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“I’m headed out. Let me know if you need anything. Ivan is outside. He should be ready to take you both back to the city.” He leaves the small office we use at the warehouse, and I’m alone with my thoughts. All focused on one name.
Kate.
I dial Ivan and pace the room.
“Da. Boss.”
“Ivan, I’m going to take one of the SUVs out back; I will be driving. No security.”
“Sir, I don’t think—” Ivan fumbles out. I know he is doing his job. I never go without security, but this time it’s nonnegotiable.
“No security, Ivan.”
“Yes. Pakhan.”
I hang up with Ivan and head to the kitchen. At the door, I see Kate sitting and spinning an empty water bottle. Her face is staring at the center of the table. An intense focus furrows her brow, and a glimmer of emotion hovers over her face. I stand there, watching her. I can’t help but wonder if she enjoyed seeing the warehouse today and meeting more of my men. Though, deep down, I want to know if she enjoyed being with me. I swallow, trying to grapple with these weak emotions. I can’t want anything from Kate. I shouldn’t.
Her eyes come up and meet mine. “Hi, what were you thinking about right then?” I ask, wanting to know what provoked that emotion on her face.
I want to know more about her.
I know exactly when she decides to avoid telling me and turns the conversation to something else. She doesn’t want to share her thoughts. Her mention of Dr. Smith’s office and her volunteering near here pushes at me. When she gets up to join me, I try to catch that glimmer of emotion in her eyes once more, but it vanishes.
Back outside the warehouse, a black SUV is parked, keys inside, waiting for me. I guide Kate to the passenger side door and open it for her before she slides in.
“Where’s Ivan?” she asks. There is no fear there, only curiosity.
“I gave him the night off, figured I’d drive us back. I want to stop somewhere first, though.”
I pull out onto the road, trying to remember the direction Kate pointed when she referenced her volunteer hours around here.
“Where is Dr. Smith’s office?”
Her eyes widen, and she fidgets with her fingers.
“Oh … umm, it’s down this way, about five miles. But I haven’t seen him in a long time; we don’t have to stop by there.”
She is adorably flustered, and I mentally roll eyes at myself for noticing.
“I want to,” I say. And it’s true, too. I want to see Dr. Smith’s office. The place where she used to volunteer and give her time. Is it possible to be envious of the time she gave that place?
I finally find the small clinic and laugh at myself for how close Kate was to this warehouse all this time. A sign outside the small, pastel green building reads Dr. Smith’s Veterinary Clinic, and I raise my brows. Kate’s gone quiet, and when we pull into a parking spot she blurts, “Wait—we’re getting out?”
“Yes, Kate.”
I open the car door and march around to her side. Opening the door, I see she hasn’t taken her seatbelt off, and I reach in to release it. My arms graze her chest, my mouth close to hers, but she doesn’t register it. She’s staring at the building, face gone ashen. I’m wrestling with trying to understand. She sounded happy when we first arrived about being close by to a place she had volunteered so much of her time; why would she be fearful now?
“Kate,” I whisper. It’s not loud, but she jumps at the sound of my voice and steps out of the car.
“I’m sorry,” she offers, “it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”
“Do you not want to go in?”
“I—I do.” She chews on her lip, arms folded in front of her. Her gaze flicks to the building and back before she decides to move.
Her steps are quick to the door, and when she steps through, a small bell rings. The clinic’s walls are covered in framed photographs of people’s pets and information posters. The soft lighting adds a peace to the environment. A young man is behind the reception desk, and he offers Kate a smile before doing a double take.
“Kate? Is that you?” the receptionist asks and I find myself stepping closer to her.
