the nurse would arrive once the alarm sounded.
Her sister had prepared for their departure and had clothing for her to wear since hers was ruined. She was not wearing a hospital gown on her escape.
Her escape.
Damn him.
Ariana drove her home, and they avoided speaking about her injury and Ross Communication. She learned her sister had two dates with a banker and felt good about a possible relationship with him. It was about time her sister found a good man who wasn’t after her fortune and Ross Communication.
Ariana did her standard perusal of Kate’s apartment. “You know you can live at the house in Chevy Chase. It’s yours too. You don’t have to live in this small apartment.”
Kate smiled. “I like this place though. It has character.” She lived off her FBI pay and her small inheritance from her biological parents.
“I’ll never understand how you can leave what you had for something so small and without a housekeeper or cook.”
“We’ve been over this before. Mom and Dad knew how important this was to me, Ariana. I need you to understand.” She wouldn’t live on what should have been Ariana’s money.
“They left you that money and half of the house and business because they loved you. Kate, you’re an heiress. You shouldn’t be living like this.” She waved her hand around.
Kate changed the subject back to the banker. After assuring her sister for the fifth time she would be fine, she convinced Ariana to leave her alone.
She knew being alone wouldn’t last long. AJ would appear at some point to question her. She’d take any grief he gave her for leaving the hospital without his knowledge. It had been worth it to avoid Jesse.
She knew she needed to thank him for saving her, but she didn’t want to see him again. Maybe she could thank him through AJ. No, that was cowardly. She would have to face the cheater and thank him. It was the right thing to do. She began to hate that she always tried to do the right thing.
* * * * *
How dare she sneak out of the hospital?
Jesse had waited and worried for so long. Guilt had been riding him. He should have moved faster this morning. He should have been more aware of his surroundings. All of his focus had been on Kate, and he wasn’t sure what to make of that.
He parallel parked close to her apartment. He looked around and saw her in the Thames Street Park, a couple of blocks from her apartment. The small park had been split with a playground for children on one side and a yard area for dogs on the other side.
She stood tall, her figure trim and toned, her hips tapered into long legs. The sun highlighted the few auburn streaks in her dark brown hair, loose tendrils of hair softened her face. It suddenly occurred to him that she didn’t have a weapon at her waist or her ankle.
Dammit.
Someone might be trying to kill her, and she stood outside without protection. What FBI agent would do that? He wanted to turn her over his knee. What the hell was wrong with her?
He walked toward the park. She stiffened when she saw him, reached down, put a leash on a Dalmatian and then led the dog out of the park.
Jesse intercepted her. “Who’s this beautiful dog?” He reached down to pet the dog that sniffed and then licked his hand. He tried to calm himself. He didn’t want to immediately spike her temper like he typically did.
He watched her luscious lips as she responded. He needed to pay more attention to his surroundings than on her. They were out in the open, like this morning, with their focus on each other.
“Her name is Dottie, and she’s ready to go inside.”
She didn’t want to talk with him. Well, she had another thing coming. He wasn’t letting her off that easy. “What are you doing out here without a weapon?”
“How I take care of myself is none of
your
business. Now, I’m going inside. Goodbye, Mr. Hamilton.”
So much for not spiking her temper right away.
“I’m afraid it’s not going to be that easy for you, Kate. AJ will be here shortly. We have questions for you.”
“AJ I understand, but you don’t need to be here.” Almost as an afterthought, she added, “Thank you for saving me.”
“You’re welcome. How’s your hand?” He should have asked her about it first instead of blasting her about not protecting herself.
“It’s fine.” She waved her bandaged hand around then turned and limped off toward her apartment. He silently walked beside her, reminding him of the previous night when she’d tried to rid herself of him. Then there was that kiss. He needed more.
At her doorway, Jesse spotted AJ and FBI Special Agent Trent Mackenzie, God’s gift to women, walking toward them. The last thing he wanted was for Trent to be around Kate. Why the hell had his brother brought him?
“The bad thing about Fells Point is the parking. I can never get close to where I want to go. We don’t all have your luck at parking, Jesse.” Trent turned to Kate, his boldly handsome face smiled warmly down at her. “Hello, sweetheart. It’s good to see you again.”
Jesse gritted his teeth, wanting to wipe the smile off Trent’s face. Had he and Kate been together before? He did go out of his way to flirt with her at the field office. Were they together now? Unexpected jealously surged through him.
She reached out to shake his hand and gave Trent the smile she’d held back from him. “Hey, Trent. This is Dottie. I hope you don’t mind dogs because she’s a love bug.”
“It’s not a problem with me. I love dogs.” Trent reached down to pet Dottie.
Dottie growled at Trent, and Jesse couldn’t help but laugh. She had taste.
“Dottie!” Kate tugged the leash, pulling the dog closer to her. “I’m sorry, Trent. She’s never done that before.”
Trent shrugged, unfazed by Dottie’s actions. “No problem.”
When Jesse caught Trent watching Kate’s rear as her dog led them into the apartment, he envisioned wringing his neck.
They entered her apartment and Jesse looked around. In the living room sat a matching couch, loveseat and chair in off-white with throw pillows in a muted red, gold and green. On the wood floor was a colorful rug that matched the throw pillows. It felt warm and welcoming.
He moved to the stone fireplace to get a closer look at the framed photos. There were two photos. One of a couple who looked to be in their late twenties in winter gear sitting on a rock in front of a rock canyon, and another of a couple sitting on a beach. The breeze had been blowing through the woman’s hair as the photo had been snapped. He turned. “Are these your parents?”
She looked at the mantel. A touch of sadness seeped into her eyes. “Yes.” She didn’t point out which couple it was.
* * * * *
Kate sat in the chair as Dottie curled up in a dog bed by the fireplace. Trent and AJ sat on the couch while Jesse took up a large portion of the love seat. She tried to look cool, calm and collected. She didn’t want Jesse to know he affected her. After the surprising kiss last night, his close physical proximity made her senses spin.
“What’s Jesse here for? He’s not FBI.”
He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Calm down, Kate. Someone shot at one of you. I’d like to talk with you both,” AJ answered.
Jesse knew more about what happened than she did. Maybe he could shed some light on it for her. “I’m not going to be much help. I didn’t see a thing.”
AJ spoke up. “You know the drill, Kate. Let’s walk back through it. Maybe something will return.”
She nodded, even though she doubted she’d remember anything new. She walked them through the event then looked at Jesse. When their gazes locked, she felt the sensation of being flooded with warmth. Then she remembered his phone call this morning, his devotion of love to someone and turned away from him.
Bastard.
“Kate, have you had any threats that you haven’t told me about?” AJ asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
Trent leaned forward, putting his forearms on his thighs. “Kate, Jesse saw the driver. This wasn’t a gang shooting. One of you was the target.”
No wonder they’d included Jesse. She looked at him and the bandage on his left arm. Was it her fault he’d been shot?
“Well, we can go through my case files, and we can go through what Jesse’s been working on. I can…”
AJ put his hand up and stopped her mid-sentence. “We’re well ahead of you. And
we
won’t include
you
, Kate. You’re out right now. Relax and spend some time with your sister. You always say you don’t get to see her enough.” He grinned. “Maybe you’ll finally introduce me.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t picture AJ and Ariana together. “AJ…”
Jesse cut her off. “What about protection for Kate? If she’s the target, you need to take care of her.”
She should be pissed he interrupted her. Again. But, was that concern she heard in his voice? Couldn’t be.
“I don’t need anyone to protect me. I can take care of myself.” There was no way she was going to let other agents follow her, possibly putting themselves in jeopardy. Her right hand may be useless, but she didn’t think she’d have a problem with a weapon in her left hand. She wouldn’t be accurate, but there were plenty of bullets in a clip.
“It doesn’t matter what you want. We
are
assigning you a protective detail.”
Kate jumped up. “No, AJ! I won’t have it. I don’t want anyone else hurt if this lunatic is after me.”
The men stood.
AJ shrugged. “They’ll still be there, whether you want it or not.”
Kate gave a half-hearted shrug. It was protocol, so he wasn’t going to change his mind. It would only be a few days. She planned to go back to the office as soon as possible. She’d survive desk work while she healed. They had too many cases to work for her to lie around like a princess. Her priorities were her shooter and the Facilitator. They both needed to be removed from the streets.
“Okay, but no one stays in my apartment. They have to remain outside.”
AJ nodded. “Done.”
“AJ, promise me you’ll keep me updated.” She couldn’t just sit on the sidelines, oblivious to what was happening to catch her shooter.
The glow of his smile warmed the room. “Of course I will.”
She trusted him to do just that.
Kate ushered the men to the door, but Jesse hung back. “Would you like to watch an Orioles game with me tomorrow night?”
Kate didn’t hesitate with her response. “I don’t think that’d be a good idea. I don’t mess with men who are involved in another relationship.”