**A/N: Thank you for the reviews and enjoying this story with me so far! **
PART 10
"So how'd it go?" Ben asked Mary as he poured her a drink.
"It went well, actually. That detective wasn't as pushy as I thought she would be. She just asked some really basic questions, which I answered truthfully, then I gave her a bunch of medical jargon about Mr. Taylor's condition, what he came into the ER for, what we did to treat him, and that was it. She didn't seem suspicious of anything as far as I was concerned," Mary took a sip of her drink.
"Good. That's good," Ben nodded. He was thankful Cat kept her word and didn't push anything with Mary. He definitely owed her one.
"And exactly how did this detective - who was gorgeous by the way - find out about me and what did you say to her that made her... not as pushy with me? Because the way you described her to me before, I was sure she would ask me a lot more tougher questions than she did."
"We crossed paths at a crime scene I was working and we started talking a little about our cases," Ben lied about the time table of events. "She mentioned she had a lead about an ER doctor that treated Mr. Taylor and told me your name. I told her that you're a good friend of mine and you'd certainly give her any information on Mr. Taylor that you had."
"Hmm... well, then that makes sense. Thanks for looking out for me," she smiled, then bit her lip.
"You're welcome," Ben grinned. "You know I'll always be looking out for you, right?"
"Yes, I know." Mary nodded, "And why is that, Ben? What makes me so special to you?"
Ben smirked and leaned onto his counter, looking her straight into her eyes. "I don't know, why don't you tell me. Why do you keep coming back to my place?"
"Because you're the one person, other than Des, that knows what I do... and I can tell you things that I don't want anyone else to know."
"Is that it?" Ben asked.
"No," she shook her head. "And... because I can let go of things when I'm with you... because I feel safe when I'm with you."
Ben gave her a half-smile, suddenly feeling guilty about last night. He was also physically tired because of his night with Catherine and lack of sleep but Mary was giving him a look and he knew that look quite well.
She hopped off the stool she was sitting on and walked around the counter to Ben. She brought her hands up to his shoulders and stared into his eyes. There was something about her that kept him from completely trusting her, but he knew he would do anything for this beautiful woman. He also knew he would never tell her about his one-time fling with Cat. Even though he couldn't tell if Mary thought about him as more than friends-with-benefits, it didn't matter.
"You're always looking out for me," she whispered before leaning up and pressing her lips against his.
Ben kissed her back, opening his mouth to her and she pushed her tongue in anxiously in search of his. Their tongues met and their kisses were deep. It was always like this with them, fast and hard. There were a few exceptions when they took it slow but usually not. Mary moaned as Ben's hands moved up underneath her dress, pulling her panty down. She shimmied her legs allowing her panty to fall the rest of the way down her legs. Ben easily picked her up and sat her onto the edge of his counter as he stood between her legs. He undid his belt and the button and fly of his jeans. He closed his eyes as she kissed and moaned against his neck. For a brief second, an image of Catherine flashed in his mind. What the hell?! I need to stop thinking about Cat! Ben grabbed Mary's hips and pulled her against him, pushing his entire length inside of her, he began pumping harder and faster, gazing down at Mary's face as he forced any thought of Catherine out of his head.
"Vincent?" Catherine called out as she entered the warehouse loft.
"Over here," his smooth raspy voice answered. He was standing at a work table fixing some kind of electrical equipment. He stopped and put his tools down when she walked up to him.
"Hey," he smiled, looking down at her. "Thanks for coming."
"Ofcourse," she smiled up at him. She really missed spending time with him.
"I heard you were looking into a Dr. Mary Harris and - "
"Wait," Catherine cut him off, "I don't even remember telling you about my case. How did you hear... about..." her voice trailed off as she paused a moment, and thought hard. Oh god...no way... did he follow me to Ben's?! Was he outside of Ben's trailer last night?!
Her eyes widened and she immediately looked up at Vincent. She could tell by his sad smile and the expression in his warm brown eyes that her hunch was correct. He must have been there last night when I went to Ben's trailer. She remembered hearing something in the woods when she arrived at Ben's... oh god, that movement I heard in the woods... that was Vincent...
"Did... did you follow me last night?" she dreaded asking since she already knew the answer.
He nodded slowly. "I just... I wanted to make sure you were okay. But don't worry, I didn't stick around because..." he let out a breath and looked down for a moment, shaking his head, his arms folded. "You were, uhh... obviously okay."
Vincent looked at Catherine again, his jaw clenched, she could see the hurt look in his eyes and she couldn't believe it. She felt horrible. But then she remembered Alex. Wait, why should I feel guilty about having a one night stand with someone when he tossed me aside for Alex? Am I suppose to wait around and hope he and Alex break up? Catherine wasn't going to go easy on him this time, not when she felt that he was trying to make her feel guilty.
"Vincent, what I do on my spare time - anytime, really - is no longer any of your business. I told you that I wanted us to be together and I gave you a choice. You chose to be with Alex, remember?! I didn't come all the way here for you to lecture me about who I can and can't sleep with." Catherine was pissed, "I knew coming here was a mistake."
She turned her back to him and headed towards the door when faster than the blink of an eye, Vincent was suddenly in front of her, blocking her way.
"Okay, wait." He had his hands up in front of him, "It was wrong of me to follow you, I had no right, and I didn't ask you here to lecture you. Catherine, I know you can be with whomever you want to be with... and that's all my fault because I screwed up. Believe me, if I could take back that night when you opened up to me, I would take it back in a heartbeat. I really would. So please, don't go. Please... not yet."
Catherine wouldn't look up at him and she could feel his eyes gazing down at her, waiting for her to atleast look in his direction. She was a mixed bag of emotions. She was upset, angry, and confused, even embarrassed that he knew she was with another man, and her heart was racing being this close to him again. She was so mad at him but she missed him so much at the same time.
"Catherine, please look at me... please..."
His voice was low, calm, pleading. She slowly looked up at him, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You hurt me, Vincent..." she whispered quietly, the tears escaping her eyes. She quickly wiped them away and looked back down again. Vincent made a move to reach out to her but she took a small step back, he put his hands back down in retreat. A moment of silence passed between them.
Determined to win her back, he took a step closer to her, the tips of his fingers gently lifting her chin. She didn't resist. He placed his hands at the sides of her face.
"Catherine, please believe me, I don't ever want to hurt you again... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."
He stared deep into her beautiful green eyes hoping she could see the sincerity and honesty in his words. She nodded slowly. Vincent softly brushed her cheeks once more with the pads of his thumbs before moving his hands down away from her face.
"Vincent, I can't be someone that you keep on the back burner whenever it suits you." She took in a deep breath before continuing, "... and I don't know what's going on between you and Alex but I can't be your second choice either."
"Believe me, you're not," he replied with conviction.
"Really?" she asked slightly sarcastic. "Because the moment you saw her, I became your 'handler'." Catherine was beginning to feel irritated by him again.
"Catherine, I didn't know what else to tell her." Vincent sighed. " There I was, suddenly back in her life after she thought I was dead for all of these years... I didn't think it would be fair to tell her 'Oh, by the way, I have feelings for that detective you met and in fact, I've been watching over her the past nine years. But hey, sorry I never reached out to you even though the last time we talked you were planning our wedding'... Catherine, I couldn't do that to her."
Catherine sighed and took a seat at his small table. After hearing him explain it like that, she understood a little better. She had to put herself in Alex's shoes, which she hadn't done before. Her feelings and anger with Vincent clouded her judgement when it came to him and Alex. She began to realize that maybe him having spent time with Alex atleast gave them both a chance to find out if there was still something there between them and if not, atleast find closure and put an end to that chapter of the life they shared. She hated when Vincent was right but she would never admit it to him. He was still wrong for the way he handled things with her though, and for that she wasn't going to give him a pass.
Finally she spoke, "Vincent, why are you telling me all of this now? Because I was with someone else last night?" She regretted saying that last part the moment she finished saying it. The sting of it was written all over his face.
"Because I don't want to lose you," he answered, his jaw clenched a moment.
"And what about Alex?"
"She's gone."
"What do you mean 'she's gone'?" Catherine was completely confused.
"She's moved away. She wanted to start all over again and she wanted me to go with her," he looked at Catherine.
"But you.. you stayed? What did you tell Alex?"
"I'm still here, yeah." Vincent smiled softly at her. "I didn't have to tell Alex anything, she already knew."
"She knew what?" Catherine asked.
"She knew how I felt about you," he stared deep into her eyes, " how I still feel about you... I told you, Catherine. I don't want to lose you."
"Vincent... " Catherine was beginning to feel overwhelmed. She had put up so many walls before meeting Vincent, but he was the one man who managed to bust through those walls. She was happy to find someone she could trust, someone she could love. But when the time came for her to tell him how she felt, he had turned her away. She immediately put those walls back up again and reinforced them, her trust shattered, her hopes of finding love was torn from her. Now he was telling her that he wants to be with her.
Vincent could sense her doubt and he couldn't blame her, not for everything he put her through but he hoped that she would understand why he did what he did with Alex. He would do anything and everything for Catherine.
"Catherine, I don't expect you to trust me after what's happened between us... but I'll do everything I can to earn your trust again. If your feelings for me have changed and you want to be with that other guy - "
"Vincent, stop right there." Catherine had to make herself clear, "Ben is just a friend and I don't want to be with him. What happened last night, with me and Ben, I was... I was just trying to forget about you."
Vincent's jaw clenched at the reminder that she was intimate with another man, and he was trying hard not to let his jealousy cause a fire within him.
"And, uhh, did it work?" he asked, a small hint of jealousy in the tone of his voice.
Catherine looked back up to Vincent, "Ofcourse not."
"So... I still have a chance?" a slight smirk appeared on his handsome face.
Catherine tried not to smile, damn him for being so handsome. "Maybe a small chance... let's just take things slow."
"I can do slow," he nodded, his gaze piercing hers.
Oh my god, the things he does to me with just a simple look in my direction. Catherine broke away from their gaze and cleared her throat. "Okay, so what was it that you were saying about my case?"
"Uhh, yeah," Vincent shook his head, he didn't mind the sudden shift in their conversation. "That doctor, Dr. Mary Harris, she's lying."
"What?" Catherine's brows furrowed, "What are you talking about?"
"I followed you into the ER when you questioned her. She was lying to you."
"Vincent, you went into the ER? Someone could have seen you!" she was shocked he would risk being seen.
"It was so packed in there, no one would have noticed me," he grinned.
"Vincent," she sighed. "How do you know she was lying? Oh, nevermind." Catherine remembered immediately that Vincent was a walking polygraph machine. Vincent smirked, Catherine continued, "What was she lying about?"
"She was lying about Mr. Taylor. You asked her if she saw him again after that night, she said 'no' but she was lying."
"Vincent, without any proof, I can't do anything else with her. Besides, Ben vouched for her," Catherine doubted Vincent's observation of Mary.
"Yeah, well, he's lying, too."
"What are you talking about?" she was beginning to wonder if he was just playing games with her but that wasn't like Vincent.
"Remember, I was outside his trailer last night, listening. He was lying about Mary. He knows more than what he's told you."
"Vincent..." she shook her head, doubtful. She didn't want to believe Ben was lying to her.
"Just telling you what I observed," Vincent shrugged, sitting back in his chair, his arms folded over in front of him. "Look, maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe he's trying to protect her..."
Catherine looked up at Vincent, "What do you mean?"
Vincent sat up, then leaned his arm onto the table and looked straight into her eyes, "What I mean is... like how you protect me."