LITMIR.BIZ

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huffed out a disgusted breath and started up the stairs. “What happened?”

      “Does it really matter? He’s gone.”

      “Then it’s up to us to bring him in.” Mitch tried to sound optimistic but until he knew if the scene provided any strong leads, he couldn’t really be so sure they’d catch him.

      “You get Kat home all right?”

      “Yeah.” He glanced at her one more time before making the turn on the landing.

      “She doing okay?”

      “Not really. I’m clearing the house right now, but when I finish, I’ll insist she call someone to spend the night with her. Maybe her sister or one of her brothers.”

      Thanks to Tommy’s nonstop chatter, Mitch knew all about the Justice family. Kat had three brothers and one sister. All of them were adopted. And all of them were former law enforcement officers who gave up their careers to find their adoptive parents’ killer. Now they continued to work together in a private investigation agency. No one better to care for her than her siblings.

      Keep telling yourself that and maybe you can go home without a backward glance.

      “Kat will never go for it,” Tommy said.

      “I thought you said they were all tight.”

      “They are, but if this guy is really trying to kill Kat, she won’t want them mixed up in this.”

      “I don’t follow.” He checked a bedroom with a small bed and more boxes piled to the ceiling.

      “She’s a worrier. She’s seen too many people she loves die and lets it get to her. So if there’s any chance they’ll get hurt, she’ll keep them out of it. She doesn’t even date. As she says, why find someone just to lose them.”

      Mitch understood that. How he understood it. Losing his parents and Lori, plus his sister Angie’s plunge into the black hole of drugs, guaranteed that. Still, it didn’t fit the woman he thought he knew. “I never figured her for a worrier.”

      Tommy laughed. “She puts on a tough front, but when it comes to people she loves, she’s a bowl of jelly.”

      “Good to know. Still, I’ll have to insist she call them.” He went on to the next bedroom. This one was obviously Kat’s—neat, orderly and box free.

      “Of course you will. Just wanted you to be prepared when she balks at it.”

      Mitch opened the closet door. “You about done at the scene?”

      “Yeah. I’m heading back to the office to get a jump start on this if you want to come in.” Not a request. More of a plea to help find the person who’d manhandled and almost killed his former partner.

      “Want me to bring a pizza?”

      “Yeah, man. That’d be good.”

      “I’m putting mushrooms on it, so deal.” As he disconnected, he heard Tommy laugh over their longstanding debate about where fungus belonged. According to Tommy, it wasn’t on a pizza.

      Mitch cleared the small bathroom, checking behind the shower curtain, then went to the stairs where the nutty aroma of fresh coffee drifted up.

      Kat was standing at the bottom. She still wore his jacket and held a steaming mug. “I made coffee. You want a cup?”

      Not really, but with the way she looked up at him all wounded and sad as if she needed him, he couldn’t say no. “Sure.”

      She went to the kitchen, and he considered how he was going to convince her to let a family member spend the night. She had a reputation for being stubborn and headstrong. Not something he had much experience in dealing with when it came to women.

      “I’m assuming we’re clear,” she said, joining him with a second cup.

      “Yes.” He took the mug and put some distance between them. He waited for her to say she could’ve done that herself, but she just gave a sad, halfhearted nod. Not a good sign.

      “You shouldn’t be alone tonight, Kat.” He took a sip of coffee and nearly groaned at the strong, freshly ground taste he loved.

      “I’m fine.” Her shoulders went up a notch.

      He regarded her for a moment and she held her rigid posture under his scrutiny. She was trying so hard to keep it together, but he saw the crack in her strong veneer ready to crumble with the least little blow. “I’m not sure you’re a good judge of how you’re doing right now.”

      She raised a brow as if daring him to protest. “I appreciate your concern, really I do, but there’s no need to bother anyone else.” She gave him a tough-as-nails look, then walked into the family room almost aimlessly as if she had no idea what to do with herself. She paused staring ahead. Then, as if reaching a decision, she put her mug on a table and dropped onto the sofa.

      He followed and decided to take a firmer stance as he sat next to her. “I’m going to call one of your brothers or your sister.”

      “No! It’s late and they don’t need to get involved in this mess.”

      “Truth time, Kat. What’s going on here?” he asked, expecting her to reinforce Tommy’s take on things, but hoping if she did, he’d find a hole in her logic.

      “It’s nothing, it’s just—” She looked down and started frantically rubbing her wrists where the skin was angry and raw. “This is the first case I’ve headed up at the agency. Ethan and Cole have pretty much been in charge. Makes sense, I guess. They’re the oldest and have the most experience. But still, I begged for a case. Told them I was ready. Now I screwed up and...” Her voice faded away.

      Not the answer Tommy had prepared him for. “And you don’t want them to know about it.”

      “Yeah.” She kept picking at her wrist.

      His mind flashed back to the moment he found her. Bound and helpless, a terrified glaze to her eyes. These very wrists strapped behind her. She seemed now as if she could hardly bear the memory. He took her hands, stopping her from damaging the skin even more. He held her icy fingers as he waited for her to look up at him. When she did, he smiled to help ease her anxiety, but she stared at him looking lost so he plunged ahead. “Your family will hear about this on the news by morning. Maybe you should tell them before that happens.”

      “I just can’t handle facing them tonight. Tomorrow, but not tonight.”

      He could feel the tension radiating off her. He wanted to do more than hold her hands—maybe give her a hug—but this wave of uncertainty would be gone by morning. Her feisty personality would return, and she wouldn’t remember the hug too fondly.

      “I still don’t like the idea of you staying alone. Not with a killer on the loose.”

      Fierce independence replaced the uncertainty in her eyes, and she jerked her hands free. “I was a cop, Mitch. I know how to protect myself.”

      “I know you do, but you’re upset and not thinking straight.”

      “You’re right. I’m upset. Of course, I’m upset. I lay right next to my friend’s body. But don’t think that means I’m falling apart. I’m thinking clearly, and I’ll be fine on my own.” Her shoulders jerked higher.

      He wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. He had no choice but to back off. But he wouldn’t leave her unprotected. He’d arrange for an officer to sit outside all night.

      “You’re tired. I should be going.” He started to rise.

      “Wait.” She grabbed his arm stopping him. “We haven’t talked about the investigation.”

      “What about it?”

      “I want to be part of it.”

      He should’ve known this was coming and prepared a way to say

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