Page 81 of Dark ’N’ Deadly

Dayne’s dark brows bunched. “Don’t know for sure. Eric already had a pretty good idea who was behind those drums. Had we known earlier—I doubt we would have done much differently.”

“If I’d told you,” she countered, “you might have had eyes on Harley and Pritchard earlier.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Don’t kill yourself over what-ifs.”

“I’ll never forgive myself if that bomb goes off before you find it.”

“If it does, it won’t be your fault. It’ll be Gant’s fault, and the fault of the people who follow his warped rule of morality. Keep it real and don’t forget that.”

She shook her head, still feeling guilty. “It’s hard to do that.”

Tiger’s rumbly snores had her turning to see the dog’s eyelids flicker. Doors opening and closing filtered into the break room. Part of her yearned to see Eric again, while the other part was disappointed that he hadn’t understood. No matter how much she’d explained her actions, he would never be capable of forgiving her. He hated Harley and would always see her as being tainted, soiled by her affiliation with him.

“We’re just about done. You can leave your car here for the night. Eric’s making one last phone call, then he’ll take you home.”

“Home?” She’d assumed there was no way he’d want to be anywhere near her. “He hates me.”

Dayne surprised her by chuckling. “He cares about you.”

She shook her head. “I doubt that.”

“I’m not wrong.”

She slanted him a skeptical look. “How do you know?”

“Whatever he’s feeling, it’s not hatred. Probably the opposite.”

“How do you figure that?” Because she couldn’t. Not in a million years.

“You hurt him. That’s how I know. Eric doesn’t hurt easily. Emotionally, he’s got a steel backbone. The entire time I’ve known him, the only person who ever hurt him is you. But your motives were well intentioned. You were protecting your little brother. Revenge is one of the strongest motivating forces there is, and it’s been at the forefront of Eric’s mind for a very long time. His friends died right in front of him. He needed closure and he never got it. When that moment happens for him, then he’ll be able to think clearly.”

“If only that were true,” she whispered.

“Don’t doubt what I said. He already knows you went through hell just like we did.” Dayne’s beautiful emerald eyes went hard then he shifted his focus to the floor, as if he was recalling something—a memory—that he didn’t much like.

Like we did?

She didn’t know Dayne had suffered in his life. In the few days she’d known him, the man had barely spoken to her. He was a man of few words, one with a cold, granite-like exterior that kept people from invading his personal space. Maybe she and Dayne were more alike than she’d realized, and that was why he could understand.

“Thank you,” she said, amused when his startled gaze flicked back to hers.

“For what?” A corner of his mouth lifted.

“For the talk.” She grinned and was rewarded with a dazzling white smile that completely shocked her. “So, what’s your story? Did you have psycho parents, too?”

The smile on his face faded. His jaw went hard again, and his eyes darkened, reminding her of the murky depths of the lakes she used to fish in Alabama. Whatever the man’s childhood, it couldn’t have been pretty.

Tiger lifted his head, his body rigid as he stared at the empty doorway. A second later, Eric came in. His hair was completely mussed, and his eyes were tired. “The judge wouldn’t sign the warrant.”

Tess sat up straighter. “For Harley’s arrest?”

“No.” He rubbed his eyes. “We definitely don’t have enough PC—probable cause—to arrest him. Yet,” he added. “We can’t prove he had anything to do with the ammonium nitrate Jesse drove to New Jersey, and we have no evidence that Jesse was taken against his will.”

“I don’t understand. With everything I told you, why isn’t that enough?” Not that she knew much about probable cause required to arrest someone, but she’d hoped—no, prayed—they could arrest Harley on the spot.

“All the drums have legal quantities of AN. Without any other components, it’s just fertilizer, and those drums haven’t moved.”

“What about the stolen nitromethane and the explosives out of Montana?” Dayne asked. “Doesn’t the judge understand the significance of all this happening at the same time?”