Ignoring them, she kept walking. Just as she was about to pass, one of them blocked her way. They smelled of booze and the second one reeked of dope, too. “What’s the rush, hon?”
Stepping around him, Evangeline raised her weapon as she spun around to face them. “Keep on walking, fellas.” She took a few steps backward.
“I’m outa here.” The one who smelled of weed took off.
The second grinned. “What’s a little girl like you doing packing heat?”
“Federal law enforcement.” She took a few more steps away from him, but she didnotturn her back. “I’m headed to the office now. Wanna join me?”
“Hell, no.” The guy raised his arms and backed away, then turned and jogged down the street.
Evangeline waited a few more seconds before taking off toward her car. She jumped in, made a three-point turn, and sped toward the apartment building. At the stop sign, she turned left. A sedan drove past and she glimpsed the driver and his passenger.
That was Develin.
She hit the brakes, made a U-turn, and hightailed it after the vehicle. At the traffic light, she glanced in every direction, but it was gone.Dammit to hell. She’d lost them.
Tonight’s success had hinged on toady taking the baby to someone. If she’d been lucky—and clearly she hadn’t—he might have hand-delivered the infant to Uncle Charlie himself.
But…poof! Like magic, everyone had disappeared.How am I going to find Uncle Charlie if I can’t even track a baby?
“I’m back to fucking zero.” She’d been back in town three damn weeks and Sinclair Develin had totally tanked her case. As she headed south toward D.C., she let the expletives fly.
2
The Holiday Party
Evangeline rang the doorbell, shoved her key in the lock, and opened her sister’s front door. “Hannah,” she called. “It’s me.”
“I’m up here,” Hannah yelled from the second floor of her Shirlington townhouse. “Almost ready.”
Despite getting two hours of sleep, Evangeline painted on a smile and trotted upstairs. Working this case might be frustrating as hell, but seeing her younger sis on a regular basis was one of the main reasons she’d requested the temporary relocation.
Hannah Caraway’s home was small, but tidy. Evangeline walked into the master bedroom and the forced smile turned into a sincere grin. Her sister stood there in her bra and underwear eying two maternity dresses draped across the bed. At over eight months pregnant, Hannah was as big as a house.
“I thought you were large three weeks ago, but you arehuge.”
Rubbing her tummy with a tender hand, Hannah laughed. “Ah, he kicked me again.” She held out her hand. “Come feel him.”
Evangeline laid her hand on her warm belly and felt him push against it. “Wow. Just wow. The little guy’s got one hell of a leg. Whad’ya think? NFL kicker?”
Hannah laughed. “I just love him so much.”
A lump formed in Evangeline’s throat and she swallowed down the unexpected emotion. She could understand why Hannah had become more emotional than usual, but how was this rubbing off on her? She was a hard ass. Kept her emotions tucked away. Her job demanded it, plus she was never really sure how to process all that emotion anyway, so she just didn’t. Evangeline ran a soft hand down her sister’s cheek. “You’re going to be a fantastic mom.”
Her joyful expression fell away. “I don’t know. I hope so. I hope I’ll be enough.” As her delivery date grew near, Hannah had grown more and more anxious.
Wanting to redirect the conversation, Evangeline pointed to the dresses. “Those are pretty.”
“I can’t decide.”
Evangeline lifted the burgundy one. “This gets my vote.”
Her sister dressed while Evangeline slipped into the bathroom and put on some of Hannah’s makeup. A few minutes later, Hannah joined her and they finished getting ready together. Despite having different dads and being polar opposites, the two women were very close. Evangeline always said Hannah was the light to her dark.
Hannah was a kindergarten teacher with blonde hair and dark brown eyes. Evangeline was an FBI agent with dark brown hair and light blue eyes. Hannah saw the good in everyone; Evangeline saw the evil…or perhaps was more drawn to it. Either way, the thirty-three-year-old special agent had always kept a watchful eye on her twenty-six-year-old baby sis. It had been that way from the beginning, and it would be that way until the end.
“Tell me again why you’re dragging me to this holiday open house,” Evangeline said as she brushed a light coating of powder over her face.
