“You mean before we had our practice session?”
This time, she didn’t answer his question.
“Anyway, I know you don’t want me here. I didn’t ask to be assigned to this task force, either. But now that I have been, I am determined to help track down this suspect and help make connections to any other cases, if they exist. I’ll do my job. You do yours.”
“Okay.”
“You act like you know me, but you know nothing about me. And if you want to get rid of me, the fastest way to do that would be to close this case.”
What didn’t he know about her? The question struck him, though he had no business wondering or even the right to ask. But she’d brought it up. He had to give her credit for her moxie. Kelly was stronger than she looked, and she hadn’t appeared all that frail in the first place.
As Kelly tightened her arms across her chest, Tony tried not to notice how this gave her an extra lift that she didn’t need and one that wasn’t in his best interest to see.
“That’s fair.”
Tony was relieved that his words came out as something more than squeaks. He wasn’t a seventh grader. He was a grown-ass man, and he needed to start acting like it.
“Okay, then.”
He could have let it go at that. She’d made it easy for him to avoid answering any questions, but he couldn’t accept the gift. Besides, he wanted to close this case as much as she did. Like she kept saying, it was personal to him, too.
“About yesterday, I was just having a bad day. Can we start over?” He stood and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Special Agent Anthony Lazzaro. Tony, for short.”
She stared at his hand instead of lifting hers. He couldn’t blame her. He’d made a point of not greeting her properly the day before. Still, she reached out and gripped his hand.
“Trooper Kelly Roberts. Good to meet you, sir.”
Her handshake was firm, professional and a mistake, he guessed from his tingling palm as he pulled away. He couldn’t worry about that now. He’d told himself he would focus on the case, and he planned to keep that promise.
“Well, if I’m going to get started on my job, I will need my seat back.”
Cory’s cell phone buzzed again as it had been all morning. He’d silenced the ringer and turned it face down on his desk so he couldn’t see the display, but it had continued to buzz about every thirty minutes. Mom never gave up when she wanted something. He was like her in that way.
At first, he’d been too focused on the messages scrolling up his laptop monitor to pay much attention to his phone, but the sound was distracting him now. The chat rooms weren’t much fun today, anyway. Just screen names he’d seen before, seeming to talk to themselves or each other. No titillating flirtations. No potential Cinderella or Snow White or even a beautiful Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.
He couldn’t ignore his mother forever. She might turn off the Internet. He couldn’t risk that. When the phone buzzed again, he answered.
“What is it?”
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I saw that you called a few times.”
“If you saw, then why didn’t you pick it up? It’s not like you have anything better to do. Like go to work.”
Cory straightened in his chair just as he would have if she were in the same room instead of in Boca Raton. At least she hadn’t video-dialed in this time. He hadn’t showered in a day or two. Or three.
He switched to his best cajoling tone. It had always worked before. “Come on, Mom. I told you that job wasn’t a good fit for me. Grocery-cart collector? I hated it. I’ll find something better. Soon.”
“You’re right you’d better. And I don’t care if you like it. Why do you think ‘work’ is a four-letter word? In fact, I’ve been considering tapering off my financial support. Clearly, it isn’t helping you to get on your feet.”
His chest tightened. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned.
“Please, I promise I’ll find something. And I’ll keep it this time.”
“You said that last time. And the time before that.”
His hands fisted, but he forced his fingers to loosen and flattened his palms on the desk. He couldn’t afford to lose his cool. Not now. This was too important.
“If you could support me for once.”
“I’ve supported you, all right, in more ways—”
“Or believe me,” he interrupted.
At that, she stopped. But his pulse pounded as it always did when he even thought of the forbidden topic.
For a long time, a dropped-call kind of silence filled the line. He might have gone too far in dredging up the past, but she’d pushed him, too. It was her fault.
“You know I believe you.”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. They both knew she hadn’t always believed him. When it counted.
“One month.”
“What?” He at least had to sound like he didn’t understand what she was saying, though optimism broke through the shroud draping his thoughts. He’d won for now. But at what cost? The darkness was peeking out again. He would have to bury it before it consumed him.
“You have thirty days to get a job you plan to keep and begin taking over some of your bills.”
“Sounds okay, I guess.”
“That’s my last offer.”
His mother, who’d spent the morning trying to get in touch with him, seemed anxious to get off the phone. He was in a hurry himself. Before, he hadn’t taken his search seriously. Now he had a deadline.
One month to plan, to woo her, to win her hand. It was terrifying yet exhilarating. The timing wasn’t optimal, he decided, as he chose from among his favorite chat rooms. He would have to search more diligently just when he needed to keep a low profile because of the incident. But he would be careful. So careful.
He would find her, too. She would be perfect. And young. And his. Then he and his princess could disappear together forever.
Kelly’s eyes burned and her head throbbed from the hours she’d spent staring at the screen, but it couldn’t be helped. She’d needed space from Tony after their conversation that morning. Though he’d never told her what he had against her, it wouldn’t matter once they found a way to put it behind them.
If only she could get past her odd reactions to him, as well. How was she supposed to keep her edge as a fellow law enforcement officer when she could only think about his long lashes and the way his biceps strained against the sleeves of his dress shirt? He might have been older than she was, but he probably could have taken on most of the guys she’d met. And maybe he could take her on in a much more satisfying way.
“Hey, are you available?”
Kelly startled, a humiliating squeak escaping from her throat before she turned back to find Tony standing at the doorway of her cubicle. Why did he always have to show up when she was having off-limits thoughts? Also available? Was he a mind reader?
“The conversations get intense, don’t