Homeland Security (Defenders of Love Book 2) Read online

  "Hey, man. Thanks for rescuing us," Kaiden called up to the firefighter. The elevator had stopped between floors so Kaiden and Katie were a good distance down from where the others stood.

  "Just glad we got here in time. No telling what could have happened," the firefighter teased, tossing a rope ladder down to them. Kaiden laughed like the whole thing was no big deal. Katie felt a warm flush build in her cheeks. The firefighter and the rest of the crowd obviously thought she and Kaiden were taking advantage of the situation.

  Fishing her purse out of the corner of the elevator car, she let Kaiden assist her up the rope ladder. Without a word to her rescuer, Katie ran to the nearest ladies room and locked herself in a stall. All the adrenaline that had rushed through her veins when the elevator dropped uncontrollably made her entire body shake. In the last twenty four hours she had been kidnapped by secret agents, nearly run down with a car and nearly run off the road with the same car. Her job thought she gave a terrorist access to the infectious disease lab so she will never be able to go back there and the icing on the cake? She nearly crashed to her death in an elevator car. What were the chances they were all coincidence?

  Katie didn't believe in coincidence. It was Nathan's fault. All of it. She had never been more sure of anything in her life.

  The best news of the day? Nathan, or someone he hired, was now on the loose with an infectious disease.

  No matter how hard she tried to ignore them, tears filled her eyes. It had to be the adrenaline dump. Katie reached for a piece of toilet paper and dabbed at her eyes, trying to pull herself together.

  The door to the ladies room opened and someone entered. Katie climbed on to the toilet seat, hoping the person would just take care of business and leave her alone. Her gut told her it was Kaiden but she wanted to be wrong. Perching there, she held her breath and waited. All hopes were dashed when a pair of men's shoes appeared beneath the door of the stall she crouched in.

  Kaiden.

  It took some nerve to walk into the ladies room. Maybe if she didn't say anything he would go away and leave her alone. He remained quiet for so long she almost thought he might and then he spoke.

  "I know you're in there."

  She didn't answer. He could still leave. The feet moved. Katie let out a breath as the door to the bathroom opened. She started to lower herself from where she crouched on the toilet seat when a head appeared over the top of the stall sending her in a tumble to the floor.

  "Gotcha!" he bellowed as Katie let out a loud curse.

  "You can't hide out in the bathroom forever." Kaiden grinned down at her.

  "This is the ladies room! You can't come in here!"

  "I'm a federal agent, remember? I can do whatever I want. At least that's what people tell me." Kaiden laughed, still peering down on her. Katie had fallen to the tile between the locked stall door and the toilet and she had no room to manipulate herself so that she could stand up.

  "Ewww! Yuck! I'm stuck on the floor of a public bathroom." She glared up at Kaiden. "And it's all your fault."

  Still chuckling, Kaiden disappeared from above the stall. She heard him jump down to the tiled floor. The lock to the stall jiggled and then the door flew open. Katie rolled forward into the open space of the bathroom. He reached down and pulled her to her feet but she pushed him away and ran to the sink where she washed her hands, her arms, her face and any other bare skin she could find with copious amounts of foamy soap from the dispenser on the wall. Forgetting Kaiden, she set about repeating the process a second time. When she finished, she reached for the paper towel and dried her hands and face. Turning to toss the paper into the trash she ran right into Kaiden's chest.

  "You're still here," she snapped. Kaiden chuckled yet again which infuriated her. She shoved him away and headed toward the door but she didn't get too far. He stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

  "Where did you expect me to go?"

  "I don't know. Away."

  "The door is locked. No one will come in."

  "It's a little creepy stalking a woman in the bathroom, you know," she shot back.

  "Would you relax already? I came in to make sure that you were okay. I locked the door so no one would follow you in."

  "It's a public restroom."

  "It is. But I felt like you might need a minute or two for the crowd to dissipate."

  She relaxed a little. "Thank you. That was very thoughtful of you. But did you really have to scare me like that?"

  "That part was just supposed to be fun." He grinned. "How did I know you would end up wedged on the floor? I mean, who stands on toilet seats?"

  "Women who are trying to hide."

  "Please don't ever feel like you have to hide from me." Kaiden's voice lowered to a near whisper. His blue eyes darkened to the shade of a night sky. His expression grew so intense she had to look away. "Don't turn away." Kaiden reached up and tilted her chin to look him in the eye.

  "Kaiden…" her words trailed away as their eyes locked. She had so many things she should say but the words wouldn't come. The timing was wrong for all of this to be happening. Nathan had to be their focus for the time being. Eventually she needed to look for a new job and then, of course, deal with her destroyed apartment.

  "I know what you are going to say." His lips were so close to hers that she could nearly feel them.

  "You do?" she whispered so quietly she wasn't even sure she actually said the words out loud.

  "You were going to tell me that the timing is all wrong and I agree with you."

  "You do?" Those seemed to be the only words her lips were capable of forming with Kaiden standing so close.

  "I do. The timing should have been months ago. I never should have left the hospital without getting your number. I never should have returned home without absolutely ensuring that I would see you again."

  "Yes," she murmured, wishing he would kiss her already. It seemed like such a wasted opportunity to be alone, in a locked room without taking advantage of it.

  "So you agree?"

  She nodded. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers as he let out a sigh. "So much wasted time."

  "Why are you standing there wasting more?" Finally, words had returned to her brain.

  "You're the one who keeps pulling away." He stepped back and looked at her. Katie felt the loss of his nearness immediately.

  He seemed to feel it too, quickly reaching out and pulling her close again. A tiny voice in the back of her head reminded her that she shouldn't be letting him get so close but she told the voice to shut the hell up. Rising on her toes, Katie placed her hands on either side of Kaiden's face and pulled his lips to hers.

  Her nerve endings rejoiced as she pressed her body against the full height of his, backing Kaiden up to the row of sinks. He turned them around and lifted her to the counter. Katie wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in close, all but begging him to take her right there in the bathroom.

  First an elevator, then a public bathroom… That little voice nagged at her again but she ignored it. She and Kaiden had been stoking the flames of desire since they met in the hospital nearly a year before. In the last two days, despite the circumstances, she had come to want him as badly as he seemed to want her. What was wrong with that? They were alone and had been dancing around each other since he first entered that tiny little interrogation room. The tension was distracting, at the least. Maybe they needed to get it out of their systems so they could continue to get to the bottom of Nathan's plot.

  You know once isn't going to be enough!

  Maybe not but it would be a whole lot better than the current state she was in.

  Kaiden's hands rested at the hem of her top as though waiting for permission to enter. She dropped her own hands to his chest. Katie wanted to see him, feel him against her, skin to skin.

  In a public bathroom?

  That damned voice was really starting to aggravate her. With a heavy sigh, she gently pushed against Kaiden's chest a
s he sought to deepen the kiss. Against the warning bells firing in her brain, she allowed his tongue entrance past her lips. All of her intentions to end things melted away as she ran her hands over the hard contours of his chest and shoulders. Kaiden's hands stopped waiting for permission and slipped up under her shirt. At first contact of his fingertips, her body instantly screamed for more. She wanted to tear off her clothes and have her way with him right then and there. Who really cared if it was a public restroom? People did it on planes and in dressing rooms and probably public bathrooms all the time.

  They were beyond talk. Everything they said was with their bodies. At first, neither one of them heard the voice calling through the bathroom door.

  "Miss! Miss, are you okay in there?"

  "Maybe she hit her head in the elevator and has now passed out in the bathroom," a second voice spoke to the first.

  "If you don't answer me, I am going to have break through the door!" the first voice called out loudly.

  "Oh no!" Katie pushed Kaiden away. He looked at her, his eyes glazed with passion and confusion.

  "No? But you… I…"

  Kaiden stepped close again but she pushed him back.

  "Someone's out there, threatening to break in the door," she whispered, frantically trying to right her clothing and get down off the counter.

  "Okay, miss! Here I come!" the voice called out again.

  "No!" Katie yelled before dropping her voice some. "I'm coming right out."

  "All right then, but I am not leaving until I see that you are okay."

  "Why does this keep happening?" she muttered as she reached for the door. Kaiden was right behind her, so close she could feel his breath against her ear.

  "I don't know but I guarantee you this. It won't happen again."

  Instant disappointment filled Katie. "Um, okay." Her hand was on the lock when Kaiden reached out and took it in his, turning her to face him.

  "What I meant was, next time, nothing is going to stop us." He leaned down then and kissed her quick and hard but there was enough passion in that one brief encounter to set a whole new avalanche of longing free within her.

  She grabbed her purse that had stayed on the floor of the toilet stall and reached up to smooth her hair.

  Kaiden unlocked the door then and stepped through. Katie peeked out to see that the crowd had dispersed. Only a couple of firefighters remained. The one that had pulled her from the elevator eyed her with a knowing look as she exited the bathroom. Ignoring the burning in her cheeks, Katie moved to a small waiting area and stood there while Kaiden and the fireman spoke. A few seconds later he joined her.

  "Ready?" he asked.

  Katie nodded, having apparently lost the gift of speech once again. She let him lead her from the hospital, remaining quiet until they were back in his truck and exiting the parking lot.

  "There's something I need to tell you. Promise me you won't freak out."

  "I don't freak out," Katie replied.

  "The fireman talked to the elevator repair guy…"

  "Wow, they got on that quickly."

  "Yeah. Well, it's a good thing too."

  Katie nodded in agreement. "We don't want anyone else to get hurt."

  "Katie, there's something you should know."

  "What?"

  "Someone tampered with the cables on the elevator. They were damaged."

  "Please. It's an old building. They probably just wore out."

  Kaiden hit the turn signal on the truck and pulled off the road into the lot of a fast food restaurant. When he turned to face her, his expression turned serious.

  "What?" she asked, a little afraid to hear the answer.

  "Someone tampered with them. They were cut most of the way through, the final part frayed as though it had been pulled apart but the rest was a clean cut. The perp even left the tool they used on top of the car."

  "That's impossible. Why would anyone do that? Someone could have died…"

  Kaiden didn't say anything. He turned to look out the windshield instead.

  "Oh… that was the intent."

  He nodded.

  "And I was the intended?"

  "It fits with the rest of the events over the past several hours."

  "Why me?" Katie yelled, slamming both palms on the dashboard. "I don't understand. Why me?"

  "I don't know yet but we will find out. There has to be something in your relationship with Marks that makes you a target."

  "I haven't spoken with him since we split. I thought he was having me followed but then your guys kidnapped me and I figured it was them. Maybe it was Nathan after all. I just don't know and I have no idea why."

  "We will figure it out, I promise."

  "Yeah, if I live long enough." Her laugh lacked any humor.

  Kaiden pulled the truck back onto the road. "Let's go talk to my boss. Maybe he can give us something that will help."

  She sighed. "Fine. We need to do something. I guess that's as good as anything."

  "I'm not usually like that," she finally said twenty minutes later as they made their way down Virginia Beach Boulevard.

  "Like what?" Kaiden squeezed her hand letting her know he knew exactly what she was talking about.

  "You know, a wanton tramp who tries to rip guys' clothes off in public places."

  "I should hope not. The only clothes I want you trying to rip off are mine. And maybe your own." He grinned and winked at her.

  "I am not too sure but aren't you going to get in trouble for… because of me? I mean, aren't I some kind of prisoner or something in your investigation?" She tried to pull her hand away but he held tight lifting it to his lips and kissing the back of it.

  "You aren't a prisoner. If anything you may have been a witness but now you are really a victim and it is my job to keep you safe until we are certain that no one is going to try to hurt you again."

  "I'm sure you have gone above and beyond the call of duty, Agent James." She smiled slightly.

  "I am a James. We never do anything we don't want to."

  Chapter Nine

  They didn't speak for a long while after that. Kaiden drove the truck back to his office in Norfolk. He needed to bring his boss up to speed on what had happened at the hospital and decide on a course of action for catching Nathan Marks. The part of Shore Drive that connected Virginia Beach to Norfolk was tree lined. The stunning colors of fall transported Kaiden back home to the mountains with his family. He stole a glance at Katie. She looked out the passenger door window. Katie's expression didn't give away her thoughts but he couldn't help but wonder if she too missed the stunning beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

  "Maybe I should go back home when all this is over." His heart stuttered a little at her comment.

  "It might be best not to make any major decisions just yet."

  Give me time to convince you to stay.

  "What do I have left here? My fiancé is a criminal and I can't go back to my job. I have nothing left." She sounded so sad he wanted to pull the truck over right there on the side of the road and take her in his arms. He resisted simply because he couldn't find a safe place to pull over.

  "You have your beautiful apartment with that amazing view of the ocean." You could have me too, if you wanted me.

  "My apartment has been destroyed. I will never feel safe there again." She released a heavy sigh. Kaiden wished he knew the right thing to say but he had never been very good at the emotional stuff. For him, the last couple of days wouldn't have been the end of his world but a reason to change it. He looked at adversity as a challenge. Cara had never liked that about him and he couldn't understand why.

  "I could help you find a new apartment. Maybe somewhere down here by the bay?" They were passing beautiful waterfront condos and homes that sat right on the Chesapeake Bay. The view would be as good if not better than what she had since they were out of the tourist area.

  "Wonderful. But with no job, it wouldn't matter. I never should have moved here. It's time for
me to go home."

  Kaiden started to feel a little desperate. They had only just begun their relationship and now she talked about running away.

  Relationship? You gotta be crazy, James. This is a case.

  Okay, so maybe they were a long way from a relationship but he couldn't deny the chemistry between them. With all that electricity there had to be something more waiting to be discovered. He had loved Cara but she never made him burn with desire the way Katie seemed to simply by sitting in the same truck.

  To be fair, Cara never showed him any real interest either. If he had to venture a guess she had been seeing that yahoo she was married to now long before their marriage had crumbled. Cara wanted to be an officer's wife and it didn't matter what branch of the service that officer worked in. He had long since suspected that she started her hunt for a new man the day after he'd left the Coast Guard.

  "Why don't you hold off on making any rash decisions until we get this case wrapped up?"

  "Yeah, sure. Okay," Katie replied unenthusiastically. "It's not like I have anything to rush home to either."

  They rounded a curve and Kaiden headed to downtown Norfolk leaving the bay and its beauty behind them. He became more determined than ever to find Nathan Marks. Sure he wanted to wrap the case up but he wouldn't mind knocking the guy's lights out for hurting Katie the way he had.

  "What is this place?" Katie asked as they pulled into one of the municipal parking lots.

  "My office. The boss will want a rundown of what happened at the hospital."

  "Do you have to tell him everything?" She glanced at him and he caught a quick glimpse of fear in her eyes.

  He looked over and winked at her. "There are a few details I will likely leave out of my report."

  "Good," she replied, obviously relieved. "After this morning at the hotel…"

  "Nothing to worry about there. John Hunter might come across as a hard ass but he is as nice as they come. You will like him."

  "It doesn't matter if I like him, as long as he doesn't throw me in prison."