"Keep up, Mr. Radner," Cat called back behind her, turning her head for just a second to stare back at the heaving, sodden mass of man that was lying on the pavement behind her. He groaned, yanking a white handkerchief from the pocket of his jogging shorts.
"I give up." He panted and forced himself to sit up, his head between his legs. "You win."
"This isn't about winning, Mr. Radner." She couldn't keep the satisfaction out of her voice. "This is about making you worthy of running King of Hearts. It's something I believe in, something I've put one hundred percent of myself in. I would have anyone who wants to be part of it do the same thing."
"Just so you can go and beat up on cheating husbands?" He looked up when he felt her stand in front of him and glared down at him.
"You'd know about cheating husbands, wouldn't you, Mr. Radner."
He stared up at her for a moment, and she could see the confusion in his eyes.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Nothing. Now get up and let's go, we have another two miles to go." They'd already ran twelve, two more than she usually did but she was determined to make him cry uncle and leave the firm. "Then we can go to the gym and do some sparring."
"Sparring? You mean as in hitting each other?"
"Yes, it's the only way you can get used to it." He'd have a lot to get used to, she vowed silently. He was going to feel every bit of pain that she'd inflicted on other cheaters. Maybe when he was flat on his back on the mat, maybe then she'd tell him she knew he was married.
She turned away as he held out his hand for her to help him up and began to jog down the path again, her sweat soaked sports bra cupping her firm breasts, her short running shorts showing off her tan thighs and the muscles that pumped in her legs. She ran like a long legged gazelle, all grace and beauty, seemingly effortless as her feet glided on the pavement.
Erich glared after her. Then he got up, shoved the handkerchief back in his pocket and took off after her... again. He was beginning to regret wanting to see her again.
She'd been on his mind almost constantly since the night they'd spent together. If he hadn't gotten the news the next morning, the news that had changed his life, he had planned to call her and ask her out to dinner.
But he'd gotten the call from his brother's attorney, telling him of the car accident that had taken his brother and sister-in-law's lives. Erich had been particularly close to his brother, Alex, partly because they were close to the same age but mostly because Erich had almost raised his brother when their mother had committed suicide at the age of thirty-two. Their father had left her for another woman and she hadn't been able to cope on her own.
So in a fit of depression, she'd taken a handful of sleeping pills, washing them down with a bottle of vodka while her sons were at school. Erich had been the first one in the door and he'd found his mother, her body cold, vomit on the floor next to her.
After that, they'd been put in the foster care system. They'd gotten lucky and had been placed with a family who could take both the two boys so they weren't split up.
Alex had a hard time dealing with his mother's death. It caused him to have horrible nightmares where his mother looked up, her face swollen and bloated and called his name.
He'd taken care of Alex, protected him from the bullies and the pitfalls of being in the system. He'd let his brother crawl into his bed in the middle of the night when the dreams became too much to handle on his own.
His car had lost control on the interstate late at night. The accident had killed both of them instantly as it blew up into a fiery inferno after striking a concrete abutment. They'd left four children orphaned, and had named him their guardian. The kids took up so much of his time and deserved more than being pulled from one old house to another. They'd changed his life.
"Mr. Radner, are you coming or shall I call you a cab?" Cat voice yanked him out of his thoughts. He glared at her for an instant and a picture grew in his head. He could imagine how it would feel to wrap his hands around her throat. He would laugh in her face as hers turned red and then blue. With a sigh, he shook that pleasant thought away and nodded and stepped up his pace even as he wondered if he was too young to have a coronary.
"Are you doing this on purpose?"
"Doing what?" Her face was the picture of innocence.
"Nothing, just nothing." He refused to look her way. If he had, he'd have seen a very satisfied smile upon her face, almost like the cat that ate the cream.
"Oh come on, Mr. Radner. You told me that you were in shape. A little jog through the beautiful morning air won't kill you."
"I'm not so sure of that. I'm not sure I'd call this 'a little jog'."
They ran for a while longer, the only sound his labored breathing then she turned them toward the park gate. Her small sports car was parked next to his truck, the name of his construction firm emblazoned across the side.
"Follow me to the gym." She unlocked her door and slid into the soft leather of the car seat. He nodded and hung onto the side mirror of his truck. He bent slightly to catch his breath. He watched as she zipped out of her parking spot and headed toward the exit to the park.
"You must have really pissed her off something fierce." The voice was at his elbow and he glanced up to see an elderly man. The man stood close to him and was dressed in tattered but clean clothing. There was an air about him, a demeanor was that of a person who had known the better things in life.
"What do you mean?" Erich stood up straight and turned to face the man.
"In all the years I've watched her jog in this park, she's never ran anyone like she did you today. So what did you do?"
"I'm still trying to figure that out. But once I do, you'll be the second to know." He held out his hand and shook the older man's hand. Then he unlocked his truck door and climbed in. He nodded at the old man before backing away from his spot.
Cat waited for him when he came out of the locker room. He was wearing fresh gym clothes and he had showered before he'd come out. He had a feeling he'd need another before she was through with him today.
"It's about time. You know, I have other things I could be doing if you don't want to take this training seriously."
"Such as?" He was cool and calm but she wasn't going to push him around.
"Mr. Radner, my clients are numerous for both Heart Investigations and King of Hearts. If you are making light of my skills, perhaps I should just tender my resignation." Cat's body was held so tightly she almost seemed to vibrate.
"No, definitely not." Erich put his hands up as if to placate the prickly Cat. "I've met some of the men that you've dealt with in King of Hearts. I was impressed by the change in them."
"Well, when a woman with a gun threatens to shoot off your balls if you don't take her seriously, most men seem to go through a religious experience." She chuckled as she thought of how many men who had called out to the deity as she held their balls in a grip of iron.
"I can believe it. But what do you do for Heart Investigations?"
Cat smiled and thought of the case that she was sure she was going to wrap up this evening "I'm an investigator, Mr. Radner. I investigate."
"What? What kind of cases?"
She looked up and noted the sharp tone of his voice. "I've been successful on multiple types of cases, Mr. Radner. I do everything. I've found lost dogs as well as the mundane cheating husbands. In Heart Investigations, we have to be ready for any cases. I'm skilled at recovering lost and stolen art and can find lost people. Why do you ask?"
Erich thought of the police report he'd read about his brother's accident. It had been a clear night, nothing and no one on the roadways that would cause their accident.
His brother's blood alcohol level had been so low as to be nonexistent. Alex was a safe driver, especially with his wife in the car. He'd loved Marlie more than he'd loved his own life. He wouldn't do anything that would put her in danger.
Then there'd been the report on the car. Erich knew for a fact that Alex had taken the car in for a tune up the morning of the accident. It had been their sixth anniversary and he wanted to take Marlie away for a couple of days to have time alone with her. The report had stated that the brake fluid was low, which while it wouldn't have completely zeroed out the brakes, it would have made them sludgy and unreliable.
Alex's mechanic wouldn't have left it like that. He knew because he used the same man for any work he needed on his own vehicles. In his mind, he felt his brother's death was no accident, but he couldn't talk the police into looking into it. Maybe his one and only hope of proving his theory was going to be Cat.
"I'd like to watch you work. Is that possible?"
"You want to watch me work?" Cat couldn't believe that she'd heard him right. This man had a lot of gall and it was bound to get worse. She found it hard to not pound him into the floor. "No."
"No? You won't even consider it?"
"Mr. Radner, what I do for Joseph Heart is not something that I take lightly. Every case is an obligation for me to do my best for the people who are paying my salary. Dragging along a wannabee on a case is not giving them my one hundred percent."
"A wannabee? Is that what you think I am?"
"Yes, Mr. Radner. I don't know what kind of game your playing or why you've decided to come back here now, but I do think you're acting like a little boy playing cops and robbers. My job is dangerous. It's ninety-five percent stake outs and boredom, researching and computer work and about five percent excitement. But in that five percent, I have to be able to think on my feet. With you along, that would be almost impossible."
