Authors: Susan Hayes
“I’m so getting my
ass kicked for this,” Tag groaned as he turned over the car’s engine and
started nosing out into traffic. They gunned it into a gap just as Ben caught
up to them, and Kelly felt like she left half her heart torn and bleeding on
the ground at his feet as they drove away. He looked hurt and confused as well
as angry.
Good. That makes two of us.
Her phone started
to ring and Kelly turned it off as soon as she saw it was Ben calling. She
wasn’t ready to talk to him yet.
“Okay, we’re
clear. So where are we going, what happened back there, and how much trouble am
I in with my family for coming to the rescue?”
She gave Tag the
address and took a minute to gather her thoughts before answering his other
question. “Ben decided that we’ve been dating long enough he gets a say in my
life. No, actually, he decided it was time to start telling me what to do. He
informed me he doesn’t like me walking to work because it’s too dangerous.
Like I’m some kind of helpless babe in the woods who doesn’t know
how to take care of herself.
Then he tells me he knows what’s best for
me, and I should just listen to him and do what he says! And that was after he
told your mother she shouldn’t come to my clinic because it’s too dangerous!”
Tag cleared his
throat before responding. “Well, he is a cop. And uh…I mean, the clinic did get
robbed, and the address you gave me isn’t exactly in the land of kittens and
rainbows. Maybe he’s got a point about it being a bit dangerous?”
“Of course it’s a
bit dangerous. But it’s not like there’s a knife fight every ten feet or a
horde of criminals lurking in every shadow. I’m not an idiot, I’m careful.”
“No, you’re not an
idiot.” Tag glanced over at her. “What you
are,
is
dating a cop. Or, were dating? Did you two break up? You didn’t, did you?
Because that would suck.
He’s totally gone over you, Kelly.
I mean it. We’ve never seen him like this. So please tell me this is just a
fight.”
“This is just a
fight…I think. It’s too soon to say for sure. There’s no way I’m going to stay
with someone who doesn’t respect me enough to let me make my own decisions. And
what are you talking about? You guys have a new date every week. I’ve heard you
talking.”
Tag snickered.
“Yeah, we’re all legends in our own minds, but not Benji. He doesn’t date much.
Or smile much. Or do anything besides go to work and fix up that old house. At
least he didn’t until he started seeing you. He’s the most relaxed and happy
I’ve seen him in years. It’s not that he doesn’t respect you, it’s just…he’s
not great with the whole communication thing.”
“He wasn’t relaxed
tonight!” she argued. “He was being an alpha jackass.”
“That’s the cop
thing I mentioned earlier. Being a cop isn’t just a job, it’s a calling. Like
the priesthood, only with better uniforms and worse hours. We see things we
can’t forget, no matter how much we want to. There’s a cost the soul has to pay
for doing this job. You stop trusting people, and when you walk down the street
you don’t see ordinary people just going about their lives. You start seeing
potential suspects, outstanding warrants, future victims, and the darkness that
lives inside every single person you cross paths with. It’s not you he doesn’t
trust. It’s everyone else. And the alpha thing is sort of part of the deal too.
Ben just got carried away, but it’s only because he cares about you.”
“If it makes you
see the world that way, why do you do it?” Kelly asked, trying to understand.
“Like I said, it’s
a calling. Benji and Dave are cops because they can’t imagine being anything
else.
Even with the sacrifices.”
“You said Ben and
Dave. What about you?”
“I’m not going to
be a cop much longer, Kelly. Didn’t Ben tell you?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“I used to work
undercover. A buy went bad. Someone who shouldn’t have been there recognized me
and gave me up to the bad guys. Long story short, I got shot a couple of times.
I’m on medical leave right now, but the doctor doesn’t think I’ll ever be back
to one hundred percent again.”
“You got shot?”
Kelly felt a sick twist in her stomach as the pieces started to click into
place.
“Shot me and left
me for dead, yep. Now you’re getting it. I got shot because an addict I used as
a source a few years back blew my cover in hopes of scoring free drugs.” Tag’s
voice lowered a little. “It was only a few blocks away from your clinic. So you
can understand why my big brother is a bit overprotective of the people he
cares about these days.”
Kelly sighed. “He
should have told me.”
He rolled his eyes
at her.
“Yeah, because we Wilde’s are all about sharing our
feelings.
At least once month we all get together for a group hug
session too.”
The giggle was out
of her mouth before she could stop it, and that tiny bit of laughter helped her
let go of the anger and hurt she’d been feeling.
“That’s better.
Now, are you going to tell me why you reacted like that? I get that big brother
had a serious case of foot-in-mouth disease tonight, but that doesn’t really
explain why you’re in my car and not back at the bar. Not that I’m complaining.
I mean, I’m already going to get hit for this, so you know…you could make this worth
my while. I am the good-looking one, after all.” He grinned and waggled his
brows at her.
“Sorry, Tag.
You’re adorable, but I think I’m still taken. At least, I hope I am.”
“There’s no
accounting for taste,” he said, sighing dramatically. “And of course you’re
still taken. Benji is not that easy to get rid of. Trust me, we’ve tried.”
They drove in
silence for a few minutes while Kelly struggled to work out what had happened
with Ben, and why she’d reacted the way she had.
“So, are you going
to tell me what’s up?”
There wasn’t any
way to sugarcoat it, so Kelly didn’t bother to try. “My little sister’s a
recovering addict. After our parents died, I threw myself into my work and hid
from the world. I hid so well that Jenny didn’t have anyone to turn to, so she
found her own way to cope. I didn’t even know there was a problem until I got a
call at three in the morning. It was an emergency room doctor in
Chicago
telling me that
Jenny had overdosed.”
“Shit. I’m sorry,
Kelly.”
“It’s okay. Things
worked out. But after that call I drove to
Chicago
from
Peoria
only to discover she’d checked herself
out of the hospital and vanished. I moved back here and started looking for her
in the last place anyone had seen her. It took me two months to find her and
another month to get her to agree to let me help her. During that period, I
spent a lot of time on the streets and in some pretty harsh places, talking to
people you or Ben would likely arrest on sight.”
Tag groaned. “You
went looking for her, all by yourself. No wonder you didn’t take kindly to him
getting all protective of you and telling you what to do.”
“I
can
take care of myself. I want a boyfriend,
not a bodyguard. He shouldn’t have started ordering me around.”
“Welcome to dating
a cop. We’re bossy. It comes with the uniform. Just give it some time, you two
will figure it out. Now, how’s your sister doing these days?”
“She’s doing
better.
Much better.
I had to hire a private
investigator to help find her, but we did it. Now she’s recovering in a halfway
house in
Colorado
.”
“You haven’t told my
brother any of this, have you?”
“No,
not yet.
I guess I didn’t want to scare him
off.”
“Scare him off?
Not fucking likely. You’ve got my brother
wrapped around your little finger. He’s not going anywhere, Kelly.” Tag’s
expression turned serious. “Truth is
,
I’m pretty sure
he’s in love with you. So go easy on him when you see him again. I hear love
makes you do stupid things. Like start issuing orders.”
“It’s only been a
few weeks. No one falls in love in a few weeks.” Kelly was arguing, but her heart
beat a little faster at the thought that Ben might be looking for the same
thing she was: A future together. That is, if she hadn’t just made a complete
hash of things.
“Dad proposed to Mom
on their second date. They got married a month later and never looked back. It
does happen, Kelly. You’ve only known Ben a little more than a month, but I’ve
known him my whole life. Trust me, he’s falling for you. Just don’t ever tell
him I said so.”
Tag snagged a
parking spot and insisted on walking her to the front door of her building. It
was the first time she noticed that he had a faint limp. Nothing you would
really notice unless you were looking for it. He’d gotten hurt doing the same
job that Ben did every night. Hurt by the same people who had taken advantage
of her sister.
She had a lot to
think about.
* * * *
What the hell went wrong tonight?
That was the
question Ben had been asking himself since Kelly had left the bar in tears and
driven off with Tag. She wasn’t answering her phone and neither was his
brother. He was going to kill him the next time they crossed paths. Who did he
think he was, running off with Kelly like that? Where the hell were they? He
knew Kelly wouldn’t do anything with Tag, but he trusted his overgrown little
brother about as far as he could throw him.
When he’d gone
back inside, Mom had clearly wanted to talk, but Ben wasn’t in the mood for a
mother to son chat. He’d paid the bill and headed home.
How had they gone
from him being about to offer Kelly a key to his place, to her leaving in tears
in his brother’s car? The whole night had gone off the rails the second he’d
tried to explain to Kelly how much he worried about her walking around that
neighborhood. He was pretty sure he’d just failed “Couples Communication 101,”
but he wasn’t even sure what had happened.
“Do you understand
women, boy?”
He glanced down at Chase,
who was sprawled out beside him on the couch. The damned dog had been dejected
since discovering Ben hadn’t brought Kelly home with him.
That makes two of us, buddy.
When his cell phone
rang he pounced on it, frowning when he saw Tag’s name appear on the caller ID.
“Where’s Kelly? Is she okay?”
“And hello to you
too,” Tag drawled.
“Fuck you. You
drove off with my girlfriend tonight. You don’t deserve a hello.”
“And you chased us
down like a rabid grizzly bear. Anyone ever tell you your people skills suck?
Kelly’s fine. I just dropped her off at home. You
know,
that apartment building in the really dangerous part of town.”
Fuck. She’d told
him about the fight.
Wonderful
.
“You know as well as I do that’s not a great neighborhood.”
“I also know
better than to order around a grown woman who went to school for so long that
she has half the alphabet after her name. “
“Yeah.
I’ll admit that wasn’t my finest moment. Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. Hurt
and more than a little pissed at you, but fine. I called because there’s
something you need to know.”
“If you tried
anything…”
Ben growled and Tag barked
with laughter.
“I’m trying to do
you a favor here, bro. Quit insulting me.”
“Sorry. I’m not
exactly having my best day here. So, what is it you think I need to know? Other
than the fact I fucked up and need to make things right.”
By the time Tag
had filled him in on everything he knew about Kelly’s sister and what Kelly had
gone through to find her again, Ben was pacing the length of his hallway and
swearing every third step. He thanked Tag and hung up, then stood in the middle
of the floor and stared at his phone. He needed to fix the mess he’d just made,
and for that he was going to need a plan.
“Chase, c’mon
buddy. We’re going shopping.”
Chapter Eight
It was late when Kelly
finally picked up the phone and called Ben. She’d spent the time since Tag had
dropped her off thinking about everything, especially what he’d told her about
what it meant to be a police officer. It had never occurred to her what it
would be like to see the worst in people day after day.
Had Ben been wrong
when he tried to tell her what to do? Yes. But Kelly knew she wasn’t blameless.
If she hadn’t been so focused on enjoying the moment because she was convinced they
couldn’t possibly have a future, she would have been more open with Ben. He’d have
known about Jenny’s battle with drugs and the real reason Kelly had moved into
the area. And maybe he would have told her about what it was like to do his job
so that when he told her he was worried about her, she would have better
understood what he was trying to say instead of picking a fight.