All of You Page 10

  “You’d rather not involve the local police?”

  “Not if I can help it. I’d rather deal with someone I know, if possible.”

  “Huh, well, guess you’re shit out of luck, then,” he said. “Good luck with the good ole boys over there in West Cleveland.”

  Kat was taken aback…until Danny exhaled a low, deep chuckle. “I’m kidding, Kat. I’m already on my way. I’ll be there in a few.”

  She sighed. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

  “No problem. I’m sure you already know this, but don’t touch anything. To be honest, nothing will probably come of the pictures I take, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  “Okay.” Kat wedged the phone between her head and shoulder and wrapped her arms around her midsection. The adrenaline coursing through her body had her teeth chattering and her body trembling. “Do you think we could stay on the phone until you get here?”

  “Of course. I was about to insist on it. You doing okay?”

  Kat wanted to lie. She wanted to put on the brave, unflappable, sensible front she was famous for, especially in front of Danny.

  But something weird had gone on between them the past few days and it made her feel funny about lying to him.

  “Truth?” she asked.

  “Yeah, truth.”

  “No. It’s dark out, so I don’t want to walk out the car, but the lock on the door is broken, so I don’t want to stay in here,” Kat said, glancing around. “Logically, I know they aren’t coming back for Fi’s jewelry-making crap or my stack of books on gene therapies, but I’m still really scared.” Kat rolled her eyes. “Ridiculous, huh?”

  “Uh, no. You’re by yourself in an apartment that has just been robbed. It’s dark out and your sense of personal security has been violated. Of course you’re scared.” With a grin in his voice, he added, “Anyone would be scared, even beautiful, genius doctors.”

  Kat groaned. “For God’s sake, Danny, do not repeat that! How mortifying…” She dropped her head into her hand, head shaking. “My entire family is hell-bent on embarrassing me at every possible opportunity.”

  “Your family is amazing. And they are so proud of you and love you so much. You don’t know how lucky you are.”

  It was as impossible for Kat to miss the longing in his voice as it had been to miss it on his face at Pops’ house and at the restaurant yesterday afternoon. Kat was dismayed to realize her heart hadn’t hardened a smidge to it.

  “Well, I’m embarrassed to admit I didn’t know a geneticist was a doctor,” Danny said, kindly changing topics.

  “I’m not a medical kind of doctor; I’m a PhD kind of doctor, so there is a difference.”

  “Hey, a doctor is a doctor, as far as I’m concerned. And it’s pretty damn incredible, either way,” he replied and Kat couldn’t help but feel good she’d impressed him somehow. And with her brains, no less. “I think I’ll start addressing you as ‘Dr. Ciaramitaro’ from now on.”

  “You’d better not. I don’t even let my guys in the lab call me that.”

  Danny paused. “Your guys, huh? How many guys you got over there?”

  If Kat hadn’t known better, she would have sworn Danny sounded jealous. Which was beyond ridiculous.

  “There are seven people in my lab all together. Six men and me.”

  Danny let out a low whistle. “Nice setup. The queen and her minions.”

  Kat scoffed. “Not quite.”

  “I’m sure they’re all in love with you.”

  It wasn’t a question and Danny wasn’t looking for an answer. He said it so flatly, so matter-of-factly, that Kat was momentarily taken aback.

  She forced a laugh. “You’ve obviously never spent time around medical researchers. They aren’t in love with anything but their work.” Kat reconsidered. “Well, their work and maybe Comic Con.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Kat was so turned around, she didn’t know if she loved or hated this conversation. Danny’s tone screamed jealous and that made Kat stupidly ecstatic, but the whys of that implication – and her reaction to it – were confusing and unsettling.

  “By the way, how do you know my address?” she asked, before Danny said anything else she could misinterpret.

  “I was there once, remember? When Nathan and I dropped off that table Fi bought?” Danny paused and Kat heard some police scanner chatter in the background. “Some sort of craft thing?”

  “You mean the one that’s still in the box in her closet? Yeah, I remember now. You’ll be bummed to know that, despite you and Nathan lugging that stupid thing in, Fi still insists on throwing her pottery, stringing her beads, and assembling her mosaics on our kitchen table.” Kat pushed her glasses up on top of her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I love her to death, but she drives me up a wall with that stuff.”

  Danny laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine. But I do admire the hell out of her enthusiasm. I never was any good at trying new stuff or sticking with anything that took patience. Must be nice to be creative like that.”

  Kat crept over to the bedroom window and peeked out of the blinds. “Hey, it’s not too late. Fi would be more than happy to teach you to bead, watercolor, hook a rug, tie-dye, and weave a basket. Keep in mind, she doesn’t really know how to do any of those things well, either, but that won’t stop her from trying to pull you into her world of pain.”

  Danny’s laugh, warm and loud, freed that ridiculous swarm of butterflies into Kat’s stomach again.

  “I think it’s safe to assume you have some personal experience with that ‘world of pain?’”

  When Kat replied, “Oh, yeah,” Danny laughed again.

  She heard a noise and whipped around, but, of course, no one was there. “Danny, you almost here?”

  “Yep. Just turning onto Sagebrush, now. I’ll-” Kat heard a beep and the dispatcher start talking to Danny over the two-way. To Kat, he quietly said, “Hold on a sec, Kat,” then, to the dispatcher, he said, “9, here.”

  Kat couldn’t make out exactly what the dispatcher was saying, but she heard Danny’s response loud and clear. “Judy, you’ll have to send another car. I’m in the middle of something.” The dispatcher responded and Danny said, “Okay. 10-4. Let me know if anything else comes up.”

  A second later, Danny was back. “Hey, sorry about that.”

  “Are you too busy to do this right now? Because I really don’t want to inconvenience you. If there’s someplace else you need to be, it’s fine. I’ll call 9-1-1 and sort this out with them,” Kat said.

  “Nope. There’s no place else I have to be. Dealing with your situation comes first, period,” he replied firmly.

  Kat was grateful Danny wasn’t there yet to see the totally irrational tears filling her eyes. She should have been able to accept his words with cool ease, but, apparently, her crazy brain didn’t give a crap about should have.

  Yet again.

  It was weird and…nice…to have a man, especially a man like Danny, put Kat first.

  Pathetic?

  Yes.

  Just a part of who he was and how he interacted with everybody?

  Most definitely.

  But, like so many other things involving Danny, Kat couldn’t override her feelings with logic.

  And it scared her to death.

  Danny swerved into a spot near Kat’s apartment and jogged up to the door. He knocked twice and pushed the door in, operating under the assumption Kat wasn’t parading around naked.

  Although that would have been a nice surprise.

  “I’m here,” he said to Kat on the phone.

  A second later, she emerged from a back bedroom, still holding her phone to her ear. She looked utterly terrified. And dazed. Her face was pale, her eyes were wide, and her whole body was trembling.

  Danny slid his phone into his back pocket and gave her a reassuring smile. “Everything’s gonna be okay. I’ll look around, take some pictures, and write up a report.” When Kat nodded, the phone still atta
ched to her ear, Danny walked over and reached for it. “Let me see your phone,” he said softly.

  Kat’s eyes locked onto his as she slowly handed it over. Danny ended the call, handed the phone back to her, and tried desperately to ignore the sparks he felt when their fingers touched.

  Danny cleared his throat, dropping his hands onto his hips and surveying the scene.

  It was a huge mess – shit thrown everywhere, cords hanging loose where the TV and DVD player used to be, and a few picture frames – glass shattered – lying in the middle of the floor for good measure.

  Danny hated that she’d had to walk into this alone.

  But I’m here now.

  He patted the arm of the comfortable-looking couch next to him. “While I get to work taking pictures, why don’t you sit down and make a list of everything you think is missing? Then make a list of everything that’s broken, because you’ll need all that info to make an insurance claim.”

  Kat nodded and wordlessly walked away, coming back a few seconds later with a yellow legal pad and a pen. As she started her lists, Danny pulled out a digital camera the department armed each car with for occasions such as these. He snapped a bunch of pictures in the kitchen, living room, Fi’s bedroom, and the hallway before finally entering Kat’s bedroom.

  He knew it was her bedroom because it smelled strongly of her. That and there were stacks and stacks of books everywhere – on each nightstand flanking the bed, on the floor next to the bed, and on the mirrored dresser in the corner.

  Danny couldn’t help but stare at her bed for a few long moments, imagining her incredible body beneath the pink and grey plaid sheets.

  Tossing, turning…those shapely legs rubbing up against one another as she slept…

  Danny made sure Kat was out of view before reaching down to adjust the raging erection currently trying to bust out of his uniform pants.

  He’d known he was an animal before, but these weird interactions with Kat were taking shit to a whole new depravity level. Danny couldn’t stop getting turned on by her, regardless of the seriousness of the situations pushing them together.

  Yeah, it’s called, You’re a Fucking Pig.

  Danny wondered if Kat had ever had sex with anyone in that bed, on those sheets.

  Well, obviously she has, you idiot. She’s a twenty-eight year old woman, for Christ’s sake.

  Danny was suddenly, irrationally, and insanely jealous of the men who’d been lucky enough to lie in that bed with her. On top of her…beneath her. Men who had been lucky enough to experience that kind of intimacy with her. Men who’d had the chance to see her in such a personal, raw, unbridled way.

  Danny thought about the shithead who’d asked her out at work and wondered if he’d get to be with her that way.

  He was overcome by an irrational urge to put his fist through the drywall.

  Okay, you’ve officially gone off the deep end.

  Danny beat back the feelings with every emotional weapon in his arsenal, but, unfortunately, that arsenal was pretty bare and he failed.

  Miserably.

  Danny had experienced the ugly pain of jealousy many times before, but never, ever over a woman.

  He’d been jealous of kids growing up in normal, safe homes, kids being adopted into good homes, people who had seemingly well-adjusted relationships, and people who had the ability to lead regular, moderate lives.

  But he’d never wanted another man’s woman and he’d never cared when a woman left him to move on to another man.

  Danny had never once viewed a woman as something he was entitled to, had ownership of, or needed to possess. He’d always – rightfully – viewed all people as autonomous and as having every right to be with whomever they chose, whenever they chose, and however they chose.

  Not to mention Danny had no desire to form an intense attachment like that, nor would he allow anyone to attach that way to him. He was all about the whole man-as-an-island philosophy and had never stayed in any relationship long enough for either party to get emotionally attached, anyway.

  But this shit with Kat?

  Stupid, dangerous, and completely absurd.

  And, if he didn’t get his shit together soon, Danny knew it was only a matter of time before this got real messy, real quick.

  Danny finally walked back into the living room to find the object of his piggish, possessive thoughts looking as delicious as she always did: legs crossed beneath her Indian-style, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and a little crease between her eyes as she thoughtfully made out her lists. Danny’s fingers were itching to bury themselves in the messy bun on top of her head, while another part of his anatomy was itching to bury itself–

  “I think I’m all set.” Kat tore off the pieces of paper she’d written on and looked up at Danny. “Did you need these or should I hold onto them?”

  “I’ll take the missing items list to write up the report and then I’ll return it,” Danny replied, approaching. He reached out and took the list from her, careful to avoid touching her hand again.

  Kat set the pad and pen aside and picked up her cell phone. “Can you please stay until the locksmith comes? I’d rather not be alone with him, if I can help it. But if you have to go…”

  “Oh, I’m staying. And when he leaves, I’m taking you home with me.” Danny folded up the list, tucked it into his pants pocket, and dropped his hands on his hips.

  He looked down at Kat to find her gaping up at him, brows high above her glasses.

  She leaned forward. “What’s that?”

  Danny shrugged. “What?”

  “What did you just say? About taking me home…with you?”

  “Exactly what you said I said. I’m taking you to my place.”

  Danny hadn’t planned on saying it, let alone actually doing it. But now that he had said it, Danny knew it was the only possible outcome. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was leaving Kat here alone.

  “Why would I go home with you?” Kat asked. “Once the locksmith changes the lock, I’ll be perfectly safe here.”

  “Because you are justifiably freaked out. I can see it in your face. You’ll be up all night, jumping at every little noise and I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting a phone call from you around 3 a.m., anyway, so you might as well come with me now.” Danny gestured for Kat to hand him her phone. She refused, so he pulled out his own and Googled locksmiths. “That is, of course, unless you want to call one of your sisters, your father, or Nathan.” Danny lifted a shoulder. “Your choice.”

  Danny glanced up to see a thousand emotions flit across her beautiful face.

  Kat was fiercely independent, tough-as-nails, and had a backbone of steel, so Danny knew his bossy declaration had rubbed her the wrong way.

  It wasn’t rubbing him completely right, either, but he couldn’t seem to help himself.

  “I’ll go stay with a sister and say I was lonely with Fi gone,” Kat declared.

  Danny snorted. “And you think they’re gonna buy that for a second? Come on, Kat. Give your sisters some credit. They’ll be onto you in five seconds flat. I couldn’t care less if they know what happened, but you seemed hell-bent on not dealing with that tonight.”

  “I could go stay at a hotel.”

  Danny shook his head. “Nope. I don’t want you alone. Not right now. The reality of the situation is going to freak you the fuck out in a few hours and I don’t want you sitting alone in a hotel room when it does.”

  Kat huffed as she pushed to her feet, hands finding her hips. “Well, I don’t remember asking you what you wanted. I’m a grown woman and I can do whatever the hell I want – no permission from you required.”

  She went to walk around him, but Danny stepped in her way, blocking her. He towered over her, loving his twelve-inch height advantage.

  Kat was a tough little thing, but he was bigger. And, in a battle of the bodies, bigger almost always won.

  “You made yourself my responsibility the minute you called me and, as my re
sponsibility, you’re coming with me. Period.”

  If she’d been any angrier, Kat’s head would have exploded. Her mouth dropped open, her hazel eyes narrowed, and her fists balled at her sides.

  Danny smiled genially and extended his phone to her. “Or, you can call your family. I’d be happy to drop you off at any of their houses.”

  Kat’s eyes widened. “You are bullying me.”

  Danny shrugged again. “If that’s what you want to call it. I prefer to think of it as looking out for a friend, but if phrasing it that way makes accepting my help easier, then feel free to call it whatever you’d like.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I won’t go.”

  “Then I’ll throw you over my shoulder and we’ll play it that way,” Danny said. “What do you weigh, about a hundred pounds?” Danny scoffed. “I’d have to use two fingers.”

  An indignant, strangled noise emanated from her lips. “How dare you! Who do you think you are, you arrogant, condescending thug!”

  Danny agreed with her completely; he was being an arrogant, condescending thug.

  And he had no idea where this was shit was coming from.

  His domineering behavior couldn’t be explained away as an altruistic desire to keep Kat safe and give her peace of mind. If that’s all he’d wanted to do, Danny could have easily checked her into a really nice hotel, made sure she locked the door behind him, and headed home with a clear conscience he’d done the best he could. If she did freak out in a few hours, Kat could call him and he’d stay up all night on the phone with her or drive over there and keep her company.

  All stuff he could have done.

  But all stuff he wasn’t going to do.

  Danny had never pulled this macho BS with anyone before and was as shocked as Kat was by his behavior. But the need to spend more time with her – to be closer to her, to protect her – was so strong it was clouding Danny’s ability to think clearly. That strange possessive feeling he’d had while staring at her bed was still flooding his body and all Danny could think about was having her.

  Any way possible.

  Every way possible.

  Even though she clearly has no interest in you that way.