Thanks for the tip and your review, TheNaggingCubeI went in and changed my settings!
OK, I broke down and decided to go the romance route. So, here goes...
"The world breaks everyone and afterward some are strong at the broken places..." — Ernest Hemingway
Chapter Five - What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
Downtown Gym: Thirty Seven Hours Missing
Danny had been watching her since the moment she came in. He should have known that a woman like Katie McNamara wouldn't come to the gym to use the stair climber or run a few laps on the treadmill . No, this woman headed straight for the heavy bag and started punching and kicking out her frustrations. And, Danny had to admit to himself, she had good form. From the bag, he watched her move into the ring for some sparring with a guy he assumed was her trainer.
"That's it!" The trainer was praising her for a sharp move as Danny approached. "You can take the girl out of Brooklyn, but you can't take the Brooklyn out of the girl!" Trainer and student knocked gloves as he said, "I think that's good for today, kiddo. Before you beat the crap out of me."
"Sorry, Eddie." Katie gave her brother a sheepish smile as she caught her breath.
"I don't suppose this extra aggression has anything to do with the fact that the F.B.I. has been questioning us all about the disappearance of Frankie boy?" Eddie asked, looking sideways at her as he helped her unlace her gloves.
"Can you believe that?" Katie asked, flexing out her fingers once they had been freed from her gloves. "What do they think...it took us eight years to figure out how we wanted to get our revenge? Don't they know that we're Italian? Revenge, if we decide to take it, is something we know a thing or two about."
"And we know enough not to leave blood at the scene. Or the car, for that matter." He teased and they both laughed. "If these agents are our best and brightest, I'm not feeling all that safe."
Katie elbowed him in the gut and turned to pick up her water bottle. Seeing Danny standing at the edge of the boxing ring, her cheeks flushed with embarrassed color. "Well, speak of the devil." She muttered under her breath as Danny stood smirking at her. "Good morning, Agent Taylor."
"Mornin'." Danny said cheerfully, enjoying her embarrassment.
"Agent?" Eddie asked, turning around to see who his sister was talking to.
"Agent Taylor, this is my brother Eddie McNamara. Eddie, this is Agent Taylor...of the F.B.I." Katie introduced the two men, placing her emphasis on the F.B.I. part of that statement.
Danny reached out his hand to shake Eddie's hand, only to find out that Eddie didn't plan on extending his. Obviously not the least bit embarrassed about his previous comment, Eddie responded, "I said all I'm going to say to the lady agent yesterday. So unless you're here to tell us that I was just named 'New York Firefighter of the Year', I've got nothing to say."
Danny shook his head. "I'm just here for a workout. Same as you."
Eddie glared at Danny for a few minutes before deciding he still had nothing to say to him. Turning to his sister, he said, "I've got to get to the house. My tour starts in an hour." His scowl softening into a grin, he continued, "Nice work today, kiddo."
"Thanks." Katie replied, grinning back at him. "Be safe. I love you."
"Love you, too." Hoisting his gym bag onto his shoulder, Eddie kissed his sister's cheek, threw one more menacing look in Danny's direction, and headed out onto the New York streets.
Turning back to Danny, Katie tried to explain. "Sorry about that. Eddie's really a great guy when you get to know him."
"So I've heard." Danny replied, still smirking. Martin and Sam had told the team about this brother...tough as nails and not at all cooperative.
Katie looked at him and said, "Look, Agent Taylor, your team came sniffing around yesterday and opened up some old wounds that my family has..."
"Call me Danny." He interrupted her. "And it's okay. Because I'm really a great guy when you get to know me, too."
Katie had to smile at him despite herself. Casting a glance at her brother's retreating form, she said, "At least you were smart enough to send a female agent to talk to my brothers. She made quite an impression on all three of them."
"Samantha has that effect on people." Danny agreed, his smirk extending into a real smile.
"Agent Taylor..." she began
"Danny." He reminded her. "I'm not on the clock for another couple of hours."
"Danny," she said, "I'm glad I ran into you here. I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. You caught me off guard, and I don't do well when I feel cornered."
"We didn't mean to make you feel cornered." He said, his tone sounding gentler.
"I know." She said. "You were just doing your job. He's missing and, whether I want you to or not, you have to find him." Stacie pushed some stray hairs out of her face and continued, "I don't suppose it will do any good to tell you that you are way off base if you think that anyone in my family had anything to do with his disappearance."
"We have to follow up on all of our leads." Danny said simply.
"And the McNamara's have a reason and a desire to see him dead." She finished for him. "But, you're still wasting your time."
"I'll keep that in mind." Danny said, watching her bend over and put her water bottle back into her gym bag. He was a guy after all, so he took a few moments to admire her tight physique. She was in great shape...and her form fitting work out clothes accentuated it nicely. "You have good form." He blurted out.
A slow smile spread over her face as she turned back to look at him. "Are you checking me out, Danny?"
"No, I..." he stumbled over his words, realizing how that must have sounded to her.
"Because that was a strange thing for a guy to say if he wasn't checking me out.." She teased, enjoying his sudden discomfort.
"I meant in the ring. You have good form in the ring. With your stance and everything." Danny tried to explain, realizing too late that she was playing with him and he must have sounded like an idiot. "Really."
Deciding to let him off the hook, Katie said, "I took up kickboxing about seven years ago. I've been in love with this city my whole life and then after my attack, I was afraid of it. I decided one day that I didn't want to be afraid anymore. So I took a self-defense class and wasn't satisfied with what I saw. I was attacked from behind by a guy the size of a linebacker who held a knife to my throat. Kneeing him in the balls and yelling 'No' wouldn't have helped me too much."
Danny grinned and nodded in agreement. "It's a tough sport. And you're good at it. Not too many women have the stones to try it."
"I grew up in a firehouse in Brooklyn." She informed him. "There's not much that intimidates me."
"I believe it." Danny said, raising his eyebrow.
His tone caused her to laugh. "We teach a class over at Avalon. Kind of a combination of self-defense, kickboxing, and cardio. Most of the girls come because it's a great workout and they can learn some ways to protect themselves in the process." Katie grinned at him again and said, "The smokin' body wasn't exactly my ultimate goal, but it's a nice bonus."
"Yes it is. Maybe I should sign up."
Katie shook her head. "Sorry...no boys allowed. Not all the women there are in it for the workout. It's therapy for some of them. They visualize their attackers and it helps them focus. Any guy within a five mile radius better watch out."
"Thanks for thinking of my safety." He said. She turned and picked up her gym bag, a sure signal to Danny that their conversation was just about over. Only, he didn't want it to end. So before he could stop himself, he asked, "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Katie turned back to face him. "Are you asking me out, Agent Taylor?" she asked with a mischievous little smile.
"No, I'm...there's a great little diner a few blocks from here." Her subtle, flirty tone caught him off guard at first, but he recovered quickly. "It's kind of a hole, but they make a killer omelet. I was going to get one and thought you might like one, too."
"Aren't there rules about this in the F.B.I.?" She asked, enjoying the easy banter between them. "About agents going out with potential suspects?"
"Actually they encourage it." Danny shot back, grinning. "It's a new form of interrogation. Put the suspect at ease by plying them with eggs and coffee and hashbrowns. Then get the top secret information out of them that will blow the case wide open. It's how we caught the uni-bomber. Although, I think those agents used pancakes."
Katie laughed out loud and Danny found himself mesmerized by the sound. There was very little about this woman that didn't absolutely mesmerize him. "Seriously though," Katie said, "could you get in trouble?"
"For having breakfast? Like I said, the Bureau encourages it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."
"Danny..." Katie began.
"You have to eat, don't you?" He interrupted her protests. "Well, so do I. So, we'll just be two people eating. At the same table in the same diner."
He was quite charming, she had to admit. And good looking. It wasn't often that a man got past her defenses as quickly as he had. She was hungry and really enjoying his company. Finally, she said, "I have to shower first."
"I'll wait."