Marlie struggled to breathe in the suddenly thick atmosphere, sliding to the edge of the booth so she could see the doorway.
A woman with long black hair, unreal green eyes, and a thick black coat covered with snow stood there, her gaze caught by Rory’s. She steeled her shoulders and walked toward them, leaving smudges of snow on the floor.
“Damn,” Tessa murmured, stepping closer to Marlie and vacating the center of the table. “Hi, Serenity,” she said as the woman approached.
“Hi.” Serenity didn’t look away from Rory. “Stop calling me.”
Rory frowned. “I haven’t called you.”
“Bullshit,” the woman said, red spiraling through her cheeks. “One more time, Rory, and I mean it. You call and hang up again, and I’m calling the police. It’s harassment.”
Rory stood, instantly towering over the woman. “If I were harassing you, darlin’, you’d know it.”
Tessa nudged Marlie’s shoulder. “Ever see an Albertini go caveman?” she whispered.
Marlie watched, fascinated. “I think Bosco has gone there a couple of times,” she whispered back.
Serenity rolled her eyes, looked at Tessa, and then glared back at Rory. “You’re all nuts. All of you.” Then she turned on her heel and marched to the other side of the diner, reaching a group of women all looking on with wide eyes.
“We’re not done with this conversation,” Rory called out. “I’ve given you until the new year, and then we’re having that talk.”
The finger she shot him wasn’t a nice one.
Rory sat back down.
Tessa frowned. “Have you been calling her?”
“No.” He reached for his phone again. “But I’m gonna find out who has been.”
Bosco pickedMarlie up at the diner and drove her to the police department, uncharacteristically quiet. When she couldn’t take it any longer, she turned toward him in his truck. “I’m moving back to my place tonight.”
“No, you’re not.” He parked in a large lot and then cut off the engine.
She shifted uneasily on the seat. “Bosco. Enough. You’re not responsible for me.”
He turned to look at her, his gaze unreadable in the snowy day. “You came to me, you cried in my arms, and you’re in now, baby. I am responsible for you until we find this guy. Fight me all you want, but you’re not gonna win.” He opened his door and shut it sharply.
Her mouth gaped open, and she quickly smacked her lips together before opening her door. He, of course, was already there waiting to help her down onto the icy asphalt. “Listen. I do not go for the bossy type.”
“You do in bed.” He shut the door and ushered her to the sidewalk and around frozen rose bushes toward a larger brick building.
Oh, he had not just said that. She yanked her arm free and strode up the steps and into a warm entryway with a police officer sitting behind a counter. The guy was young, red-headed, and freckled. He looked up and smiled.
She returned the smile. “Hi. I’m Marlie Kreuk. I am supposed to meet with Detective Pierce.” The detective had called earlier and asked for her to come by.
“Sure thing. Go to the second floor, turn left, and you’ll find his office to the right,” the deputy said.
“Thanks.” Marlie turned and headed up the stairs, ignoring the solid form of masculine stubbornness dogging her every move. “I don’t need your help.”
“Too bad,” Bosco said shortly.
She paused at the top and swiveled to face him. “I don’t know why you’re in such a bad mood, but if you want a fight, you’re about to get one.”
His eyes were a dark topaz beneath the fluorescent lights. “I don’t want to fight.” He grasped her arm and turned her toward an office where Detective Pierce was emerging.
The detective caught sight of them and motioned them forward. “Thanks for coming.” He wore gray slacks, a pressed white shirt, and a blue power tie. With his blond hair and sizzling green eyes, he looked all business and fairly tough. “Come in.”
She walked inside his office to take one of two guest chairs while Bosco sat next to her.
