Two Weeks

Chapter 1

What had she been thinking?

Kate Beckett slowed the car down and maneuvered it slightly off the side of the road. Releasing a puff of air, she reached for the map lying on the passenger seat. Narrowing her eyes after double checking, she stared out the front windshield, searching for a street sign, a marker… anything, hoping she wasn't lost.

"Damn you, Lanie," she grumbled under her breath.

This was all her best friend's fault. She'd been the one to convince Kate to get out of the city. It had taken nearly a month of nagging and pestering until she'd agreed, reluctantly, to take a vacation. Lanie had insisted it would be good for Kate, to get away from it all. She should have ignored her. Getting away from it all wasn't her. That wasn't how she dealt with things. No. She should have just ignored Lanie and stayed in New York, buckled down and focused on her work.

The job was her lifeline.

Her life.

It was all she had.

At least, that's what it felt like after the break up.

Sighing, Kate pressed her lips together and examined the map. It took her a minute or so, but after some rough calculations, she had a pretty good idea of where she was.

Okay. Okay. Not far now.

Though… she could always just turn around and go back. It wasn't too late.

But then she'd have to deal with Lanie, and Kate didn't like that idea. She could take down scumbags twice her size, go toe-to-toe with murderers and street thugs, but her 5' 4'' best friend scared the daylights out of her. So, with that in mind, she would give it a shot. Two days. Max. Test it out, see how it went. And if she didn't like it, she'd go back, and at least then she could tell Lanie that she tried.

Tossing the map back into the passenger seat, Kate gripped the steering wheel and worked her way off the shoulder. She drove along the curved road, occasionally glancing to the left at all the tall hedges and trees blocking the view of the opulent mansions on the other side of the gates.

This place was so not her.

Her family had been well off, yes. Both her parents had been lawyers. They had lived a comfortable upper middle-class lifestyle. But this… no. This was lavish, obscene wealth, way beyond what she was used to. It was insane how big some of these places were, especially considering most of them were just summer homes for the uber rich.

She shook her head, again wondering if she'd made a wrong turn back in the town. There was no way the small beach house Lanie had talked her into renting was located in the middle of all this extravagance. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, Kate stretched over to grab the printout with the address on it. Checking it again, she assured herself she was on the right road. It just seemed odd.

Her heart leapt into her throat as a cherry red Ferrari shot out of nowhere and careened around her. She rammed her hand on the horn, honking twice. The jackass in the Ferrari simply revved his engine, the roar loud enough to cause her body to vibrate, before he accelerated all the way passed her and swerved back into the correct lane.

"Asshole," Kate hissed, placing a hand over her jackhammering heart. She took several breaths to collect herself as she watched the Ferrari zoom ahead and disappear around the bend.

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she followed the turn in the road and spotted the jackass in the red Ferrari pull into a driveway and stop long enough to punch the code into the keypad until the gates opened for him. He then zipped through the opening, disappearing behind a cluster of trees.

Kate maintained her speed, which was the posted speed limit, as she drove by, shaking her head and muttering more choice words about entitled rich assholes needing to compensate for their shortcomings. Brow furrowed, she tried to shove the incident from her mind as she worked at locating her vacation rental. She passed two more driveways until she spotted the correct address numbers listed on the printout.

Still uncertain, she turned off the main road and heard the crunch of gravel under the wheels as she drove the car up the dirt driveway, bordered on both sides by tall grass. After an extended curving turn, she spotted the rental and was pleased that it was exactly as advertised, a small cottage-style house nestled by the open expanse of beach beyond. She steered her car into the circular front drive and rolled to a stop by the front porch steps. Cutting the engine, Kate popped the door open and climbed out. With one hand on the roof of her car, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply the scent of sand and fresh ocean air.

Yes. She thought as she slowly opened her eyes. This would do.

XXX

It took her several attempts to get the front door open. The salty sea air had corroded the padded buttons to the point no numbers were visible. And it didn't help that the keypad wasn't arranged in the same format as a telephone dial pad or like those on a computer keyboard. Plus, Kate had never had to deal with one of these kinds of door locks. Why couldn't it just require a regular key? Once she got the correct 12-digit code in the device had beeped and the grind of gears sounded, the door opened.

Thankfully there was a doorstop that she was able to nudge into place with the toe of her shoe to keep the door open while she unloaded her luggage. Kate made quick work of that, heaving a duffel bag and medium size roller suitcase up the small flight of steps and into the entryway, before kicking the doorstop free and allowing the door to slam close with a resounding thud.

Glancing around, Kate took in her surroundings. There was a cozy, comfy charm to the place. The décor was sparse, as one would expect from a vacation rental, with a slight nautical theme. The entry way was small, but functional. Kate left her luggage there as she explored. The entry way opened up into a spacious living room, with a cream-colored sofa and two matching armchairs, facing a fireplace with a surprisingly simple, but elegant mantle. Large bay windows opened up to an impressive view of the beach and surging ocean waves beyond.

To the right, through an empty doorway was a dining room and gorgeous little kitchen, with an old-fashioned gas stove and a simple, but functional beech wood table taking the place of an island countertop. Kate ran her fingers along the stovetop, smiling slightly. It had been a while since she'd been able to cook on a proper gas stove. Memories flashed in her mind, and her smile turned sad as she thought of her mother and all the dishes they had concocted together at her grandmother's stove in Johanna's childhood home. In the corner of the kitchen, much to Kate's relief, was a thoroughly modern refrigerator. It was empty, save for a handful of bottled water and margarita mixes.

Taking one of the water bottles, she unscrewed the cap and took a long gulp from it. Putting it down on the beech wood table, Kate inspected the cabinets, finding various plates, glasses, bowls. She rifled through the drawers, finding the cutlery and cooking knives. She'd have to think about heading back into town to get groceries.

Walking back through the living room, she checked out the other side of the house. A hall led to two small bedrooms, a bathroom with a toilet and shower, and finally the master bedroom with an attached ensuite. The tub looked divine, and her body immediately tingled with the anticipation of testing it out later tonight. Retreating back into the master bedroom, she took in the luxurious king-sized bed, piled high with pillows or sheets of a soft blue. It looked extremely comfortable.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't all bad.

Kate retraced her steps back to the entry and retrieved her luggage, hauling the duffel and roller into the master bedroom, where she then set to the task of unpacking.

Perhaps she'd give this more than two days.