Her Shallow Grave (Detectives Kane and Alton)

Zoe held up one finger and searched her backpack. She held up a book. “Yeah, I know all about the murders. It adds to the excitement of living here.”

“You’re one tough cookie. Why don’t you eat your meal and then come over to see me?” He gave her a slow smile. “I’ll give you a ride into town. I’ll show you how to get a free meal and somewhere to stay without having to pay with sex.”

“How do I know I’ll be safe with you?” Zoe raised an eyebrow. “The driver seemed harmless enough.”

“Because you can.” He stood and walked away.

Intrigued, Zoe peered at his colors. In the dim light, she hadn’t been able to read any of the jackets of the other members of his club. She heaved a sigh of relief at the name Devout Sons surrounding a silver cross on his back. Someone must be watching over her. It had to be a sign of better things to come. After traveling all this way, she’d walked into a biker bar and the first person she’d met belonged to a Christian MC. Grinning to herself, she stared after him. “Maybe for once in my life something is going to turn out right.”

Sixteen

Thursday

It was a little after six when Jenna opened the front door to Kane. Snow was falling in a curtain and the white flakes had dusted Kane and Duke in their dash from the truck to her front porch. Outside, the winter wonderland cast an eerie light in the early morning dawn. “Come here, Duke.”

Jenna toweled down Duke and dried his feet before he trekked snow all through the house. She turned to speak to Kane. “Morning.”

“I noticed you didn’t say, ‘Good.’” Kane kicked off his boots in the mudroom by the front door and removed two layers of clothing before following her into the family room. “I bet this is going to be the coldest winter on record.”

Jenna grinned at him. “You know if this was Scotland, they’d tell you, ‘It isn’t cold, you’re just wearing the wrong clothes.’”

“If I bundled up any more, I wouldn’t be able to bend my arms.” He flashed her a white grin. “Haven’t you noticed the people walking around town?” He held his arms out to the side and waddled a few steps to demonstrate. “We’re all starting to look like penguins.”

Jenna’s gaze slid over his red nose and she nodded. “Yeah but you need to keep your beak warm. I have a spare scarf you can use.” When he raised one eyebrow and just stared at her, she snorted in amusement. “It’s black, Dave, and take it, you look frozen to the bone.” He’d cleared the driveway and after collecting the horses the previous evening, had insisted he tend them alone this morning. “I’ll help you with the horses in the mornings. It’s way too much extra chores for you to do during an investigation. Did you get any sleep at all?”

“Yeah but I need a heavy workout to warm up my muscles.” Kane’s lips twitched up at the corners. “You planning on joining me today?” He bent to scratch the ears of Pumpkin, Jenna’s black cat, curled up on the sofa.

Pleased to see his interaction with her latest pet, Jenna nodded. “Yeah, I’ll meet you down there. I’ll just put on a fresh pot of coffee and get changed.”

Before Jenna opened the door to the gym, she heard the thwacks as Kane kicked and punched the bag. As usual, Kane warmed up with a routine that would have her exhausted before she started. She moved into the room and started her stretching routine, watching him spin and kick, punch and duck, sending the heavy sand-filled bag swinging violently. He moved fluidly and she recalled how he’d been when they first met. The blinding incapacitating headaches from the plate in his head had been his secret misery, but she’d been there to help him recover from a recent gunshot wound to the head and smashed kneecap. To see him fully recovered and moving so well make her eyes well up.

“What?” Kane turned and looked at her enquiringly. “Is there anything wrong?”

Jenna shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong.”

“You look sad.” Kane removed his gloves and tossed them onto a bench. “Remembering family?” He moved onto the mat and faced her.

“No, and I wasn’t feeling sad.” Jenna spun and aimed a kick at his chest, laughing when he deflected it. “I was just remembering you in a wheelchair and seeing you move so well now, it’s kinda nice.”

“I’m almost back to my peak is all.” Kane shrugged. “It took more time to recover than I imagined.”

“Good, then don’t hold back today. I need a good workout.” She ducked a punch and went to sweep his legs but he’d moved out of reach. “Dammit, stand still so I can hit you.”

“Really?” Kane chuckled and in one slick move took her down to the mat and rolled over. “There. I’m flat on my back.”

Winded, Jenna tried to suck air back into her lungs and rolled away jumping to her feet. Hands raised in combat stance, she moved toward him. “Get up.”

“You come down here.” Kane rolled toward her and took out her legs again.

Angry, Jenna glared at him. They’d never sparred like this before, usually it was practically non-contact—a punch and deflect, take each other down, disarm and restrain type of workout. This was different. “What is this, Dave? This isn’t a workout—this is different.”

“You told me not to hold back.” Kane rolled over onto his elbows and smiled down at her, mischief sparkling in his blue eyes. “I’ve been spending a few hours a week over at Rowley’s dojo with his sensei. I needed to bring my old skills back on line and increase my speed.” He brushed a hair from her cheek and tucked it behind one ear.

The move had become so natural, in the same casual way he held her hand or put his arm around her when they were off-duty. The closeness they had often confused Jenna. The slow pace he wanted was nothing she’d experienced before but if friendship was all he had to give her right now, she could wait. She ignored the strange fluttering in her stomach and snorted. “Oh really?”

“Yes, really.” He gave her a puzzled look. “Is that a problem?”

They all took a few hours from work each week to go down to the range to practice shooting and he had been going more often than usual between cases. “No, of course not, but you’ve never mentioned it before. So all those visits to the rifle range were really visits to the dojo?”