Page 14 of Liaising Kai

She turned to him and the pensive look on his face. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Curran did talk to Lennon.”

“When?”

“I asked for camera footage from the Pendleton office.” He pressed a button and a frozen still popped up on the screen. “That’s Curran and Lennon.”

“When was this?” Kai asked.

“Two days ago. Lennon looks pissed.” He pressed his space bar and the video started to play. It was clear from Curran’s body language that he was withholding, and from the way Lennon was up in his face, he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“He lied to me?” Kai said, her tone strained. One second her barriers had fallen revealing a vulnerability like he’d seen last night, then the next her barriers had snapped back in place, reinforced with quite a bit of anger. She blinked and looked away, clearly absorbing this information. Davis wanted to touch her, soothe away her confusion and pain.

Her jaw clenched, and she said, “Lucy, call Special Agent Curran. I want to see him now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Maybe it would be a good idea to wait a bit?—”

“No,” Kai said, cutting Austin off and staring daggers at the screen. “No waiting. He owes me an explanation and the truth. This is a murder investigation, and it completely trumps his damn classified drug case. We’re here to serve the people who serve. Petty Officer Mosquera deserves justice, and this…this…crap isn’t going to stand.”

“Kai,” Davis said, taking her arm and pulling her to a place that was a few steps away from her team. “If you go at him with an attitude, he’ll most likely clam up. Maybe Austin’s suggestion?—”

She pulled her arm out of his grasp, her eyes flashing. “Maybe we’ve had some moments, Davis, but you don’t know me or how I operate.” Her eyes went glassy. “I’m doing this my way until either my boss or the director tells me differently.” He suspected she was using her anger to cover up feelings of hurt and betrayal.

He’d sworn to himself that he’d be here to support her, to defend her, to help her, to do anything she asked. But the one thing he’d vowed not to do was pressure her, or bring up their future beyond the madness they were enduring in this very important case.

She was so strong and so tireless in doing what she knew she had to do, but she was also human, and worn out, both emotionally and physically. Which was where the teary eyes came from, he was sure. She’d been running on fumes…maybe for years.

He was just as tense, just as committed as she. He wanted Lennon to be alive. His gut told him he was dreaming as he worked to keep the deep grief at bay. He didn’t have a choice but to endure from one minute to the next. Then there was the feeling of failure, that in some way he had let his buddy down when he hadn’t followed through with his gut instinct and pressured Lennon for what was really going on. They had served together protecting the coasts against any threat to the United States. They had bonded like brothers during their service and after, even when Davis had become a civilian. It was a bond that didn’t break.

Whoever was behind Mayta’s execution was ruthless and determined. They’d murdered the girl in her home in a residential area where anyone could have seen something vital. It wasn’t reckless. It was calculated and bold. It sent a message that was loud and clear.

He held up his hands. “I was trying to help, Kai. This case is littered with landmines of emotion, and one wrong step?—”

“Thank you for your input.” She gave him her best steely-eyed glare, something he realized a supervisory agent likely perfected as a matter of survival. She didn’t break eye contact with him, and her challenge turned him on as much as it was pissing him off. He usually had more…aplomb than this. “Lucy!” Kai yelled.

Lucy looked up and responded quickly. “He’s not in the office. He’s gone to a meeting at the courthouse.”

“Then we’re going to the courthouse,” Kai said, breaking eye contact with Davis and looking over her shoulder. Suddenly everyone was moving at once. She ignored him completely after that, focusing instead on driving once they were packed into two vehicles. He’d deliberately thrown his keys to Jason and gotten into the passenger seat beside Kai.

Her jaw remained tense, her shoulders hunched, even after they left NCIS behind. There was something inherently sexy about a woman who not only could hold her own but could call people out when they were being asshats, and Curran had sandbagged them. Why?

And she didn’t seem to be having too hard a time handling him.

The San Diego Central Courthouse was actually the city’s fifth structure, being rebuilt for a myriad of reasons including fire, demolition due to design problems, security issues, seismic vulnerability, overcrowding, and asbestos abatement. Now in their place, was a glass and concrete, twenty-two-story building in downtown San Diego, topped with a modern lighted soffit, shading the building during the morning hours, consolidating criminal trial, family, and civil courts at the intersection of Union and C Streets.

Kai slid into a metered parking space, as Jason parked across the street. After exiting the vehicles, they headed toward the eight-foot entrance with stairs leading into the building which led to an outdoor portico designed for public auctions and news conferences. The light-filled atrium sported large floor-to-ceiling windows. They stopped at security, and after a few moments of showing their badges and stating their purpose for being there, they passed through.

The first impression of the massive internal entrance resembled an airport terminal, especially the touchscreen building directories.

“Which conference room?” Kai asked.

“It’s actually a jury deliberation room and is located on the third floor,” Lucy replied. She looked at the directory and started walking, “This way, boss.”

They followed her to a bank of escalators, navigating the crowds of people jostling for space on the three-story lobby escalator. The lobby connected with a vestibule and a raised entry plaza, a fritted glass curtain wall bright with natural light spilled into the corridor lined with wood benches. The east part of the building catered to the public and the west to judges and administrative offices. Defendants were transported from the basement holding cells through secure elevators that ran from the basement to the upper levels.

Kai turned to the team. “You all wait here while I talk to Nate.” Expecting her order to mean everyone, she cast him another glaring look as he settled into step beside her.

“This is a joint investigation and as the senior CGIS agent involved, I will go where you go.” When he was around her, he experienced emotions so caveman primitive, it left him raw. She was deeply under his skin, and he’d had years to eradicate her, but he could never do it. He’d cheated on every woman he’d ever been with after he’d met Kai, in his thoughts and in his heart. He took a hard breath when she just intensified that determined look on her face and marched on. “I still think this is a mistake.”

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