It couldn’t have been easy for her. If the situation had been reversed, and he’d lost her, the devastation would have surely taken him under. Instead, he’d spent a good chunk of time unconscious, even more in physical therapy relearning basic skills, all the while yearning for someone his fuzzy brain couldn’t remember. Then when he’d clawed his way to some sort of normalcy and realized what he’d lost, so much time had passed that he’d understood he could never have her back.
Still, unable to let her go, he’d traveled to his favorite city to see her one last time. As if. He’d hashed the scenario out over and over, unable to rationalize simply letting her go.
And now he knew he never could. If she sent him away, he’d end up living the rest of his life as half a person.
His phone rang. When Carly’s name flashed up on the screen, his heart skipped a beat. Here’s to second chances, he thought, and answered.
“I’m on my way back to the house,” she said. “If you want to come over in about thirty minutes, that’d be great.”
“I’m at Burnham Park,” he told her. “So not far from your place at all. Maybe we could take Bridget for a walk here sometime.”
“She’d love that,” she promptly said. “But not until I’ve made sure she’s up to date on her vaccines first.”
“You’re already an awesome pet parent,” he said. “I’ll see you in a half hour.”
After ending the call, he remained on the park bench a few more minutes, soaking up the atmosphere and feeling like the luckiest man alive.
Then he got up and made his way to his rental car to make the short drive over to Carly’s house.
Despite taking his time, he still arrived before her. He parked at the curb in front of her house and went to sit on her front porch steps. When she pulled into her driveway a few minutes later, he got up and went to meet her. Bridget, apparently recognizing the sound of Carly’s car, began barking inside the house.
The sound made Carly grin. “I love having a dog,” she said.
“It sounds like she’s glad you’re home.” He slung a casual arm across her shoulders. Though she tensed at first, she actually allowed herself to lean into him a little. When she reached her front door, she stepped away from him and unlocked it. She barely had it open wide enough for her to step through when a blur of black fur came barreling at her, barking in what Micha could only describe as a happy sound. Happy, hell. The dog sounded ecstatic.
Carly crouched down, grinning broadly while her new pet welcomed her home. “Come on, girl,” she finally said, getting to her feet. “Let’s get you outside.”
Micha waited in her kitchen while she took her dog out back. Ever conscious of the camera, he avoided glancing at the window at all.
A moment later, Carly and Bridget returned. “It’s gone,” Carly announced, slightly breathless. “The video camera is no longer attached to my window. I even checked the ground below, just in case it fell. There’s no sign of it anywhere.”
Naturally, he had to go look for himself. As she’d said, the camera had disappeared as if it had never been there.
“What does that mean?” Carly asked, frowning.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “It’s possible whoever installed it figured out we were on to them.”
“Do you think maybe the FBI took it?” she asked, turning to grab the dog food bowl so she could feed Bridget.
“Let me see if I can find out.” He sent a quick text to Charlie’s cell phone. A moment later, Charlie called him.
“What do you mean the camera is gone?” Charlie asked, getting directly to the point. “The FBI hasn’t had a chance to get their analyst out to look at it. They’re having to fly someone out from New York. I think he’s arriving here tomorrow.”
“He’ll be too late.”
Charlie cursed.
“I’m just glad it’s gone,” Micha admitted. “But for the record, both Carly and myself were careful not to do anything to alert anyone that we knew the camera was there.”
“I’d better notify the Bureau.” Charlie sounded resigned. “There’s no reason for them to send their specialist out here now.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll let you know if anything changes.” After ending the call, Micha turned to find Carly watching him.
“I take it he didn’t remove it?” she asked.
“Nope. The FBI didn’t, either.” He decided to try for a little humor. “Maybe the guy realized he had the wrong house.”
Though this earned him a smile from her, she shook her head. She put the dog bowl full of food down, where Bridget immediately began devouring it.
Watching the shadows in her eyes as she gazed at her dog, Micha fiercely wished he could protect her always. He vowed he would, no matter the cost.
“You have an awfully intent look on your face,” she commented. “What are you thinking about?”
Not wanting to worry her even more, he shrugged. “Nothing in particular. How’d your family get-together go?”
Her smile told him she didn’t believe him. “It went well. I told them about you being alive. And here in Chicago.”
“How’d they take it?”
“Well. You know how much they liked you. Several people asked why I didn’t bring you with me.”
“What did you say?” he asked, needing to know.
She sighed. “I changed the subject. Honestly, Micha. I’m still not sure how I feel about all this. Having you back and here with me is wonderful, but it’s also scary as hell.”
“Scary?” Her choice of words made him consider. “How so?”
Now she wouldn’t look at him. “Losing you hurt, Micha. It took me a long time
