Page 7 of Liaising Kai

The man’s face pinched tight. “I understand she has a sensitive job.”

“I don’t have the full information just yet. Let me consult with my team, and I will get back to you a-sap.”

“Do that, Agent Talbot. I want answers on who just waged war on the Navy.”

As his image flickered off, she turned back to her boss. “So do I,” she growled.

The first thought Davis had the moment he woke up centered directly on Kai. He expected she was having a rough morning. His was less about a hangover and more about the residual he felt about Kai. He didn’t regret any moment of their encounter, even the slap. It showed that their budding relationship wasn’t superficial and gave him something to build on. She’d cared enough to react so emotionally when he’d turned her down. It wasn’t about the sex. It was about comfort, and even though he ached to give her that, he wasn’t a complete saint.

She needed someone last night, someone who didn’t have designs on her body. Okay, that wasn’t exactly true. He wanted her. He couldn’t deny that, but not like that, not when she was out of her mind with grief.

Despite the intimacy they shared, he had no idea who she really was. He’d indulged himself in looking up her record and found things that surprised him. Like she’d been a Marine, part of their military police, her record exemplary. She’d finished her bachelor’s in criminal justice at Purdue through their online program while serving. When she left the Marines, she’d already had an acceptance into the master’s program and went to West Lafayette, Indiana where she worked as a paralegal for two years until she graduated. Then she applied to NCIS. She’d obviously excelled there, working for special activities along the way to her current role as a supervisory agent.

It was difficult not to be impressed with Kai Talbot.

He’d had some interviews to clear up before he wrote his final reports and put the gambling case to bed. It was mid-morning before he showed up at the office. When he walked in, he noticed that Carter wasn’t at his desk. There was something strange about the empty desk, a stillness that lingered. It looked the same as the day before, neat, clean, organized, but the hair on the back of his neck stirred.

“Davis?” Jason called and he turned to look at him. “What’s up?”

“Where’s Carter?” he asked, getting the same unsettling vibe. “He’s never late.”

Jason looked over to the desk and frowned. “Right. I don’t know. He hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Did he call in?”

“If he did, I didn’t get the information, and we should have. Davis checked his cell, but there were no messages. He went back to Carter’s last text that had showed up around a quarter to seven last night.”

He picked up the phone and checked with the person who handled the call-out line, confirming that Carter hadn’t called in sick. Jason rose and came over. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, some feeling that I can’t shake. You can set your watch to Carter.” He contacted the person responsible for handling absent agents. Carter hadn’t called in.

Jason nodded, looking over at his desk again, his eyes now worried. “I’m going to the commander.” Davis walked to his boss’s office and the receptionist nodded to him. When he got inside, Commander Jim Phillips looked up.

“Nishida?”

“Carter isn’t here. Do you have him on a specific assignment Jason and I don’t know about?”

“No,” Jim said, leaning back in his chair. “Did he call in?”

“No, I already checked.” Davis shifted, the tension in him tightening. “He’s never late. If he was going to be out or late, he would have called. I don’t like it.”

“Take Hollow and go check out his residence. Keep me posted.”

When they got there, Carter’s car was in the driveway. Davis and Jason approached the front door, and the second he saw the door ajar, Davis pulled his weapon. Jason froze and pulled his own sidearm. When they entered, Davis called out, “Federal agents.”

There was no answer, no movement at all. They went through the house, each calling out “Clear,” in grim tones. The place was ransacked, and Carter wasn’t there.

“Dammit,” Jason said. “What the fuck happened here?” He looked at Davis. “Weren’t you supposed to have dinner with him last night?”

“He texted me that he wasn’t going to make it,” he said flatly.

Hard and sharp, his gaze cut to Davis. “Why did he leave early? Do you know?”

“Roof problem is what he told me, but I got a feeling it was more than that.” That gut feeling he’d had yesterday was spot on. Carter was concealing why he had left early, and Davis was sure it didn’t have anything to do with his roof. But that did little to help them now.

Carter Lennon was missing.

When she got back to her workspace, her team was busy at their desks. “Tell me things,” she said. “The director wants answers, and we won’t keep him waiting.”

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