Turn On A Dime - Kade's Turn (11 page)

“Wait, what about Diane? I can’t just go walking into the firm when I called in sick today. She’ll fire me.”

Just let her try. “You worry too much,” he said instead. “I’ll take care of it.” With pleasure.

It was quiet for a bit, then she cleared her throat.

“So, you have any music or…anything?”

Kade’s lips twisted. “No, this car doesn’t come equipped with something as fancy as a radio.”

Her eyes narrowed at his smartass response, but there was a slight lift to her lips, too, telling him she could appreciate his response to a stupid question.

“Oh, you meant you wanted to
listen
to some music. My mistake.”

This time there was a definite smile on her face, albeit small.

Reaching over, Kade pressed the button for the radio and the strains of Maroon 5 filled the car.

“Are you warm enough?” he asked, hoping she was. He was sweating over here.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Thank God. He turned down the heat to something more reasonable and resisted the urge to crack a window.

“Why did you go to that woman?” he couldn’t help asking. “You didn’t know her.”

Kathleen glanced at him. “I know, but she was devastated, and she had no one else. If it’d been me, I’d have wanted someone to put their arm around me. Wouldn’t you?”

Kade just shot her a look.

“Okay, maybe you wouldn’t,” she said, the dryness of her tone making Kade’s lips twitch.

“And I don’t cry at chick flicks, either,” he said.

“Me neither,” she said. The vehemence of her reply struck Kade.

“No sobbing your heart out over some Nicholas Sparks’ movie?” he teased.

But she shook her head. “There’s enough tragedy and death and sadness in real life. I don’t want to watch it in a movie, too.”

Her words made Kade’s amusement fade. Yeah, he could relate to that. Some of the shit people found entertaining—be it some sob story or a horror flick sensationalizing a sadistic serial murderer—he found too reminiscent of the things he dealt with on a daily basis. It seemed Kathleen felt the same way.

They passed the rest of the ride in silence, listening to Adam Levine sing about another one in his bed. Once they arrived, Kathleen followed him inside. Kade stayed a bit ahead of her, hoping they’d run into Diane. Luck was with him.

“Diane!” he heard Kathleen say. He stopped, backtracking a few steps to see the two women facing off.

“I thought you were home sick today,” Diane said accusingly.

“I am. I mean, I was. Then I was feeling better so—”

“She’s with me,” Kade interrupted.

Diane spun around, her eyes widening when she saw Kade, and she took a step back.

“Mr. Dennon, I didn’t realize you were in town,” she said.

“I wasn’t aware I was to report my comings and goings to you,” Kade said coldly.

“Of course not,” Diane backtracked. “And you say Kathleen is with you?”

Why didn’t Blane just fire this bitch? She was a pain in the ass busybody on a power trip. The fact that she’d been mistreating Kathleen made Kade’s blood pressure climb.

“It’s Miss Turner,” he said, “and her position here has changed. I’m promoting her and will notify you of her change in salary. Her comings and goings are no longer your concern.”

“What? Promoting her to what?”

Kade’s lips twisted. “Investigator. She’ll report to me from now on.” He didn’t know where the hell that had come from, he’d just made it up on the spot, too pissed off to think it through. But it sounded good. And hell, she might even be good at it, given some training.

Grabbing Kathleen’s arm, Kade propelled her into the elevator while Diane stared after them in shock. That had felt pretty damn good. It was nice to have power, especially when you could use it to put a bully in their place.

Once the elevator doors closed, Kathleen seemed to recover from her surprise, too. “What was that about?” she asked. “How can you do that? How does she know who you are?”

Okay, maybe he’d been wrong about the investigator part.

“You’re a little slow on the uptake,” he prodded.

Her eyes went wide. “You work for Blane?”

As if. “I bought in, actually,” he said, “when Gage was indicted. Thought it would be a good investment. I’m what you’d call a silent partner.”

“And you just…” She couldn’t seem to finish the sentence, just staring at him as though finding it hard to comprehend.

“Promoted you,” Kade finished for her. “Surprised Blane hasn’t done it himself.” He couldn’t help saying it. She needed to have her eyes opened with Blane, this girl who comforted strangers and insisted on worrying about Kade’s soul.

“Well, maybe it didn’t occur to him,” she said in a small voice.

Kathleen’s defense of Blane wasn’t unexpected, given what Kade was learning of her nature, though it was disappointing.

When they reached Blane’s floor, Kade ushered her to the sofa. “You wait here,” he said, giving her a little push so she sat, but she bounced right back up.

“I want to come with you,” she insisted.

“You’re supposed to be broken up, remember?” And Kade needed some private time with Blane. “Now wait here.”

She rolled her eyes, the little snot, but didn’t say anything. Kade couldn’t resist adding, “Unless you want to reenact last night.”

That got a reaction. Her eyes went wide and she abruptly sat, which is exactly what Kade should’ve wanted her to do, though that didn’t stop a pang of disappointment.

“That’s what I thought,” he said, unable to keep a note of bitterness from his voice.

Kade went into Blane’s office without knocking, closing the door behind him. Blane was working on something, a file and paper spread across his desk. He glanced up as Kade entered.

“Where’s Kathleen?” were the first words out of his mouth.

“Relax,” Kade said, heading for a chair. “She’s fine.” He sprawled in one of the leather chairs facing the desk, his legs extended in front of him and crossed at the ankles.

“What are you doing here?” Blane asked.

“Trying to figure out who’s behind all this,” Kade said. “Thought you should know Ron Freeman is dead. Murdered. Professional hit, by the looks of it.”

Blane sat back in his chair. “You’re kidding.”

“Wish I were. But that’s not the worst. Looks like someone was threatening him and his wife.”

“That would explain his sudden change of heart on what he remembered from Iraq,” Blane said. “Kyle’s ex-wife is testifying tomorrow for the prosecution. I wonder if she’s being threatened as well.”

“I can check it out. Where is she?”

Blane read off an address and Kade memorized it. He and Kathleen could check it out later. Another woman, so Kathleen would probably have a better chance getting her to talk than he would. Of course, that depended on the woman, though. They’d have to tag-team her and decide on the fly who had the better shot.

“I got another package today,” Blane said, and the tone of his voice had Kade glancing up at him. He was reaching for a large, manila envelope. “Want to tell me why you were practically fucking Kathleen outside the bar last night?”

Kade leaned forward, reaching for the folder and dumping the contents into his hand. That’s when he noticed a light on Blane’s phone was lit. The intercom.

Kathleen was hearing every word of this conversation.

The photos were long-distance and grainy, but there was no mistaking who was in them or what they were doing. Kade had the urge to ask if he could keep them, but didn’t think that would go over real well.

“Nice photos,” he said.

“Kade…” The warning in Blane’s voice said he was about to go from irritated to seriously pissed off in about three seconds.

“It was just a decoy, a ruse,” Kade lied. “Hopefully, that’ll help throw off whoever’s watching.” He hadn’t seen whoever had taken those pictures and they could just as easily have had a sniper rifle on them as opposed to a camera. And he’d been too consumed with having an excuse to touch Kathleen to do a better job clearing the area. A chill went through him at what might have happened.

He thought again about Kathleen listening in. She should know the truth about Blane and how he felt about women and relationships. Better to have her eyes opened now while she still just
thought
she was falling in love with him than a month from now when she was sure she had.

“You know, judging by these photos, it looks like she was rather enjoying it. You might want to think about that before you put your life and career on the line for her.”

“I could say the same to you,” Blane retorted.

“Knock it off, Blane,” Kade shot back. “I refuse to become some cliché, you and me fighting over some chick. It’s not worth it and you know it.” Which was the absolute truth and he believed it utterly. No one was worth risking Blane, not even Kathleen.

Kade shoved the photos back in the envelope and tossed them back on Blane’s desk.

“Whoever said we’re fighting over her?” Blane asked. “Last she told me, she hates you.”

That struck Kade like a slap across the face. She’d actually said that? That she hated him? But why wouldn’t she? It wasn’t like he’d given her much cause to actually
like
him. Not to mention that he shouldn’t give a damn one way or the other how she felt.

“Well, there you go then,” he said, realizing he’d been quiet too long.

“Even if she does hate you, do it again, and you and I are going to have a problem.”

Blane suddenly going all territorial about Kathleen made the jealousy Kade had been trying to ignore surge to the front, along with his temper. If Kathleen was listening, then by God she should know the truth.

“What do you care anyway?” Kade lashed out. “It’s not like you’re going to marry her. Isn’t that role reserved for Kandi?”

Blane just looked at him for a moment, a slight frown on his face. “What’s with the sudden interest in my love life, Kade? I thought I made it clear it’s none of your business.”

Kade scrambled for a reason other than the one he was most trying to hide.
I’m obsessed with your girlfriend
. “When your relationship starts putting expiration dates on your life, then it becomes my business.”

“None of this is Kathleen’s fault,” Blane said. “I’d appreciate it if you’d try to remember that. She’s not the enemy here.”

“I’m aware of that,” Kade said. His voice was calm but anger, jealousy, and guilt teemed just below the surface. He couldn’t deal with jealousy and guilt, but anger was no problem at all. “Which reminds me, since you’ve been too wrapped up in yourself to realize how miserable she is working for Diane, I promoted her.”

“What do you mean, she’s miserable working for Diane?” Blane asked. “She never said anything to me about it.”

“Please. Diane knows you’re sleeping with her and treats her like shit. You obviously weren’t going to do anything about it, so I did.”

“And you promoted her to what?” Blane asked. “Is she qualified for anything else?”

For the first time in his life, Kade lost some respect for Blane. The way Blane had been acting, Kade had thought that maybe he saw her as more than just another piece of ass. Looked like he’d been wrong. He almost felt bad for her, hearing all this, but yeah, tough love.

“I made her an investigator, reporting to me. And your faith in her is staggering.” His voice was cold and now his temper had cooled, replaced by a contempt he’d never before felt towards his big brother.

“It has nothing to do with faith, it’s reality,” Blane said. “She’s smart, but she’s young, inexperienced. What is she going to do as an investigator? And how much danger will that involve?”

The veiled accusation that Kade had deliberately put Kathleen in danger just pissed him off. “No more danger than you’ve already put her in,” Kade shot back. “How long are you going to drag this out anyway? She’s lasted longer than most of your relationships, I’ll give you that, but it would no doubt be better for her if you ended it. Politics won’t wait forever and neither will Kandi.”

And if you dumped Kathleen, I could make a move without feeling any guilt
. The thought drifted right beneath the surface, tantalizing and shaming Kade at the same time. Was he really trying to make Blane break up with Kathleen just so he could have her?

“Did I miss the part where we’re telling each other how to run our lives? Because if so, I certainly have some things I’d like to say to you.” Blane’s retort jerked Kade out of his thoughts.

This was the closest they’d come to fighting in a long time. They bickered occasionally, disagreed, but there was real anger now between them and it shook Kade. He didn’t want this, didn’t want Blane mad at him, didn’t want to feel confused and jealous and angry.

Kade struggled to put a lid on all the emotions and get back to common ground with his brother. “Speaking of changing the subject,” he said, “did you check out junior? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if that little prick was behind this.”

Blane’s body relaxed slightly. “He’s got an alibi for where he was the other night, so if it is him, he’s working with someone.”

Suddenly a voice erupted from Blane’s phone.

“Thanks so much for watching the phones for me, Kathleen.” Clarice’s voice was tinny over the speaker.

Shit. Busted.

Blane’s eyes slid shut and he rubbed a hand across his forehead, muttering a “Fuck” under his breath.

“Kathleen, please come in here,” he said more loudly, then hit the button on the phone.

Kade was up and at the door a second later, sure he’d see Kathleen racing for the elevator, and he was right. Their eyes met and his lips twitched. He crooked his finger, beckoning her. With a sigh of resignation, she headed toward him.

“You should learn what a mute button is if you’re going to eavesdrop,” he whispered in her ear as she passed by.

“Thanks for the advice,” she hissed back, but he could tell she wasn’t really angry, just embarrassed at having been caught.

Kade left the office, closing the door behind him, but then stood right there listening. Clarice cleared her throat, giving him a look, but Kade just winked and put a finger to his lips. She rolled her eyes.