It was Monday evening and Kat was doing her usual sweep of Zac’s hotel room as he waited outside. Thankfully Mark had done the weekend protection duty, giving Kat two precious days to get over spilling her guts to him about her mum. And that kiss. Unconsciously she paused, placing a hand to her chest, willing her heart to slow. Crap. Two days was nowhere near long enough recovery time.
Considering everything that had happened on Friday, she’d expected today to be awkward, yet it hadn’t been. Zac had been … well, back to his usual self. Smooth, quiet except for the odd dry comment. Occasionally he’d flashed his sexy smile but not once had he mentioned the kiss.
Maybe he’d forgotten about it. Maybe he wasn’t obsessing about every moment like she was. And wow, that hurt, but there was no place for her feelings in this current arrangement with Zac. As achingly, gloriously perfect as it had been, there wouldn’t, couldn’t be a repeat.
Opening the door to his bedroom, Kat noted the total lack of any clothes lying around with a wry smile. In fact there was a lack of any personal items other than the toiletries and shaver she could see in the en suite.
Her eyes skimmed over the tidy surfaces and onto the carefully made bed – she’d like to bet he’d done that himself – before zeroing in on a white card lying on top of a pillow. She took one look at the bold pink lips and cursed. Violently.
Did you think you could escape me? Now I know where you sleep.
How the hell had the stalker followed Zac here? Hot on the heels of that question, was another, even more sickening one. Had she cocked up? Was it her fault?
‘Err, hello.’ Zac’s voice echoed through from the sitting room. ‘Can I come in or are you still removing the bogeymen from under my bed?’ A second later he walked in, his eyes dropping to the card in her hand. ‘It’s another note, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
He cursed and turned full circle. When she went to follow him, she found him sitting on the sofa, head in his hands.
‘Sorry.’
He lifted his eyes to hers. ‘Why?’
‘They should never have found you here. Maybe I didn’t notice we’d been followed.’ The sick feeling magnified and dread pooled in her stomach; she’d let him down. Put him in danger. ‘Damn it, I should have swapped cars more often. Been more careful.’
Shit, how was she going to tell Mark?
‘Maybe they haven’t followed me at all,’ Zac countered. ‘Maybe they trawled all the five-star hotels until they came across one where someone was willing to talk for a fee.’ Rubbing a hand across his face, he let out a sharp, frustrated exhale. ‘Christ, Kat. This isn’t your fault.’
Kat wasn’t sure Mark would see it that way. Heck, she wasn’t convinced of it, either. But Zac was looking shaken, so she pushed aside her doubts and sat next to him, bumping her arm against his. ‘I like your version better.’ He attempted a smile, but his glorious eyes were flat, and his handsome face etched with strain. ‘I won’t let them get any closer. I promise.’ She meant it. The crappy doubts could go and take a running jump.
‘I know you won’t.’ His unflinching gaze, the certainty in his voice … her chest tightened in response. ‘But it’s just a nutty fan. The closest I’m likely to come to danger is being kissed to death.’
She sensed he was trying to convince himself, though it was hard to tell, him being such a good actor. She’d not actually appreciated how good he was until he’d knocked on the door at the party the other night. To the teenager who’d opened the door, Zac had been that off-duty cop. No question.
Still, she didn’t want him to act in front of her, and especially not over this. Complacency could get him killed. ‘I know you want to think it’s just a harmless fan, but what if it’s not? What if instead of planning to kiss you to death, they’re planning to knife you to death?’
He visibly paled beneath his tan but she hardened her heart. His safety was her priority. Not his feelings. Not making him comfortable.
‘Obviously you can’t stay here tonight.’ Kat rose to her feet. ‘Gather your things while I make a few calls.’
He inclined his head in acceptance, the weary nod of a man who’d been blindsided. It took all of her effort not to fling her arms around him and hug him tight.
While Zac packed, Kat phoned Mark. He answered on the second ring and swore like a trooper when she told him about the note. ‘I could have cocked up. I could have been followed,’ she admitted.
‘Do you think you made a mistake?’ Instantly her mind flashed back to another time, when she’d asked herself that question over and over again. ‘Kat?’
She swallowed, shaking off the memory. ‘No, I don’t.’
‘Then you didn’t. This person must have paid someone off in the hotel. Hopefully we’ll get a good look at them on the CCTV.’
The certainty in his voice helped to settle her stomach. ‘Thanks for the show of confidence, boss.’ She glanced again at Zac, who’d finished packing his case and was now watching her from the bedroom doorway. ‘Do the police still think it’s the waitress from the party?’
‘They do, but she gave a false name and address. They’ve had to get a photofit drawn up from the staff who worked with her. Her long hair fits the description of the driver who turned up at the Edwards function. They’re sending me a copy tomorrow so you can keep an eye out and show Zac. See if it sparks any memory. Meanwhile we’ll get the hotel CCTV reviewed.’
‘Okay.’ It was progress, she guessed. ‘Any suggestions for where I should take Zac tonight?’
Mark sighed down the phone. ‘The flats are both occupied. Guess it will have to be another hotel.’
Kat’s eyes flicked over to Zac. His shoulders, usually so straight, sloped a little, and the film-star face staring back at her was etched with tension. The last thing he needed was being bundled off to another faceless hotel. ‘I’ve got a better idea. I’ll take him back to mine tonight.’
Zac’s eyes widened in shock, the look almost comical. Ignoring him, she focused on what Mark was saying.
‘Are you sure that’s wise?’
‘It’s only one night. We’ll sort something else out tomorrow.’
‘What’s wrong with a hotel?’
She read the subtext from Mark’s question, and it annoyed her. With Zac listening, though, she could hardly blast back with the answer he was looking for. Just because she’d offered to put Zac up in her home, didn’t mean she was becoming attached. Didn’t mean she was doing anything as stupid as falling for him. ‘He’s been staying in a hotel,’ she answered evenly, ‘and look how well that turned out.’
Mark let out a heavy sound of annoyance. ‘Fine. As long as you know what you’re doing.’
‘Of course I do.’ As she ended the call, she realised it was the first time she’d ever lied to him.
***
Zac stepped warily through the front door of Kat’s house. The second time he’d been here in the space of a few days. The first had just been a stop off, but this? He really wasn’t sure why he was here.
‘Mark isn’t happy with this arrangement, is he?’
Kat, busy clicking switches to turn off the alarm and whatever other security feature she had set up on a state-of-the-art-looking panel, gave him a cool look. ‘Your safety is my responsibility. It’s my decision.’
‘He’s the boss though, isn’t he?’ Zac paused, perfectly aware it was none of his business. Damn it though, he needed to know. ‘Unless he’s something more?’
She stopped fiddling with the switches and stared up at him. ‘Did you really just ask if I’m shagging my boss?’
‘No.’ Feeling acutely uncomfortable, he shifted on his feet. ‘At least not in so many words.’
‘Unbelievable.’ Muttering under her breath, she marched into the living area, throwing her handbag onto the coffee table again, just as she had the other night. Given the table’s appearance, it clearly had a function beyond that of a resting place for hot drinks. ‘So you think I got this job because I agreed to sleep with him?’
‘Good God, no.’ Annoyed with himself, Zac dropped his holdall on the floor. ‘You appear to get on well. That’s all I meant.’
‘We do.’ She busied herself flicking through the mail she’d picked up when she’d come in, then checking her phone.
Zac stood like a lemon watching her, wondering how to ease the tension he’d just created. ‘Sorry, it was a crass comment.’ He paused, raking a hand through his hair. ‘I made it because I was jealous.’
‘Jealous?’ Incredulity spread across her face. ‘We’re not … I mean, you and I aren’t … Holy Moses, Mark and I aren’t, either.’ He’d never seen her so lost for words. ‘You have to be with someone to be jealous,’ she said finally.
‘Clearly not.’ His eyes tracked hers as she walked into the kitchen and went to open the fridge.
She paused, staring into it, clearly trying to gather herself – maybe to rein in her temper – before turning back to him. ‘Don’t do this.’
‘Do what? Check out my competition?’ He was out of order, he knew it, but he was tired, scared, and angry that his life had come to him having to spend the night in another place that wasn’t his home. Worse. In a place where he wasn’t wanted, but was staying because he was the owner’s responsibility.
She huffed, pulling various things out of the fridge and thumping them down on the worktop. ‘There is no flaming competition, because you and I aren’t doing this.’
He dragged in a breath, forcing himself to calm. None of this was Kat’s fault. Not the fact the stalker had found him again, nor the searing jealousy he’d felt when he’d seen her speak to Mark on the phone. The fond way she’d called him boss.
‘Okay, message received.’ Zac’s gaze skimmed over the ingredients she was wrestling with: pasta, bacon, cheese and green beans. ‘Look, you don’t need to cook for me. Let’s get a takeaway. My shout. The least I can do for inconveniencing you like this.’
Slowly she closed the fridge door. ‘You’re not an inconvenience.’
‘Sure, I’m not. Babysitting your client in your own home is exactly how you want to spend your evening.’
Finally, her face lost its anger and she gave him a wry smile. ‘I guess I deserved that.’ With a sigh, she began to chuck the ingredients haphazardly back into the fridge. He itched to point out the cheese should go on the top shelf, and vegetables on the bottom, but he needed to mend fences, not build them, so he shut up.
‘Okay.’ Pushing the door closed, she folded her arms and leant up against it. ‘First, thank you, we’ll go for the takeaway option. Debs will be delighted, but I’m paying.’ When he baulked, she put up her hand. ‘I’ll claim it back on expenses.’
He nodded, happy to concede that one. ‘Second?’
‘Second, Mark and I have never been, nor ever will be, in a relationship.’ She looked him square in the face. ‘He was my CO in the army and helped me through some tough personal stuff while I was in Afghanistan. When I left to join life as a civilian, I couldn’t settle.’ She shrugged. ‘Funny fact, I’m not cut out to spend my days monitoring bloody CCTV. Mark heard how unhappy I was, and when he offered me this gig I snapped his hand off. So, if we sound close, it’s because we are. Fighting alongside someone does that.’
Once again, he felt the sharp bite of jealousy. Not close in the way he’d thought then, but they clearly shared experiences, shared a bond, he had no hope of emulating. She’d needed Mark, and he’d been there for her. Zac couldn’t imagine Kat ever needing him.
It was time to change the subject. ‘When will Debs get home?’
‘She’s doing her homework at a friend’s house. At least that’s what she told me.’ Kat glanced at her watch. ‘I expected her back half an hour ago.’ Waving towards the sofa, she told him, ‘Sit yourself down. I know, I know, you’ll have to remove a ton of crap first, but just dump it on the floor. I’ll go and get Mandy’s room ready for you.’
He hadn’t thought it possible to feel even more of a burden, but apparently, he’d been wrong. Kat was stuck with sorting him out when what she’d really wanted to do was check on her niece. ‘I’m not sure what getting the room ready entails, but I don’t care about any clutter.’
‘Says the man who didn’t even mess up his hotel suite.’ Suddenly she smiled, and the warmth from it seeped into his heart, causing it to lift. As if, for that suspended moment in time, there was nothing dragging it down. ‘Don’t stress, Mr Neat and Tidy, I’m not about to do a major overhaul. I’ll just remove any obvious signs of underwear.’
‘Ah, okay.’ It was the most eloquent response he could come up with, considering she was smiling at him, and talking about underwear.
She’d only been gone a few minutes when the front door opened and Debs walked in, doing a double-take when she saw him. ‘Oh, hi.’
‘Hello. Again.’
She smiled tentatively. ‘Is my aunt here or—’
‘Yes, I’m here.’ Kat marched back into the living room, hands on her hips. ‘What time do you call this, Debs?’
As Zac silently squirmed on the sofa, Debs squared up to her aunt. ‘A bit later than you said.’
‘Thirty-five minutes later.’
‘So? I was doing homework.’ Debs dumped her rucksack onto the floor. ‘I thought you’d be pleased.’
‘Were you really doing homework?’
‘Sure.’
She might be keen on drama, but Debs would have to improve her acting skills, Zac thought as he watched the interaction. She was obviously lying.
‘Pick up your rucksack and let’s go to your room,’ Kat told her. ‘You and I are going to have a talk.’
Zac immediately jumped to his feet. ‘Don’t.’ When they both turned to look at him, he gave them a weak smile. Heavens above, how had it come to this? The uninvited, unwanted, inconvenient guest. It was excruciating. ‘You talk down here. I’ll go out for a bit.’ When Kat glared at him, he exhaled roughly. ‘Okay, I’ll go to my room. Mandy’s room.’ Embarrassment vied with frustration and he snatched up his case. ‘Please, use your sitting room, in your house. I’ll get out of your way.’
Utterly and completely fed up with the situation, he trudged upstairs and opened the door to the pretty pastel-pink room that was his for the night. Taking off his shoes, he lay down on the double bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering how many more beds he was going to have to sleep in until he could finally lie in his own.
Wondering too, if he had any chance of sleeping in the one down the corridor. The one that belonged to Kat.