The Thief and the White Knight - 17

"You've been here two weeks and you didn't even try to get in touch with me?" Pia's eyes flashed angrily.

"Umm, no. Castration is not on the top of my list of things I want to happen to me."

Pia snorted, and then chuckled, her eyes dropping to his crotch for a second before returning to his face. "That would definitely be a waste, I agree. Castratos might be marginally interesting singers if that's your thing, but they're definitely no fun to play with."

Kerry's eyes widened as he started to reply. Then he shook his head, tried to marshal his thoughts, gave up and just said, "Keeping up with you is going to be interesting."

"Keeping up with me?"  Pia's hands were on her hips again as she looked at him.

"Exactly. In the last few minutes you've gone from calling me a cowardly bastard to being pissed because I said I wouldn't have seduced you to saying what happened was your fault too, which by the way it wasn't." He put a finger to her lips to keep her quiet. "Then seconds later you're all business, and finally you're upset because I didn't let you know I was here. I think that just about covers it."

"You forgot the 'playing with'," she told him, grinning.

"I figured I'd best avoid that, just in case you changed your mind again."

Her face turned serious as she seemed to study him. "I'm not going to jump into bed with you on the first date, but I think getting to know each other better is worth a shot. We can't wipe out what happened, but," she paused, nodded, and continued. "Since I wouldn't have been angry about it if I hadn't had feelings for you and hoped they were mutual, I think I'd like to explore the – possibilities."

"I would too; one step at a time until we're both certain what we're feeling is real."

"Assolutamente! So, as soon as this job is finished you're taking me out on a date."

"I am? I mean, I am, of course. Wine you, dine you, and then drop you off at your front door like a perfect gentleman."

"Like my knight in shining armor." She stroked his cheek with her fingertips. "But for right now, we'd better figure out how to do the job without getting caught."

* * * *

"I'll pick you up at eight," Kerry said quietly as he joined Pia on her way to the front door of the bank.

"Seven-thirty, and don't be late," she told him impishly, still riding the high of a job well done.

Touching his forehead with one finger and giving the barest of bows, he replied, "Yes, my lady," grinning when she subtly flipped him off.

A few minutes later Pia walked into the precinct squad room. Harry saw her and raised a questioning eyebrow. When she nodded, he pointed to the open door of a vacant office.

"Any problems?" he asked once she was seated.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." She opened her bag and took out several boxes and two thick envelops, placing them on the desk. "That's everything."

"Thank you." Rather than checking what was there, he looked at her. "Everything's all right? You're not planning on shooting me, or Tito?"

Keeping the same serious, business-like look on her face that she'd had since she arrived, she replied. "There were a few moments when I seriously thought about it, yes. But I decided it wouldn't be worth the bother."

Harry nodded. "I'm sorry. We were really hoping that maybe—"

"The best laid plans and all that," she told him, shrugging. Then she grinned. "We're going out for dinner tonight, and I don't mean you and me, delightful as that might be."

"I'm crushed." He chuckled, "And delighted, although Tito's never going to let me live this down. I didn't really think it would work to be perfectly honest."

"And to be honest in return, it probably wouldn't have if he'd tried to defend his actions, but he didn’t."

"He's a smart man, and a good one from all that I've heard."

"I think so," she agreed as she stood, putting her bag back over her shoulder. "Thank you, Harry."

"Just invite us to the wedding, that's all the thanks I need."

Pia snorted softly. "Let's see if we survive the first date, and then, who knows."

The Thief and the White Knight - 16

Twenty-four hours later Pia was trying to find the spot where she was supposed to meet the bank guard. "This damned place has changed since I was a kid," she muttered as she turned around and headed back the way she'd come. Finally, swearing under her breath, she saw the turnoff she needed and soon the tiny parking lot with one car sitting in lonely splendor.

For sure no one's going to see us meeting out here she thought as she pulled up beside it. Following Harry's directions, she walked towards the river and down the slope, looking for the fallen tree. She spotted it, and a man in a uniform sitting on it, his back turned to her.

Walking up to him, she said, "Hi, I'm Pia and you must be my contact inside the bank."

Kerry had an instantaneous 'fight or flight' reaction when he heard Pia's voice behind him. He'd been staring out at the river, letting its slow movement and soft sound soothe his frayed self-control. Then, the moment she spoke, he tensed once more, his nerves as tightly wound as a watch spring.

"I am," he replied as he stood and turned to look at her. A moment later he wished he'd never agreed to Tito's plan. The look of shock, then disgust and anger that crossed her face told him all he needed to know. Dropping his eyes, acknowledging defeat even before the battle had begun, he walked past her and started up the slope.

"Oh no you don't, you—you figlio di una cagna," Pia declared vehemently as she grabbed his arm. "You're not running away again. Not until we have this out."

"Have at it then," he said, keeping his voice devoid of emotion.

"You're a bastard."

He nodded.

"A coward."

He nodded again.

"You should be castrated and hung up as an example to all men what happens when they try to fuck over a woman."

This time he shrugged a shoulder.

"Damn it Kerry, aren't you going to say anything?" she growled, stamping her foot angrily.

"What's to say? You're right. I'm a cowardly bastard. Trying to deny it wouldn't change the facts."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Aren't you going to explain yourself at all? Or try to?"

"No. No matter what I said, you'd call me a liar or worse. Why waste our time going over the whys and wherefores? I did my job, just as you were doing yours. I didn't mean to—" He shook his head. "It was just a job, nothing more. Feelings weren't supposed to be part of it."

"I see." She looked up at him, arms akimbo. "So if they'd told you to seduce me you would have."

"Hell no! I may be a lot of things but I'm not that much of a bastard," Kerry replied, angrily denying Pia's accusation.

"Why not," she asked with the very feminine ability to cut to what she considered to be the heart of the matter, ignoring what he'd just said. "Don't you find me pretty enough, or sexy enough, or—or whatever it takes?"

"Of course I do! You're one of the most— Oh no. You're not turning this into an argument about why I didn’t commit an even worse betrayal than I did." He glared at her and then stepped around her, or tried to.

She didn't let him, putting her hands on his arms to keep him where he was. "Uomo stupido, non mi hai tradito, mi ha tradito."

"Come again? Sorry but I'm linguistically challenged when it comes to Italian."

She smiled, just slightly. "I know. I figured that would get your attention though. I said 'Stupid man, you didn't betray me, I betrayed myself'."

"The 'stupid man' I sort of figured out," he admitted, stalling a bit before saying, "Just how are you figuring you betrayed yourself?"

"That's easy." She dropped her hands but not her eyes. "I let myself start caring even though I should have known better."

"That makes two of us," he replied so quietly she barely heard him.

Again, she suddenly changed the subject. "Is this job breaking into the bank for real or just something you, and probably Tito knowing him, cooked up to get us to talk to each other?"

"It's for real, although it didn't have to be me as the inside man. That part was Detective Snow's doing, with Tito pushing him into it I suspect."

"How long have you been working at the bank," she asked, turning all business. "Are you in a position to actually help me?"

"Two weeks, and yes. I 'transferred' from another branch across state when one of the regular guards needed compassionate leave time. Snow did a good job of setting that up."

The Thief and the White Knight - 15

"Afternoon, Pia, if you'd have a seat please." Harry nodded to the chair next to the desk.

It had taken a lot of discussion and a few short but tense arguments, but Tito had finally convinced Harry to help with his plan. Still uncertain that is was the best way to approach things, Harry had ultimately agreed.

"So what's up, Harry," Pia asked.

"Information gathering, you're forté." 

She grinned. "Where, when, who do I have to kill? Kidding about the last."

'Let's hope, once you find out who else is involved,' Harry thought. Aloud he said, "It's really a fairly simple job, for you anyway. The problem is getting you inside to do it. This is not a place you can break in to, trust me on that."

Pia's eyebrows shot up. "Are you demeaning my abilities?" she asked.

"Have you ever broken into a bank?"

"Well—no. When I was a kid I thought I'd figured out a few ways to do it, but then I grew up, and grew smarter. If I were already inside I could probably get through any of the locks, given enough time. It's the getting inside after hours, or remaining inside when they're closing, that's the trick."

"Exactly, and the bank isn't going to let us place you inside to do what we need without a warrant, and we have no legal grounds to get one. We have however been able to get someone on the inside, a security guard."

Pia nodded. "So what's the plan, I go in during regular hours and he stashes me somewhere until the bank is closed?"

"Pretty much. It will be a bit more difficult than that. There are always two guards even after hours, manning the security including a very sophisticated camera system."

"He'll be one of the two?" Harry nodded. "And he can get me into the monitoring room?"

"He can."

"So what am I after, something in one of the safety deposit boxes I presume?"

"Yes, which means you have to get into the vault and then the box in question."

Pia tapped her lips, thinking, and then said, "There's information I'll need that you or your man inside can probably get for me." She picked up a pen and he handed her a pad of paper. When she finished the list, she gave it to him. "Call me when you have it?"

"Will do," he replied.

* * * *

"I want to meet with your man before we do this," Pia said into the phone as she reached for another fry on Tito's plate, grinning when he batted her hand away. She listened for a moment before nodding. "That would work. Oh, your boy is here, do you want to talk to him?"

"I'm not his 'boy'," Tito muttered as she handed him the phone and then headed to the kitchen to give them some privacy.

Ten minutes later Tito joined her, bringing in the empty plates. As he set them in the sink, flipping her off when she commented that he was 'well trained', he said, "Do you know how to get to the park?"

"Gee, I don't know," she replied with a snort, tapping his forehead. "Memory loss setting in already? We used to spend hours there as kids, I think I can get around in there without getting lost."

"Just making sure, monello." He tapped the tip of her nose, dancing out of reach when she took a swipe at him.

The Thief and the White Knight - 14

With coffee sitting in front of them and the waitress gone, Kerry looked at Tito with solemn eyes. "Say what you need to say."

"Do you love her, or are you just upset because you betrayed her trust?"

"Doesn't one go with the other?"

"Not necessarily. If you just felt guilty for betraying her you'd probably be over it by now and have moved on." Tito took a drink of coffee, studying Kelly over the rim of the cup. "Excuse my honesty but you look like hell. I'd be willing to bet you often have trouble sleeping because even now you're still going over everything, wondering how you could have done it differently. You dream about her. I know I did."

"What?" Kerry growled.

"Oh, not her." Tito smiled slightly. "I dreamed about the man whose trust I blew. Don't worry; Pia and I are just friends, nothing more. So, back to what I was saying, you do love her. You didn't know her long enough, or get to know her well enough, to be able to say you're in love with her, but you do love her."

"For whatever good it does, yes I do. If I could go back and change things I would in a heartbeat." Kerry started to pick up his coffee cup then put it back down. "Did you—manage to make things right with that man?"

"You could say so, since we're living together now," Tito replied with a wide smile.

"How did you--?" Kerry asked hesitantly.

"To be honest it took time, and it might not have happened if we hadn't been forced to work together."

Kerry nodded. "So you didn't just face him down and apologize."

"No, and I had two years when I could have tried, and didn't, because I was that sure he wouldn't have believed it. Or, more that he wouldn't have believed that since I betrayed his trust once I wouldn't do it again."

"It's a loose/loose situation, isn't it? At least it is for me because she has no reason to trust me. As you pointed out, we hardly know each other when it comes right down to it."

"Is it worth it to you to try to change that? I'm only asking because despite the fact that she won't admit it, even to me, I know she cares about you. I'm not sure she doesn’t still hate you on one level, but she also loves you. I can see that in her eyes."

"She talks about me?" Hope flashed across Kerry's face.

"Not so much any more, and let me tell you when she was I picked up a few new swear words to add to my vocabulary. That woman has a mouth on her. She's swearing less now. Now she looks sad when you're name is mentioned, even obliquely. I think she misses her 'White Knight'."

Kerry looked at him in surprise. "She told you about that?"

"She did."

"Wow," Kerry said softly.

Tito nodded. "You're still that to her, somewhere deep in her heart. So now, you have to do something about it. I'm selfish. I want to see her happy again. She's back to smiling on the outside, finally, but it's only on her lips, rarely in her eyes." Tito shook his head, grumbling, "I don't usually wax so—poetic."

Kerry chuckled. "Yeah, the leathers would have clued me in about that." He sobered, running a hand through his hair. "I need to get some more time off."

"That would probably be a good start. This isn't something you can do by phone or email."

"No shit," Kerry said fervently.

Thank you to everyone who participated...

Thanks to everyone who participated by commenting during my Featured Author 'Weekends Blog Hop'. The winners from each of the blogs have been chosen and their prize has been emailed. 

Once again, thanks both to the wonderful people who allowed me to stop by their blogs and to those visited and commented.