Page 42 of Shadows of Before

To pass the time until he got home, she worked out with the weights and straps and pullies she found in a spare bedroom. Will kept himself in shape. He had a hard body, she thought as she did pushups on the mat. So taut and sculpted, like his jaw. His muscular legs. His tight butt. Shivering with the thought, she turned over and hissed a bit. Her back was still black and blue.After she stretched her legs with a strap, she rolled to her feet and put the strap over the door frame to stretch her deltoids, then biceps.

She sat and did some leg lifts with weights thinking about going to work in two days. Not that she was anxious to get back to the desk. Briefly, she wondered if she should take a stand with her boss and ask him to reverse the demotion. Or she could talk to the union. Maybe she’d discuss it with Will.

From downstairs she heard, “Kate, where are you?”

“Up here.”

He came to the doorway. “Done?”

“I’m finished after these, but I need some aerobics. I think I could run today.”

“Probably. I want to talk to you about something first.”

“Okay.” He dropped down in the chair across from her. “I went into the precinct to talk to Mike Thomas.”

“My boss?”

“Yes.” He leaned against the doorjamb and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to know what he’d done to address the knife issue, the slit tires and now the ceiling falling.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you do that?”

“It’s important. I’m waiting for the fingerprints on the desk. If Landry’s and Lawrence’s are on there, we can build a case against them.”

“Will, I told you that I didn’t want them to get more ammunition to hurt me.”

His brow furrowed. “It’s gone far beyond that now.”

“It wasn’t your place to do that.”

His eyes widened. “My place?”

“It’s my life, Will.”

He let out a breath, then said, “I thought we were sharing our lives.”

“Sharing. Notcontrollingeach other’s lives.”

“I don’t get it. Why are you mad?”

“For one thing, you went against my wishes. Second, I don’t need a man to fight my battles.”

“Even if you’re not fighting them.”

Exasperated, Kate got out, “It’s my choice, not yours.”

He straightened. “I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“Then we have a serious problem.”

“What are you saying?”

It came out, uncensored. “I can’t be with a man who wants to control me.”

“You’re overreacting. I’m not doing that!”

“I think you are.”

“Then we’re at an impasse.”

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