Page 34 of Liaising Kai

“I got pregnant when I was fifteen. I was in love with my high school sweetheart, and he stood by me every step of the way. My parents were upset but supportive, and I understood that. They loved me.” Davis cradled her head against the curve of his neck, his breath warm against her skin. “Allison was only three years old, and I was still in high school. My mom watched her during the day, and—” She choked up, her words fading. Again, Davis’s patience bolstered her. “We had a pool in the back, and my mom was talking to my dad on the phone. Somehow Allison got out and she drowned.”

She looked at him, and he closed his eyes and hugged her hard. He drew a deep, uneven breath, his voice raw with emotion. “God, Kai, I’m so very sorry.” Moved by the depth of feeling in that one hoarsely spoken declaration, she simply lost her battle against her grief. Kai clutched at him, desolate sobs shuddering through her body, one desperate emotion after another ripping through her. Her purge was soul-shattering. The outpouring of her grief ravaged her.

“I was devastated, and I couldn’t forgive my mother for her inattention or my father for being the one who distracted her. My husband and I left, staying with a friend until we finished high school. My husband got into a car accident several weeks later and he died. I’m not sure if it was his grief that caused it or not. It doesn’t matter now.” She took a shuddering breath. “I enlisted in the Marine Corps the moment I graduated, and I’ve never spoken to my parents since.”

She’d defined her life by her grief, not realizing that she’d kept it alive and a barrier to all her relationships because of her fear of ever trusting anyone ever again. Her grief had created a spiral of despair where she just kept suffering because the people she’d trusted most in her life broke that trust and bitterly disappointed her. She could see that so clearly now and with that revelation, she could barely comprehend what she could do to finally let it go.

CHAPTER TEN

“We have to get up soon,” she said, sounding all official and in charge. She turned to him. I forgot to ask you. Did you find anything of importance on the boat? Any type of information to who might be behind all this?”

“Nada there, but curiously, there were rose petals.”

“Rose petals? That’s odd.”

He shrugged, still baffled by it. “That’s what I thought.”

They were lying in each other’s arms, and he was enjoying every moment—his body sated for now, his heart still committed, but his mind was in a bit of turmoil. They had some hurdles to jump. “How did you make your way to NCIS?” he asked, curious how she went from teen mother and widow, blinded by heartache, to a supervisory special agent, and marveling at her courage in the face of such consuming tragedy. He always knew there was something like this lurking in her past. Something this devastating. She’d held herself so aloof, cut herself off from relationships and love. He saw the monumental pain, and now finally understood it.

“I gravitated to law enforcement and became an MP after boot camp. It suited me, and I enjoyed the work. I studied for a B.S. in criminal justice online through Purdue, and after I left service, I got a job in West Lafayette, Indiana as a paralegal to attend in person. I mostly did administrative support, legal research and writing, while I worked on my M.S. in criminal justice, again at Purdue. When I finished the degree, I applied to NCIS and attended FLETC.” Every agent had to attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

“I was a probie with Chris Vargas, then after a couple of years under my belt, I did a stint with special operations. After Chris transferred to the East Coast to head up his own team, I took over the Pendleton office as supervisory special agent.”

“How does Nate Curran fit in there?”

“He was included on a case with the team, and he took a liking to me, took me under his wing. We just fell into the mentor aspect of our relationship, then we became close friends.”

“Did he know?”

“Yes, I told him. There was a time when he wanted…more, but I didn’t feel the same way.” She turned into him and nuzzled his jaw. “We managed to get past that awkwardness.”

“I’m glad that it didn’t work out.”

“I bet you are.” She laughed softly. “What about you?” she asked. “Do you have any skeletons in the closet?”

He squeezed her hard. “If I did and I told you, I’d have to kill you.” She laughed again and he loved the sound. She pinched his side and he jerked. “Okay, okay, you’ve tortured it out of me.” He rolled to his side and met her eyes. “I wasn’t keen on going to college. It wasn’t like I couldn’t get in. I had good scores, but something about the mundane, follow-along-with-everyone-else didn’t appeal to me. My father inspired me, and I was always proud of him for that.” He brushed at her hair, warmed by the intense interest in her eyes. “The Coast Guard fit my life at the time as well. My mom got breast cancer, and the thought of being away from her for long periods of time didn’t appeal to me. So, I found I had the sea is in my blood, and their missions make a big difference in all our lives. Our country’s economic lifeblood flows through commercial waterways, and we defended our coastlines from threats, protected our environmental resources, and saved people who got into trouble at sea. It was an honor to serve.”

“And CGIS?”

“I wanted to continue my career in the Coast Guard, and I’ve always had a fascination for investigating and questioning. It turned out it was the perfect fit.”

“It’s where you met Carter?”

“Yeah,” he said fondly, his throat constricting. “He was this anal, skinny, young kid who was determined to make a difference. We bonded right away. He was a good man. He didn’t deserve to die like that.”

She nodded. “The same with Nate. He’s left a hole in my heart.”

Davis nodded, thinking about Carter, and it hurt just a tad less. He would have been thrilled that Davis had finally gotten a chance with Kai. Davis was just sad that his budding relationship with Mayta had been cut short…for both of them. But they were getting closer to whoever had perpetuated all these murders, and to think they were drug-related made him sick. He wasn’t going to rest until everyone involved was facing justice.

“Hey, it’s getting late,” he said. “We better get into the shower.” He smacked her with a pillow, shoving it over her head, then rolled out of bed.

“Ooh, you jerk. That’s what I said.” She threw off the pillow, which pushed her disheveled hair off her face.

He was already at the bathroom door. “I hope you find cold showers invigorating. I like mine very hot.”

She stopped sputtering and froze in the bed. Her eyes went over him, and she sighed when she saw how his dick was responding to thoughts of her wet and soapy. “Of course, we can enjoy all that hot, stimulating water…together. You know. For the good of the environment.”

He ducked inside laughing when he heard her call out breathlessly, “Well, if it’s for the good of the environment.”

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