The Unseen Enemy Series

Chapter 70

Jim turned from the counter, their coffees in his hands, and he looked across the busy room at Kat. As always, she was almost totally motionless and still. He’d never met anyone with the ability to remove herself so completely from a room that she was still physically in. Kat was an expert at disappearing and hiding in plain sight, and Jim had wondered more than once how she’d perfected that skill. And why.

Jim knew that he was a suspicious bastard and that he saw enemies and dangers everywhere, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something about Kat was just… off. Like she wasn’t being totally straight with anybody, not even her friends. Like she put lots of thought into every single word she said; like she weighed and measured every syllable before uttering a peep. She was holding back, he truly believed, and Jim wanted to shake her up by just coming straight out and asking her what she was hiding.

But as someone holding onto his own secrets and with things he preferred to not discuss, he didn’t think he really had any right to push anyone else to disclose anything. So, he bided his time and watched. Maybe one day she’d slip up, and he’d get some sense of what was going on with her. Until then, he could wait.

Kat looked up as Jim came back to the table. She smiled and took her coffee. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” He sat down and took a sip of his own coffee. “So, listen. I wanted to come and tell you about Liv.”

Kat stared at him, a feeling of dread moving through her chest. “What’s wrong? Is she OK?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, she is. But she had a bad scare last night, and a few things have come out since. She asked me to come and talk to you, since she’s at Dallas’ place right now, going over everything with him.”

Kat fought to stay calm. “OK…”

As Jim told her about Liv’s stalker, Kat felt the color drain from her face. Her hands trembled so much that she couldn’t bring her cup to her mouth, so she just clutched it tightly, grateful for the warmth on her chilled fingers. The thought that Liv had been threatened for months scared her; knowing that whoever it was had gotten as far as Liv’s living room terrified her. Kat knew exactly how frightened Liv must have been the night before – Kat knew all about being trapped in a bathroom with a man just outside it intent on harming her.

Jim looked at Kat, worried. She was pale and shaking and seemed to almost be on the verge of passing out. Slowly, he reached out and touched her hand. She jumped and pulled it away, but not before he’d felt how cold it was.

“Kat?” he said. “You OK?”

She nodded and tucked her hair behind her ears. “Yeah… just freaked out for Liv.”

Jim believed that she was, but he didn’t believe that was the whole story. “OK,” he said, then hesitated. He wanted to ask her what else was going through that steel trap of a mind of hers, but he wasn’t sure how to broach the subject.

Not now, man. She has to go back to work in a few minutes, and I get the feeling this is a much, much longer conversation.

Kat tried to focus. “Do Emma and Jenny know?”

“Liv told Emma this morning, over at Dean’s place. And Chris is at the restaurant telling Jenny right now.”

She managed a feeble grin. “So you guys split up the tasks, huh? And I guess you drew the short straw?”

He laughed, and despite her shock and horror, she couldn’t help but smile at him; his laugh was even rarer than his smile, and she always loved to hear it.

“You know it, sweetheart,” he said.