Her stomach growled and Remi stepped back to open the door wider. “You know damn well I can’t say no to free food.”
“That’s what I was counting on.” That same laugh she’d battled to forget over the past year dove past her defenses and exploded in her belly. No matter the case, no matter the weight that came with hunting a killer and not being able to bring the victims justice, she’d relied on that laugh to get her through the hardest parts. And here they were again, working a case together in an effort to prevent the loss of more innocent lives. “Nice place. Asset forfeiture?”
She secured the door behind him and armed the alarm installed on the nearest wall. “Watson and Reed confiscated it during an investigation two weeks ago. The case is still with the courts and officially assigned to them. No one should have a reason to look for me here.”
“Good a safe house as any. At least until we figure out who the hell wanted the man stalking you dead.” Dylan slipped the duffel strap from his shoulder. He tipped his head back as he took in the height of the ceilings, the stone fireplace climbing up toward the second floor, the built-in bookcases against one wall. Muscle and tendon flexed and dipped along his shoulders with the slightest movement, and Remi found herself unable to look away. Until he turned piercing gray eyes on her. His gaze lowered to her hand still resting against the butt of her weapon then shot back to hers. “Tell me what’s going through your head.”
She forced herself to relax and release her grip on her sidearm. “That you didn’t come all the way out here to make sure I got something to eat, Cove.”
“I hate when you call me that.” He dropped the duffel bag at his feet and took a single step toward her. Her heart rate notched higher as he slowly closed the distance between them, her skin on fire under his assessment, but she wouldn’t back down. Not from him. “I remember a time when we called each other by our first names, when it was just us, no one else around. I remember how you said my name in the dark.”
Heat stirred in her gut. Remi swallowed around the thickness in her throat, determined not to let the memories escape. Because once she let them free, she feared they might never fit back in the recesses she’d buried them in at the back of her mind. She and Cove had been involved while they’d worked the New Castle Killer case, but they’d agreed it’d been nothing more than a way to slay the nightmares closing in around them, to feel something other than the bottomless disappointment of failure. “That was a long time ago.”
“Not for me.” He shook his head, the sight of all that brown hair beckoning her fingers to slide through one more time. “Seems like yesterday we were standing face-to-face like we are now in the middle of your office in New Castle after everyone else had been dispatched to an emergency call. The case had beaten us both down to nothing and all we’d had then was each other. Then one day, you were just...gone.”
“Is that why you’re here?” Hollowness infused her words as he insisted on battering against the invisible barrier she’d constructed to move on with her life. She curled her hands into fists. He’d gotten too close. She wouldn’t let him see them shake, wouldn’t let him see her break. “You’ve been working in my office for six months, doing the job, giving me my space, and now, with Del Howe’s true identity out in the open, you suddenly have the inclination to bring up a past I’d rather forget. Is that why you joined the marshals after you closed down your private investigation firm? For an apology?”
“I came here because I was worried about you, damn it. I know how you get when you’re in the middle of a case. I know you won’t eat, you won’t sleep and you won’t stop until there’s nothing left of you to give. You’ll blame yourself, and I’m here to tell you you’re not the only one who feels responsible for what happened in New Castle. You say you want to forget the past, but I know you, Sheriff.” His voice softened. “You won’t let the team see anything but the mask you wear day in and day out, but you don’t have to do that with me. I’ve seen the real you. I’ve seen you at your best and your worst. I know you’re hurting and angry, and you’re determined to carry the entire division alone, but you’re not alone. The sandwiches and beer were just a bribe to get past the front door.”
“Well, it worked.” He was right. She did blame herself. She’d failed to bring a killer to justice as a sheriff and now, faced with the consequences of that failure, she feared she wasn’t strong enough to see this through as a marshal. She hadn’t been able to save the victims of the New Castle Killer then. What made her think this time would be any different? And if she failed, would she lose her job as chief deputy, too? “Did you at least use the grape jelly I like?”
“Of course, I did.” Dylan stepped back, reached for the duffel bag he’d set on the floor and retrieved two bagged sandwiches and a couple of longnecks. He handed her one of each and kept the others for himself. “Took my looking in three different stores to find your favorite brand, so when I found it, I
