“Hi, Faye,” Dana said, angling into position to kick Wolfe again.“Cute kitten.”
“He’s mine,” Wolfe said, easily stepping out of range. “You’re pretty. You dating anybody?”
Raider scrubbed a hand through his wet dark hair and set his gun on the end table. “Jesus, Wolfe. She’s not going to date you after you ruined her umbrella andkidnapped her.”
Dana leaned back and took a good look at Wolfe. He wore ripped jeans, unbuttoned, and his chest was broad and bare. There were knife and bullet wounds…and perhaps electrical burns? “You are kind of cute,” she murmured.
Raider shook his head. “Unbelievable.” He was bare chested, and his four-point Celtic knot tattoo swirled over his left shoulder and bicep, identical to the ones on Hunter’s arm and Faye’s lower back. Mark had worn his on his right bicep. Tonight, Raider wore streamlined blue sweats, and his bare chest showed some new scars: a couple of knife wounds, as well as what looked like a bullet hole near his left ribcage.
Hunter had known about the different fights, but he hadn’t realized the full damage. They’d let their little family go separate ways for too long. Was it because Mark had died? Or was it because he and Faye had taken a chance on something more and blown it? Hunter fought the urge to tell Faye to go put on more clothing. “Dana? You’re welcome any time, as you know, but what the hell are you doinghere at dawn?”
The blonde rolled her eyes and unbuttoned her raincoat.
“There we go,” Wolfe said, approval inhis dark gaze.
Now Hunter wanted to kick him.“Knock it off.”
Dana shrugged out of her coat and revealed a manila file folder she’d had tucked against her side, protected from the rain. “I’ve been called back to DC on the first flight, and I wanted to get you this information before you left. I called, but your phone wentto voice mail.”
Damn it. He’d probably let the battery run dry again. He hatedhaving a phone.
Faye moved closer to him, and he fought the urge to wrap an arm around her shoulders like he would’ve done years ago. The kitten meowed and snuggled into her chest with a snuffled sigh. He was actually jealous of a cat.
Dana handed over the folder, and he opened it, reminding himself to concentrate on the case at hand. “Louise has taught at a couple of schools, and there were unsubstantiated concerns at the last one about a relationship with a student,” Dana said. “All of the information is there, including a couple of domestic violence reports on her husband.”
Faye nodded, leaning to read around Hunter. “That fits the possible pathology. Abused woman, unhappy at home, feels like a god with a kid whoworships her.”
“That’s no excuse,”Hunter snapped.
“No, it isn’t,” Faye agreed. “There is no excuse for what she’s doing. But if we understand her a little better, maybe wecan find her.”
Good point.
Dana wiped rain off her cheeks. “Also, I have a contact I can’t name who found a phone number that might be your brother’s. The number is in here.” She gave Wolfe a look and then slid a folded piece of paper to Hunter. “Of course, you’ll have to charge your phone first.”
* * * *
It was too early to hit another store, considering they’d fled Illinois just last night. But Louise had been determined. Jackson Holt sat on the motel room bed in Iowa, wondering why anybody had ever thought that avocado green and bright yellow went together. Even a million years ago, the colors had to have looked bad. The door opened, and Louise came in, her gorgeous brown hair swirling. “Louise.” He jumped up, took the shotgun out of her hands, and threw it on the bed. Thenhe kissed her.
Like always, she tasted of sunshine and strawberries.
She kissed him back, holding him tight. Finally, she leaned away and drew a pack off her shoulders. “I got us some real money this time, my man.” Reaching in the pack, she pulled out a bunch of bills and threw them high in the air.
He laughed, because she wanted him to. But this robbing and taking risks wasn’t gonna get them anywhere. He loved her, which meant he trusted her, but this was a bad path, and he couldn’t protect her when she went out robbing people by herself. Being criminals was no way to build a future, and he wanted one with her. It was their destiny. “Let’s get somewhere safe, and I’ll take care of you,” he said, wanting to be tough for her. “It’s my job to protect you.” He’d be a much better man than his father had even thought of being. He sure as hell would never hit one of his kids. Or Louise.
His phone, the one he’d forgotten he had, buzzed from the plastic grocery bag holding his socks and underwear. His chest hitched for just a second at the thought that his father was calling and actually gave a shit. He hung his head, his lungs deflating. Why the hell did he care? His old man had never cared except to hit and kick. Jackson rubbed the scar beneath his right eye from the cigarette his good old dad hadflicked at him.
“Hey.” Louise cupped his jaw. “Where did you go?”
He smiled, leaning in to her touch. “Nowhere. Only here and now matter.” It was their motto, and he needed to remind himself of it once in a while. But it was time he stepped up as the man in this relationship in a way his father never had. The bastard never could. “The next robbery—I do. Not you.”
She smiled, happy lines extending from the corners of her eyes. “That’s my job, baby. You know it.”
His chest puffed out. “Not anymore.” He couldn’t let her down the way his father had hurt and then abandoned his mother before she died. “If you love me and if you want me to be your man, you have to let me.”
She smiled, love in her eyes. Nobody had ever cared about him until her. He didn’t understand why she liked him, but since she did, he wasn’t going to screw it up. “We’ll see,” she said, looking at the pack.
He held her hand. “Nobody got hurt this time either, right?” They couldn’t be harming people, and the more times they robbed, the more likely it became that somebody would get hurt. He couldn’t live withthat. “Right?”
