Dark Tide. Susan Sleeman

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СКАЧАТЬ won’t leave the area,” he said, not bothering to look at her.

      He clearly wasn’t glad to see her, but then she’d expected that reaction. She hadn’t expected this terrible remorse for asking for his help when she’d treated him so poorly to well up and bring tears to her eyes. Being a stand-up guy, he had no alternative but to come to her rescue. She knew she’d put him in a difficult position.

      Could she let him assist them under those conditions? Could she afford not to, despite the way she felt? Given any other choice, she’d handle this herself as she did everything else in life, but she couldn’t risk Sophia’s life.

      Like it or not, she needed him to protect them. Plus he could help find her brother, Jon’s, killer.

      She glanced at the set of his jaw, his rigid posture. Still, she wanted him to choose to help them and not feel forced into it by his chivalrous nature. Now that the immediate danger had passed, she needed to give him an easy out.

      Praying he wouldn’t actually take her up on her offer, she faced him. “You could drop us off at the nearest MAX station and I can—”

      “You’re kidding, right?” He whipped his head around to stare at her. “A man kills your friend then comes after you, and you think I’m going to drop you off at a public train station? Un-be-lievable.”

      “Once you’re sure he hasn’t followed us, we should be safe until I can find another investigator.” She tried to imbue her voice with her usual confidence, but she couldn’t manage it.

      “Look.” Derrick tightened his fingers around the steering wheel. “I get that you don’t want to be around me, but I’m not letting you out of my sight until I know you’re okay. So sit back and relax while I keep a watch on the streets.” He jerked a hand free and cranked up the heater.

      Sit back and relax—right. Like she could unwind when a man had tried to kill her. Twice. Or chill out in any way with Derrick at her side. She’d gotten what she’d wanted, though. He’d willingly agreed to help them, but that meant they’d be thrown together and clearly he still had an effect on her.

      Sophia shifted and Gina knew she owed it to the baby to at least try to calm down. If she didn’t, she’d burn out, and Sophia needed her. She concentrated on the heat flowing under the dash. The temperature had dipped a good ten degrees below normal February temperatures from what she could remember of her college days in Oregon. She moved her soaked shoes under the flowing air, then settled deeper into Derrick’s jacket and inhaled his woodsy scent clinging to it.

      She drifted back to their college days. To that last day. Breaking up. Saying goodbye. Her heart a mass of pain.

      What would her life have been like if she hadn’t broken things off with him? Would Derrick have stood by her when Jon died, leaving Gina to raise Sophia alone, or would he have run like her recent ex-fiancé, Ben?

      Waste of time to think about it.

      Sure, they’d loved each other in college, but she’d soon learned that he couldn’t commit to a long-term relationship. Why, she wasn’t sure, and it didn’t matter. Men who couldn’t commit and broken promises were the story of her life. Starting with her minister father, whose church was more important than her. Always more important. Then Derrick and Ben.

      Three strikes and she was out. She was over trying to find a man who’d be there for her. So over it.

      It’s been nine years. Maybe Derrick changed.

      Didn’t matter. Not even if she was interested. And after Ben’s recent rejection, she wasn’t interested in any man.

      Besides, Derrick had likely gotten over his commitment issues and was married with kids. She glanced at his hand to see if he wore a wedding ring, but he’d dropped it from the wheel and out of view.

      Just as well.

      She didn’t need to be pondering his marital status anyway. She turned away and watched the lush scenery as they drove around the area. After fifteen minutes, Derrick pulled up to a long row of garages for houseboat owners. He pressed the remote clipped on the visor, sending the end door rumbling up. Once inside, he sat staring ahead, as if unsure how to proceed. The awkward silence grew, and she searched for something to say. But what could she say?

      Sorry I bailed on you, on us, but now that I need you, please be there for me.

      Hardly.

      He drew in a long breath and exhaled as if he needed to fortify himself just to look at her before swiveling to face her. “If I’m going to help you, I need to ask a few questions.”

      “Okay,” she said hesitantly. Did he intend to ask about their past?

      “Tell me about tonight. About your friend. Give me exact details.”

      She rubbed hard calluses on her fingers from playing violin, the feeling familiar and comforting as she recounted the terrifying ordeal on Lilly’s boat as matter-of-factly as possible. “I can’t be positive the woman he shot was Lilly, but she’d never willingly leave Sophia alone.”

      “Must’ve been hard to lose her like that.” He lifted a hand, reaching for her as if he planned to touch her then dropped it to his knee.

      “I keep hoping she survived.”

      He lifted his hand again, and she was surprised at how much she wanted to feel his comforting touch, but he dug out his phone instead. “Kat’s husband, Mitch, is a homicide detective. Dani has already called him about your attack. If you give me Lilly’s address, I’ll have him head over there instead of to the mall.”

      “Homicide?” she asked, hating the finality of the word. “But what if I was wrong and Lilly’s alive?”

      “Even if she survived, which from the scene you described is not very likely, the investigation will be handled as an attempted murder, which means Mitch will work the case.”

      His brutal honesty when she wanted comfort felt like a slap in the face, and she jerked back.

      “Look.” His eyes softened. “I’m sorry for being so blunt, but I don’t want you to hold on to unrealistic hope.”

      He was right. She had to face this just like she’d faced Jon’s death and the attack in San Diego. Like she’d faced leaving Derrick so long ago. With courage and bravery. Sophia was counting on her. She had to be strong.

      She rattled off Lilly’s address and Derrick phoned his brother-in-law. She listened to his conversation and heard the professional lingo of a former cop roll off his tongue. She pictured him as an officer who would be compassionate, caring, yet hard-nosed and one who would fight for justice. For the downtrodden, as he’d chosen to do early in life after the drunk driver who killed his birth parents got off with a slap on the wrist. He’d even majored in criminal justice in college.

      Though she hadn’t been in touch with him since college, she’d kept tabs on him through mutual friends. She knew about the years he’d served as a police officer—and the decision he’d made to leave that career behind after his adoptive parents were killed. Along with his twin and his three adopted siblings, he’d formed a private investigation agency, first to find the people responsible for their parents’ deaths, and then to help others in need. And now he was СКАЧАТЬ