Liaising kai, p.1
Liaising Kai, page 1
LIAISING KAI
NCIS SERIES
BOOK 11
ZOE DAWSON
Liaising Kai
Copyright © 2024 by Karen Alarie
Cover Art © Robin Ludwig Design, Inc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
About the Author
OTHER TITLES BY ZOE DAWSON
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank my beta readers, reviewers and editor for helping with this book, and especially Lisa Fournier and Annette Reavis. As always, you guys are the best.
CHAPTER ONE
Special Agent Davis Nishida looked up from his desk at the soft curse from his colleague, Special Agent Carter Lennon. Lennon was staring avidly at his computer screen, his eyes narrowed and a distressed expression on his face. Not at all like the handsome blond agent Davis knew. He was a lean, wiry man who had a certain athletic grace about him—tough and with endless stamina, and the kind of drive to root out evil wherever he found it. Which pressed every button Davis had, so they were kindred spirits. Most of the time, Lennon had an utterly engaging grin on his face.
They worked together at the Coast Guard Investigative Service in San Diego, California. Davis had been there for almost a decade.
“Bad news?” he asked, but Lennon didn’t respond. He was just staring at the screen. “Lennon?” Still no response. Davis rose from his desk and walked over to Lennon. “Carter? What’s up?”
He blanked his screen before Davis could see what was on it. “What?” He had that determined set to his chin, a sign that he was on some kind of a trail, like a bloodhound.
“I called you a couple of times,” he said quietly. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just got an…expensive quote for my roof repair.” He blinked and looked away. “Damn inflation,” he growled.
Davis narrowed his eyes and set his palms flat on Lennon’s desk, leaning forward. “What’s up with that chin of yours?”
“It always sticks out that way when I’m pissed.” Lennon sighed heavily, his expression evening out. A warped grin appeared, and there was a touch of wry humor in his voice. “Right, it’s that ornery and bullheaded Lennon trait.” Davis stared at him for a moment, his gut telling him something was off. Before he could question him further, Lennon said, “Hey, how about you and I get together tonight for a drink.” He completely changed the subject, telling Davis that it wasn’t important enough to continue, or was that just a good dodge?
“I’m meeting my dad at Halloran’s for dinner. How about you join us?” Maybe then he could pump Lennon for more information.
Lennon smiled and nodded. “I love your dad. He’s such a character. I’ll be there. What time?”
Lennon knew how to get him. His chest filled with emotions connected to his tough and funny dad. “Seven o’clock work?”
He rose, grabbing his keys. “Yeah, that works.” Gathering up his gun and badge, he moved around the desk. His voice dropped, as if they were sharing a secret. “I’ve got to go take care of this roof issue. Could you cover for me for some personal time? I’ll see you tonight.”
“Sure, no problem.”
Davis watched him walk out, almost dismissing his initial reaction as burnout. Davis had been lighting the candle at both ends during an undercover mission involving gambling in the Coast Guard. The last time he saw that kind of look, it was on Special Agent Jason Hollow’s face when he’d been preoccupied with Kelly Hu, the ME for NCIS, who was now Kelly Hollow. Did that look on Lennon’s face reflect some roof problem or woman troubles?
He glanced over at Jason, who was on the phone, and shifted. Rubbing at his tired face, he went back to his desk to finish his report, chalking it all up to the fact that it was none of his business. It was hard to turn off that investigative edge when he did it for a living. Better to give Lennon his space to work it out. At least his assignment was over, with several arrests for illegal gambling on the part of several Coast Guard enlisted.
He wished he could go home and go to bed, but his weekly dinners with his dad were now a tradition. His dad was lonely after Davis’s mom had passed. His heart tightened, and he blinked back the sting in his eyes. He missed his mom like hell. She’d left a hole in his life and his dad’s. He was also at loose ends with the woman he’d been seeing, Abigail Poseidon. She’d been a prosecutor in the San Diego DA’s office and had left California to take a position as a US attorney in DC. She’d wanted him to transfer to DC, but he just couldn’t do it. Something held him back.
Later, as he sat on a barstool at Hallaran’s, he realized what that something…someone was.
Kai Talbot.
Well, fuck, if that didn’t come out of the blue.
The often-prickly Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of the Camp Pendleton NCIS Office. He saw her in the mirror over the bar. She was sitting in a booth behind him, a glass of deep ruby red wine in front of her, looking as beautiful as he remembered. Her gaze was lowered, those thick brown lashes hiding her pale amber eyes. She looked as good now as the last time he’d seen her. Her face was a smooth and delicate oval, her skin creamy with a slim upturned nose and a mouth that begged to be kissed. She was dressed as if she was looking for a good time, and he couldn’t take his eyes off the sexy charcoal gray dress with itty, bitty straps holding up the silky material that clung to her upper body, draping over her tantalizing half-exposed breasts.
With her honey brown hair upswept into some cool kind of twist, the nice tone there in her shoulders and arms stood out. He had no doubt the woman knew how to kick ass.
From the moment he’d met Kai, years ago when he’d taken on the investigation into an assault on Neve Michaels, she’d been in his fantasies. He’d worked with her again, just recently on a case concerning an NCIS/CGIS joint collaboration, involving Jason and Kelly. They had investigated the deaths of medical personnel and ultimately had tracked down a serial killer.
His phone buzzed, and he looked at the incoming text. It was from Lennon.
I’m not going to make it. Sorry. Something came up. Raincheck?
Davis texted him back that it was no problem. Then his phone buzzed again. This time the text was from his dad.
Sorry, son, I’m caught at work. Can we reschedule?
Davis smiled and texted his dad back, mentioning that he would be free for lunch or dinner on Saturday. His dad opted for dinner.
He downed the rest of his drink and rose from the bar, throwing cash on the smooth top. It would be best if he kept his distance from Kai. She had shut him down a couple of times regarding his request for drinks, then dinner. He suspected she just wasn’t as into him as he was into her.
But then he made the mistake of looking into the mirror again. This time her head wasn’t lowered. She was staring at nothing in particular, and he could see the sad look in her eyes, dulled by alcohol, the inner pain she didn’t bother to hide, and he felt her torment and heartache deep in his chest.
His mind reeled, his feet rooted to the spot as he watched her struggle. He’d never seen Kai like this; she had always had her professional demeanor in place, but this was a moment when she thought she was alone, showing her soul-deep and painful vulnerabilities that kept him from getting too close. He should have gone, but instead he closed his eyes and released a hard breath. He just couldn’t leave her like that, and he damned himself for caring so much. No good could come of it for either one of them.
He flagged down the bartender. “Two scotches,” he said and waited while the bartender poured them. Then he turned and walked toward her table like the stupid ass he was.
As he approached, she didn’t acknowledge him, didn’t look at him, unaware that he was even there. He couldn’t exactly see what that dress was covering from the bar, but up close, his mouth went dry as the full effect of her outfit hit him full force. The barely-there dress showed a lot of skin, cleavage, and left no room for her to wear a bra. The soft fabric molded to her sweet breasts, as well as the curves, all the way down to mid-thigh. A diamond-studded belt was loosely slung around her waist, which matched the exquisite choker around her throat, and the thought of removing everything but the choker made him hard as stone. Then there was her footwear. God help him. She had on a pair of fuck-me boots, reaching just below her knee, dominatrix black with stiletto heels, metal grommets all over the upper portion, showing her skin beneath.
He groaned and shoved those images right out of his head as he came to a stop across the table from her. “Special Agent Talbot,” he said. “Of all the gin joints, you had to walk into mine.” He went for levity because he s uspected she didn’t want to talk about what was on her mind right now, and she certainly wouldn’t be receptive to him, a man she knew and had spurned, witnessing what was an emotional meltdown.
Her head jerked up and she focused on him, then stiffened. Those defensive walls of hers quickly went up. “Davis,” she said, using his first name. Something she hadn’t done…ever. Why now?
“I was sitting at the bar, and I got stood up,” he said, putting a mock sad look on his face.
Her expression evened out, the initial shock receding.
“I’m sure that was quite a blow.”
“Twice,” he said for effect.
“That must have put a kink in your…ah…after dinner plans.”
He smirked. “They were both guys,” he said for even more effect.
She cast him a dry look and returned her attention to her wine. “I’m sure you’re not on that path.”
“There are many ways to get to a destination, and I’m pretty focused on my own way. It was a friend from work and my dad.” Her eyes widened. “Yeah, I have dinner with my dad every week, and my coworker and I have been friends since the Coast Guard Academy.”
She inclined her head as an invitation to sit. She focused on the two drinks.
“You looked like you could use something a little stronger than wine. Scotch was invented for times like these.”
“Times like these?” she said softly, curling her hand around the glass he set down in front of her.
“Want to talk about it?”
She blinked quickly, as if she were afraid to take her eyes off him for even a fraction of a second. But she held her ground, brave as always. And his heart squeezed painfully, and he clenched his jaw against it. Tension rattled through them like the portent of thunder booming in the distance. There always seemed to be danger when it came to Kai. He was torn between the need to protect himself from this woman, and his need to learn all he could about her.
She picked up the glass and downed the scotch, swallowing as it burned its way down her throat and into her stomach. She set it down and smiled with pain and secrets lodged in her eyes. “Nothing to talk about anymore.” She looked at the glass, then said, “Another one, please, Davis.”
He heard the strain in her voice, and he wanted to comfort her so badly it made his teeth ache. Just the way she said his name made his body twitch to life all over again. He understood that there was a wealth of things to talk about that was attached to her mood right now, but he let her slide. It really wasn’t any of his business, just a chance meeting in a bar.
“How about dinner to go with that?” he asked, concerned about her reckless expression. Alcohol never solved anything, not a goddamned thing.
“You turning this into a date?” she asked. He could hear it in her words. I’ve turned you down so many times. Why don’t you give up?
“Just two people who know each other having a meal together. Nothing on the line. Simply a good time, good conversation. Connection. What’s so bad about that?”
She leaned forward. “Nothing bad about it, and I’m not opposed, but it’s not why I came here looking like this.”
She was here for a hook-up. That was clear to him from the outset and his presence at her table put the kibosh on any other guy approaching. That suited him fine. In his youth, he’d been looser, but he’d lost the urge for one-night stands a while ago, when he’d come to realize sex for sex’s sake left him feeling empty and craving something deeper that had so far been elusive to him.
His pulse kicked up, and his body tightened in immediate response. He debated on whether to get into it here or wait to see how things panned out. Any advantage with this woman would be good, but with that look on her face and the dark shadows in her eyes, Kai had unknowingly robbed him of any action, and quite easily, too.
“We’ll see where the night takes us, Kai,” he said, opting for blunt honesty. After all, it had gotten him pretty far in the world.
Her eyes widened and her throat worked, but when she responded, her tone gave no indication of how she felt about his unwanted presence. Still the cool beauty.
They ordered dinner, and he got her another two fingers of scotch. “So, how goes it at NCIS Pendleton?”
“I have the best agents working for me. Derrick and Emma are doing great, as is Austin and Jenna.” Derrick Gunn had married Emma St. John. She was the sister of Petty Officer Lily St. John whose son had gone missing. They had fallen in love on that case. Austin Beck had also fallen in love with and married a woman from his case, a murder investigation into the death of Sarah Taylor, Jenna Webb’s cousin who was a Navy pilot assigned to the Blue Angels.
“And Amber?” Amber Dalton had gone on a routine friendly fire incident at the Warfare Training Center involving a Marine that turned into a harrowing murder, kidnapping, and human hunting case that had almost taken her life. If it wasn’t for Tristan Michaels, the master sergeant who had been assigned to assist her, and his mad mountain skills, she would have perished.
“Happy as hell with her husband and daughter.” Her voice caught for a moment, but she took a bite of her salad and swallowed hard.
The mention of Amber and her husband reminded him all over again of his first joint case with NCIS. “I heard Neve and Russell moved to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and she’s teaching at the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer’s School there.” Amber was married to Tristan Michaels who was Neve’s brother. Davis smiled remembering how those two had been so contentious with each other. Now they were happily married, compromising and raising their three-year-old twin boys.
“She is. They’ve come a long way according to Amber. I’m happy for them both.”
He nodded, thinking how much he’d like what they had, but he could never seem to see that with any woman, not even Abigail. “And Andrea? Where did she end up?”
“With Chris at the shipyard in DC.”
“Nice.”
She nodded. “He is singing her praises, and we miss her. But we have a new probie. Lucy Montgomery. She’s a petite ball of energy.”
“I’m sure she’s getting the best mentors at NCIS,” he said.
Kai Talbot blushed in such an endearing and sweet way. He was so surprised. “I can see that Jason and Kelly are doing extremely well,” she said, moving him off the subject. “She’s got a perpetual smile on her face, and that’s saying something for a medical examiner. Kiko, their daughter, is flourishing as well. They’re blessed to have found each other again.”
He nodded. It was true. Jason was over the moon, now married to the woman he’d been in love with for so long. Once they faced reality and owned up to their fraternization, their obstacles were resolved, opening up a sweet happily ever after. Again, he envied what they had.
Soft music had been playing ever since they were served their dinners. It was the band that started up later in the evening. Usually, he and his dad were gone by then.
He rose and offered his hand. “Care to dance?”
“You are determined to turn this into a date.”
He stared at her, not pulling any punches. She knew the score. He hadn’t been subtle about his attraction to her. What he didn't know was what was holding her back. He couldn’t hide the layers of interest he had in her and he was sure his expression showed it.
Catching a ragged breath, Kai looked down as if working on her own equilibrium. His was shaky, and she’d had more to drink than he had…by design. He had noticed all the guys in here giving her panting looks, and him dark ones as if he was their ultimate cockblock. No one was getting close to her tonight. He would make certain of it.
She rose, and he could almost hear the silent collective groans. She was magnificent in that dress, but Davis knew more about her than her killer body, and he craved it just as much as anything physical with her.
She took his hand, and her touch was electric, running through him like a live current, comfortable in his role as her shield.
He took her out to the dance floor and drew her against him, the pressure of his hand against her bare back pressing her deeper into his embrace. Her forehead nestled against his jaw, and she sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck as he tried to hold in all the emotions rolling through him. Inhaling unevenly, Davis rested his head against hers, his arm tightening around her as they began moving to the music, drawn into the intimacy of this private space. The sensual, intimate tempo folded around them, the power and eloquence of the lyrics expressing everything he thought about her.
