a n d a n t e

n

Thanks for being so patient with me!! This book will be reaching it's conclusion soon, but there'll be plenty more to come (I'm thinking a sequel but it would be very far from cannon because the ending of LoD was just disappointing for the gays so let me know how you feel about me deviating from the implied storyline of the series!!) anyways, without further ado...

It had been a few days since that fateful evening. It had also been a few days since Kate had managed to do any productive work around Davidson. She refused to accept that the two may be linked. It was completely unlike her, and completely unprofessional, and there was just no way she'd let her feelings distract her from her work. However, there was no denying that the burning desire she felt to recreate the events of that night was proving rather difficult to ignore. Every time she caught Jo's eye she felt a surge of electricity rush through her body, and she was constantly fighting the urge to run into her office and kiss her right there. They'd both been busy, so they hadn't had chance to rendezvous outside of work, and the build-up of tension was becoming painful.

So when Jo texted Kate to arrange a meeting to discuss their "professional relationship," there was no way she was going to say no. The time and place were agreed, so all that was left to do was count down the hours until she could feel Jo's body against hers once more.

She decided that if she was going to maintain a relationship with Jo, the one person who'd be safe to tell would be Steve. After all, he'd maintained plenty of illicit relationships in his time, so he was in no place to judge. Plus, she considered, he may be able to give her some advice on how to not be a complete mess every time she had to work with her boss. She sent a text summarising briefly the interaction that had occurred (omitting literally every detail except "Jo stayed the night,") and explained how they had planned to meet again tonight. Steve's reply came almost instantly.
"You need to stop seeing her."
Kate seethed in silent anger. He was in no position to scold her for pursuing a relationship after he fucked a witness and a person of interest in the space of a few weeks! He hadn't even given a viable explanation as to why she should listen, so Kate responded with a perfectly reasonable "Fuck you Steve," which marked the end of the interaction.

•••

Kate had rushed home from work and changed into a different outfit. Not wanting to appear too keen, she opted for some suit trousers, a striped jumper and a blazer. Just formal enough, without looking like she was going on a date. As she pulled up to the bar, however, she received a text from Jo, saying that she'd changed her mind about meeting there because it was too public, and that she would send through a new location to meet. She felt a sinking feeling, but assumed it was just due to knowing that she'd never be able to be with Jo in public if they both wanted to keep their jobs, so she got back in her car and drove to the new meeting place.

Upon pulling up in what looked like a disused car park in the middle of nowhere, Kate was unable to ignore her detective's intuition that this was not a good situation to be in. However, as Jo pulled around the corner, Kate instantly relaxed. Her immediate thought had been that something happened to Jo and she was being lured to this shady area by someone else, so seeing her soft features under the moonlight was enough to put Kate's mind at ease.

"Well," Kate laughed, "this wasn't what I expected..." She took a step forwards towards her boss, desperate to feel the security she felt in her arms, but Jo took an uncertain step backwards. Kate felt unnerved. "Let's not hang around here Jo, we'd rather be indoors with a glass of wine!"

"I'm sorry, Kate." In that moment Kate felt her earth shattering. She had trusted this woman, she'd allowed her to see her vulnerability. She even thought that she loved her. Maybe she was just apologising for changing the location, but Kate knew better than that. She knew when she was being rejected, it had happened enough times to her in high school. She recognised the pitying tone. Though it broke her heart, she had to ask:
"Jo?" But before she could add the "are you breaking up with me?" Davidson had interrupted her.
"I'm so sorry."
Her boss looked increasingly nervous, which was only adding to the uneasiness Kate was feeling. The only way she could describe Jo's current expression was one of complete and utter regret, but regret for what? Kate didn't know or care anymore, she was hurt and humiliated, and just wanted to go home.
"What is going on?" She asked, exasperated. She was asking herself more than anyone else, as she never waited for a response before turning and heading back to her car. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid as to think that maybe someone actually cared about her.

"Jo wanted to give you a way out..." a male voice Kate recognised instantly emerged from Jo's car. "Should've put in for that transfer!" Pilkington. Pilkington holding a gun. HOLDING A GUN? Kate's training kicked in, and her emotional state from moments ago was replaced with a completely clear mind. She tried to rationalise with Pilkington, detailing how he would be traceable and would never get away with hurting her, but it was to no avail. His gun was still pointed directly at her, and she felt that she was running out of options. She had to reveal that he was under surveillance.
"Did you know about this?" He spat angrily at Davidson.
"No," she denied, "but it makes sense, why else would she come here?"
Kate would've cried if she hadn't been so distracted by the firearm. Jo knew full well why she went, she knew about her feelings and she manipulated them. But even after luring her here to be murdered she wouldn't admit it. Shit. Jo lured her here to be murdered. Kate's emotion threatened to show on her face, so she shook her head and cleared her mind. Right now, she needed to focus on surviving.

She noticed Jo drifting towards her car.
"Don't move!" Ryan yelled, firing a shot in Jo's direction. On instinct, Kate grabbed her own firearm and pointed it at Pilkington. She shouldn't care whether this woman lives or dies, she should be happy to see her suffer the same fate she tried to trick her into, but Kate wasn't. Somewhere in Jo, she knew there was some good, and she'd seen it. What they'd shared that night, that was the real DCI Davidson, not the frightened woman in front of her now. And although she didn't want to, Kate had to protect her.
"Drop the gun!" She demanded, completely taken over by a willpower she'd never felt before. "DROP THE FUCKING GUN."
Pilkington's finger moved towards the trigger, but before he had chance to fire, Kate heard two gunshots leave her firearm, directly into Ryan's chest. She hadn't even realised she'd shot until she heard the sound. She stood, for a moment, her gun still pointed ahead of her in a stunned silence.

Shit. What the fuck had she done?