Page 44 of Blood Money

Gray nodded. Now he understood. The last time Dom got seriously involved it didn’t end well. In fact, there were deadly consequences that still haunted them both, fifteen years later.

He shifted in his seat, angling to face Dom. “Sooner or later you gotta let it go and stop kicking yourself in the ass, or it will kill you. It wasn’t your fault. I was there. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it.”

“Wasn’t there?” Dom turned, and Gray got a good look at the deep-seated torment in his partner’s eyes. “There are things you haven’t let go of, either, my friend. You still don’t trust anyone for a shit second.”

“Touché.” And he didn’t see that changing, another thing keeping him from wholeheartedly believing Alex was innocent.

“You talking about Alex?” Dom asked.

“No. I don’t know. Fuck, maybe.”

“You think you should cut her some slack about what she did,” Dom said. “But you can’t completely believe she isn’t still hiding something, and that she didn’t use your ass.” Dom caught his gaze for a moment then turned to stare out the windshield.

For several seconds longer, neither of them spoke.

“Seems like we both have issues,” Dom said finally. “Embrace the suck, partner. Embrace the suck.”

Gray leaned against the headrest, absorbing the cruel reality of Dom’s words. It did suck, and there was nothing either of them could do about it.

Or was there?

Maybe all Dom needed was a good, swift kick to shake his head loose from his ass.

Gray grabbed his partner’s shoulder and shook him none too gently. “You can’t spend the rest of your life dumping every woman you meet after one date and a night of hot sex. Anika wouldn’t want that for you.”

“I can’t risk it.” Dom shook his head. “I can’t risk—”

“Risk what?”

“Forget it.” Dom shrugged off Gray’s hand. He sniffed the air. “Don’t you have to take a shower? You stink.”

“Jackass.” Gray grinned, wishing like hell Dom would exorcise whatever demons he had breathing down his neck and get it over with.

Like I should give advice to anyone.

Gray dug the digital recorder and the plastic baggie containing the note from his pocket and handed them to Dom. “This is the recording Alex made this morning.”

Dom handed him an identical recorder. “Fresh batteries.”

Gray grabbed his duffel from the floor between his feet. “I’ll be down in twenty, then we’ll pick up Alex and Nicky.”

“Speaking of which…” Dom slanted Gray a sly look. “Did you really sleep on the sofa?”

“Fuck you.” Gray got out and slammed the Durango’s door shut, but not before hearing Dom laughing his ass off.

…

As Alex pushed open the apartment building door, a gust of blustery March air threatened to slam it shut in her face. She held it open for Nicky, who adjusted the backpack on his shoulder and hopped down the stairs to the sidewalk, his dark hair ruffling in the wind.

Despite the danger surrounding them both, a sense of relief warmed Alex, and she smiled. Nicky had responded well to his treatment last week and was feeling better. The positive effects of the intravenous drug that was administered under the watchful eye of Dr. Maxwell normally lasted at least a month. Gray instructed her to pack two weeks of clothes for Nicky, but hopefully this would be over long before his next treatment was due.

When the door closed behind her, she glanced in either direction along the street, wondering if anyone was truly watching them. A shudder of relief went through her when she didn’t see anyone out of the norm, but Gray thought it was a remote possibility and had directed her not to leave the apartment with anything but her pocketbook and the little backpack in which Nicky carried his school things. “Try to make it look like business as usual,” he’d said.

While she’d been packing Gray’s duffel with Nicky’s things, she explained to Nicky that he would be staying with Gray’s sister for a little while. At first, Nicky didn’t like the idea of being away from Alex any more than she did, but when she told him about the beautiful Belgian sheepdog Cassie owned, his eyes lit up with the vibrancy she’d hoped for. Baseball and dogs were the way to her son’s heart, and she silently thanked Gray for mentioning Cassie’s dog to her before leaving so abruptly this morning.

With a deep sigh, Alex looked back at the building that had been their home for nearly seven years. She wouldn’t miss it when the time came to move on. It was a dump, after all. But the idea of having to start over again was overwhelming. The first time, she’d given up her name, her job, and the business she’d worked so hard to build from scratch. Once again, she’d have to relocate and reinvent herself. She’d persevered through it before and could do it again.

Alex yawned and blinked rapidly to keep her eyes open. What little energy she’d gotten from the few hours sleep she’d managed suddenly drained away. Life wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. She wasn’t supposed to be doing this all alone. She could only hope Gray would make good on his word to keep them safe. They’d both said some harsh words last night, and this morning the awkwardness between them was as palpable as a brick wall. But Alex was counting on Gray’s professionalism to never let any harm come to them.