“Your boyfriend is a federal badge and you’re living in this shithole?” Leo asked, shaking his head as though he didn’t believe her.
“He’s stationed out of Chicago, and we were waiting until I graduated from the medical program I’ve been taking to discusswhen the kids and I might move there if he couldn’t get a transfer here. I couldn’t stop the program I’m taking, and it doesn’t transfer anywhere. It looks like that transfer is a no-go for him,” she lied. “So, I’ll probably be moving to Chicago soon.”
“Is that a fact?” he asked.
She nodded and forced a smile. “Yes.”
“I think you should see what I have to offer you before you make a move like that. First thing I’d do for you is get you a nice place, get you outta here. That doesn’t require a cross-country move.”
He had some nerve! Did he really think he was all that? Besides the fact that Donna was sure she’d seen him strangle a man, she found him disgusting. And he was way too old to ever consider dating, and that would be true even if Rich Burke wasn’t in her life.
“As I’ve said, I am flattered, Leo,” she forced herself to say, keeping the outrage and disgust from her facial expression. “But my heart is with someone else.”
He stepped back from the door, but his gaze remained on her. “You may want to reconsider that.” His voice held a warning. “I’ll see you around, Donna.”
She watched him cross the parking lot and get into the black Camaro SS. Still standing in the open doorway, freaked out by his words, she watched him drive away. Only after she hadclosed her door did she look at the phone. Her call had again been cut off at some point. She sent Rich a text.
I’m sure you saw the missed call, and I know you’ll listen to the voicemail when you can. That detective paid me another visit. I’m fine, but I need to talk to you when you can call.
It was over an hour later when she received the callback from Rich. She told him what happened and what was said during the visit. She also told him about seeing Detective Davis’s car drive past her mother’s church the previous day, now that she had confirmation it was the same car.
Burke became more concerned as Donna told him about her latest encounter with Detective Davis. The stress and worry in her voice might have ratcheted him up further than he otherwise would have been. “Okay, here’s what I think. It’s close enough to Christmas for you, the kids, and your mom to come out to Chicago for the holiday. We need to get you out of this asshole’s line of sight for a few days. I’ll talk to your sister and we’ll get it arranged.”
“Come out to Chicago? Rich, how am I going to do that?”
“It’s simple. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll book your flights, get you a rental car, and arrange a place for the five of you to stay. My place is tiny, a one-bedroom unit. And I know Dupont’s place isn’t set up for houseguests either.” Ops Center analyst Brad Dupont was Laura Lee’s boyfriend, and his place was where she stayed when she was in town.
“I can’t afford any of that, Rich!” she protested.
“I said I’ll take care of it.”
“How many hours is the drive? I could maybe,” she began.
“Too many and you don’t want to put the miles on your car,” he said, interrupting her. He knew her vehicle was not in good enough shape for a trip like that, nor was Donna and her mom up for a twelve-hour drive with three kids in tow. “I can afford this, Donna. Consider it a Christmas gift to you and the kids.”
“It’s too much.”
“I’ve come to you for every visit this last year. It’s your turn to come here,” he said in a light voice, trying to sound like he was joking, but he was anything but. He perceived Leo Davis as a real threat to her, and he had to remove her from the situation given that he couldn’t go there right now.
“You’re funny.”
“I’m not joking. Have you gone shopping for the kid’s Christmas gifts yet?”
“I have a few things. My mom bought a few things.”
“Can they be put in a suitcase?” he asked.
“Mostly. There are a few larger items, but I suppose we can take a picture of them and wrap the picture, and the kids can have them when we get home. But this doesn’t solve the problem. It just removes me from it for a week.”
“Until we get back there. My leave is after Christmas. You come here and we'll have a nice Christmas without having to worry about this asshole. Then we all go back together after the holiday, and I'll set the asshole straight.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. It worried her that he’d be putting himself between her and Leo Davis, which could put him in danger, or even worse, leave her open to Davis’s payback after Rich left.
“Donna?” he asked when she’d remained silent for too long.
“Yeah, I’m here. I’m just trying to figure out how to make Christmas work for my kids somewhere other than home or Grandma’s house.”
“I promise, we’ll make it special for them,” Burke promised.
