Chapter Eight

Victoria Blake’s home seemed light years away from the rundown houses of Frankie’s former neighborhood. She lived in a townhouse in an upper-class neighborhood in Coral Hills.

Davis called ahead to ask if she would be willing to speak with him. From their one-sided conversation, Kara could tell the girl wasn’t looking forward to revisiting the past.

Once Davis parked the car, he turned to her.

“She’ll talk to us but I don’t know if she’ll tell us anything new. I’m beginning to think this is a waste of time. We’re chasing the past while Frankie is out there trolling for his next victim.”

“And Ava might just be it,” Kara whispered.

“That’s not going to happen. Ava is well protected. She’ll be safe.” He hesitated for a second and then added, “I really wish you would reconsider going with her.”

“No.”

“You know the way this thing ends. You’re next in line.”

“And I’m not leaving. We can figure this out together, before that happens.”

“I can’t let you do it. What if I can’t prevent it this time? What if he succeeds? I can’t risk losing you.”

Before she could argue the point, Davis got out of the car and waited. Always a very determined man when he’d made up his mind about something, it would be pointless to argue with him at the moment.

Victoria Blake was surprisingly polite considering she had always declared that she distrusted the FBI and earnestly believed in Frankie’s innocence.

“Come inside. When you called, I wasn’t really surprised. It’s terrible about those women. But doesn’t this prove anything to you people? Clearly, Frankie wasn’t the Death Angel if it’s happening. You didn’t get the right person.”

“I know you loved your friend.” Davis followed her into the house. “But we still have no proof to lead us to believe that Frankie wasn’t involved in those first cases.”

“How can you say that when it’s clearly taking place again. Frankie was a sweet, caring man. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. You’re wrong. And if you still believe Frankie did these things, then why are you here now?”

“There are some similarities between the two cases so we’re going back through the files and contacting everyone connected to Frankie’s past.”

“I can’t tell you anything new.” But Kara sensed she was keeping something back.

“Has something happened?” Her question caught Victoria off guard.

“How did you—”

“If it’s something you think will help clear Frankie’s name then tell us.” For a moment, Kara didn’t believe she would and then she said, “A few weeks ago, someone called me claiming to be Frankie.” She shuddered, then glanced from Davis to Kara. “God help me, it sounded just like him. For a minute…well, I actually let myself believe it was Frankie.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t? We now have reason to believe Frankie might still be alive.” Davis answered her unspoken question.

She struggled with the news. “You’re wrong,” she said at last. “Frankie is dead. That was just some kook.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because if he were still alive, Frankie would have moved heaven or hell to clear his name.”

Kara found herself wondering how there could be two such polar opposite insights into Frankie Stephens’s personality. The monster she knew was nothing like the sweet, innocent man those closest to Frankie remembered.

“There’s something else. But I don’t know if it will help Frankie or not.” She walked over to the fireplace mantel and took something from a small case. “I’m not even sure what it is.” She handed a tiny key to Davis.

“After Frankie’s funeral, I went back to the place where he and I used to hang out together as teenagers. There’s an old tree on my parents’ ranch outside town. It’s dead—my dad believed lightning struck it years ago. Frankie told me that’s where he went when he needed to think.”

“This is the place out past Donovans Corner, correct?” Davis confirmed.

“That’s right. Anyway, I went there after the funeral because I needed to remember Frankie the way I knew him, not the way the press depicted him. They were everywhere taking pictures at the funeral. It was horrible! So I went there and I found this in an envelope stuffed inside the trunk of the tree. Frankie and I used to leave each other messages that same way when we were kids.”

“Was there anything else? A note maybe?” Davis asked turning the key over in his hand.

“No, just that. I don’t know what it fits. I know I probably should have turned it over to you before but I didn’t think it would serve any purpose. And Frankie was as good as convicted of those crimes. I tried to figure it out on my own but I didn’t have any luck. Do you think it’s important?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Thank you for your candor, Victoria, and for sharing this with us.”

“Will you promise me you’ll try and find out what this means? And if you find out that Frankie is…If you find out he didn’t have anything to do with the killings, will you make sure that information gets to the press? Frankie’s mom died trying to prove her son’s innocence but she didn’t have the money. She even went to Frankie’s father for help but he just wanted to be left alone. He never cared about Frankie or her.”

“I promise I’ll do my best. And whatever I find, I’ll let you know.”

“Do you think it’s him?” Kara asked once they were outside. “I mean, out of the blue, two people from his past get calls from someone claiming to be Frankie and now the killings have started? It can’t be just a coincidence, can it?”

He glanced around them. “I don’t know,” he said at last.

“Do you think the key’s important?”

“Right now I think everything is important. And it is our only real lead.”

“What do you think it belongs to?”

“I’m not sure. It looks like a small safety deposit box.”

“Did Frankie have a safety deposit box?”

“None that we found and we checked every angle. He had very little money in his bank account. It might be to a storage place but after six years who knows what’s happened to whatever he stored. Besides, we would have heard about it by now. After the case broke, everyone who ever knew Frankie before came forward looking for publicity. I’m thinking this may be something he kept hidden somewhere special. Maybe we should take a drive out to the Blake ranch and have a look at that tree.”

“I agree.” Kara nodded. She actually felt a small amount of relief at their discovery.

“But first I want to check in with the team and see what’s new. Do you mind?”

As they drew closer to VCIRCD headquarters, swarms of media vans were parked everywhere. Press cameras had been set up on the steps of the building and reporters raced to and fro, ambushing people coming and going from the building.

“This isn’t good. Something’s happened. We’d better use the garage entrance.” The minute they stepped off the elevator, Ryan spotted them.

“What is it?” Davis asked when he saw Ryan’s grim expression.

“Ed’s asked to see you right away. I’ve been trying to reach you.”

“I had the phone switched off. What’s happened?”

“Let’s talk in your office.”

Davis’s gaze slid to Kara’s. He looked worried. When they reached the office, Ryan closed the door.

“Someone leaked the names of the latest victims to the press. The switchboard’s been going ballistic. Ed hit the roof. He’s been screaming for me to get you in here.” Ryan looked at Kara. “I apologize for this.”

She nodded silently. What could she say? This was their worst nightmare come to fruition.

“None of the information on this case has been logged into the database.” Davis said while running a frustrated hand across his eyes. “So how did they find out the names? You checked out all the personnel working the crime scenes right?”

“Yes. Nothing. They all check out, yet obviously we have a leak somewhere,” Ryan drew in a breath. “But it’s not all bad news. There’s been a breakthrough. Well, at least I think it’s a breakthrough.”

A small amount of hope relaxed some of the worry from Davis’s expression. “Thank God. I could use a little good news before facing Ed.”

“I thought so, too.” Ryan smiled sympathetically at his friend. “I had Agent Griffin talk to Jessica’s friends as well as the people she attended classes with at UV. From all accounts her former boyfriend is a dead end. He left the area after they broke up and has since married, but the man that she mentioned by the name of Alec looks promising.”

Davis sank down to his chair. “What did you find out about him?”

“You were right. He was her professor at UV. He teaches Jessica’s Criminal Behavior class. According to Molly Brighton, Jessica’s best friend, she dated the guy a few times. In fact, she had a crush on him as well. Apparently, you weren’t the only one. Molly said Jessica had a thing for older men. Anyway, Molly told Sean that Jessica was the one to pursue the relationship in the beginning. But she said after a few dates, Jessica found his behavior a little disturbing.”

“In what way?” Davis asked.

“He was getting too possessive. So Jessica broke it off romantically and decided they should be friends instead. From little things Jessica told her, Molly had the impression that the professor didn’t agree with that decision. According to Molly, he’d made some threatening comments but Jessica insisted it was just his way and nothing she couldn’t handle.”

“Wow!” Davis blew out a long breath. “This is big. We need to bring the guy in for questioning.”

Ryan shook his head. “Yeah, well, that’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s disappeared. According to the university, he called in the day Jessica disappeared claiming to have a family emergency. But Davis, the guy has no family. At least, no close relatives. His parents lived in Buckner Ridge—that’s outside Richmond—but they’re both deceased. I’m sending Sean over to check their house, which Alec still owns. Maybe he’s hiding out there.”

“It makes sense. He could have found out the names of the victims easily enough from Jessica. But what doesn’t fit is his connection to Frankie.” Davis studied Ryan’s expression closer. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“Oh yeah. And you’re going to love this part. Professor Alec Harrison’s fingerprints are in our database. He’s been a guest lecturer at the Academy.”

“You’re kidding!” Davis’s eyes widened in surprise.

“No. I’m checking to see if maybe he lectured there around the same time Frankie attended.”

Davis got to his feet. “That would certainly fit the missing pieces together nicely. Jeez, I hope you’re right because we could certainly use a break like this. Good work, Ryan. Have you told Ed any of this yet?”

“Nope. I wanted to share it with you first. You look like you could use a little good news.”

“You’re right, I could.” He headed for the door. “We’d better go. Kara, will you wait for me here?”

Kara’s heart lifted for the first time in days. Davis looked exhausted beyond what any human being should have to withstand. He waited for her to nod, gave her a weary smile, and then followed Ryan out of the office.

Left alone, Kara glanced around, noticing for the first time that there weren’t any personal items of note here. But then, Davis and Rachel had been divorced for years and he didn’t know about Ava’s existence. Still, the office offered no personal insight into the man who occupied it.

The minute Davis walked back into his office Kara knew his meeting with Ed hadn’t gone well.

“What happened?” He didn’t answer right away but grabbed his laptop and briefcase and turned to her.

“I’m being asked to excuse myself from the case entirely,” he told her quietly.

“What? Why? Surely Ed doesn’t still think—”

“No, but he’s feeling pressured from his superiors after what’s happened today. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

Davis didn’t stop until they reached the parking garage. “God, Kara, I can’t believe this is happening. This damn case! It’s like a curse! It seems determined to keep us apart!”

“Tell me what Ed said.” She watched him lean against the car and thought how tired he looked.

Instead, he handed her a copy of The Post. The front page headline screamed, “VCIRCD head had intimate relationships with four of the Angel’s latest victims”.

“Oh my God.”

“There’s more. There are some things I haven’t told you about the case.”

In her heart, Kara had always known Davis held something back.

“What things?”

“After the first case broke, the forensics came back on the scarf used. Some of the blood found there didn’t match the victim’s.” He turned to look at her.

“The killer’s?” But she knew this wasn’t the case.

“It matched Amy Sinclair, the first Angel victim. He’s using the scarves from the original killings.”

“But how—”

“The evidence was put into storage after the case officially closed. Someone got to it. The only things missing were the scarves connected to the Angel case. Each scarf used corresponds to the original victim.”

“How did someone manage to get the evidence?”

“How do you think?” he asked at last, his gaze holding hers.

“Someone who works for the Bureau, who worked on the original killings took the scarves.”

“Yes. And if this gets leaked to the press, can you imagine the fallout? They’ll crucify me,” he added bitterly.

“But what about the new lead, Jessica’s professor? It could easily have been him, right? What did Ed say about that?”

Davis released a ragged breath. “He’s hopeful but that didn’t sway his decision. What we really need right now is a miracle.”

“Ed knows you aren’t involved in this. He’s just trying to protect his own skin.”

“I can’t say I blame him. But there’s something else you should be aware of. Everyone around the office believed that Jessica and I were having an affair. The day I flew to El Paso to come to you, Jessica left the office with me. I took her straight home so she could get some rest but I was the last person to see her alive.”

Kara remembered something Ryan had said about Jessica’s disappearance.

“Ryan said she went missing later that night?”

“He was just trying to protect me. He wouldn’t know when she went missing. He was on a plane to New York. But if she did go missing sometime that day then the timeline matches the fourth Angel victim perfectly and that makes me the last person to see her alive, except for the killer.”

“So because people chose to believe office gossip and because you were the last person to see her, Ed wants you off the case?”

“Yes. Hell, Kara if this wasn’t happening to me, I’d believe I was involved as well.”

“It’s just too convenient. Frankie’s playing with you the same way he’s been playing with me. The only question is what do we do about it?”

“Ryan is still on my side, thank God. He’ll be heading up the case officially from here on out. He’ll keep us updated and hopefully we’ll find this professor and he’ll provide us with some answers. But I can’t just sit around and wait for the next victim to go missing.”

“Then we have to keep trying.”

“No, it’s too risky for you.” Davis reached for her hand. “I told you, I want you to go to Ava until this is all over.”

“We’ve been through this already. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Do you understand how serious this is? Frankie isn’t going to stop this time. Not until he has you and probably our daughter. I don’t want you to be involved in this.”

“I’ve been involved since the beginning! I’m just as much a part of this thing as you. I’m involved, okay! He’s kept me in the game for six years. I’m not leaving now!”

“Dammit, why do you have to be so stubborn?” he asked with only a hint of a smile. He looked exhausted and helpless. “All right. But you’re not leaving my side until he’s caught and if things get out of hand like before, if there’s even a hint that he’s getting close to you, then I’m calling the whole thing off.”

“Davis, he is coming for me. We both know that. But that puts us ahead of the game, don’t you think? We know what his next move will be.”

“Which puts you squarely in the path of a serial killer. And what about Ava?”

“I’ve been here before. I can take care of myself. But Ava hasn’t, and you’re right. He’ll try to get to her. We have to be careful to keep her out of his line of sight.”

He ran a hand across his eyes in what was becoming an all-too-familiar gesture. “It’s so hard to think clearly right now. So much has happened. Seeing you, knowing I have a daughter as well, it makes me feel defenseless. Dear God, I hope I don’t disappoint you both.”

“You won’t.” She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles, her eyes never leaving his, showing him all the love she felt for him. The love she once thought she’d lost. “We’ll get him. I know it doesn’t seem like it now but someday this will end. And when it does…” Kara stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath. Davis watched her as if the weight of the world hinged upon her next words. “When it does, I want us to be together as a family,” she said with confidence.

“You really mean that?” he asked in amazement. He sounded so uncertain and so vulnerable.

“Yes. Yes, I do. Davis, I love you. And I know that you love me. I’m tired of fighting it. I don’t want to. I don’t want to live without you in my life a moment longer. I love you and I want to try—”

With a desperate groan, he pulled her into his arms, his lips claiming hers once more, capturing the rest of her words with his kiss. For the moment, Kara gave herself up to the tender passion she found there in his arms.

Davis at last ended the kiss, leaning his forehead on hers. “I love you too, sweetheart. It’s good to have you back on my side. I hate that you have to become part of this once more. I can’t believe I’m under investigation. It kills me that our entire relationship will be put in the spotlight once more. But thank you for standing beside me. It’s more than I deserve.”

There was so much love in his eyes that Kara found it difficult to breathe properly. She just wanted to be alone with him but more than that, she wanted this nightmare behind them so that she could spend the rest of her life with him.

****

“Call me crazy but I still I can’t help but believe this key of Frankie’s is important to the case. We should focus on that.” Davis told her once they got into the car. He wanted to remain positive but it was becoming impossible when each new piece of evidence seemingly linked him to the killer.

“That’s probably a good idea.”

He started the engine and smiled at her, a little more of his confidence returning. It helped knowing she would be beside him through it all. Not matter what happened.

“I may no longer be part of the official investigation but there’s nothing keeping me from performing one of my own, now is there?”

The Blake ranch was a sprawling, hundred-acre piece of prime real estate outside Donovans Corner.

It had been an equestrian ranch at one time, but over the years, the Blakes sold off most of their stock.

“Victoria told me Frankie loved coming here to ride when he was a kid.”

Kara turned in her seat, watching him as he drove along the blacktop leading to the property.

“You did a good thing—keeping in touch with Frankie’s friends and family. You made them feel important in all this. No one else did that for them.”

“Honestly, I felt bad for them. They were victims as well. The press pretty much butchered them, saying they should have seen this coming. But how could they? Frankie didn’t show any of the normal signs of a killer.”

Davis had called ahead to let Victoria know they would be stopping by. She made sure the staff knew to expect them since her parents were out of the country.

“According to Victoria, the tree where she found the key should be on the southeast side of the ranch. We’ll have to walk. You up to it?”

“Don’t worry about me. Usually when I’m home I jog five miles every day. I’ll keep up.”

They found the tree in question easily enough thanks to Victoria’s description. She said it leaned to one side and had an enormous split running halfway down the tree.

Davis watched as Kara stood close and tried to connect to Frankie.

“Anything?” he asked finally and saw her shake her head.

“It’s hard to imagine the same person I feel here as being the one who did so much brutality. This man was sweet.”

Davis moved closer to the tree to examine its crevices.

“Nothing.” He took the key from his pocket and handed it to Kara. “Here, try this. Maybe something will come to you from it.”

But nothing did. Frankie Stephens was becoming nothing but a series of contradictions. The sweet person Victoria spoke about didn’t fit with the super intelligent person capable of such random acts of cold-blooded murder.

“None of this adds up.” She handed him back the key.

“I know.” He walked around the tree looking for any sign that the earth might have been disturbed. But after so many years, there would be nothing left if it had.

“The files we have on Frankie all say his intelligence was off the charts. But the person I’m feeling here is just an average young man. Did you ever talk to his mother and Victoria about this?”

“Yes, it came up several times, and they were both shocked. His mother wasn’t aware of Frankie having an unusually high IQ but then she worked a lot, so chances are she wouldn’t have known everything happening in her son’s life. But Victoria actually laughed at me when I told her about it. She remembered him as sweet like you indicated but said he struggled with his grades. His school records backed her up on this. Frankie was an average student at best.”

“So how does an average student become a genius overnight? And how do we even know what his IQ tested out to be?”

“Because we have proof, Kara. Frankie tried to join the Bureau remember? They do IQ testing on all applicants.”

“I’d forgotten. But I don’t see it. I just can’t picture Frankie as a genius.”

“Well, according to the records he was.” Davis stopped in front of her. She had that stubborn look in her eye that she got when she challenged something he said.

“Do we know who administered the test?”

“Kara, let it go. It’s legit. There’s no way he could have faked the test. You’re going down a dead end.”

“Maybe.” She still didn’t believe him. “I don’t know. I’m just trying to find the mistake. There’s one here somewhere, Davis. Something got overlooked.”

She was fighting so hard to prove the boy innocent. Davis took her in his arms and held her close.

“It’s okay. I know you’re trying. We’ll find it. It’s there, I know it is. We’ll find it. But for now, we both need to get some rest. And I for one want to talk to my daughter.”

****

“We can’t go back to the house. The press will be all over it by now.” He answered her unspoken question as they headed in the opposite direction from his quiet neighborhood.

When he turned onto to the familiar street that she’d once called home in the Westminster area, she looked at him in surprise.

“What are we doing here?” she asked as the car slid to a halt in front of her former apartment building.

“We’re going inside.”

All he did was smile at her confusion but didn’t say anything further as he opened the door for her. She didn’t budge.

“Please. Just trust me.”

Kara took his hand and stepped out of the car. Painful memories of all the times they’d spent together in her tiny apartment crowded in. She couldn’t speak. She waited quietly beside him as he unlocked the door and held it open.

Everything about the apartment remained the same as the day she’d left it that last time. She walked through each room of her former home while Davis stood silently waiting for her by the door.

“Why?” She somehow managed to get the word out over the painful lump that formed in her throat.

His expression said it all. For the first time she truly understood how difficult her leaving had been for Davis.

“Oh, Davis.” She ran into his open arms. “I’m so sorry.”

He held her as if he believed she might leave him. “I know. It’s not your fault.”

“It is!” She realized she was crying. “I didn’t listen to what you were trying to tell me. All I heard was you were going back to Rachel.” She pulled back a little so that she could see his expression. Her tears tore at his heart.

“Don’t. Please don’t cry, Kara. Please.”

She brushed away the tears and tried to tell him the things she needed him to understand. “I’m okay. Please, just listen.”

“I’m listening.” And he was. He was hanging on every one of her words.

“I never stopped loving you. No matter what happened. No matter how hard I tried. Through the years. I never stopped loving you. And no matter what happens this time, I need you to know I’ll never stop believing in you, or loving you until the day I die.”

His lips claimed hers once more. At first, gently but then with each new touch, each whispered word of comfort, the passion they’d both buried deep within their hearts ignited into a need that could no longer be denied.

“Make love to me, Davis.” As she watched, he drew in shaky breath. His eyes darkened to the color of the sea after a storm. She pushed her fingers into his hair, bringing his mouth to hers once more. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Six years she’d waited for his touch. Longed for it. She would never be close enough. Her lips urged his apart. He still tasted the same. Her fingers slid to his chest. They shook as she found each button on his shirt. When the last button came free, she pushed it away from his body. Her lips broke free of his long enough to look at him. His body was beautiful. Lean. Hard. The same as she remembered in all of her dreams…

****

When he looked into her eyes, Davis saw the truth. Suddenly kissing wasn’t nearly enough for either of them. With unsteady hands, he reached for her. His fingers tightened around her waist for a moment and then slipped beneath her top to touch bare flesh. Davis pushed the shirt away, his thumbs stroking across her breasts. Her body responded to him instantly.

Slowly he lifted the top over her head. For a second they were both overwhelmed with desire. She stood before him wearing only a lacy bra. She’d never looked so beautiful. The first time he touched her she’d still been a girl in many ways. He’d been her first lover. Her body and her responses had matured. She wasn’t the shy young girl he’d first loved.

“Come here,” Davis reached for her once more, no longer content with merely tasting her lips. He wanted all of her, starting with the familiar curve of her cheek, the graceful arch of her throat, the swell of her breast.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered close into her silken skin and her body shook in answer to his kisses.

In the past, every time he thought about her, he’d wondered what her reaction would be when he told her he still burned for her. He expected her to tell him to go to hell. But she simply stared up at him with the storm raging within her eyes.

Davis let go of his breath, audibly breaking the silence between them. She’d become accustomed to being alone. Not letting herself feel. Kara’s surrender came slowly but it came just the same.

He tried to force rational thoughts out of his head. This was the worst possible thing they should be doing right now. But Davis couldn’t let himself think about what the consequences of their actions might be, or the horror that waited for them just beyond the walls of this apartment.

He felt weak with need, trying to force air into his lungs.

Davis lifted her into his arms and carried her inside the familiar bedroom where they’d spent so many hours together in each other’s arms.

Everything looked just as he’d left it the last time he’d spent the night here and yet everything had changed.

He sat her on her feet and steadied her.

The blinds remained closed, shutting out the midday sun. Filtered gray light reflected his raw arousal, along with her uncertainty. Part of her still didn’t trust him fully. The thought hurt to consider but it didn’t kill the craving. Or the curiosity.

“Are you okay?” he asked over the thudding sound of his heart pounding in his ears.

“Kara, are you okay?” he repeated when she didn’t answer.

“Yes,” She sounded even more uncertain. She tried to steady her voice. “Yes, I’m okay. Please…don’t stop.”

Still he hesitated for a moment longer and then Kara took the decision out of his hands. She removed the last of her clothing and stood before him naked and vulnerable.

His gaze slid over her slowly, his body growing hard. Then he got to his feet and unbuttoned his pants stepping out of them. Tension soon became the only barrier left between them.

“You’re so sexy. So damn sexy.”

Her arms circled his waist. She laid her head on his chest for a moment. “You feel so good. It’s been so long.” She lifted her head to look at him.

“There’s never been anyone but you. Not in all these years. It’s always been you, Kara,” he whispered before his mouth claimed hers. His lips devoured hers filling him with a hunger he’d denied for so long. One that only she could quench.

“God, I want you but I want you to be sure. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Kara trembled with each stroke, each kiss. Each word. “I’m sure.” Her hands drifted over his bare chest, her lips touching his body for the first time.

The last of Davis’s control slipped away into a long, low moan.

He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. In a moment, their bodies were joined together with a single thrust, robbing them of their breath.

Davis wanted to take his time, to allow them both to become reacquainted with each other. To make this time they had together special. But touching her made all those things impossible.

“Don’t stop, Davis. Please, don’t stop,” she said into his mouth, pressing her hips closer to him.

His body lunged within her, her kisses and her soft murmurings becoming an intoxicating drug, stealing all rational thought. And yet it wasn’t enough. He couldn’t get close enough.

The fear and uncertainty melted away with each thrust, each kiss. And the world around them was reduced to just the space of one bed, two people. One moment.

“God, you feel so good,” he whispered by her ear, his teeth grazing along the pulse point at the base of her throat. Davis’s hands clutched her thighs, shifting her further beneath his weight, allowing him to plunge deeper within her warmth.

Each thrust gave more pleasure and brought him closer to losing his fragile control. He could feel her body tightening and releasing around his. Watching her pleasure, the pressure within him spiraled out of control. A thousand different convulsions rocketed through his body. Kara’s broken whimper mingled with his groan of satisfaction. His hands framed her face. His mouth captured her cries of surrender into a kiss.

She said something so softly that he didn’t catch the words. He rolled over onto his back taking her with him. Gathering her close, he waited for the world around them to stop spinning once more.

It wouldn’t matter how many times he made love to her it would never be enough. Six years was a long time to need someone.

“Tell me about your life in Texas,” Davis murmured much later as they lay exhausted in each other’s arms while the afternoon shadows lengthened.

“What do you really want to know?” Kara smiled against his chest.

“You know.”

“There’s no one else. Only you.”

“God, I hate that I’m thrilled by that but I am. Do you have any idea how crazy it made me thinking about you with someone else? Married to someone else. Starting a family.”

“Davis, I fell in love with you in DC and I haven’t been able to think about being with another man since. When I came back to Texas and discovered I was pregnant, I was so afraid. I wanted to tell you…”

“I know,” he said quietly.

“I don’t think I accepted it fully until I moved to El Paso. I tried living in Austin but I never felt safe there.”

“And you did in El Paso?” he asked in disbelief and she laughed.

“It’s true. The people there accepted me for who I was. They didn’t ask any questions and they didn’t know anything about my past. To them, I wasn’t a freak.”

“You always hated the gift, didn’t you?”

Davis was the only person she’d let get close her and yet still he didn’t understand why she hated it so much.

“Yes. It’s hard to fit into normal society. It’s hard to explain but I don’t want that for Ava.”

“I know that, love. But it is a gift. And if you didn’t have it, then you and I would never have met, we would never have fallen in love and we would never have made that beautiful child.”

“Yes, those are the only good things to come from it though. It scares me to think about how fragile the events of our life really are. It’s all a game of chance.”

“Maybe not. Maybe this is who we are meant to be? And maybe you and I are supposed to be together. Maybe this case was meant to be ours to solve.”

“I so wanted to believe we solved it the last time but I guess, deep down, I’ve always known it wasn’t finished.”

“So, what do you do to make yourself happy in the middle of a reservation in the middle of a desert?” he said, trying to lighten to mood.

“I have Ava. She’s my life—was my life. I tried to hate you, Davis, but I couldn’t. I’m so glad you came for me.”

“I am, too. I’m glad Ryan paid you that visit. Even though I told him not to.”

“Why did you keep the apartment?” She lifted her head so that she could look into his eyes. It was a while before he could answer.

“When you left, well, in the beginning I thought I might just go out of my mind.” His mouth twisted into a bitter smile. “God, Kara, you have no idea how much I missed you. Only Ryan knew how bad it got. And Rachel. Ryan kept me going. I ended up spending most of my time here. It helped. Being here where you and I spent so much time together. I felt close to you. Even after I bought the house, I couldn’t give the apartment up.”

“I never realized you loved me too, Davis. I knew you cared about me, that you wanted me physically but I never knew you loved me.” He stroked the hair from her face and kissed her mouth.

“Shh… It’s okay… I should have told you. I wanted to,” he whispered softly and then Davis stopped trying to comfort her with words. His lips touched her body in all the familiar places once more. Just for one second she hesitated and then she too was struggling to touch him as well.

He actually believed this time would be different. He felt it in her touch. This time they might just have more than just a few stolen moments.

This time he actually believed they could have a future together.