Shelby looked at the clock for what seemed like the tenth time in the last five minutes and felt a pang of disappointment. It was 4:59 and Kris still hadn't returned. It seemed fairly obvious that her interest in having the tall woman stay with her certainly wasn't shared by her partner. Did you really expect it to be? Shelby shook her head. No. But it would've been nice...
Her thoughts were interrupted as Kris suddenly walked in and a warm smile covered her face. Finding herself tongue-tied, she simply said, "Hi." Oh, that was real original.
Kris was unable to stop an answering smile from appearing. Shelby was just so sweet. "Hi yourself. Ready?"
Shelby nodded and quickly retrieved her purse. "Am I ever! It's been a long day."
"What kind of car do you have?"
"A red Mercury Sable."
"What row are you in?"
"C, about halfway down."
"I'm driving a blue Buick Regal. I found a place in A. Wait until you see me in your rearview before heading for the parkway." Kris knew her tail would most likely be on the job. "One more thing. If you don't see me, don't worry about it. I'll be around."
"Okay." Shelby was just about to walk out the door when she stopped and turned to face Kris. "Do we have time to stop at the grocery store? What do you like to eat?"
Although her face remained impassive, Kris' was unaccountably pleased by Shelby's thoughtfulness. "It's not a good idea since we're not riding together. Whatever you have is fine."
Shelby wanted Kris to feel comfortable, and that included having things she liked too. "How about tomorrow?"
Grinning inwardly at Shelby's tenacity, Kris agreed. "Sure." She was rewarded with a sunny smile before they split up for different parking lanes.
Kris' muscles unobtrusively tensed and she walked outside in a full state of alertness, her senses fully extended and her demeanor predatory. She surveyed the parking lot in a deceptively casual manner, never taking her eyes off Shelby until the analyst was settled in her car and had begun to back out of her parking place. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she quickly moved to her own car and pulled into place behind the red Sable a couple of minutes later.
Just as Kris had suspected he would, her tail picked her up on the parkway. She smiled grimly. Soon, I'll either know who you are or you'll be dead. Kris turned off on the same exit she had the previous evening and drove back to the Sheraton. After parking her car in the underground garage, she quickly made her way to her room and changed into the jeans and pullover top she'd purposely left behind.
Kris took the metal fire escape to the second floor and, rather than lowering it to the cement below, she grasped the metal rungs with her hands and swung herself down until she could easily jump to the ground. She cut through an adjoining building, exiting the rear door and casually walking up the side street to a dark green Lexus. Ten minutes later, the operative arrived at Shelby's apartment complex minus one tail.
Shelby knew Kris had turned off back on the parkway, but had been surprised when she got to her apartment and the operative still hadn't reappeared. She gave up trying to guess what Kris was doing this time, glad to have the opportunity to make her bed and pick up the bathroom.
When she opened the door, the kitten came running and meowing. Shelby picked it up, smiling as she cuddled it. "Bet you're hungry." She carried her into the kitchen and set her down as she opened a small can of kitten food and poured it into the orphan's dish before quickly making her way to the bedroom. Shelby never had a chance to finish before a knock sounded at the door. "Just a minute."
She quickly threw her towels in the hamper before opening the door. And she froze, staring at the visage in her doorway, before retreating into the apartment.
"You didn't even look to see who it was!" Blue was in full intimidation mode and knew she was scaring Shelby, but the analyst needed to be called to task on this.
"I knew you were coming..."
Blue snapped, "Did you know it was me?"
"I made a mistake, okay?" Shelby was struggling with a combination of fear and anger. What she had done was careless, but she felt like Kris was overreacting, and the operative was downright scary. At the same time she was crushed that she had appeared inept. "It won't happen again."
"Make sure it doesn't." Kris set down her overnight bag. She'd left the remainder of her clothes in the car, easily accessible if she needed them.
Shelby retreated to her bedroom and closed the door. Yes, what she had done was stupid, but it wasn't like she lived some cloak and dagger lifestyle, either. And when in the heck did she have time to change into jeans? Well, I sure didn't make any points with her. But she didn't have to be such a bitch, either. The analyst squared her shoulders. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, so let me see if we can start all over again.
Kris sank down onto the couch and lowered her head into her hands. Why did I do that? That was mean. I could have nicely explained the danger to her. In a moment of total honesty, Kris acknowledged, I did it to push her away. I know it was unfair. She doesn't deserve to be treated like that. It shouldn't matter to me, this is just a job, but it does. And that's the whole problem. I've always been able to maintain a distance when I needed to and I'm having a big problem doing that with her. There's something about her...
The operative heard the bedroom door open and quickly stood up. She gazed around the apartment, taking in the comfortable, homey décor. The carpet was buff and the overstuffed couch and matching chair were a blend of very light mauves, blues, and teals intricately woven into a beige background. There was a pair of mauve tinted glass lamps with an attractive flower painted on the base centered on end tables at opposite sides of the couch. A matching heavy oak coffee table set in front of the couch. Kris' perusal was interrupted by Shelby's voice.
"Want something to drink?"
Kris wanted to apologize, to say something light, anything, but the words weren't there. "Do you have any Coke?"
"Diet okay?"
Shelby chuckled at the look on Kris' face. "Guess that's a no. How about ginger ale."
"Sounds good."
Kris took the can from Shelby. "Do I get a tour?"
"Sure, but why don't you just sit down and relax for a few. I want to change clothes. You already did. How did you manage that?
"I have many skills."
Shelby chuckled at the cryptic comment. "I'll bet you do. Be right back."
"Take your time." Kris leaned back against the couch, and quirked a half-smile. "I'm not going anywhere." She grinned, listening to Shelby chuckle as she walked away.
She resumed her perusal of the small apartment, her eyes taking in an open laptop on one end of the dining room table with a few papers lying next to it and a vase of artificial flowers pushed off to the side. On one wall, there was a bookcase with glass doors and on the opposite wall a patio door led to a large balcony. Kris crossed the room, heading toward the balcony, when the bookcase caught her attention as she passed. Stopping, she gazed at the contents curiously.
It contained a small collection of mystical creatures. Leprechauns, fairies and elves surrounded a family of unicorns. On the shelf below, a statue of Pegasus with his wings fully extended as he reared was facing an intricately painted dragon with fire spewing forth from its mouth. A few of the fairies and elves looked old and Kris wondered how Shelby had come to develop an interest in the magical creatures of fairy tales and myths.