I say, but I had to get it out because I don’t want it to happen again. Yes, nothing happened this time, but you can see it had the potential. Admit it?”
“But judgment and instinct can be everything,” she said fiercely. “And I’m not going to think that I have to believe bad of people in every situation. Why do you think I refuse so many cases and just teach my music classes? I couldn’t live that way.”
“I know you couldn’t,” he said softly. He reached out and touched her cheek with his index finger. “And it scares me to death you might make a wrong call someday. So why not admit that it could have gone south today?”
That touch was incredibly gentle, and his expression held the same depth of feeling. No one could doubt his sincerity. Her anger abruptly vanished as she gazed at him. She said jerkily, “I admit you could be correct if everything on the planet had gone wrong with the situation. I’m surprised you didn’t bring up the possibility of little Ariel jumping out of the bushes with an AK-47 and blasting me.”
He suddenly smiled. “No, that would have been a little too much even for me. But from what Metcalf told me, I’d say that she might have to be watched closely for the next few years to see where that curiosity will take her.”
Kendra nodded ruefully. “It will only be dangerous if she gets bored again.” She added, “But you did go overboard. There was no reason why you should have been that upset.”
“There was every reason. Because it showed just how tentative you are about working with me. We had a fairly successful day in Mexico, and I thought you were coming around to accepting me as a partner again. But the minute you got a chance to jettison me and go off on your own again, you took it.” He met her eyes. “You knew I’d come back if you called me. You knew I’d want to come back. But you fed yourself all that bullshit so that you’d have an excuse not to let me be there for you.”
“It wasn’t bullshit.”
“Close enough. Be honest, Kendra. We’ve always been honest with each other.”
“I would have called you if I’d thought there was a reason to do it.” But she wouldn’t lie to him when she’d just realized that she might have been lying to herself. “I might have been reluctant to have you around twenty-four seven. You can be…overpowering.”
“You can handle me.”
“I know I can,” she said quickly. “I just don’t like to go to the trouble.”
“And it will only be until we find those butchers of your friends. Then I’ll let you go your own way again…maybe. But I can’t worry about you doing this kind of nonsense just to avoid me. You can be as trusting of the human race as you want to be as long as you let me be there to strike a balance. So will you promise me that you’ll give me the chance to protect you even if it’s only from Ariel Jones with her machine gun?”
“AK-47.”
“Whatever.” He smiled. “It’s important to me. Will you do it?”
She couldn’t look away from him. He was using every bit of that charisma that was his stock-in-trade. And what did it matter? Lynch very seldom asked anything from her. It was no defeat because it was her conferring the favor. “I suppose it doesn’t make any difference. I promise I won’t avoid you unless you become completely obnoxious.”
He chuckled. “I’ll attempt to make sure you won’t find me too disgusting to bear. I guarantee I’ll make every effort.”
He was doing that right now, and she had to do something to break free. She took a step back and said, “But you have to admit I found out valuable information from Ariel. A connection in the deaths of Elaine and Mr. Kim, the presence of strangers down on the shore, Elaine being stalked…” She frowned. “But Metcalf said that they’d searched the entire campus area including the shore after Mr. Kim’s death and they hadn’t seen any sign of any trespassers. No footprints, nothing. He said he’d go back and look again.”
“I’m sure he will. And yes, Ariel’s information was valuable. I never said it wasn’t.”
“No, because you were so busy yelling at me that you didn’t concern yourself with the important things. You still haven’t told me what you found out from the Padres. Did you