“I have some phone calls to make.” Dan looked at them both. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”
Alex blew out a breath, running his fingers through his hair. “I know what you’re going to say. I also know I should feel bad for keeping this from you, but—”
“You don’t,” Eden finished for him. She understood where he was coming from, but still. “Alex, you had to know Murphy was going to bring it up. What were you thinking?”
He stared back at her. “I was trying to protect you.”
She took a few steps toward him. “I know you were. And while part of me loves you even more for it, the other part is furious with you.”
Surprise flickered behind his pretty eyes. “What I said to Murphy was true. The last thing I ever want is for you to get hurt.”
“You should have at least let me try.” She was hurt that he hadn’t. “You should’ve trusted me enough to do what I’ve been practicing in order to get through it.”
With a frown, Alex shook his head. “This isn’t about trust, Eden. It’s about—”
“Protecting me.” Eden closed the distance between them. With a hand resting against his cheek, she said, “I know you believe that, but you’re wrong. This isn’t about me. Or you. It’s about finding the man who’s been killing those women before he finds his next victim.”
Covering her hand with his, Alex stared down at her with the same emotion she’d seen when they’d made love. “I lo—”
Garrett cleared his throat as he returned from the evidence locker. “Sorry. I can come back.”
They both turned to the door. As badly as she wanted to hear what Alex was about to say, this wasn’t the time or place.
Dropping her hand, she took a step back, putting some much-needed distance between them. If she was going to do this, she needed to stay focused on the task at hand. Not her love life.
“It’s okay, Garrett,” she smiled at the other man.
“So, how do you want to do this?” Garrett looked to his partner for guidance, but it was Eden who answered.
“Let’s just get it over with.” She held out her hand. “Hand me one of the cards.”
Alex’s entire body stiffened beside her. “Damn it, Eden. Please don’t do this.”
“I have to, Alex.” She struggled to keep her voice steady. “And you need to let me. Now you two can either stay or go, but if you choose to stay, you’re going to have to remain quiet.”
Shaking his head, Alex opened his mouth to continue arguing, but she shut him down.
“I mean it, Alex. You cannot interrupt me. If I can’t handle it, I’ll pull myself out. You two need to stay quiet and not touch me. If you don’t think you can manage that, you need to leave now.”
Having laid down the law, she waited to see what his choice would be. His disagreement with what she was about to do was written all over his gorgeous face, but Alex didn’t protest any further.
Instead, he walked over to Garrett, yanked the evidence bag from his hand, and opened it. Reaching in, he pulled the card from the bag and held it out to her.
Eden made a move to grab it, but he held it out of her reach at the last second. “You don’t sacrifice yourself for this bastard.”
Her heart swelled. “I won’t.”
“Promise me you’ll stop if it becomes too much.”
Despite their current location—and the fact that Garrett was in the room with them—Eden leaned up and pressed her lips to his. “I promise.”
A second later, she took the small, white square from Alex’s hand.
****
Chapter Ten
Alex watched Eden closely as she took the card from his hand. She gasped, her eyes squeezing shut as her body jolted. It reminded him of someone being electrocuted.
