Page 24 of Fate's Unseen Shadow

“That’s enough,” Damon grumbled. It was too close to the truth.

“Maybe if we catch whoever stalked her and possibly killed Teddy, you can have the chance,” Xaiver added, chiming in. “We’ve got to figure out where to start with her. I thought about a sketch artist for the stalker?”

“I agree.” Ryker, phone in hand, added, “I’ll set something up. A month is a long time for a memory, but she’s not an average woman.”

“No.” Damon sighed, seeing her laugh with another customer. “She’s not.”

“I bet it’ll work with her. Then I can do some facial recognition with security cameras.” Ryker typed into his phone. “Let me see if my contact is available.”

“Based solely on what she said, the hit on Teddy wasn’t random. They’d both been stalked by the same man. I need more information from Ella.” Damon had a big task ahead of him, making that woman trust him enough to tell him the entire truth. He had to see if someone in her past had a motive, and to figure that out, he needed to dig deep.

Ella made a cocktail and handed it to a woman in exchange for a twenty. She turned and made the change at the register. When she passed back the change, Ella’s eyes found Damon’s.

Even from this distance, he felt the heat. “Shit. This isn’t good.” Because one of them needed to stay away from those thoughts, and his brain didn’t want to cooperate. Ever since the first moment he laid eyes on her yesterday.

“In fact, this could be a good thing. If she trusts you, you can ask her all the necessary personal questions.” Slater crossed his arms. “Or else you move out of the way and let me do it. You know the information we need, but I have more experience gathering it. If you give me her jewelry, I’ll drive her home and ask?—”

“No.” The word snapped out of his mouth.

The guys all froze.

He looked at each man. “She’s my responsibility. I’ll ask her the questions.”

“Damon, we’re all here to help.” Xavier’s tone had turned serious. “I know this is personal for you, that you take responsibility for turning her down before, but remember, this isn’t the same as it was with Hayley. You don’t have to gear up to be the solo hero in this situation. You have us. And as a team, we work better together.”

Ryker broke first, snickering at the corny line.

Slater next.

Damon felt some of the heaviness lift as he laughed. “You’re right. I didn’t mean for it to sound that way. I take every case seriously and know we’re better off as a team. Even with Hayley, I couldn’t have done that without the two of you.” After being with the Marines, he knew the benefits of working as one unit. “But this one hit me hard.” He studied her again. “She could be dead right now, and that would be on me.”

“You don’t play what-if games,” Xavier said. “Don’t start now.”

No. He didn’t. “You’re right. But now I have my chance to make sure it doesn’t happen, and I don’t want to fail.”

“We won’t.” Ryker’s declaration was paired with a rare intenseness. “I can find the guy. Give me some time.”

Damon nodded. “You’re right. We won’t fail.” He’d keep her safe, no matter what. But that didn’t solve the immediate issue because right then she looked back at him and smiled.

“Good luck, brother.” Slater slapped him on the shoulder. “If anyone is strong enough to withstand that smile aimed at him, it’s you. I have faith in you.”

“Yeah. Great.” He might be strong enough, but it didn’t mean it’d be a painless experience.

8

“So, what’s the juicy backstory between you and Damon?”

Lacy’s question caught her off guard. Ella slowed as she picked up a glass to pour a beer. “There’s no juicy backstory.”

“Right.We’ll play it that way for now. Then give me your backstory. How’d you end up here, bartending for the first time in your life?” She took the beer from Ella and handed it to the customer. “Give me something, girl.”

“My dad died.” That had started this entire nightmare. “My dad died, and we owned a small business together. I just…I couldn’t do it without him.” It was such a lie. If there was anything her dad had prepared her for it was to run Cassin Systems alone. But maybe there was some truth to it, as well. Doing life alone, without him, plain sucked. In those lonely nights in her car, she’d squeezed her eyes shut, trying to imagine what he’d say to do. The silence she’d gotten in return had nearly broken her.

Lacy hugged her, knocking her out of her thoughts. “Whoa!” Ella said, catching them on the bar before they fell over.

“You looked like you needed one. My dad died, too, but I was really young. I watched my mom go through man after man growing up. I ended up the same way for a long time. Until I found a guy that didn’t take advantage of that. And that is my tragic backstory.” She gave Ella a firm shake. “Before you leave tonight, I’m going to give you my phone number. You call me if you ever start feeling sad.”

Ella heard herself say, “Thank you,” but couldn’t quite comprehend the idea of that.

---