She was about six inches shorter than his six-two height. Her formfitting jeans and blue shirt emphasized her rounded hips and breasts that would fit perfectly in his hands. Her sandy blonde hair flowed around her shoulders in waves. She had high cheekbones, a slender nose with a slight slope at the end, and a red, rosebud mouth that could do many amazing things to a man.
He’d encountered more than a few beautiful women in his lifetime, but they all paled in comparison to this one. And her grace was as mesmerizing as her beauty. He couldn’t look away from her as she flowed across the ground like water over rocks.
She had no idea he was there, but he suddenly felt as excited and awkward as he had in that lunchroom with Tiffany. No, he felt as nervous as he had while standing on Tiffany’s doorstep. He’d smoothed his hair and straightened his shirt a couple of dozen times before finally ringing the bell. Looking back, he realized Tiffany knew he was there the whole time as the door opened almost instantly, but he’d been too anxious to notice at the time.
And he wasn’t the only one who noticed the woman as more than a few heads turned to follow her. Dante gritted his teeth when unexpected jealousy clawed at his insides. He barely knew her, yet images of beating down every one of the men staring after her filled his head.
Dante turned his attention back to the woman. He felt like an awkward teen all over again, but he couldn’t let this opportunity pass him.
“Mr. Vares? Mr. Vares?”
Dante was about to step off the sidewalk to run across the street when he realized someone was calling him by the fake name he used for his investigations. After using it for ten years, he was adept at responding to it, but it took far longer to penetrate this time than he cared to admit.
Hoping that he hadn’t given something away, Dante tore his gaze from the woman and turned to find Missy hovering at his side. She frowned at him.
“What is it, Missy?” he asked.
“I was calling you for like… a minute.”
He doubted it had been that long, but it might have been. He’d been pretty focused on the woman. “I’m sorry. I was trying to figure out where to go next.”
“Hmm,” she murmured doubtfully. “Anyway, you should talk to Julie’s brother.”
He didn’t have to check his notes to know Mrs. Abbott told him there were no siblings. They were one of the first things he asked about and always a good starting point. Even if they fought constantly, siblings often knew more about each other than they realized. Why had Mrs. Abbott denied the presence of a brother, and where was he in all those perfect family photos?
“Julie has a brother?” he asked.
“Yeah, but her mom doesn’t know about him, so you can’t, like, say anything to her.”
“I won’t,” Dante promised. “How come Mrs. Abbott doesn’t know about him?”
“He contacted Julie after their dad died. Apparently, her dad got some woman pregnant before Julie was born. I don’t know all the details, because honestly, that’s when Julie started getting all freaky. Paris will know more about him.”
He was looking forward to talking to Paris. “Do you know the brother’s name?”
“No.”
“Thank you, Missy.”
“I hope you find her.”
That was the first time Missy revealed any hope for such a thing.
“I mean, she turned into a raging bitch, but I don’t want to see anything bad happen to her.”
And there was the Missy he’d come to know over the past half an hour. “Neither do I.”
Dante turned away in time to see the woman enter Adler’s. He considered following her; she was alone, so now was the time to talk to her, but he suspected he wouldn’t want to leave, and he had to check out those vamp bars.
Chapter Four
Cassidy closed her eyes while the words for “I Will Always Love You” flowed from her as effortlessly as air flowed through her lungs. Joy suffused her as she lost herself in the words, the music, and the freedom singing brought her.
When she was on stage and the song was pouring from her, she felt like she was soaring as high as the birds she spent hours watching. The words and music were a part of her soul; they set her free every time she released them.
She forgot about everyone else in the bar, forgot about any troubles she might have, and only experienced joy. Maybe if she were a terrible singer, she wouldn’t enjoy it so much, but her voice made others happy too. And that happiness was part of the reason she loved this so much.
She was halfway through the song when the faint scent of leather filled her nose on her next inhale. She nearly skipped a note when that scent broke through the thousands of others filling the bar.
Almost afraid to hope, Cassidy opened her eyes and shifted her gaze to the shadows surrounding the front door. She found him instantly. Dante, she recalled him telling her.
Her heart skipped a beat, and sweat beaded on her palms as eyes so deep a brown they were nearly black met hers. It had been two weeks since she last saw him, but she hadn’t imagined how handsome he was with his chiseled jaw, swarthy skin, and straight-edged nose. She’d bet his lean build was solid muscle, and her fingers twitched to find out.
His dark brown hair curled at the edges of his leather jacket as he watched her in a ravenous way that scared and tantalized her. However, there was also a sadness in his eyes, one she recalled from the last time she saw him. She didn’t know what put it there, but she longed to ease it.
Somehow, she managed to keep singing, but her chest was suddenly tight, and she
