“We did your investigative dirty work this morning.” Noah quickly filled his brother in on the morning’s near tragedy. “So I need whatever you got that can help me make this case.”
“Already compiling it. But watch yourself, Noah.” Jacob paused. “If there is a connection, it’s not a good one.”
Both of the Coltons were on that kick today apparently, as if Noah hadn’t survived war zones and violent protests. But that didn’t make it a bad suggestion.
“Yeah, I got it.” Noah’s gaze sought out Sabrina again, something fierce and protective rising in his chest. “I’ll be careful.”
He hung up just as Sabrina reached him. The morning sun caught her ponytail, turning it white. His heart did that thing it always did when she was near—expanded until his ribs ached with the need to pull her close and never let go.
“You okay?” she asked, sliding her hand into his.
He twined their fingers together, anchoring himself in her touch. “Annie Ross had given birth recently. Medical examiner confirmed it.”
Sabrina’s sharp intake of breath told him she’d made the same connection he had. “The baby lived at the apartment with them.”
“Yeah.” He tugged her closer, needing her warmth to fight back the chill of what they’d discovered. “No sign of the baby yet. Jacob’s expanding the search.”
“They wanted the baby.” It wasn’t a question. Trust Sabrina to read between the lines of what he hadn’t said. “And now Camille’s missing too.”
The words hung between them, heavy with implications. If the criminals responsible for all of this had killed Annie to get the baby, why? Illegal adoption ring?
He itched to find out. There was a baby somewhere out there separated from his mother against her will. And another woman who might have known the truth had vanished into thin air.
And then came the third woman, bound and left to burn. How did she fit in? Was she pregnant too? The connections were there, hovering just out of reach. Noah could feel the shape of the story forming, even if he couldn’t quite grasp it yet.
“Can we go somewhere that doesn’t smell like smoke?” Sabrina asked softly. “Somewhere we can sort through all of this.”
Relief flooded through him. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight, not with the shadow of what they’d discovered hanging over them. “My place? I’ll make coffee.”
Her smile warmed him from the inside out. “Only if you add an extra scoop. Your coffee is weak, my guy.”
By the time they reached his house, the sun had fully crested the horizon. Dancer and Ripley bounded straight for the training yard, their energy seemingly unaffected by the morning’s events. Must be nice. The dogs always seemed to snap back much sooner than he did after a difficult rescue.
Inside, he moved through his kitchen on autopilot, measuring coffee grounds while Sabrina sank onto his couch. She looked so right there, curled up in the corner like she belonged. Which she did. She belonged here, with him, filling up all his empty spaces with her fierce light.
He never wanted to let her go.
“Here.” He pressed a mug into her hands, then settled beside her. Close enough that their shoulders brushed, but not crowding. “I made it extra strong and with an ungodly amount of sugar. I still can’t believe you drink that stuff.”
“I still can’t believe you call the stuff you drink coffee. Eventually I will succeed in my plot to make you a convert.” She shifted closer, snuggling up against his side, which was way better, but he hadn’t wanted to push.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her in. The familiar scent of her shampoo swirled together with traces of smoke from the scene.
It was sobering. A reminder that no one was guaranteed tomorrow or even the rest of today.
“You’re unusually quiet,” she commented. “Thinking about the connections between all of these women?”
Among other things. Like how to keep her here in this exact spot where he could feel the pulse point in her neck under his fingers.
But he could tell she wanted to talk about the case. “I keep coming back to the staging. Ryan said she was positioned deliberately, where first responders would find her quickly.”
“Unlike Annie. Who was hidden away until I stumbled on her.”
“Exactly. Different methods, different goals maybe.” His fingers traced idle patterns on her shoulder. “Ryan thinks they left the Jane Doe today as a message.”
“What kind of message involves leaving someone to burn alive?” She shuddered slightly.
Noah pressed his lips to her temple as comfort to both of them. “The kind meant to warn people off. Show what happens if you don’t play by their rules.”
