She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying desperately to remember but already knowing there wasn’t a memory to recall. “I’m sorry, Mitch.” She leaned forward and placed her hands on his shoulders. “If Roland had confessed to committinga crime or had talked about anyone who had, I would tell you now. Iswear.”
He nodded, then his head dropped forward until his chin almost touched his chest. He said wryly, “I believe you. Malone would never have confessed, would he? No matter how much he feared burning in hell, he’d have been too cautious, too paranoid to admit a mortal sin out loud. He wouldn’t have told even a priest in a confessional.”
Quietly, she said, “I would hope you believe me because I’ve won your trust.”
Then, raising his head and meeting her eyes again, he reached up and ran his hands over her hair and drew her face closer to his. “That, too.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After exchanging a tender kiss, he said, “I’ve got to go. You’re staying here with Beth.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he held his index finger vertically against her lips. “No argument, please. John wanted to ask you, but thought that the request should come from me. Beth looks ready to pop, and Andrew is a handful. If she got down on the floor to play with him, she might not be able to get back up.”
“That’s not the real reason you want me to stay here.”
“That’s John’s reason.” He cupped her head more firmly. “Mine is that Malone’s finger was sent to me as a harsh reminder that I’ve been living on borrowed time.”
She clutched handfuls of his shirt. “You’re frightening me.”
“The good news is that catching bad guys is my job.” He grinned his grin and winked. “And I’m good at it.”
His grin didn’t work this time to alleviate her disquiet, butwhen he kissed her, it was deep and meaningful, and she kissed him back in kind.
When it ended, he pecked a light kiss on her lips and said, “Save my place, but I’ve gotta run. You and Andrew will be safe here. No one except us knows this place exists. Malone’s out of the picture, and Oz wouldn’t know—” He broke off when he read her stunned expression. “What?”
In a thin voice, she said, “Oz?”
“The drug kingpin’s street name.”
“Also Roland’s evil twin.”
Chapter 38
Mitch’s departure was rushed but emotional.
Only half teasing, he told Beth that now wouldn’t be a good time to hatch her chick.
He picked up Andrew and hugged him fiercely. “Who’s my rock star?”
“Me.”
“You betcha. Be a good boy for Daddy.”
Andrew gave him a sullen okay.
Mitch held him close and whispered in his ear, “Your mommy loved you so much. Now I get to love you twice as much. Once for her, once for me. Have I told you that?”
Andrew nodded. Mitch hugged him tightly and kissed his face several times before setting him down. But Andrew, along with Dylan, trailed him to the door, where he pulled on the slicker Beth had worn.
When he looked into Dylan’s watery, anguished eyes, hesaid, “I told you early on about the vow I’d made to Angela. I’ve got to finish this.”
“How?”
“To be determined. I’ll try to keep you updated, but I forecast a busy day. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He realized then how empty that assurance must sound to her. Her late husband would have made a similar pledge when he sent her away, telling her that he would be rejoining her soon. It was an unfulfilled promise that continued to haunt her. He looked deeply into her eyes. “I will be back, Dylan. You can bank on it.”
