Turn On A Dime - Kade's Turn (Kathleen Turner Series Book 7) Read online

  “Why don’t you give her some space,” Kade said, hitting the button on the coffee maker. He’d made twice as much as usual, to accommodate Kathleen, but Blane hadn’t noticed.

  “It’s driving me crazy,” Blane said, heaving a sigh. “This case, my witnesses disappearing, some crazy fuck stalking Kathleen.”

  “Bowers has cleared out,” Kade said. “I went by his place the other night. He won’t be back anytime soon.”

  Blane nodded absently, as though he’d expected that. “I don’t know if she’s going to take me back,” he mused, and it was obvious he meant Kathleen. “Not after last night.”

  Dread and bitter disappointment filled Kade’s gut. This was new. Blane had never given a shit before whether some woman would take him back.

  Naturally, that was the moment the woman they were both thinking about chose to open his bedroom door and step out.

  Kade winced. She hadn’t put on the clothes he’d left for her. All she was wearing was his shirt. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes still heavy-lidded with sleep, and he would swear he’d buttoned that shirt up further last night than it was buttoned this morning.

  So riveted was his attention on Kathleen, that Kade didn’t see Blane swinging his fist until it connected with his jaw.

  Kathleen shrieked and for a moment, Kade was too stunned to react. Then all the anger and frustration and regret boiled up. He flew at Blane.

  They collided, grappling, fighting like they hadn’t fought in years. It felt good to get it out, and his knuckles slammed into Blane’s face. Blane got him in the side, right in the cracked rib. Sonofabitch, that hurt.

  “Stop! Stop it! Both of you!”

  Kade ignored her, as did Blane. Kade landed another blow in Blane’s gut, which was like hitting a brick wall, and Blane shoved him away.

  Kathleen darted between them, putting her back to Kade as though to shield him, just as Blane threw another punch. Kade had no time to react, no time to shove her out of the way. He just knew that if Blane so much as laid a finger on her, Kade would rip him apart.

  Somehow Blane stopped at the last possible second, his fist a hair’s breadth from Kathleen’s face. They all stood there, frozen in shock at what had nearly happened.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Blane yelled at her. “Do you know how close I came to hitting you?”

  “Well, if you hadn’t been fighting, you wouldn’t have almost hit me!” she yelled back. Kade had to hand it to her, standing her ground with Blane in a towering rage took balls. “Why would you do that anyway?” she continued berating him. “Why would you hit your brother?”

  Kade knew why.

  “I didn’t sleep with her,” he said, slipping out from behind Kathleen and heading for the freezer. His jaw ached and he took out an ice pack.

  “Is that what you think?” Kathleen asked Blane, her question deceptively quiet and calm. “That I’d screw your brother to get back at you? That’s the sort of person you think I am?”

  Kade didn’t bother explaining that Blane didn’t think she was that type of person, he just knew Kade was.

  “Like you have any room to talk, brother,” Kade said. “Or are you the only one allowed to fuck around?”

  “Kathleen, I—”

  “Save it,” she snapped, cutting him off. She stomped back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

  Kade waited a beat. “I’m not great at reading women, but she didn’t really seem in the mood to talk things out. What do you think?”

  Blane glanced at him and it took a second, but his lips twitched in an almost smile, that faded quickly. “I’m sorry, Kade,” he said. “I just—I saw her and thought the worst. But I should know you’d never do that to me. Not my own brother.”

  Guilt nearly choked Kade, but he forced his lips to curve in a tight smile.

  “No worries. Just finish this case so we can shut the psycho down and I can get back to my real job. All this drama is killing my street cred.”

  Blane grimaced and shoved a hand through his hair. “Yeah. I’m working on it. You come up with anything? Bowers, maybe? Finding him is about the only shot I have left.”

  “Not yet,” Kade said. “But I’ll have the FBI check what’s left of her car for anything they might be able to find.”

  “If Freeman was being threatened, then chances were Bowers was, too. I’d buy that he took off rather than betray Kyle. These guys may not be brothers by blood, but they’re brothers just the same.” He gave Kade a look that spoke volumes.

  “I’ll do what I can.”

  Blane nodded and headed for the door. Just before he left, he turned and said, “Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Ditto.” Then Blane was gone.

  Kade didn’t want to think about what had just happened, or how he was feeling, so he pushed it all to the back of his mind and went into the guest bathroom to shower and shave. He had to go into his bedroom to get more clothes and was both relieved and disappointed that Kathleen was still in the shower.

  After he dressed, he poured himself another cup of coffee and sat at the bar in the kitchen, waiting. He prayed she’d put on the clothes he’d left for her, clothes that would cover every square inch of her skin. What he hadn’t counted on was how much smaller and more feminine she’d look wearing them.

  She must’ve had to roll down the waist to get them to stay on her hips, and the thought of how easily he could slip them off had Kade averting his eyes. She wore no bra, which was obvious, and he wondered if she’d discarded her panties as well.

  She seemed oblivious to his discomfort, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sliding onto the stool next to him.

  “How’s your jaw?” she asked.

  “I’ll live.” Frankly, for the thoughts he’d been having lately, he deserved far worse from Blane, he just didn’t know it. And hopefully, he never would.

  Kade glanced at her. A bruise darkened her cheek. His eyes narrowed, anger burning away everything else going on inside his head. Someone had hurt her, marked her. They’d regret that. He’d make damn sure of it.

  “You have a bruise,” he said, his fingers brushing the velvet of her cheek. “Are you going to tell me who hit you?”

  “And what will you do if I tell you?” she asked.

  “Kill him.” Obviously.

  She smiled like he’d made a joke. “Well, I’m not going to say, so just forget about it. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

  It bothered Kade, the way she said that as if she believed it—that someone hitting her didn’t matter. It mattered to him a whole helluva lot.

  “You need to take a self-defense course or something,” he said. “You’re too little to take chances.” And it wasn’t like he or Blane could be around her one hundred percent of the time.

  She snorted. “Little? Please.”

  “You’re five foot nothing, have bones I could break with my bare hands, and no doubt weigh about a buck ten. You couldn’t stop an overgrown fifth grader from pushing you around.” All of which worried him.

  “I’ll have you know I’m five foot one and three-quarters,” she said, proving his point.

  “Exactly.”

  “Like a self-defense course would have stopped Blane this morning?”

  “I didn’t say it would make you smarter,” Kade retorted. “Interfering was a bad idea.”

  “I had to do something,” she said, flushing. “I couldn’t just watch you two kill each other.”

  “Next time, leave it alone.” And somehow Kade knew, deep in his gut, that there would indeed be a next time. “I’ll set up the class. The firm will pick up the cost. It’s cheaper than a hospital bill.”

  She got the joke, raising an eyebrow. “How pragmatic of you,” she said dryly. “I went to visit Adriana Waters yesterday.”

  Kade’s mind switched gears. Blane’s client’s ex-wife. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her how she knew where Adriana had been staying, then he remembered. The intercom. Clev
er girl must have written down the address Blane had given him, which hadn’t even occurred to Kade when he’d seen Kathleen’s GPS at the hotel all day yesterday.

  “And?” he asked, hoping there was more to the story.

  “And she’s working with whoever is doing this. I broke into her hotel room and—”

  “You what?” Kade interrupted. “You broke into her room? How?” This should be interesting.

  “Well, I got a maid to let me in, so I guess that’s not really breaking in,” she said.

  Nice. Kade couldn’t help admiring her ability to think on her feet. It was a trait he rarely came across, especially in a woman.

  “Anyway,” she continued, “she came back with a man. I didn’t get to see who he was, but they talked about getting Blane to lose this case. I think they’re behind the threats that made Ron Freeman change his testimony.”

  Kade didn’t want to think about how she’d overheard all that. He wouldn’t sleep for a week. “Did they say anything else?”

  She shook her head.

  “Blane wants me to find Bowers,” Kade said. “He thinks Bowers might have been threatened as well, into changing his story, but decided to go into hiding rather than betray Kyle.”

  “Do you know anything about him? What his hobbies are? His friends? Maybe he’s hiding out with a girlfriend.”

  “I’m going to do some digging today,” he said.

  “What about me?”

  “You are going to chill here, relax, and stay safe.” The last part being the one that concerned him the most.

  “I can’t just sit around all day and do nothing,” she argued.

  Ah, the sound of a perpetual workaholic. “Of course you can,” he said, getting up and tucking his gun into the holster attached to his jeans. “You’ve had a rough couple of days. Take it easy today.” Grabbing his leather jacket, he slipped it on.

  “Kade.”

  The urgency in her voice had him turning back around. She’d slid off the stool and stood close to him.

  “Want a kiss goodbye?” He wished.

  But she only smiled a tight, little smile. “I just wanted…just…be careful today, okay?”

  Kade frowned, wondering at the change in her voice. She sounded worried, tense, almost afraid. For him? Surely not. That beating he’d taken must have warped her view of him worse than he’d thought.

  “No worries,” he said. He brushed his lips against her forehead because he wasn’t allowed to kiss her the way he wanted to, then left quickly before he did anything else that would betray how he really felt.

  And because she’d already proven herself as someone who refused to do what she was told, Kade stopped by the doorman on his way out.

  “Hey, Paul,” he said, pulling a twenty from his wallet. “There’s a girl in my apartment, about yea tall,” he held his hand at slightly less than his shoulder, “reddish blonde hair, blue eyes. If she leaves, text me and let me know.”

  “Absolutely, Mr. Dennon,” Paul said with a smile, pocketing the money.

  Today was going to suck, there was no getting around that. If Bowers wasn’t on the grid, then he was under it, and looking for him was going to take going to some sketchy places. Places he hadn’t been to for years.

  But first, he needed to call Blane. Today was Saturday and judging by what had happened last night, he sincerely doubted Kathleen had told Blane about the five grand Simone wanted to collect.

  “Kirk,” Blane answered.

  “Hey, something I forgot to mention,” Kade said. “I don’t suppose Kathleen told you how Simone says she owes her five grand and if she doesn’t pay up by tonight, she has to work it off?”

  “Excuse me? Work it off? Tell me that doesn’t mean what I think it means.”

  “Wish I could. She’s supposed to meet a john at the Crowne Plaza tonight if the money isn’t paid in full.”

  Blane’s response to that was a streak of colorful cursing that Kade envied. Only the military could give someone the proper skills to weave a pattern of vulgarity that stood above the commonplace.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” Kade said when Blane paused to take a breath. “I’m assuming you want me to take care of it.”

  “No, I will,” Blane replied. “I want to make sure we don’t hear anything more from Simone after this.”

  Kade frowned. “May not be the smartest idea,” he said. “Don’t say or do something you’ll regret. She’s a clever broad.”

  “I know. Don’t worry. You just find Bowers.”

  “I’m on it.” Kade ended the call.

  His phone buzzed and he glanced at it. A text from Paul.

  Your friend left in a taxi.

  Fucking shit!

  Kade slammed his hand against the dash in fury. Kathleen hadn’t waited fifteen goddamn minutes before leaving. Her listening skills were for shit.

  Punching up the GPS app on his phone, he waiting impatiently for it to zero in on her tracker. Finally, it showed him her location. She was home. Kade breathed out a sigh of relief.

  He was going to have a Come-To-Jesus with her about following directions.

  Since she was home safe and sound, for the moment, Kade headed for the outskirts of downtown off Washington. He parked a good distance away and spotted a teenage boy hanging nearby. Sliding on his sunglasses, he got out of the car and locked it, pocketing the keys.

  “Hey, kid,” he called out, beckoning the boy over.

  The kid approached, wary. His eyes narrowed as he studied Kade, then glanced around. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans. He looked about fifteen.

  “Yeah?”

  “You see this car?” Kade asked. “It’s nice, right?”

  The kid nodded.

  “I bet you keep track of all the nice cars that come by. And I’m sure there’s someone you’re supposed to call if somebody’s dumb enough to leave a car like this parked here.”

  The kid shrugged, not meeting Kade’s eyes, but he didn’t have to. Kade knew how the streets worked. He wouldn’t get two blocks before his Mercedes would be stripped or gone entirely.

  Taking a hundred dollar bill, he held it up. “See this?” The kid nodded, his eyes glued to the money. Kade carefully tore the bill in half and handed one side to the kid. “When I come back, if my car is still intact, you get the other half.”

  The kid grinned, his teeth very white in his face. “Man, you flash that kinda cash ‘round here, you won’t make it an hour.”

  Kade took a step closer to the kid. “I grew up on these streets, so I know all about the home boys coming up behind me. They’re about fifteen feet back now, right? So if you don’t warn them off, I’m going to do it the hard way.” Moving aside his jacket, he let the kid get an eyeful of the metal at his side. He watched the kid’s throat move as he swallowed, then the kid flicked a hand in a wave-off gesture.

  Glancing in the side rearview mirror of the Mercedes, Kade saw that the two teens who’d been creeping up behind him hesitate, stopping in their tracks. The lookout waved again, this time more urgently, and they backed off. Kade smiled.

  “Good choice,” he said. “Make a bad choice, I’ll find you and make you wish I hadn’t. Do what I ask and you get a hundred bucks. Easy money. Understand?”

  The kid gave a jerky nod. “Yeah, man, I got it.”

  Kade had printed out the service photo of Bowers, sizing it to something he could slip in his pocket. Now he pulled it out and showed the kid. “Ever seen him before?” he asked. “Take a good look.”

  The boy frowned, squinting as he studied the photo, then shook his head. “Nah, man. I ain’t seen him.”

  One down, God knew how many left to go. Kade heaved an internal sigh. Too much to hope for that he’d get a hit on Bowers right away.

  “Alright,” he said. “See you soon.”

  At this hour, the streets hadn’t yet come fully awake, the residents still recovering from the deeds done the night before. Kade slipped inside a dingy bar that advertised
three dollar beers and “fully naked girls.” The “girl” in question looked more mid-forties and wore a G-string, perhaps in concession to the fact that it wasn’t yet noon.

  She danced on a stage, clinging to a pole, and swayed to the strains of George Strait. It was an odd pairing that made Kade pause, raise an eyebrow, then give a mental shrug before heading for the bar.

  The man serving up drinks looked as tired and droopy as the dancing woman’s breasts and he cast a jaundiced eye Kade’s way before sidling over.

  “What’ll it be?” he asked.

  “A bottle of Bud and some information,” Kade replied, sliding a twenty across the bar.

  The bartender grabbed a frosty brown bottle and popped the cap. He set it in front of Kade, eyeing the money. “You a cop?”

  “Do I look like a cop?” The man didn’t reply. “I’m looking for someone.” Kade flashed the photo. “Seen him around?”

  The guy didn’t even look at the picture. “Nope.”

  Kade stared at him. The man didn’t bat an eye.

  Picking up the bottle of beer, Kade drank it down. It was ice cold. When the last drop had been drained, he flipped the bottle, catching it by the neck, then smashed it against the bar. It took some skill, breaking a beer bottle. They’re tougher than they look and mostly just bounce right off whatever they’re hit against. But Kade had a lot of practice from a time in his life when weapons were whatever was handy and his life depended on his own creativity.

  Reaching over, he fisted a handful of the bartender’s shirt and hauled him off his feet, pressing the jagged edges of the bottle to his throat.

  “I ain’t a cop, so I won’t have any problem slicing you from ear to ear,” he snarled. “So maybe you wanna look again.”

  The man’s rheumy eyes were wide, their bloodshot depths filled with fear. He gave a jerky nod. Kade let him go and he slid back down until his feet touched the floor. This time, he gave the photo a good, hard stare.

  “I seen somebody kinda like him,” the bartender said. “But it’s been a few days.”

  “How many is ‘a few?’”

  “I seen him Tuesday night,” he said. “Yeah, Bev was workin’ that night. He came in, looked like he was waitin’ for somebody, but they never showed. He left after an hour maybe?”