Page 47 of Liaising Kai

Leigh smirked at him and grabbed Kai’s arm as they passed, heading toward the interviewing rooms in the back. “He’s such a smart ass. Luckily, once this case is over, he’ll be going back to his team. Navy SEALs…they’re so damned intense with all their commando bullshit, mansplaining, and hero complexes.”

“And you didn’t notice how handsome or ripped he is.”

She sniffed. “No. I don’t have time to notice anything like that, especially about someone who’s temporary and only here to guard me. He takes everything so very seriously, by the way.” When they reached the first room, she said, “I told my boss I didn’t need a bodyguard, but he’s so spooked about the task force, and losing Betsy was such a blow. They’ve known each other for quite some time.” Her voice broke, but she cleared it and continued. “All that matters now is getting the bastards who murdered her and so many others. That’s why we’re here and I’m such a ball buster. I can’t let down the people who I seek justice for because they cannot seek it for themselves. We stand against the world’s thugs, Kai, and we have to win. We can’t let them get away with murder, no matter how rich they are or believe they’re above the law.” A fire lit in her unusually bright eyes, which were a pretty intense emerald green.

Kai had to alter her opinion of Leigh. Even though she was somewhat abrasive, she was on the same kind of mission they all were on. “Let’s get to work, then.”

The rest of the afternoon was spent interrogating the suspects, and even though they were an effective tag team, the only thing they got out of the thugs who had tried to gun her and Amber down was a whole lot of nothing. They were either too dedicated or too scared to give them any information that was going to get them to what cartel was behind these incidents.

After a frustrating talk with the last suspect, Kai decided that she needed a break. She checked in with the bullpen who was still working on tracking down Freddy but discovered that the Summer Sky was expected to dock in the morning. After trading a meaningful look with Davis, who was working with Jason to track down Freddy, Kai headed down to the morgue. Kelly was finishing up with the last body. She looked up as Kai came into the chilly room.

“Hey, I was just about to come upstairs to find you.”

“What do you have?”

She walked over to the first metal table where the man they had found dead in Freddy’s house was stretched out. “This is Pablo Martinez. He took a twenty-two to the chest, right through the heart. He was dead before he hit the floor.”

“And, that slug came from the senator’s twenty-two,” Math said as he entered the room. “It matches the gun.” So the senator had killed the man but hadn’t been fast enough to stop the bullets that had killed him. She sure would have loved to have had the chance to interrogate the senator. A wealth of information died with him, which was why Freddy had broken into the mansion in the first place. As she’d discovered in Ecuador, the Los Esmeraldas left no loose ends.

Kai was completely aware that once they identified the cartel involved with these murders, the justice department and the attorney general would take over the dismantling of the deadly organization. It would fall to Leigh and whatever force they tagged to bring the leader to justice. She had to make sure that Leigh kept her apprised of the situation, and especially of the takedown. She had no doubt they would get the information they needed to lead them to the people responsible for giving the orders for the murder of Mayta Mosquera, where everything was put into motion. Kai suspected that Freddy was the leader who had been present when Mayta was being tortured, and Kai wouldn’t be surprised if Freddy had pulled the trigger to end the innocent young woman’s life. She’d deprived her and Carter of a chance for their romance to blossom and lives that should have been lived to the fullest.

She also couldn’t forget Nate, his counsel over the years, and his dedication to his job. She could forgive him for his refusal and inability to confide in her about Carter’s involvement, which had stalled their initial investigation. Whether he’d been right or wrong was now moot. All she knew was that she had lost a good, solid friend.

Kelly went over to the drawer and rolled out Senator Finch’s body. “He died from a nine mil,” Math said.

She stared down at the man who had sold out the task force, betrayed his country, and endangered his family for money. He’d been in bed with ruthless killers and his luck had run out. So many bodies and blood on his hands.

“He was shot in the chest first, then the head, which killed him,” Kelly said, rolling him back inside.

He’d received the ultimate justice.

Back upstairs, she walked over to Davis. “Did you find out where Freddy works?”

“Yes, the port. She’s one of their managers. Derrick and Amber went over to find her, but no luck. They said Freddy’s not expected until tomorrow morning.”

“When the Summer Sky docks?”

“Exactly.”

“So, we’re at a standstill right now. We got nothing out of the suspects either at the house or off the streets,” Kai said.

“Why don’t you head to the beach house? I’ll be there soon,” he said softly. “Jason and I have to brief our boss.”

She nodded, giving Davis a warm look, while Jason smiled. “See you soon.” She smiled again when Jason nudged Davis in that cute way men did when they noticed their pal besotted.

Back at their cozy little house, she wandered down to the shore to enjoy the sound of the waves and relax after another full and busy day. They were so close to the end of this, she could feel it. Capturing Freddy, and a possible massive shipment of drugs, would be good first steps to finally getting to the bottom of all this.

Which only left her own baffling and jumbled-up personal journey to complete. Once again, she thought that some time away from Davis would give her a better perspective and allow her to breathe a little without Davis distracting her thoughts with his exciting and wonderful presence. How was she going to come up with her next steps when she wanted all of her steps to be toward him? That wouldn’t solve anything, although it did sound heavenly. She could pretend that what had happened to her didn’t matter and move on, but would she really be moving forward?

Streaks of red and purple lingered low between the sky and rolling water. Letting her thoughts drift, she inhaled the wind blowing around her, the warm air filled with the tang of salt. Trying to focus her fluttering thoughts, a froth of foam tickled her toes as she watched the waves rippling closer.

She sighed and lifted her head, watching the waves rising and falling ever closer in the deepening darkness, her thoughts circling endlessly around a path she had yet to see. She kept her gaze on that far distant horizon until it vanished, leaving before her only the warm night and the onrushing tide. She focused on what she thought was the most important thing in life, and if her answer were true, then her path should be clear.

When the water was soaking her jeans, she shook herself out of her reverie. Love was at the heart of everything in life. Love filled the heart, filled up all those empty, lonely spaces. Love was life. The love of everything that made up the foundations she held so dear.

Love was never to be taken for granted. It wasn’t a given.

She couldn’t deny it for one moment. It was too basic. But was love enough?

---