Page 1 of Liaising Kai

CHAPTER ONE

Special Agent Davis Nishida looked up from his desk at the soft curse from his colleague, Special Agent Carter Lennon. Lennon was staring avidly at his computer screen, his eyes narrowed and a distressed expression on his face. Not at all like the handsome blond agent Davis knew. He was a lean, wiry man who had a certain athletic grace about him—tough and with endless stamina, and the kind of drive to root out evil wherever he found it. Which pressed every button Davis had, so they were kindred spirits. Most of the time, Lennon had an utterly engaging grin on his face.

They worked together at the Coast Guard Investigative Service in San Diego, California. Davis had been there for almost a decade.

“Bad news?” he asked, but Lennon didn’t respond. He was just staring at the screen. “Lennon?” Still no response. Davis rose from his desk and walked over to Lennon. “Carter? What’s up?”

He blanked his screen before Davis could see what was on it. “What?” He had that determined set to his chin, a sign that he was on some kind of a trail, like a bloodhound.

“I called you a couple of times,” he said quietly. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just got an…expensive quote for my roof repair.” He blinked and looked away. “Damn inflation,” he growled.

Davis narrowed his eyes and set his palms flat on Lennon’s desk, leaning forward. “What’s up with that chin of yours?”

“It always sticks out that way when I’m pissed.” Lennon sighed heavily, his expression evening out. A warped grin appeared, and there was a touch of wry humor in his voice. “Right, it’s that ornery and bullheaded Lennon trait.” Davis stared at him for a moment, his gut telling him something was off. Before he could question him further, Lennon said, “Hey, how about you and I get together tonight for a drink.” He completely changed the subject, telling Davis that it wasn’t important enough to continue, or was that just a good dodge?

“I’m meeting my dad at Halloran’s for dinner. How about you join us?” Maybe then he could pump Lennon for more information.

Lennon smiled and nodded. “I love your dad. He’s such a character. I’ll be there. What time?”

Lennon knew how to get him. His chest filled with emotions connected to his tough and funny dad. “Seven o’clock work?”

He rose, grabbing his keys. “Yeah, that works.” Gathering up his gun and badge, he moved around the desk. His voice dropped, as if they were sharing a secret. “I’ve got to go take care of this roof issue. Could you cover for me for some personal time? I’ll see you tonight.”

“Sure, no problem.”

Davis watched him walk out, almost dismissing his initial reaction as burnout. Davis had been lighting the candle at both ends during an undercover mission involving gambling in the Coast Guard. The last time he saw that kind of look, it was on Special Agent Jason Hollow’s face when he’d been preoccupied with Kelly Hu, the ME for NCIS, who was now Kelly Hollow. Did that look on Lennon’s face reflect some roof problem or woman troubles?

He glanced over at Jason, who was on the phone, and shifted. Rubbing at his tired face, he went back to his desk to finish his report, chalking it all up to the fact that it was none of his business. It was hard to turn off that investigative edge when he did it for a living. Better to give Lennon his space to work it out. At least his assignment was over, with several arrests for illegal gambling on the part of several Coast Guard enlisted.

He wished he could go home and go to bed, but his weekly dinners with his dad were now a tradition. His dad was lonely after Davis’s mom had passed. His heart tightened, and he blinked back the sting in his eyes. He missed his mom like hell. She’d left a hole in his life and his dad’s. He was also at loose ends with the woman he’d been seeing, Abigail Poseidon. She’d been a prosecutor in the San Diego DA’s office and had left California to take a position as a US attorney in DC. She’d wanted him to transfer to DC, but he just couldn’t do it. Something held him back.

Later, as he sat on a barstool at Hallaran’s, he realized what that something…someone was.

Kai Talbot.

Well, fuck, if that didn’t come out of the blue.

The often-prickly Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of the Camp Pendleton NCIS Office. He saw her in the mirror over the bar. She was sitting in a booth behind him, a glass of deep ruby red wine in front of her, looking as beautiful as he remembered. Her gaze was lowered, those thick brown lashes hiding her pale amber eyes. She looked as good now as the last time he’d seen her. Her face was a smooth and delicate oval, her skin creamy with a slim upturned nose and a mouth that begged to be kissed. She was dressed as if she was looking for a good time, and he couldn’t take his eyes off the sexy charcoal gray dress with itty, bitty straps holding up the silky material that clung to her upper body, draping over her tantalizing half-exposed breasts.

With her honey brown hair upswept into some cool kind of twist, the nice tone there in her shoulders and arms stood out. He had no doubt the woman knew how to kick ass.

From the moment he’d met Kai, years ago when he’d taken on the investigation into an assault on Neve Michaels, she’d been in his fantasies. He’d worked with her again, just recently on a case concerning an NCIS/CGIS joint collaboration, involving Jason and Kelly.They had investigated the deaths of medical personnel and ultimately had tracked down a serial killer.

His phone buzzed, and he looked at the incoming text. It was from Lennon.

I’m not going to make it. Sorry. Something came up. Raincheck?

Davis texted him back that it was no problem. Then his phone buzzed again. This time the text was from his dad.

Sorry, son, I’m caught at work. Can we reschedule?

Davis smiled and texted his dad back, mentioning that he would be free for lunch or dinner on Saturday. His dad opted for dinner.

He downed the rest of his drink and rose from the bar, throwing cash on the smooth top. It would be best if he kept his distance from Kai. She had shut him down a couple of times regarding his request for drinks, then dinner. He suspected she just wasn’t as into him as he was into her.

But then he made the mistake of looking into the mirror again. This time her head wasn’t lowered. She was staring at nothing in particular, and he could see the sad look in her eyes, dulled by alcohol, the inner pain she didn’t bother to hide, and he felt her torment and heartache deep in his chest.

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