Page 48 of Liaising Kai

Burying her toes in the wet sand, she thought, too, about cowardice and fear, about the balance of pain and joy.

About forgiveness and if it was truly possible to let go of all that bitterness, blame, and resentment.

Without forgiveness, there could never be joy, and a heart without joy couldn’t fully embrace that basic love. It would be buried under so much weight and pressure, trapped in a heart that would, eventually, turn to stone.

But then there was redemption, a word so filled with struggle, mind-twisting thought, toil, and deliverance. Yet with that recovery, there would be a price to pay. Atonement and thus salvation.

To her surprise, there were eddies, small pools, around her and she ran her sandy fingers through them. Davis had stormed into her life, pulling her from the shadows, wearing down her defenses with his need for her. Davis, she thought with so much emotion spilling out of her, what am I going to do about you? How am I going to keep from losing you?

She looked down, her thoughts as muddy as the water. Where was that path that eluded her?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Rolling his shoulders in weariness, Davis got out of his car, a dull headache pulling at the backs of his eyes. After hours of staring at a computer screen and another couple hours debriefing his boss, and the intensity of this case for the past three days, he was so damned tired he could barely see straight. Grabbing the sunflowers he’d picked up on a whim when he stopped for some food at the commissary, he hefted the bags and headed for the small beach house.

There were no lights on inside and he frowned, then realized that there was a figure on the beach.

Kai.

He left her to her downtime, entered the residence, and started on dinner. He wasn’t a slouch when it came to cooking. His mom had taught him the basics and he’d gone on to learn even more as a bachelor. He’d picked up some penne pasta, chicken breasts, butter, garlic, flour, milk, and Parmesan.

He consumed his time cooking, the act of preparing something distracting him from that silent woman on the beach. When it was done, he walked down to where she was sitting and crouched next to her.

“You hungry babe?”

She turned to look at him and he saw that she was as weary as he was. More so. She’d been through a gun battle for her life, surrounded by Los Esmeraldas intent on eliminating her and Amber. But Kai had persevered. She was also damp from the incoming tide.

“Starving.”

“Why don’t you change into some dry clothes, and I’ll get everything ready.”

She nodded and accepted his hand. He pulled her up, giving in to the need to hold her for a moment—a definite response to the thought of her in danger. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him back.

They walked to the house with his arm around her, and her head on his shoulder. Once inside, she headed toward the bedroom, and he heard the shower come on, while he tossed a spinach salad and assembled the dishes. He set the table, uncorking a bottle of white wine. She came out of the bedroom dressed in a sleeveless khaki knitted top and black, soft cotton shorts, her feet bare. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a topknot, her face devoid of makeup. She was simply stunning.

She pulled out a chair and settled in it. “This looks fabulous.” She smiled at him, but it was a little distant. It was either fatigue or her own thoughts and emotions were tangling her up again. He wanted to help her, but he had to let her work through it on her own. Comfort was what he could offer and counsel for sure if she asked.

“How did it go with Commander Phillips?”

“Routine. He had a lot of questions and commended us on our conduct in Ecuador. I told him we would have been toast if it wasn’t for those two Shadowguard.”

She looked up from her meal, her eyes serious. “You always give credit where credit is due,” she murmured. “You are a good, good man, Davis.”

He waggled his brows, trying to keep it light in the face of her obvious disquiet. “In more ways than one,” he said.

She laughed softly, the sound warming him and bringing color to her cheeks.

“Jason wasn’t too keen on hearing what we went through and that we still had a target on our backs.”

Her mouth tightened after she took a sip of her wine. “It’s temporary. Once we get Freddy and that shipment, the heat will die down.” She released a sigh, lifting one shoulder in a semblance of a shrug. “That cartel will have other things to worry about, and it’ll be a moot point in silencing us. We already know everything except who they are.”

He remembered how close they had come to death…at least in his mind since he didn’t know about the Shadowguard following them into the jungle. Getting a grip on his own emotions, he kept her gaze. “We will get Freddy and that shipment. We’ll sweat her until she gives us the information we want.”

“Yeah, through some deal-making. I’m sure the justice department will authorize Leigh to make a deal. They want that cartel in the worst way. They gave the US a black eye by targeting the OCDETF Task Force. We need to send a message that this type of attack won’t be tolerated.”

He nodded. “Of course. The cartel did make a fatal mistake in attacking military personnel and murdering so many members of the DoD and JD. The attorney general and the joint chiefs are going to make sure that the cartel is dismantled, and anyone involved with the decision-making will either end up in handcuffs or a body bag.”

She smiled softly. “I know Leigh is going to be right at the tip of that spear, and I bet she’ll be prosecuting anyone who’s left standing.”

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