Page 39 of Free to Judge
And I’m his prey.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I’ve been here long enoughto wonder if this was a good idea.
Leaning back against the hood of my car, I replay Jon’s earlier call in my head. He explained he wasn’t with his cousin but with someone who works with her on, “—her special project. I have to meet this doctor in the city.”
“What for?”
His words echo in the recesses of my mind. “Kalie’s admired for a lot of reasons by a lot of people, but it’s her story to tell.”
It’s understandable, really. Kalie is the epitome of the word “fantasy” with her long, dark hair and deep blue eyes, not to mention legs that seem to go on endlessly. Still, it’s not her looks that have me waiting for her and her trailing agent to finish the run her cousin suspects she took. It’s the quiet worry something she learned is going to put her in mortal danger.
I remind myself of the grim side of what could happen to her after the incident at the chop shop. I need to ensure she never repeats what she uncovered, not even to her family.
Still, I’m completely unprepared for the frantic slap of sneakers. Immediately, my hand snakes beneath my jacket for my gun. That’s when I see her charging into the parking lot with the surefooted speed of a cheetah locking onto a prize, every muscle visible beneath her skin. In that moment, she is all focus, all fierce energy—a presence that demands attention.
She abruptly slows near another woman—a tall, leggy blond in athletic gear—whose arrival is marked by a quick high-five and a burst of laughter that momentarily dissipates the tension I felt earlier. For a moment, her walls are down. I see the real Kalie, the one who enchanted me, captivated me, from the moment I spotted her all those years ago.
In the last few weeks, I thought that woman was merely a figment of my imagination. Instead, I’ve been confronted by the woman who would sooner have set me on fire if she’d had the chance instead of just letting her fist connect with my face.
Worse than an infuriated Kalie was the heartbreak I saw on her face when I told her what caused our paths to cross the way they did. Compassion bled from her pores inside her father’s office.
I couldn’t handle it. At least, not then.
I murmur to myself, “No wonder her cousin knew where she’d be.” As if I summoned her attention by whispering in the wind, her head whips around. Regret and apprehension collide in a tight, burning knot in my stomach. My presence slams her defenses up faster than a shield. Bitter regret surges through me at her obvious tension. Muscles that were loose just seconds ago lock up as our eyes meet across the distance of the parking lot.
Even as she moves to where I’m partially hidden in the shadows. I straighten, bracing for confrontation as she approaches. Despite the earlier breakthrough we had in her father’s office, her knowing who I really am, her eyes are still guarded. I can practically feel her walls going up.
“Kalie,” I greet her.
“Declan,” she returns cautiously. “Do you mind if we talk while I stretch?”
I mistakenly presume she’s going to drop to the ground or cross one leg over the other. I wince as she casually throws her leg on top of the hood of my quarter-million-dollar car—even if it’s one I have all intentions of handing over the very second I have enough evidence to topple the Byrne empire. Still, I can’t help but respect the fact she gives zero fucks over the fact the car costs as much as most people’s home, instead flexing her thigh on the sleek hood as if it were a park bench. “Yeah, not a problem. Happy to sacrifice the paint job.” The words come out with a sardonic edge.
“I assume there are minions around who wouldn’t mind buffing that out for fear they’ll end up rotting in the big house.” There’s an amused tilt of her lips I can’t help but respond to.
There’s no way to prevent my lips twitching back at her. Her wit might kill me before the Byrnes do.
With a quick wink and a graceful hop, Kalie switches legs. I can’t help the way my body betrays me—her sculpted calves and the line of muscle beneath her skin spark a reaction below my waist. Christ, I wasn’t certain my cock even knew what it was supposed to do besides take a piss. Still, it’s nice to know it’s not dead, as it can’t help but respond to the perfect view in front of it.
My tongue feels thick in my mouth, like the air has become too dense to breathe. What am I doing? She’s Jon’s cousin, Keene’s daughter—and I’m supposed to be chasing down the people who killed my former partner. I vowed I’d take them down.
Then, slicing through the haze of my conflicted thoughts, Kalie’s amused voice wonders, “Is there a point for you tracking me down other than checking me out?”
I lift my eyes slowly from the temptation of her sleek curves to the wild storm brewing on her face. Beneath the façade, there’s a desperate plea for answers I can’t give her. “You didn’t respond to my text.”
She shrugs. “I wasn’t certain if I should.”
Good girl. “Understandable, but I need you to listen to me.”
“Declan,” my name slips from her mouth on a sigh. Great. Now I know what I’ll be hearing in my dreams later. “Why did you really reach out?”
I step closer. To anyone spying on us, it would appear as if we were about to embrace. “I need you to listen to me, Kalie.”
Straightening to her full height, she glances from side to side before shifting forward just a bit. Each muscle tenses, as if to prepare her for battle. “About?”
“Your family.”
