Page 48 of Shadows of Before

* * *

Kate woke up at two p.m. the next day. She’d worked last night but was hoping today she’d hear something from Thomas. She gave him an ultimatum and he didn’t like that. Still, she hadn’t conceded.

Will would have been proud of her for standing up for herself. He liked that in a woman. Except for five days ago when she stood up to him. The jerk!

Forget about Will. Start thinking about what you’ll do if Thomas doesn’t agree to your promotion. She got out of bed, made coffee and sat down at her computer. She typed in,Help Wantedand scrolled the ads: teachers, nurses, office assistants. Her gaze snagged on one.Wanted, licensed private investigators. Newly opened branch of Investigator Solutions, to employ fully trained PI personnel. She recognized the phone number.

God, she missed him. And he’d made so much progress on getting the business up and running without her.

Well, she’d made progress too. She’d made a move to make her life better by giving the chief her terms and by confessing her misery to Mary. Also, by fixing up thisdumpof an apartment. The problem with the latter was she needed to make more money in two months.

They would have celebrated her standing up for herself. With sex. With dinner out, maybe. With having fun.

The phone rang. She saw the precinct’s number.Please let this go right.

She cleared her throat and clicked on. “Donovan.”

“Chief Thomas here,LieutenantDonovan.”

* * *

Will turned over in bed again and checked the time. It was midnight. He was exhausted from his grueling day but couldn’t sleep. Instead, he tangled the covers and twisted the sheets for an hour.

“Damn it.” Lying here would drive him nuts. Bounding out of bed, he dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt Katie had told him was sexy on him. He stuffed his feet in his sandals, got his keys and headed out.

He’d get a drink somewhere and lose himself in the liquor. On the way, he got that feeling again, a hunch. Not an omen, this time, but something else. He found himself driving to Al’s on the outskirts of town. When he arrived, he chided himself for coming to the place where everything started with Katie. He went inside anyway. The bar was hopping. Lots of guys. Not many women. He grabbed a stool and ordered a manhattan. As he sipped, he surveyed the interior.

Had he expected her to be here? What an idiot. Still, he got up and wandered to the backroom.

And stopped dead in his tracks. There she was.

* * *

Katie had come here to wallow in her misery. She’d dressed up and done her hair. Maybe she’d go home with the guy sitting across from her. The thought made her ill. She sipped her gin. And tried to listen to him about sports.

Then she heard, “Hey, honey, I’m sorry I’m late. I had to get the kids settled.”

“You got kids?” the guy asked.

“I—”

“Would you mind?” Will said, gesturing to the chair. “Me and the little woman don’t get out much.”

The guy stood, scowled, then stalked away.

He sat.

She looked at him.

He looked at her.

He asked, “So, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a joint like this?”

She said, “I’m celebrating. I got my lieutenancy back.”

His face lit with pleasure. “That’s great, Kate. Good for you.”

“I saw online you were opening your office soon.”

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