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by LSI |
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Chapters: Prologue 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18
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Chapter Two “Sara!” Blake had followed her out. Damn! She wasn’t prepared for this. Hadn’t she had enough emotional turmoil in the past months? When was life supposed to get back to normal? ‘Whatever
normal is,’ she thought sarcastically.
Pre-Grissom? Pre-Vegas? Yeah…Those are safe bets. Ignoring
his cry, she shoved her field kit in the back of the Tahoe and slammed
the rear hatch shut. Heck!
Blake didn’t even fit into the ‘emotional turmoil’
category. They’d dated
back in So when he caught up with her, she knew that his wounded expression was as false as the idea that one could leave Vegas a winner. “Hey, Princess,” he said hoarsely, “are you trying to avoid me?” Hearing his familiar endearment again brought the mortification she’d felt only minutes ago back to the surface. She didn’t even try to be civil. “What the hell are you doing here, Blake?” He smiled then, baring a perfect row of white teeth. “Still as feisty, I see, Princess,” he said smoothly, his sapphire eyes glinting in amusement. “Would you stop it? I can’t believe you called me that in there!” He just shrugged. “In front of your boss and mine, you mean?” “Yes, that’s what I mean!” A quick look at Grissom had met with his disapproval. Brass…well, Brass had just been his usual straight-faced, mildly interested self. She’d felt a burning heat rise in her face and couldn’t wait to get out of there before Blake further embarrassed her. To no one in particular, she’d said that she needed to get to the lab, and left the hotel in a hurry. It was so like him to throw protocol to the wind. Not a care in the world Blake. Live and let live Blake. Easy going Blake. It used to be what she liked most about him, but tonight, she hadn’t found his behavior amusing. “I really do need to get back to the lab.” She went to turn away, but his light grip on her arm stopped her. “What do you want, Blake?” “I just want to talk to you.” “About the case?” “Actually, no,” he said casually, releasing her arm. “Then I don’t think this is the time or place.” She glanced back at the MGM Grand to make her point, and was surprised to find Grissom standing outside the main doors, watching them. She wondered if he needed to talk to her before she left. Blake’s gaze followed hers and they both watched as Brass joined Grissom; after a brief exchange the men took off in opposite directions to their vehicles. “So this is the guy you dumped me for.” “Excuse me?” “One phone call and it’s bye-bye Blake,” he said giving a great performance of an injured lover. “It’s not quite how it happened and, Blake, we’re not having this discussion here.” “Fine, then have breakfast with me later,” he said without missing a beat. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Besides, Grissom asked me to work overtime so we can go to the ranch. Come to think of it, you’ll probably have to go too." “Okay. Then how about dinner?” “No, Blake.” “Ahhh… c’mon Sara, have dinner with me,” he pleaded. Then as another thought suddenly struck him, he frowned. “You’re not seeing anyone, are you? “No,” she answered simply, sadly. “Then let’s have dinner…see what happens. We used to have a good time together in San Fran, didn’t we?” She’d
stopped listening after ‘see what happens.’
Those words, the ones she’d spoken to Grissom not that long ago
only to receive his emphatic ‘no’, gave her pause.
Who was she saving herself for anyway?
She really did like Blake—had liked Blake when they’d dated
back in Had
she been able to predict the events of the next three years, she
wondered if she would have been as eager to leave Or known how it felt to love someone so much that nothing else mattered. As much as she was hurting right now, she couldn’t regret that. But she did need to move on, and she wasn’t doing a good job of it on her own. She was only too aware that she was already making excuses for Grissom’s behavior; and, what was that revelation about her elephant collection if not another attempt to further a personal relationship with him? She didn’t know if she would ever be able to achieve the level of detachment she’d need in order to regard him as nothing more than a mentor again, but she had to try. “What do you say? Is it a date?” Blake asked now, softly, charmingly, the twinkle in his deep sapphire eyes reminding her how difficult to resist he could be when he turned on the charm. Despite herself, she smiled. What could it hurt? A diversion such as Blake might be exactly what she needed to help her forget another set of blue eyes, and that would be a step in the right direction. “If agreeing to eat with you gets me and this evidence back to the lab quicker,” she finally said, “then okay, but only on one condition: I will not tolerate personal stuff at work. I still can’t believe you called me ‘Princess’ in there.” Blake laughed. “You haven’t changed. Okay… so noted.” BACK AT THE LAB, Sara logged in the evidence and went looking for Greg. She found him in the break room, feet up on the table with a magazine in his lap, slurping on a noodle from a cardboard container. “Hey,” she said as she headed for the coffee pot. “Hey, Sara. I heard about the Elsa case.” He stood and threw his empty container in a trash bin. “Elsa?” “The lion… or lioness in the movies,” said Greg, coming to stand beside her as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “Well this is definitely a male, so you’ll have to find another name for this case. I left a sample of the lion’s blood on your desk. You’ll have to send it to the veterinary lab for processing.” “What are you looking for?” “Anything that would explain the attack and why the lion tried to eat our victim.” “Ouch!” he grimaced. Then he smiled wickedly at her. “I, uh, also heard about the new detective,” he said slyly. That caught her attention. Incredulously, she said, “What’s with this place? News travels faster than lightning! Doesn’t anybody have a life?” “Well, maybe not as interesting as yours. At one time, there was Grissom…” Sara scowled at him. “I think.” He shrugged. “Then, there’s ‘Hank’,” he emphasized his name like there was something amusing about it. “And now, there’s this new detective… what’s his name? Blake?” he said in much the same tone he’d pronounced Hank’s name. “So Sara, please tell me what they’ve got that I don’t got?” She leaned against the counter, facing him, and smiled as she took a sip of the hot brew. She didn’t answer. “Well maybe except for Grissom,” Greg continued. “We’re so much alike—“ “Uh! You and Grissom alike?” she almost choked. “Well, yeah. Haven’t you noticed?” “No, Greggo, I haven’t. But dream on.” “Two science geeks of superior intelligence…good looking,” he said, conspicuously leaning into her. “At least that’s what the ladies tell me. I’m younger, but other than that, I think we’re mirror images of each other.” She chuckled. “I wonder what Grissom would have to say about that.” “What I’d have to say about what?” Grissom surprised them both with his quick entrance. Sara pushed away from the counter to make room for him at the coffee pot. She pursed her lips at Greg, her eyes challenging him to repeat what he’d just said. “I was just asking Sara about her ex-boyfriend.” “Ex-boyfriend?” Grissom said concentrating on the task of pouring coffee. “The new detective. I was just wondering what he’s got that guys like us don’t got.” Grissom arched his brow. “Guys like us?” “Yeah… you know,” he lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Science geeks.” “Oh.” Greg beamed at Grissom’s silent acknowledgment that they were somehow cut from the same cloth. He turned to Sara with an ‘I told you so’ look on his face. She rolled her eyes and headed for the door. “Hey, Sara…you didn’t give me an answer,” he called after her. She stopped and faced the men again. If Grissom was as interested as Greg in her answer, he did a good job of pretending otherwise. He was leaning against the counter, eyes downcast and absently sipping on his coffee. She was certain he had much more pressing matters on his mind. Greg, on the other hand, stood there expectantly, ears perked, with that annoying little smirk on his face. He was waiting for her to speak. He
and Grissom alike! Yeah
right. She gave his question a moment’s consideration. “There is no one answer, Greg,” she finally said truthfully, avoiding another glance at Grissom. There would be one answer for Greg and quite a different one for Grissom, but since he’d insisted on including both of them in his question, well... “That’s it? What kind of answer is that?” “The only one you’re going to get. Hey, why don’t you concentrate on getting me some answers instead? I need that blood analyzed a.s.a.p.” Greg’s face fell. Sara smiled and left the room.
GIL HADN’T REALIZED how much he wanted to hear Sara’s response until she’d given it. He’d gone to great lengths to appear uninterested in her conversation with Greg, but there wasn’t much he missed where Sara Sidle was concerned. And that irritated him. He wasn’t blind to her appeal. He wasn’t even denying it anymore. He’d told her he didn’t know what to do about it, but he suspected she’d misunderstood what he meant. There was no question in his mind that she had captivated him on a level that no other woman ever had. If his body’s response to her when she was near him wasn’t enough of an indication of that, the way his entire being sprang to attention whenever another male got too close to her, was. But that didn’t make a romantic relationship with her right. He was too old for her and he was her supervisor—two very good reasons why he wished those feelings would just go away. What he’d yet to figure out was how to make that happen. For months he’d avoided her as much as possible, pursued another woman, willed himself to not think about her, to stop wondering if she was alone or with that EMT of hers. He’d fought a monumental internal battle, and just when he thought he’d succeeded in dousing that flame, another, accidental one, had ignited it all over again. When he’d found her sitting on the curb, alone and injured by the explosion in the lab, chunks of the wall he’d erected between them had come tumbling down. He’d been trying to rebuild it ever since. He managed a glance in her direction for the first time since they’d left the lab. She was uncharacteristically quiet and still in the passenger seat of the Tahoe. He wondered what she was thinking. He’d noticed a change in her tonight. Other than their brief exchange over the glass elephant, she’d been distant, cold, even, especially with him. She’d been laughing with Greg in the break room, but the laughter had died on her lips the moment he’d walked in. And she hadn’t said one word to him beyond the necessary, since. Was she erecting walls of her own? He almost hoped she was. She hadn’t made it easy for him to hold on to his. Perhaps if they both worked toward a common goal, they’d have a better chance of success. He searched his mind for something—anything—to say that would break the oppressive silence that filled the cab. “Greg wasn’t very happy with your answer earlier,” he finally said softly. Neither was he, but he wasn’t about to reveal that. Although cryptic answers were his specialty, he hadn’t been able to decipher hers. She finally looked at him. The cold emptiness in her eyes almost made him flinch. His smile died a slow death. When she answered, her voice lacked its trademark sweetness and punch. It sounded tired…resigned. “I don’t know why he’s still asking me that. You’d think after all this time he’d…give up.” She turned abruptly to look at the passing scenery as they approached the farm. He almost hadn’t caught her last words, but the sadness in her voice was unmistakable. It broke his heart. What has happened to her? Then, a ridiculously handsome face came to mind. He wondered if their new detective had anything to do with her mood. If that guy did anything to hurt her, he vowed tightening his grip on the steering wheel, he would have his hide. Garrison was already there when they pulled in the long narrow drive up to the farm. A quick glance at Sara confirmed that she’d noticed him as well. “Princess?” Gil attempted clumsily, wanting more information. When she didn’t respond, he added, not as casually as he would have liked, “What’s your relationship with him?” Her sugary-sweet smile dripped with scorn. “Private.” She barely waited for the Tahoe to come to a complete stop before climbing out. The early morning sun caught her hair, lightening it to a golden hue. “Hey, Blake,” he heard her say pleasantly enough. “Hey, Sara. About time you get here.” Blake winked, and she smiled. Gil didn’t recognize the sensation that gripped his gut just then. But he sensed he’d lost something precious.
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