Rescue Me (14 page)

After several minutes, he turned to Spencer.
“It seems we have a little problem, Allen.”

“Give it a rest.” He caught himself. He
didn't need to piss off his boss.
Again
. He'd end up worse
off than being busted down to working with the computer geeks over
in the intelligence division.
Again
. “If you have a problem
with me, just come out with it.”

Weber narrowed his gaze. He had his eyes
pinched tight as he glared that Spencer had to concentrate to see
them at all. “Is this some fucking joke to you?”

“No, sir.”

“You can't be running a team by making
judgment calls with your dick. You were told to get your team into
the field and help find the kid.”

“And I did exactly that.”

“By staying behind so you could visit with
your girlfriend while your team busted their asses,” Weber pointed
out. “You chose a woman over your own team.”

Spencer ground his teeth together. He knew if
he tried to deny it Weber would catch him in his lie. The man had a
keen eye and an even sharper mind. Not much got past him, if
anything.

“This habit of putting Kat ahead of your own
brotherhood ends now. If she's too much of a distraction, if you
can't turn off your horny dumbass switch, then we have a problem.
You put your team in jeopardy today.”

No way. No fucking way. He'd never do
anything to jeopardize his team. He only stayed with Kathryn after
he gave Lyons specific instructions on what to do when they found
the kid. And Lyons carried them out without prejudice.

Spencer shook his head and dropped a curse as
he glanced out one of the side windows. He'd finally made the
decision to give into the arousal Kathryn fired in his blood, to no
longer deny either one of them the pleasure he knew rested just
below the surface. Now this.

He refused to fuel Weber's paranoia and chose
to remain silent.

“Tell me she doesn't already have your dick
in knots.” Weber set his jaw as he studied Spencer.

Like hell. He wasn't about to discuss his
feelings, personal or otherwise, with his SAC. He liked the guy,
but not well enough to open up to him. He didn't like anyone enough
to open up to them.

Strike that. He smiled inwardly, his thoughts
drifting to when he'd have Kathryn back in his bed. He'd lay her
down, kiss every delicious inch of her before spreading her legs
and attacking. He almost tasted her sweet syrup now. Shifting to
hide the growing bulge in his pants, he continued his mental
encounter.

Weber rambled on about some bullshit, but
Spencer no longer heard him. He was tired, hungry, and couldn't
keep his mind off of wondering what Kathryn was doing at that exact
moment. Was she having mental sex with him right now? Were her
nipples hard at the thought of him covering them with his
mouth?

“Because if you two can't be adults about
this...”

Did she go straight home after the search?
Did she go straight to bed? The thought of her curled into a ball
as she slept made him smile. He used to prop himself up on one
elbow and just watch her sleep. She'd always looked so peaceful. He
loved watching her sleep.

“I can't afford for you to screw this
up...”

He licked his lips and let out a shaky
breath. Her taste still lingered there. He licked them again.

“And if you so much as...”

He chuckled in the back of his throat,
remembering her body's reaction to him when he kissed her in the
Com Van. She gave him a little whimper that, even now, had him so
engorged he had a hard time seeing straight.

“Am I boring you, Allen?”

Spencer blinked and looked at Weber when he
realized the room had fallen silent. “Hell no, sir. I always find
your lectures absolutely captivating.”

“Un-fucking-believable. You're already gone.”
Weber sighed and sank into his chair. Spencer remained propped
against the opposite wall with one foot crossed over the other.

“Can you repeat back a single goddamn word I
said?”

Spencer swallowed and said nothing.

“That's what I thought. To paraphrase, keep
it in your pants this time.”

He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached. His
temper flared to life, but he knew if he wanted to keep his job he
needed to control it. Still, he thinned his lips. A tightness
slammed into his chest and made it hard to breathe. “Kathryn Davis
is a complete professional. So am I. Our previous personal
relationship will not get in the way of our current professional
relationship.”

Weber eyed Spencer carefully. “Why am I less
than convinced?”

“I've got it under control.”

“Doesn't look like it from my end.”

“And how's that?”

“That partner of hers pulled me aside as we
were shutting down.”

“Becker?”

Weber nodded. “He told me you and Kat were
practically fucking in the back of the Com Van. You want to explain
that?”

That did it. The son of a bitch was dead. “We
were one hundred percent dedicated to finding Tommy.”

“And once the team had him? Care to explain
what happened next?”

“Not really.”

Weber drummed his fingers on the desk as he
watched Spencer for several seconds. “Since neither one of you have
enough sense to keep your hands—or lips—to yourself, I'm stepping
in.”

Spencer's senses cooled. He didn't like the
direction this conversation suddenly turned. “Meaning?”

“I don't want you starting back up with her
again. Got it?”

Want in one hand and shit in the other,
buddy.
No way would anyone tell Spencer what to do, not when it
came to Kathryn. He'd already made up his mind. Weber didn't get to
tell him how to balance the job and Kathryn. “I understand.”

“No, I don't think you do.”

“I understand you
think
you can tell
me what to do when I'm not on shift. My personal business is my
business.”

The color in Weber's neck crept up to his
cheeks. “You sure are one cocky bastard, you know that?”

“Yep.”

“And do you think that shit flies with me?
You've been with TREX long enough to know how far you can push me,
and you've already passed that point. I'm not backing down on this.
I don't give a shit what the board says. You are not to have any
sort of relations with Kat Davis outside of the finds TREX calls
K-SAR in on.”

Spencer pushed off the wall and approached
the desk, his fists doubled, his voice low and even. His outrage
sent every cell in his body vibrating with anger. “With all due
respect, you can't control what I do outside of my job.”

“But I can control what happens on the job,”
Weber countered.

Spencer didn't back away from the desk,
instead locking his gaze with Weber's and holding his ground. He
had nothing but respect for his SAC, but Weber was wrong on this.
Spencer had to find a way to prove that to him without losing his
job over it.

“I like you Spence. I really do. It's why I
promoted you to special agent and gave you your own team. You are a
pain in my ass, but you've earned the right to be.”

Spencer stepped back, completely taken
off-guard by Weber's praise.

Weber sighed and looked like he'd aged a good
five years in a matter of seconds. “That's why it's like a kick in
the fucking teeth to have to put this out there, but I can tell by
the way you're pushing back that you aren't going to listen. So
here it is. If you and Kat start up again, you have two choices.
Either TREX breaks all ties with K-SAR, or TREX breaks all ties
with you.”

No. Not just no, but hell no. Spencer stood
rigid, his insides still. That would destroy him. TREX was the only
thing good he had left in his life. “Are you fucking kidding me?
You'd kick me out over this?”

“At least with field work. If you choose her
over your job, you're done as the team leader. You're done as a
field agent. Period. You'd be lucky to join Lyons behind some
desk.”

“You can't do that.” He couldn't lose his
team. It would be like losing a limb. They were a part of him, his
family.

Weber's blue gaze bore into him.

“But...” His voice trailed off when he
realized Weber could. He had connections that went as high as
Miller, if not higher. And by that look on his face, he'd use every
last one of them. Spencer let a curse roll off his lips and drew in
a sharp breath to ward off the rage that had bubbled to the surface
and threatened to spill over. He backed away from Weber's desk
before he doubled up a fist and put a hole in it.

Weber rubbed his face and let out a long sigh
that Spencer felt shudder through him. “I have to protect my
assets. Don't make this personal.”

“How, exactly, am I supposed to not make this
personal?” He clenched his jaw so tight his words came out in a
hiss. God
damn
it. Not for the first time, TREX forced him to
choose between Kathryn and his job. Being a TREX agent had won out
the last time. Would it win again? Could he do that to her this
time? To him?

“Do we need to have that talk
again
?
I'm getting tired of repeating myself with you.”

Spencer knew what Weber needed to hear to get
him off his ass, even if he didn't believe a word of it. “It was
just a kiss, Weber. The search was over. We found Tommy alive. We
were both so relieved that we just got caught up in the moment.” He
swallowed and threw out the rest of his bold-faced lie. “Nothing
more.”

Weber studied him for several seconds. “Make
sure it doesn't happen again. Because if it does—”

“Is that all?” Spencer interrupted. Weber had
already made it clear what would happen if he and Kathryn were
caught in each other's arms again.

He'd just have to make sure they never got
caught.

No one, not even threats from his SAC, would
keep him from Kathryn this time around.

Sitting on her couch flipping through
channels to keep her mind off why a certain sexy TREX agent had
failed to come over, Kat finally settled on an infomercial about
some miraculous blender that promised instant popularity. She could
use that since she'd be spending the rest of her life alone.

She was such an idiot to think Spencer wanted
her for more than the here and now. His words. His heated nips and
tender caresses. His body's obvious arousal. She'd fallen for it
all.

But his actions told an entirely different
story. After the search, he practically left a rooster trail to get
away from her, using some lousy excuse about needing to clean up
before he came over. And she'd believed him, believed he was just
as anxious to pick up where they left off as she was.

“Fool,” she berated herself. When the sting
of humiliating tears smarted in her eyes, she drew in a quick
breath and changed the channel, both mentally and on the TV.

A reality show came on about some guy weeding
through hordes of women to find
the one
. Kat watched it for
a few minutes, wondering what type of woman would vie for the
affection of a complete stranger. She already had a man she thought
was
the one
and he'd turned out to be, well, not.

The announcer interviewed a woman who looked
like she spent way too much time in tanning booths. “
Christina,
tell me what you're looking for in a man.
”

“
I want a man who will put me above
everything else
.”

“Good luck with that one,” Kat grumbled and
turned off the TV. Her stomach ached and she dragged herself up off
the couch to find something to eat. After deciding which box of
frozen pasta looked the least unappetizing, she popped it in the
microwave and then warmed water for tea.

During the past year she'd had a lot of time
to think about her life, or lack thereof. Frozen entrees for lunch
and dinner. One pot of coffee minimum for breakfast every morning.
Week after week she did the same routine, surviving life instead of
living it. After the thrill of finding Tommy and returning him to
his mother, Kat didn't want to be that person any longer.

She wanted to live life and, damn it, she
didn't want to do it alone.

Her thoughts drifted to Spencer. He used to
cook the most extravagant meals in that ultimate dream kitchen of
his. Kat glanced around her tiny kitchen and let out a sulky sigh.
They wouldn't even fit in this kitchen at the same time, let alone
have enough room to cook a meal together. Well, he'd cook. She'd
watch the master at work and fall in love with him even more.

This sucked. Why would she still be in love
with him after everything he'd put her through? She was a glutton
for punishment. That had to be it. One look from him, one kiss, and
she couldn't wait to jump back in with both feet. She'd end up
living at his house more than her apartment again and actually
looked forward to it. Not only would she wake up in Spencer's arms
every morning, she'd be in a place she could actually make into a
home.

Spencer had the most beautiful house residing
on an eastside Olympia inlet. Kat used to dream of their future
together and it always involved that huge house full of windows
facing the water. It would be like paradise raising children there.
She'd lecture them to stay off the docks and away from daddy's new
boat, to not run with scissors, and all of the other motherly
things she'd earn the right to say since mothers did earn those
things and hers never missed a chance to wield that power.

Her mother took every opportunity to lecture
her on still being single. “You aren't getting any younger,” she'd
tell Kat. “You're little brother Bobby already has four kids.”

Well, good for him. He also had a perpetually
pregnant wife. A few more kids and they could start their own
reality show.

And what did she have? A stubborn man who
wouldn't even tell her everything he did for a living. She knew so
little about him. He'd lost his father at thirteen but wouldn't
tell her how. He had dinner with his mother at least twice a month
but had never invited Kat to join them. He clearly had money
judging by the size of that enormous house and boat he had docked
in front of it, yet he didn't flaunt it. When he wasn't saving the
world as a TREX agent, he was on his boat. He'd fish. He'd just
drive. It didn't matter. The man loved to be on the water, which
explained why he had a house right next to a giant inlet.