Chapter 2

• Dominic watched from behind the curtain as she got into her car and left. He waited until her lights were out of sight before scanning the entire area. He couldn’t see anything except the tall snowbanks lining the road. There was no trace of movement in the early dawn. He turned and looked the other way, watching for shadows.
• No signs of movement again this morning, but for the last few days his gut had been telling him someone was out there. He slowly moved the curtains back into place and stepped back from the window. He rubbed a hand over his face. “Probably just paranoia setting in,” he mumbled to the empty room.
• He turned around and grabbed his cell phone from the table. Rolling his shoulders, he tried to relax as he punched in Brody’s number. A groggy voice answered on the other end. “You weren’t sleeping, were you?”
• “Some people do that, Dom.”
• Dominic grinned at the sound of irritation from the other end of the phone. “I sleep.”
• Brody sighed into the phone. “I’ve never experienced that happening.” He groaned. “It’s barely dawn.”
• Dominic grinned. “Best part of the day.” He heard the other man moving around.
• “For you—I don’t have a hot, sexy body snuggled into me when I wake up.” He could hear clanking of glass and guessed Brody was making coffee.
• “Well, the sexy body gets up and leaves for work almost every day...”
• Brody chuckled. “Good, she is immune to your charming, persuasive ways.”
• Dom snarled at the phone. “So, did you go pick it up?”
• The sound of a chair dragging the floor came through the phone. “Told you I would. It’s a beauty. She’s going to moon over it for the rest of her life.”
• Dom dropped down onto the couch. “Listen, thanks for doing that. The captain flipped when I left here the last time. I didn’t want to piss him off by sneaking out again.”
• A deep laugh came from the receiver. “The captain my ass! You just didn’t want Jennah to be pissed at you again—even if it was to go pick up an engagement ring for her.”
• Dom shrugged. “I’m sure she’d have forgiven me.”
• “I need to talk to that woman; she is far too sweet to you.”
• “You just stay out of it, thank you very much. Things are going great without your assistance.”
• There was a long pause. “Are you sure about this? Don’t fly off at me. I know Jennah rocks your world—but you’ve only known her for, what, a month?”
• Dom stared at the closed curtains. “Yeah, so?”
• “So, I’m saying the white picket fence and rose gardens might be rushing it a bit.”
• Dominic stood up and paced back to the curtain that was taunting him. He moved it a fraction of an inch and peered out into the winter morning. “She got my ass out of prison when the rest of you had all but abandoned me and went after Warden Light for me...”
• “Right. I guess that’s a difficult quality to find in a woman.” He chuckled. “I might fall head over ass for a woman if she handled a gun like yours too.”
• Dom’s gaze skimmed over the shadowed snowbanks once more before he dropped the curtain back in place. “It has nothing to do with her gun skills.”
• Brody sighed loudly. “Yeah, I guess not. Although in the bed...”
• Dom smirked. “Don’t even go there.” He walked out into the kitchen and looked at all the files all over the table. “I’ve got the captain coming here today—did you find anything on those two other possible locations?”
• He could hear the slurping of a coffee maker. “I don’t think they’re going anywhere.”
• Dom rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Where the fuck did this guy disappear to?
• “I don’t know.” He heard a spoon hitting the edge of a cup. “What time is the cap coming?”
• “Noon.” He glanced at the clock.
• “I’ll be there at ten and we’ll go over everything one more time.”
• Dom flipped open one of the folders. “We have to find something soon. I’m tired of being cooped up all the time.”
• Brody snorted. “Lounging all day and sweaty sex every night—a real hardship.”
• Dom shook his head. “I’ll see you later, and bring the ring.”
• “I thought you were waiting until Valentine’s Day?”
• “I am, but I’d like to see it.”
• “All right, see you later.”
• Dom closed the phone and sat down at the table. The endless leads so far had gotten them nothing. There had been plenty of arrests, but the one he wanted more than anything else just kept eluding him. He flipped through surveillance photos of all known associations and scowled at them. “Where are you, you slimy son of a bitch?” The hair on the back of his neck stood on end again. Turning toward the front room again, he studied the curtains.
• ~
• Jennah sat at the desk, grinning. She’d managed to get here just before it would have been considered late. She liked this time of day at the office. It was quiet, deserted, and the reason she always asked to take the first shift of the day.
• “Good night,” Scott called as he went through the door.
• She grinned, but didn’t tell him again it was her morning. She remembered working the night shifts and losing all reality of what time was what. Eating breakfast at five in the evening and dinner at three in the morning was something she had never quite gotten the hang of.
• “Hey, beautiful. Is everything all right there?”
• She smiled when Dom’s deep voice went through her mind. Her body responded with a warm buzz every time, whether she wanted it to or not. “Yes, why wouldn’t it be? Half of the town is still sleeping.”
• “Just a feeling...something...”
• She frowned. “What?” She got up and looked out the window across from the reception desk. There was nothing happening out there.
• “Just stick close to people today, babe. My guts is saying something is going down.”
• She wanted to object. She knew how to look after herself, but Dom was a good cop, and if his guts were telling him things, they were probably right. “Okay, don’t worry, Dom. I’ll be fine.” She looked around the empty station. “And stay in the house!”
• He chuckled. “I’ve got Brody coming this morning before the captain. I’ll behave.”
• “Okay. I miss you.”
• The voice inside her mine whispered, “I miss you too, beautiful.”
• She felt his hand brush down over her cheek, and she stood there grinning to herself alone in the office. How does he do that? She’d tried many times to send a touch to him, and it never worked. Sighing, she turned slowly and went back to the window. The school bus went past, just as it always did. She looked as far as she could see without going out into the cold. Nothing looked off out there. Maybe Dom just needed to get out. She frowned and pursed her lips together. She could use a few days away.
• Grinning, she went back to her desk and rummaged around in her purse for her pocket calendar. Maybe around Valentine’s Day. That was only a few days away. They could find some quiet, romantic place to hide in, no phones, no work... She stopped and flipped back on the calendar. What was wrong? That little part of her brain that nagged in little hints and told her she’d forgotten about something was humming loudly. She squinted at the little book in her hand and flipped it forward to the present again. Something...
• The phone on her desk rang and she jerked, almost sliding from the chair. She placed a hand on her chest and blew out a deep breath before answering it. Rudy came through the door as she lifted the receiver and waved to her. Life was on hold while her workday began.