Page 9 of Liaising Kai

“Kai, are you all right?” Austin asked, peering at her from under his fall of blond hair, his expression concerned. “Your cheeks are flushed.”

She touched the warm skin of her face and, with as much of a casual tone as she could muster, said, “No, I’m fine. It’s just a bit warm in here.”

“In the morgue?” Austin said, but she ignored him and headed for the elevator.

“Let’s go to CGIS, Austin, and see what Special Agent Lennon has to say.”

CHAPTER THREE

“Hey, we’ve got company,” Jason said from Lennon’s desk as he worked at accessing his computer. Davis was going through Lennon’s phone dump, and he looked up from his screen to see Kai Talbot and Austin Beck walking into their office. Their CO appeared, greeting Kai, and they spoke for several seconds before the two NCIS agents headed toward where he and Jason were working.

She hadn’t enlisted the aid of her teammate to face him the morning after their charged encounter, so this had to be business-related, and he immediately wondered if it had anything to do with Lennon’s disappearance.

He and Jason were still reeling over discovering the terrible state of Lennon’s home. Knowing that their friend and colleague was in mortal danger somewhere out there galvanized them into pulling out all the stops. If NCIS could help, Davis would be all ears.

He rose as they approached, noting how good Kai looked for a woman who’d been on a bender the night before with him in her sights. She met his gaze unflinchingly, the instantaneous sparks of awareness between them undeniable.

Damn, but she did look amazing. Davis took in the khaki-toned chunky sweater that accentuated the delicate line of her jaw, the hem half-concealing the gun on her hip, and a pair of black linen cropped pants paired with black suede flats. With her hair back like that, she looked sharp, fresh, and stunning, her face a lovely oval, and that kissable mouth as tantalizing as always with those full lips painted in a shade of rose. She was the finest damn thing he’d ever laid eyes on.

He could still feel the sting of her slap, and as if she’d read his mind, her gaze went to his cheek and for a moment, her hard-as-nail expression faltered just enough for him to notice before it righted itself. It was clear from the expression on her face that she was closed right now. Very much into a professional mode.

That was understandable—their personal shit would have to wait. He was as keen as she was to keep their encounter out of the public eye. He’d much prefer to talk to her privately.

“Special Agent Nishida,” she said in greeting. “Sorry to barge into your morning, but we have a situation we need to discuss regarding Special Agent Carter Lennon.”

Davis’s eyes flicked to Jason who frowned. “Did you tell her?” His gaze went to his CO, but he could see Kai tense up.

He shook his head. “I thought it better that you all talked from a fresh point of view. I’ll be in my office once you’re finished.” That meant he expected a breakdown of what was going on.

Kai tensed further, and he could see her wage her own internal battle. He had no idea what was going on, but it was clear she hadn’t intended to deal with him, much less the news he was about to deliver to her.

“Let’s head to the conference room,” he suggested, herding them toward the back. Jason rose and followed, looking like he wanted to continue searching Lennon’s computer, but it would be important that they were all up to speed on not only Lennon’s disappearance but whatever case had brought Kai and her teammate to CGIS.

Once inside and they were all seated, with Davis at the head of the table, he said, “Carter Lennon is missing.” A night’s sleep hadn’t erased any of the strain on her porcelain-fine features. But he intended to see to it that she had better mornings, once they got past this awkward stuff. “There’s more,” he said, deciding there was no point in leaving out any detail if it could help with their investigation. “There was an obvious struggle, so he’s been abducted.”

“No blood at the scene,” Austin asked.

“No. Trashed, but no, no blood. We gathered evidence and our forensic guy is looking at it now.”

“Any demands?” Austin asked.

“No, nothing.” Carter was counting on him…them, more than a colleague, he had been friends with the man since their enlistment. He had a job to do, but there was so much at stake for Lennon. He focused his gaze on hers, wondering just why they were here. He also couldn’t escape the personal side of his relationship with Kai or shake the feeling that he’d simply been waiting for her, for a moment to talk. Which, considering how their past encounters had ended, should have made him want to give up and withdraw. But he only felt the opposite now. “Why are you all here? What does Lennon have to do with an NCIS case?”

“Petty Officer Mayta Mosquera was brutally murdered last night between nine-thirty and ten o’clock. She is linked to Special Agent Lennon through their phone contacts. She had him listed as My Man, so we believe they were romantically involved,” Kai said.

“Numerous phone calls back and forth for two months,” Austin said. “Do you know where Lennon was last night?”

“He was supposed to have dinner with me and my father at seven, but he texted me and said he couldn’t make it.”

“Did he say why?” Austin asked.

“No. Just said something came up.”

“This doesn’t bode well for your friend,” Kai said. “I hate to be blunt about it, but Mayta was tortured for information and then she was murdered. Is there anything that Special Agent Lennon was working on that could have involved Mayta?”

Jason looked at Davis, then frowned. “The roof repairs?”

“Roof repairs?” Kai asked.

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