They’d told her he had applied for a permanent work visa to some unnamed country overseas. He might be texting her from Outer Mongolia, for instance. But she didn’t think so. She had the feeling he hadn’t left the good ol’ U.S.A. Otherwise, why would the FBI be involved?
It didn’t add up or make sense. She didn’t have any information to go by. Nothing, except the intuition that had her left leg doing the River Dance all by itself.
David was in trouble. Probably in hiding. Unwilling or perhaps fearful of drawing her into whatever trouble he was in.
She shut off the song and thought about the kind of trouble that brought the feds to one’s door. It wouldn’t be some local or isolated problem. This was something serious, and it remained to be seen whether David was on the right or wrong side of it.
She met her reflection in the mirror and was startled by it. Her lip was still swollen. A bruise fattened one cheek. The opposite eye was now ringed red and deep purple. The patch above it itched. But the reason for her appearance, Stokes’s attack, had been momentarily forgotten in the light of the last few hours. Too much had happened.
Kye had happened.
She glanced guiltily toward her bedroom doorway. She could hear him moving around upstairs. He was whistling. He was happy.
She had been happy, too. For six short hours her world had righted itself.
Do nothing until you hear from me.
There was nothing she could do. She had no way of knowing where David was. But he was still in her life. The text confirmed it. And he wanted her to wait for him. There was a promise in those song lyrics.
There was nothing more she could do but wait.
No, that wasn’t right. What she must do was get rid of Kye.
Her stomach cramped with feelings of guilt. If she’d just stayed in her own bed. If she’d just not felt all the feelings that had come stealing in on her last night. If Kye hadn’t been so kind. So able to deal with her craziness. If he hadn’t been so Kye.
That was the thing. From the very first time they met, he’d had a sixth sense about how to talk to her. She might be the K-9 guru, but Kye understood her.
But he wouldn’t understand David. And David wouldn’t understand Kye.
She couldn’t blame either man for that. She didn’t have an explanation for what had happened during the night and again just now in her bathroom. It made no sense, even to herself. That didn’t mean it wasn’t real, all the feelings swirling through her, whispering wicked secrets about what else she and Kye might do together and to each other. But she knew better than to listen.
Feelings were just that, feelings. You didn’t have to give them the space to rule your thoughts. She certainly wasn’t going to act on them, again. She was going to use her brain and think her way out of this emotionally hot-blooded female mess she became when Kye touched her.
She did have some hard reality to help her deal.
Number one. No more touching. Not her touching Kye. And mercy no, not Kye touching her. Those big talented hands of his were definitely mind destroyers.
Number two. She’d made up her mind before Kye arrived that David was the man for her. Nothing had changed. Good in bed was not a commitment.
Number three. All those feelings she was feeling were because Kye had come to her at a low moment, when she’d just given up hope on David and was in need of comfort. Her pride was cut up. She’d put herself out there and thought she’d been dumped. She flinched. She hadn’t exactly used Kye. She disliked people who used others to make themselves feel better. But she hadn’t had the strength to hold them apart. Her bad.
She’d let old feelings, memories, and sentiment cloud her vision. She never did that. She was always reliable. Steady. Ready to make the hard decisions. The path was always clear for her. Choices clearly defined and labeled. She’d made her choice. David, not Kye.
So why was she hoping there was another choice, like door number three?
Forsaking all others.
She hadn’t made that commitment yet. But just a week ago she had been prepared to do so, if David contacted her. She’d let Law and Georgie, and especially Kye, sway her away from her gut feelings.
But now she knew David still cared. She’d heard from him again. Why didn’t that knowledge feel like a victory, a triumph, or even simple relief?
Lily came in, carrying something white. She chewed a few times and then deposited the soggy cloth at Yard’s feet. It was Yardley’s PJ bottoms.
She picked up the destroyed garment. “Really? That’s your judgment of me?”
Lily turned and walked out.
“I’m not trying to take him from you.” Yardley rolled her eyes but then caught back a sob. Now even dogs were turning against her.
She needed a shower. A long hot shower followed by a cold one and then some other excuses to keep her from facing Kye. She’d give her hair a deep moisturizing treatment, pluck her brows, and maybe even paint her toenails. Anything that would give her time to regain her balance before she talked with Kye.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN