by Susan Hayes
Still off-balance by the sudden surge of protectiveness he was feeling, Dave simply nodded in agreement. Before he could say anything, there was a deafening boom and the lights flickered and died, leaving them in semi-darkness, the only light coming in from the windows at the front of the building. Beyond the glass, several passersby were looking around them with curiosity at the newly darkened city.
“I’m not sure if I should take that as an omen, or a commentary from the diet gods reminding me I really didn’t need to eat an order of fries tonight,” Dani murmured ruefully.
He grinned. “Nothing wrong with french fries. They’re a vegetable, right? Totally healthy. With any luck, the power will be back in a few minutes. If not, or if the tornado sirens start wailing, your shift will end early. Dad will close the place up and send everyone home. That’s what normally happens.”
“Tornado sirens? Tag mentioned them, but I half-suspected he was kidding. You really have such a thing here?”
Her words were edged with worry and Dave regretted his casual comment. Growing up in Chicago, he forgot that what he considered normal, others might find unnerving. “It’s rare for tornadoes to touch down in the city proper, but it happens from time to time. You grew up in Washington State, right? You’re used to earthquakes. I’m used to big storms and occasional tornado sirens. Frankly, I prefer tornadoes. We get warning they’re coming. Earthquakes, not so much.”
“I see your point, but I still don’t like the idea that a big funnel could sweep down out of the sky and whisk me off to Oz.” She shuddered, but the worry was gone from her voice. “Do storms like this happen often? Big enough to take out the power, I mean. If so, I’m going to need to invest in some candles and a flashlight or three.” She laughed to herself. “And an extra battery for Casey’s handheld game console. If she couldn’t play her Farm Friends game for a whole night, I’d never hear the end of it.”
“Not all that often, but it wouldn’t hurt to stock up on a few emergency candles and an extra battery for that game thing. Is that the one I see her playing all the time?”
“Oh yeah. I should warn you, if you ask her about it, she’ll talk your ear off about digital farm animals, especially one called Lucy Goosey. That’s her favorite. She loves that game. It’s probably the only gift that Bobby’s parents have ever given her that she actually enjoys.”
“She has contact with her father’s parents?” he asked, surprised.
Dani shook her head. “Not really. They get a Christmas card from us each year with a new picture of their granddaughter, and they send her a gift every birthday and Christmas. They haven’t seen her since the night of the shooting. They came to see us at the hospital to try and get me to drop the charges. They didn’t understand that it was out of my hands. I couldn’t have saved their good-for-nothing son even if I’d wanted to.”
Dave’s fingers clenched into a fist and he had to force his next words out past a jaw gone tight with fury. “The son of a bitch shot you?”
“Sorry, I sort of jumped to the finale there. Would you like me to start from the beginning?”
“He shot you. Fucking hell. What kind of a bastard does that?”
“The nasty-tempered and drunk kind.” Dani sighed softly and put a soothing hand over his clenched fist. “It was a long time ago. Casey doesn’t even remember it. Since we’re already talking about the worst part, you should know that I wasn’t the only one who got shot. I was trying to get away from him, and I was holding Casey as we made a run for the door. The first bullet hit me high in the shoulder, but the second one went through the fleshy part of my arm and hit her, too.”
Dave turned his hand over so that he could wrap his fingers around hers, a silent gesture of support as he struggled to control his temper. He couldn’t believe that Dani’s ex had been released at all. He spent his days putting men like Bobby behind bars, and it frustrated him beyond sanity that the system could fail so badly. “He should be in jail for the rest of his fucking life after that. Tag mentioned he was from a wealthy family. It must have cost them dearly to get the bastard out early.”
“I hope it bankrupted them,” she agreed, her voice low and angry.
“With your permission, I’d like to start making a few unofficial inquiries. I’ll need some information, like the location of the attack and any file numbers you might have. Maybe I can find out how this bastard got out and see if anyone’s laid eyes on him since his release.”
It pleased him that she didn’t try to remove her hand from his. He liked touching her. He knew that if he didn’t let go soon, he’d have to admit he was interested in more than simply acting as her bodyguard for a few days, but there wasn’t a chance in hell that he was going to let go of her hand.
Fuck.
“I can do better than a few file numbers,” she told him proudly. “I kept everything. Photos, news clippings, legal documents, police files, and medical records. Whatever you need, I probably have it.”
“That’s a grim thing to have around. I take it Casey’s never seen it?” Dave asked, the investigator in him already itching to look it all over.
Dani shook her head. “Not yet. When she’s older, she’s going to want to know what happened. When that day comes, she can read it. For now all she knows is that her father is a scary man who tried to hurt us and gave us matching scars. She doesn’t even remember him. She was less than a year old when it happened.”
“Which is why you have everything prepared. Because one day she’s going to wonder if he’s really as bad as you say, and you’re going to need to show her the file to help her understand.”
“Yes, that’s it exactly. She already asks me questions about it. At least, she used to. Since he showed up at her school, screaming demands, she’s stopped asking. She said he scared her.” Dani’s voice lowered. “What scares me is that he got so close. I didn’t even know he was out, and then suddenly he’s at her classroom door claiming there’s a family emergency and she needs to go with him.”
“The office told him where she was?” Dave asked, incredulous.
Dani opened her mouth, then closed it again. Her brown eyes darkened to a stormy black and she shook her head, hard. “Shit. I never thought about it. I was so worried that he was there at all that it never even occurred to me how he found her. The vice-principal and the teacher both said the same thing. He just showed up at her classroom. He never went near the office.”
“Well, we can assume that however he did it, he hasn’t been able to track her since, or you’d have heard from him by now. Maybe his parents helped him. Or he had a friend find out for him.” He tightened his fingers around hers. “We’ll figure it out.”
****
Dani glanced down at their joined hands, then back up at the handsome face of the man who had just offered her his help and support without hesitation or judgment. “If the power doesn’t come back on, you’re welcome to come back to my place for dinner. You could take a look at the file I was telling you about while I cook.”
His eyes widened, and for a moment she couldn’t tell which of them was more surprised by her offer. She hadn’t planned on inviting him home. She’d only intended to thank him for his offer to help.
Dave’s fingers loosened their grip on hers, and she thought she had her answer. He was going to pull away, tell her thank you, but no, and find a reason to leave. She was already chastising herself for being a fool when his hand settled back over hers.
“I’d like that. We can pick up something on the way if you’d rather not cook after working all day in the kitchen.”
“I don’t mind. Cooking relaxes me, and if we’re going to talk about my ex, I’ll need all the calm I can get.”
“Maybe we’ll need wine with dinner, then,” Dave said, his voice deeper than it had been only a moment ago. “I can give you a ride home, too. Unless you feel up to navigating Chicago traffic during a blackout.”
The very thought made her stomach turn. Driving the congested streets of the c
ity was something she was still getting used to when the lights were working. In a blackout, she’d wind up stuck in traffic for hours, or more likely, stuck and lost. “I’d be grateful if you drove. I’d rather kiss a pig than even attempt to drive these streets when there are no stoplights.”
Dave gave her the oddest look, then burst out laughing. “You work in a cop bar, remember? You might want to drop that phrase from your vocabulary or you’ll have every man in here either taking insult or hoping for a kiss.”
“Oh, God.” She dropped her head and stared down at the well-used surface of their table, counting the water stains and ring marks as he continued to laugh.
Finally, he got his amusement under control and gave her hand a playful squeeze. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t insulted.”
“From what I see, you’re more likely hoping for a kiss.” Brian Wilde appeared at their table, chuckling at his own joke.
Dani jerked her hand away from Dave’s and scrambled to her feet. “It looks like the power isn’t coming back on. I should go back to the kitchen to help the others get everything put away.”
Brian gestured for her to stop. “They’re fine. I instructed them to start cleaning up before I came over here. The backup generator will keep the fridge and freezer running so nothing will spoil. I checked online and they’re not expecting to have the power back on for another two hours.”
“You’re closing up early, then?” Dave asked, already rising to his feet.
Brian nodded. “I came over to see if Dani wanted a ride home. I’m going to guess that you can see her home safely. Your mother and I can bring Carla back, say, around seven thirty?”
“I’ll get her home,” Dave said, coming to stand beside her. He was close enough she could smell the subtle notes of his cologne, and when he placed a hand on her back she caught herself leaning into his touch. She knew she was being foolish, but the moment he’d taken her hand in his, she’d stopped worrying so much about the risks.
Whatever was building between them, she wanted it to happen. She wanted to feel something, even if it was only for a little while.
“I’ll have Tag give me a ride back here tomorrow. I can finish up the paperwork then and get my car when I’m done if that’s okay?” she asked.
“That’s fine. We’ll see you later,” Brian said and clapped his son on the shoulder. “I have to say I’m enjoying seeing you around here lately. If I had known all I had to do was hire a pretty chef, I’d of done it years ago.”
“And now you sound like Mom, which means it’s time for me to go. You know, you two would see more of me if you quit pestering me about my love life—I mean my personal life.”
Brian’s grin grew wider at Dave’s slip of the tongue, but he just gave them a wave and took a step back. “I’ll take that under advisement. See you two later.”
Once he was gone, Dave scrubbed a hand through his still-damp hair and sighed. “I love my parents, but they make me crazy on a regular basis.”
She laughed. “That’s a parent’s job description. I keep telling Casey that all moms are required to be totally unreasonable and be able to nag at a professional level. That goes for dads, too.”
“I bet she loves that,” he said.
“Have you ever seen a seven-year-old roll her eyes? It’s funny as hell and I can’t laugh because I’m supposed to be mad at her when she does things like that. Being a parent is so different than I thought it would be. Casey is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but there isn’t a day that passes that she doesn’t make me question my sanity.”
Dave’s voice dropped to a barely there whisper. “I bet she’s worth every moment of insanity and worry.” Before she could respond, he cleared his throat and added in a louder voice, “Come on, let’s find your jacket and get out of here.”
Dani nodded and let him guide her away from the cozy ambiance of the front of the bar. Polished brass and dark wood paneling gave way to simple white walls and linoleum flooring as they crossed over into her domain, the backrooms and kitchen area. Back here, away from the windows, the darkness was nearly absolute, but Dave pulled an LED penlight out of his pocket. It was bright enough for them to find their way to the small space they used as a staff room. She threw on her jacket and grabbed her purse, all the while replaying what Dave had said about Casey. It wasn’t only what he’d said. It was how he’d said it. There was regret in his voice, and longing, too.
As they made a dash across the parking lot, trying to duck the raindrops, Dani wondered how the hell the rest of his family had missed it. Lieutenant David Wilde, the man who was supposed to be married to his career, wanted a family of his own.
Dare she hope he’d consider being part of hers? How would that even work when she didn’t know if she would be staying in Chicago?
Chapter Five
Dave sat at Dani’s kitchen table with a glass of wine in his hand, going over the contents of the file she’d given him. The grim details of her life with Bobby painted a dark portrait of abuse and violence that didn’t fit with his comfortable surroundings. Dani was humming to herself as she bustled around the small kitchen, the scent of frying bacon pervading the air. It was difficult to reconcile the victim portrayed in the file with the vibrant woman currently cooking dinner only a few feet away.
The place looked more or less the same as it had when Tag had lived there, but there were subtle changes. The fridge was plastered with Casey’s drawings, and the whole place felt cozier now. Dani was different, too, more at ease now that they were away from work. She had changed out of her work clothes into a pair of curve-hugging jeans and a sunny, yellow t-shirt. He’d never seen her in anything but her black chef outfit before. The bright color suited her personality.
He read over her hospital records again, disturbed by the extensive list of injuries noted when she’d been admitted for her gunshot wound. Half-healed bruises and scrapes all over her torso, a sprained wrist, and x-rays that showed she had several previously broken ribs that had gone untreated. If he ever set eyes on her ex-husband, he would happily return the favor and give the bastard every injury he’d ever given Dani. It bothered him that there were no other reports on file. No calls to the police, no hospital visits for treatment.
“You never told anyone what he was doing to you, did you?” he asked, looking over at Dani.
Her cheerful humming stopped. “Ah, you noticed the lack of reports prior to the shooting? The thing is, I did call the police. His parents made those reports go away. No one is sure how, but there’s no trace of them.”
“Powerful family,” Dave commented.
“Influence in all sorts of places, and plenty of money. I’m nearly done making us breakfast for dinner. If you could clear that stuff away, I’ll serve this up and tell you what happened while we eat.”
“Sounds good to me.” It amazed Dave that she was so unaffected by what he was reading. She’d given him a free pass to delve into the ugliest parts of her past. His ex-wife had freaked out if he so much as went into her purse without permission, but Dani had handed him the file without any hesitation or shame at what she’d been through. She was a true survivor, one who had found a way to be at peace with her past so that it didn’t overshadow her present. That took incredible strength and it made him want her even more.
He’d stopped pretending that he didn’t desire her. There wasn’t any point in continuing to deny it. Refusing to admit something was true didn’t make it any less real, and it was past the time he faced the truth. He wanted Dani.
Now came the hard part, remembering how the hell to open himself up to another human being. Being alone was easier, but from the moment he’d felt the warmth of her touch being alone stopped being an option. At least, it stopped being one he would accept. He’d never failed to achieve a goal once he’d set his mind to it. He wanted Dani and her little girl in his life, so he’d find a way to make it happen.
He cleared the table, then wandered into the kitchen, earning himself the evil
eye from the cook for entering her domain. He knew the look well. It was the same one his mother directed at anyone who dared to set foot in her kitchen when she was cooking.
“I know, I’m in the way.” He threw up his hands and grinned at her as he took a step backward. “Could you point me in the direction of the silverware drawer?”
Her eyes widened and she stared at him in bemused silence for a moment before pointing to a drawer to his left. “In there.”
He retrieved cutlery for them both and went to lay the table, only to find her still staring at him. “Something wrong?”
“I’m just not used to anyone offering help. I swear my brother Thomas doesn’t know where the cutlery drawer is in my parents’ house.”
He shrugged and went back to the task at hand. “Mom was determined to instill manners in all of her boys. Since I’m the oldest, I had the strictest upbringing. It sucked, but at least I learned a few useful things, like how to set the table for someone kind enough to cook me dinner.”
“Remind me to thank your mom next time I see her and to find out how she did it. Casey protests every time I try to get her to do something to help around here. Like the dishes all weigh five hundred pounds and she’s physically incapable of putting her shoes away.”
Dave laughed. “I said she was determined. I didn’t say she was entirely successful. Tag’s a total slob, and Benji can’t do laundry to save his life. I’m not much of a cook, and Nicky…let’s just say he’s had some interesting career choices and is probably the main reason Mom’s hair turned gray. At least, that’s the story I’m going with.”
Dani was smiling as she came around the counter, carrying two plates laden with bacon and a perfectly folded omelet. “So that’s why you’ve been around Leo’s so much? You’ve been avoiding cooking for yourself.”
He pulled out her chair for her, summoning up manners he hadn’t used in years. “That’s part of it, yes. Can you blame me? You’re a hell of a chef, Dani.”