Page 22 of The Last Close Call

“Cora is your daughter?”

“Yeah.”

Jack felt guilty for not knowing.

“How old is she?” he asked.

“Two and a half.” She smiled. “She’s a great kid. Willful as hell, but great.”

Her voice was tinged with pride, and Jack was happy for her. Heidi had always talked about having a family. Her marriage hadn’t worked out, but he was glad to see she’d gotten at least some of what she wanted.

She headed for the door, and he reached around her to open it.

“Keep me posted on the rest of the labs,” he said.

“I will. There’s not much left to analyze, but maybe they’ll come back with something off the clothing. I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks.”

“And same goes for you. If you turn something up, I want to know about it.”

“You will.”

She stepped through the door and turned around. “I mean it. If you hold out on me, I will seriously cut your balls off.”

He winced. “Damn, why so harsh?”

“Because I know you, Jack. And you’d better fucking keep me in the loop.”

SIX

I wish I could make it,” Rowan told Lila over the phone.

“That’s okay. We can have Noodle Night without you.”

Rowan was supposed to be on her way to Lila’s right now to eat Thai food and to hear all about Dara’s blind date that had turned into an entire weekend.

“I’ll swing by the Duck tomorrow,” Rowan said. “You can catch me up.”

“Maybe you’ll have a story of your own by then.”

“This is work,” Rowan said, regretting now that she’d mentioned Jack’s name.

“Yeah, you said.”

Rowan got off with Lila and dropped her phone in her purse as she hurried down the sidewalk, scanning faces.

She spotted Jack leaning against a black Jeep. He was watching her, and the intensity in his eyes sent a ripple of warmth through her.

She jogged across the intersection as the WALK sign expired. Approaching Jack, Rowan squared her shoulders and tried to appear confident. For once, she looked reasonably put together in black jeans, a pine green sweater, and her favorite heeled ankle boots.

Jack lifted his eyebrow as she stopped in front of him. “You sure you’re up for this?” he asked.

“Absolutely.”

He turned and popped the Jeep’s locks with a chirp.

“We’re taking this?” she asked.

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