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Authors: Elle Kennedy
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learned might hurt her deeply.
Damn that woman. Why did he suddenly care if she got hurt? He may have kissed her, yes. He was growing more attracted to her as each day passed, yes. But he feared he was getting too close and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Jess’s death, devastating as it was, had brought a new focus to his life. His partner called it a crusade, but to Travis it was simply a mission. Solving cases and saving people, that’s what he did now.
Did he want to save Rachel? Was that it? He’d thought he’d needed his own answers about Carrie’s suicide, but he had them now. The ones pertaining to him, anyway. And yet he was still involved. Still determined to help Rachel find the closure she wanted, the closure she needed in order to put her painful past behind her.
“Trav, turns out the neighbor in the Davis case remembers seeing our suspect the night of the shooting,” Matt said, poking his head into Travis’s office. “I told her we’d be over there in twenty minutes to take her statement.”
Travis nodded absently. “Give me two minutes. I’ll meet you downstairs.” Matt didn’t move. “What’s going on with you today? You’ve been distracted all morning.” He hesitated, as if he didn’t want to pry. “Does your distraction have anything to do with that woman you spent an hour talking to on the phone earlier?”
Travis ignored the question. “Two minutes. Downstairs.”
Matt disappeared into the hallway, and as Travis collected his jacket and badge, he wished he’d never decided to do a little digging of his own today. After the less than successful conversation with Layla yesterday, he’d decided to track down some faculty members from their old high school, teachers Carrie might have confided in. Mrs. Greenley, the guidance counselor, had immediately come to mind, and so Travis had found the woman, who now lived in Maine. Since a trip to Maine was not an option at the moment, he’d picked up the phone and called her. He hadn’t thought Rachel would mind if he handled the phone call on his own, and now, he was glad Rachel hadn’t been around to hear what Mrs. Greenley had to say.
“Travis, Matt says to get your butt downstairs before he arrests you for procrastination,” Jenny’s voice crackled from the intercom.
Rolling his eyes, Travis left the office and maneuvered through the station until he reached the front lobby.
“Two minutes, my ass,” Matt cracked as he spotted Travis. “Ready to do your job?” Travis shot his partner a lazy grin. “I’m always ready to do my job.” By the time Travis called her at six o’clock in the evening, Rachel was near ready to pass out. She’d waited all day for his phone call, especially after the mysterious message he’d left on her cell phone around noon.
There’s a new development in our investigation. I’m on a case right now, but I’ll call you later to talk about it.
She’d been hoping later would be an hour, two at the most. But six hours? Didn’t the man realize his cryptic message would spur her curiosity? Didn’t he realize that she’d never be able to focus on her work after he’d dropped that bomb on her?
She’d left the studio early and gone back to her apartment, just in case Travis called her at home, and she’d spent the last two hours sitting by the phone and sending telepathic messages for it to ring.
And now that it had, she hadn’t been expecting Travis’s first sentence.
“I’m taking you out to dinner.”
She almost dropped the phone. “What?”
His husky voice sent shivers through her body. “I’m starving. I’ve been working all day, so I thought maybe we could get a bite to eat. We can talk over dinner.” Impatience tugged at her insides. A bite to eat? How could she possibly eat when these new developments lingered in the air?
As if taking her silence as a sign of agreement, Travis said, “I’ll pick you up in ten minutes. See you soon.”
She heard a click in her ear and
Damn that woman. Why did he suddenly care if she got hurt? He may have kissed her, yes. He was growing more attracted to her as each day passed, yes. But he feared he was getting too close and he wasn’t sure he liked it. Jess’s death, devastating as it was, had brought a new focus to his life. His partner called it a crusade, but to Travis it was simply a mission. Solving cases and saving people, that’s what he did now.
Did he want to save Rachel? Was that it? He’d thought he’d needed his own answers about Carrie’s suicide, but he had them now. The ones pertaining to him, anyway. And yet he was still involved. Still determined to help Rachel find the closure she wanted, the closure she needed in order to put her painful past behind her.
“Trav, turns out the neighbor in the Davis case remembers seeing our suspect the night of the shooting,” Matt said, poking his head into Travis’s office. “I told her we’d be over there in twenty minutes to take her statement.”
Travis nodded absently. “Give me two minutes. I’ll meet you downstairs.” Matt didn’t move. “What’s going on with you today? You’ve been distracted all morning.” He hesitated, as if he didn’t want to pry. “Does your distraction have anything to do with that woman you spent an hour talking to on the phone earlier?”
Travis ignored the question. “Two minutes. Downstairs.”
Matt disappeared into the hallway, and as Travis collected his jacket and badge, he wished he’d never decided to do a little digging of his own today. After the less than successful conversation with Layla yesterday, he’d decided to track down some faculty members from their old high school, teachers Carrie might have confided in. Mrs. Greenley, the guidance counselor, had immediately come to mind, and so Travis had found the woman, who now lived in Maine. Since a trip to Maine was not an option at the moment, he’d picked up the phone and called her. He hadn’t thought Rachel would mind if he handled the phone call on his own, and now, he was glad Rachel hadn’t been around to hear what Mrs. Greenley had to say.
“Travis, Matt says to get your butt downstairs before he arrests you for procrastination,” Jenny’s voice crackled from the intercom.
Rolling his eyes, Travis left the office and maneuvered through the station until he reached the front lobby.
“Two minutes, my ass,” Matt cracked as he spotted Travis. “Ready to do your job?” Travis shot his partner a lazy grin. “I’m always ready to do my job.” By the time Travis called her at six o’clock in the evening, Rachel was near ready to pass out. She’d waited all day for his phone call, especially after the mysterious message he’d left on her cell phone around noon.
There’s a new development in our investigation. I’m on a case right now, but I’ll call you later to talk about it.
She’d been hoping later would be an hour, two at the most. But six hours? Didn’t the man realize his cryptic message would spur her curiosity? Didn’t he realize that she’d never be able to focus on her work after he’d dropped that bomb on her?
She’d left the studio early and gone back to her apartment, just in case Travis called her at home, and she’d spent the last two hours sitting by the phone and sending telepathic messages for it to ring.
And now that it had, she hadn’t been expecting Travis’s first sentence.
“I’m taking you out to dinner.”
She almost dropped the phone. “What?”
His husky voice sent shivers through her body. “I’m starving. I’ve been working all day, so I thought maybe we could get a bite to eat. We can talk over dinner.” Impatience tugged at her insides. A bite to eat? How could she possibly eat when these new developments lingered in the air?
As if taking her silence as a sign of agreement, Travis said, “I’ll pick you up in ten minutes. See you soon.”
She heard a click in her ear and
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