Free I'll Be Seeing You by Darlene Kuncytes Page B

had hit a nerve. You didn’t have to be a genius to see that something was definitely going on between Cole and this woman; he only hoped that it didn’t come back to bite him in the ass. He didn’t need for his best detective to fuck up because some crazy bitch had his head up her ass. Shit! Yep, his day was just getting worse and worse.
    “Just let me talk to her,” he muttered, and Cole stood and silently left his office, leaving his anger in his wake like a dark, toxic cloud.
    ***
    Katherine jumped as Cole stormed into the office, his face set in a tight, furious line. She could feel the tension rolling off him in waves and stood, meeting his stormy gaze with a look of understanding.
    “Your Captain thinks I’m crazy,” she choked out softly; not a question, just a resigned statement. She was used to people thinking that she was insane. Her own attorney had said as much when she testified that she believed Stewart was innocent. Yes, this was nothing new to her at all. It was what she had come to expect.
    Cole was in front of her in two swift strides, his mouth taking hers. He kissed her hungrily, his hands sliding up her arms and pulling her close.
    “You are not crazy, damn it,” he whispered against her mouth, his breath warm and minty, and she could almost believe him. He sounded so sure of it. “I don’t want to hear you talking about yourself that way. Do you understand?”
    She took a shuddering breath and nodded, trying to regain her composure. No! He was right. She wasn’t crazy. He was back. He had found her again, and no matter how many people told her that she was just imagining it, she knew the truth. It was something that she had lived with for a very long time.
    Cole took a step back and grabbed her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Let’s get this over with so that we can concentrate on finding this bastard.”
    ***
    Mike Newman watched as Cole led the beautiful brunette through his office door, taking notice of the way that he protectively kept her by his side with a tightening to his gut. Yes, he thought with a frown, Cole was getting in deep, deeper than he had ever seen him before. This was not good.
    Mike stood and held out his hand. “Miss Chastain,” he said as warmly as he possibly could, considering the boulder sized pit that was growing in his gut. “It’s very nice to meet you. Please, have a seat.”
    Katherine sat down and felt Cole move up behind the chair, placing his hands on its back, his fingers whispering along her shoulders. She fought back the urge to lean back into his heat, and gave the Captain a shaky smile, trying hard to get a tight grip on her emotions.
    “Please, call me Katherine.”
    “Very well, Katherine,” Mike said, nodding bruskly. “Let me start by saying that my men searched your house and there was no sign of forced entry,” he said, glancing at Cole, who merely stood there silently, a muscle in his jaw twitching.
    “I really wouldn’t expect there would be,” she replied with a straightening of her shoulders. A grin played at the corners of Cole’s mouth. Damn, but this woman had moxie!
    “Excuse me, Miss Chastain?”
    Katherine took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Captain Newman, this… man ,” she nearly choked on the word. He wasn’t a man. He was a monster. She shook the thought off and concentrated on getting through this. “He’s smart. Trust me, he doesn’t leave traces. I was stalked by him for over three years,” she said calmly, meeting Mike squarely in the eye. “He murdered my mother, Captain Newman, and at one time or the other over the last six years has been there at some point, no matter where I went or who I became. Not to mention the fact that there is an innocent man sitting in prison because of him.” Katherine felt that all too familiar pang of guilt hit her when she mentioned Stewart. His life had been ruined, and it was all because of her. “I was Katie Philips then,” she said it so softly