Monday morning in the clinic had been busy, but Kim was finally getting a breather. The little girl she had been counseling was now with Children's Services. Kim used the spare time to organize her files and think a little.
The weekend had been a trial. After her and Shane's "true confessions" on Friday night, they had settled into an uneasy peace. She had tried to broach the subject of his trial, but he had told her that there was nothing to discuss.
She also had watched Shane try to get through to Andrew. Their son still would not talk to his father, and Kim had found Andrew more than once crying in the garden. She had tried to explain that Shane had done nothing wrong, but, even as someone accustomed to working with children, Kim had been unable to make any sense of it to Andrew.
Perhaps because I can't really make any sense of it myself.
As for Shane, she had seen the pain in his eyes every time Andrew ignored him. She also could tell that the strain of the situation was beginning to wear Shane down. He might have slept on Friday after their talk, but she had heard him up late the other nights. He had spent long hours over the weekend in his study trying to find out the truth about the items she had been sent, while also making plans for the house. Roman had come over on Sunday to meet with Shane and Mike to discuss security plans and hiring additional guards.
She had wanted to tell Shane to try not to worry, but she knew him too well. He would push himself relentlessly for the next two months, thinking that was all the time he had to take care of things before going to jail.
There was little she could do to make it better. As much as she wanted to help, his walls were still there. As much as she wanted to hold him and make love to him, a calm "truce" for Andrew's sake was probably as much as they could manage for the next few months.
Just the idea that he would be gone in two months was hard to fathom. When Shane had told her of his two options on Friday, she had been astonished and horrified. She understood that the ISA had to disavow Steve's rescue, but how could Chief Tarrington do nothing more for Shane? Kim had tried calling Tarrington herself, but he had always been "in meetings" or "unable to come to the phone."
Maybe she should not have been surprised. After he used Andrew to strong-arm Shane, he was little more than the two prior ISA chiefs who had betrayed Shane. Nickerson had betrayed Shane's cover to Victor as part of their game and Vaughn had deceived Shane for months about Marlena's whereabouts and had planted Gillian in Salem to spy on him. Why should she have expected Tarrington to be any different? Why had she been so stupid to trust him or the ISA?
A knock on the door jarred her out of her thoughts.
"Come in," she called out and waited for the door to open. When it did, Kim tried to stop herself from grimacing.
"Hello, Ms. Brady," Rachel Knight said as she stepped inside. It must have been casual day at the office, because she was wearing some of the tightest jeans Kim had ever seen and another low-cut, cream blouse beneath a brown leather jacket. Rachel had a manilla folder in her hands.
"Ms. Knight," Kim replied, keeping her voice even.
"The nurse outside told me you didn't have anyone in here. I see she was right. . . ." Rachel studied the room for a minute, before she said, "Interesting."
Kim knew she was being goaded and was supposed to ask what Rachel found so interesting, but Kim was in no mood for games. "If you have something to say, Ms. Knight, say it. I'm working here."
"I see," Rachel said. "I guess it's just that I'm having some difficulty reconciling the sweet woman who cares for abused children with the high-class call girl."
Kim's chest constricted so tightly that she thought for a moment that she might pass out from lack of oxygen.
"I found some very interesting articles in the Salem Spectator and followed up with some sources of mine in Europe. And this article. . . ." She reached into the folder and pulled out a piece of paper. Kim did not even have to look close to know what it was - the article that Victor Kiriakis had planted about her when he was trying to gain custody over Andrew. Rachel glanced at it and then looked back at Kim. "I wonder what the public would think to find out that the supposedly noble Captain Donovan whored out his wife to catch Stefano DiMera."
"That's not what happened," Kim said. "I got close to Leopold Bronski, but never did anything with him. And it was my choice. I thought Stefano DiMera had killed my brother, and if there was a way I could help bring him to justice, I would have done anything."
Rachel smiled, probably because she could tell that she had gotten under Kim's skin. "Anything, is it?" Then she shrugged. "It really doesn't matter what the truth is, Ms. Brady. Once my readers find out what you used to do, they'll assume the worst about you and your ex-husband. After all, if a man could marry a prostitute, it's not such a stretch that he would betray his country."
Kim just stared at Rachel. "What is this? Some kind of revenge because Shane wouldn't go along with your plan the other day?"
"I'm just reporting the truth," Rachel said with a glib smile. "So if you have any response for the record, I'm all ears - or was that bit about 'doing anything' your official statement?"
"Tell me something," Kim asked. "When you slept with Shane in Saudi Arabia, was that just a way to get a story?"
Rachel laughed. "Is that a way of asking if I enjoyed it? Or if the old ex is still good in bed?" She smirked. "I'd never kiss and tell. Not unless you're willing to give me something useful. Perhaps I'd even be willing to drop this little article if you told me about Shane's mission in Iraq."
"Get out," Kim snarled.
With a shrug, Rachel turned around and headed for the door. "You can't say I didn't give you a chance, Ms. Brady. Hmmmm . . . perhaps I should see what your colleagues think - or even some members of the board - when they hear how an ex-hooker is taking care of its most vulnerable patients. And your son . . . what will it do to him when all his friends find out about your prior occupation?" Rachel opened the door, but then turned back and looked at Kim. "All it takes is a little information. Let Shane know that. And remind him that I'm just at the Salem Inn should he want to . . . talk."