LITMIR.BIZ

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I have to go back to class. Talk to you later?”

      “Sure. Stay safe.”

      “You, too.”

      Sean held the phone to his ear a minute longer, listening to silence. It felt good to have someone in his corner—not that his brothers weren’t. But they were younger when tragedy struck the family. It hadn’t impacted them as much as him, and he’d wanted it that way.

      After Mom had descended into a haze of booze and prescription drugs, he’d taken it upon himself to shield and protect his younger brothers.

      Now, apparently, Elise had taken it upon herself to protect him. Not that there was much she could do, but yeah, it felt good.

      He didn’t want to start getting used to it.

      * * *

      ELISE SLASHED A red crayon across the neon green construction paper. “I will owe you big-time if you can find him for me.”

      Courtney tsked over the phone, but Elise could hear the click of her keyboard. “He’s the cop. He can’t get this info on his own?”

      “He’s doing this as a private citizen and doesn’t want to use the department’s resources.” Elise held her breath as Courtney hummed across the line.

      “Found him in one of my directories. No phone number, but I have an address for Dr. James Patrick and he’s still local. Are you ready?”

      “Fire away.” Elise scribbled down the address as Courtney read it over the line. “Thank you so much.”

      “Just remember if things turn ugly, you didn’t get this info from me.”

      Elise’s belly fluttered. “Why would things turn ugly? Sean’s a cop who needs some information from Dr. Patrick.”

      “Whatever you say, but be careful.”

      “Be careful? With Sean?” She’d never felt safer in her life than standing in the circle of that man’s arms.

      “I saw Lopez’s report last night on the news, Elise. Don’t you think it’s kinda creepy?”

      “The fact that his father was set up to take the fall for a string of murders? Yeah, really creepy.”

      Courtney cleared her throat. “The fact that Brody senior was suspected of being a serial killer and then he took the fall all right—right off the Golden Gate Bridge. And now his son is involved in a similar scenario? Creepy.”

      Anger, as hot as the red crayon, flashed through her body. “Sean is not creepy.”

      “No, I’d say Sean is a hot, sexy cop. But he might be a hot, sexy cop with a secret.”

      “He told me everything.”

      “After not telling you anything.”

      “Courtney...”

      “I’m just asking you to be careful.” She clicked her tongue. “I gotta go. That new client is on the other line.”

      Courtney ended the call, and Elise ripped the square containing Dr. Patrick’s address from the construction paper.

      Her friend was right. Sean had kept the whole truth from her, but then what did he owe her? The past had been Sean’s personal affair until Ray Lopez had spilled the beans.

      Yeah, just like Ty’s woman on the side had been his personal affair.

      The two situations weren’t comparable. Ty’s secret directly affected her, while Sean’s was peripheral to the case. A homicide detective wasn’t expected to divulge his personal history to a witness...or buy her dinner, or kiss her.

      She dusted her fingers together and reached for her phone again. Sean’s phone rang until it tripped over to his voice mail. “Sean, it’s Elise. I got the address of Dr. Patrick, and he’s still in the city. Call me when you get this message. I’m just leaving school now.”

      The rap on her door made her jump.

      The uniformed cop held up his hands. “Sorry I startled you, Ms. Duran, but the older classes are getting dismissed early today and the school’s going to be deserted soon.”

      “Thanks for the reminder. I’m on my way out.”

      “I’ll wait for you.”

      True to his word, the officer waited and walked her out to her car. She waved as she pulled out of the school’s parking lot.

      As her car rolled off the Bay Bridge and into the city, Elise pulled to the side of the road and checked her phone. Still no response from Sean. She called and got his voice mail again. This time she left the doctor’s address.

      She maneuvered through the city streets and realized the doctor lived on the way to Courtney’s. Maybe she should swing by his place and scope it out for Sean.

      Courtney would probably be tied up with her pesky new client, and Elise didn’t want to rush home to an empty place. She’d had enough of empty places.

      Cupping her phone in her hand, she read Dr. Patrick’s address aloud. The phone responded and intoned directions to the location.

      Elise turned onto Dr. Patrick’s street and squinted out her window at the addresses on the row of town houses. She located his address in brass numbers on the outside of a beige stucco building and rolled to a stop at the curb.

      Before turning off the engine, she glanced at the clock on the dashboard. Then she plucked her phone from the cup holder and scrolled through her messages—nothing from Sean.

      She punched in the number for the station, and a woman answered the phone.

      “SFPD Homicide.”

      “Hello, I’m trying to reach Detective Brody. Is he in today?”

      “He’s been in a meeting all afternoon. Can I take a message?”

      “No, that’s okay. I already left him a message on his cell phone.”

      “He’ll get it when the meeting’s over, since they usually turn off their cell phones in there.”

      “Okay, thanks.” Elise tapped the edge of her phone against her chin. Should she wait for Sean or just go to Courtney’s? He’d piqued her curiosity with that story about his father. What a tragic chain of events.

      If Sean’s father had been innocent of the crimes, it was all for nothing. If? Sean was convinced his father had been innocent, but what child wouldn’t believe that of a beloved father?

      Her eyes strayed to the front of Dr. Patrick’s town house. Would the doctor be able to shed any light on the truth? Even if he implicated Sean’s father, would Sean believe him? And if he did implicate Sean’s father, would Sean admit that to her?

      She gripped the door handle. What did it matter? This was Sean’s business.

      She folded her hands in her lap. But it wasn’t just Sean’s business anymore. There was a killer out there who knew all about Sean’s history, a killer who had her in his crosshairs.

      After that fiasco with Ty, she’d vowed never to be kept in the dark again, and this situation with Sean was a lot darker than a cheating fiancé.

      She grabbed the door handle again and pushed out of the car before she could talk herself out of it. Pausing on the steps to the town house, she pulled out her phone and left another message for Sean letting him know her plans.

      She might not want to be kept in the dark, but she didn’t want to keep him in the dark, either.

      With just fourteen units in the building, Elise located Dr. Patrick’s place quickly. A sliding window beside the front door was open halfway across, and the sounds of a game show floated through the mesh screen obscuring the view inside the house.

      She scooped in a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

      A

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