He’d taken his time to window shop as he strolled toward her apartment, but he still arrived earlier than anticipated, and in time to find Kyle tormenting her. He felt like an overeager schoolboy, but now that he was seeing and holding her again, he was glad his usually endless patience abandoned him today.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes,” she murmured, but she still couldn’t bring herself to look at him.
She was happy and sad he was here. She hated being this mortified over Kyle’s stunt and Julian’s laughter, she’d planned to call Brian while walking to meet him. She didn’t dare call while she was in the apartment; they were too many nosy, oversensitive ears there.
And now, she wouldn’t get the opportunity to make that call. However, no matter her embarrassment, and her guilt over keeping something from him, she was still thrilled to see him.
Finally, she chanced a glance up at him and smiled when she saw the twinkle of amusement in his deliciously dark chocolate eyes. She may be standing here looking like a cherry tomato someone doused with gasoline and lit on fire, but that smile and twinkle were worth it.
“Then, let’s go,” he said and released one of her arms.
He kept his hand on her other arm as he led her toward the road. “Just so you know, she thinks my name is Dan Vares. That’s the alias I use when working these cases. I don’t want my real name getting back to anybody on the force.”
“Got it.”
Dante waved down a cab and held the door open for her to slide inside before following her. He gave the driver the address and sat back beside her.
Cassidy kept her head turned toward the window and her hand resting on the seat between them. Unable to resist, Dante traced his fingers over her delicate ones. The hitch in her breath caused blood to rush into his cock; he shifted as he pulled his hand away and tried to get his libido in check.
She glanced shyly over at him before focusing out the window again. He hadn’t been lying; it was a beautiful spring day, and many people were taking advantage of it. She suspected more than a few of them decided to make Friday part of their weekend and called out of work today.
Once Dante felt in control of himself again, he couldn’t stop himself from touching her; he rested his hand over hers. When she turned toward him, the red shade of her face caused her blue eyes to shine brighter. Her alluring, rosebud mouth curved into a smile.
He clearly recalled the taste of that mouth, and he would experience it again as soon as his interview with Paris ended. The jarring ring of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. Shifting, he dug into his pocket and pulled it out.
“Shit,” he muttered when he saw the number on the screen. He swiped the green button. “Hello, Paris.”
“Hello, Mr. Vares.” Paris sounded a little breathless as she called him by his pseudonym. “I can’t make it to the common.”
Dante refused to sound annoyed when he replied. “I can meet you somewhere else then.”
“I have a lot going on today.”
“I understand, but Julie’s mother is really concerned about her, and I think you can help me find her.”
“I don’t know what I can do.”
“A lot of times, in cases, people see or hear things they don’t think are useful, but they’re wrong. You could be what brings Julie home.”
“But what if she doesn’t want to come home?”
Though she tried to hide it, Dante heard the hitch in her voice. “Have you talked to her recently?”
Paris sniffled before replying, “Not in a couple of weeks.”
So, her last contact with Julie was around the same time as her mother’s. “I understand this is difficult for you, but I won’t take up much of your time. However, we must speak.”
She released another sniffle before muttering, “Okay, but I don’t want to meet by the swan boats.”
“Where would you prefer to meet?”
She pondered this before replying, “The No-Doze Café on Boylston Street.”
Before Dante could reply, she hung up.
Cassidy held her breath as she studied Dante’s countenance. The set of his jaw and the muscle twitching in his cheek were the only indications of his irritation. He returned his phone to his pocket and stared ahead as he told the driver their new destination.
“Do you think she’ll be there?” Cassidy asked when his shoulders relaxed a little.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
Paris was the best lead he had to Julie; she had to be there. If not, he was going to have to hunt the girl down, and stalking teenagers was a little creepy. However, the tears in Mrs. Abbott’s eyes, and the heartbreak she would experience if he failed to bring her daughter home, ensured he would camp out in front of Paris’s house for a month if that’s what it took to get some answers.
He’d seen his mother’s heartbreak in her eyes every day after Maya disappeared; he would not fail another mother.
“If she doesn’t show up, I’ll hunt her down and get the answers from her,” he murmured.
Cassidy did not doubt that; he wouldn’t let himself fail in this, but he didn’t realize it wouldn’t be a failure. There were some things in life he couldn’t control. However, he probably knew that better than anyone. Yet, he was sitting here, beating himself up because of the whims of a teenage girl.
He was too tough on himself, but she didn’t think there was anything she could say to change that. No matter what, he would always see his inability to find Maya as his failure when it wasn’t. And if they didn’t find Julie, he would beat himself up more.
That only made her more determined to help him find the
