Page 23 of Dangerous Lies

“What do you mean note? Have you gotten one before?” His heart beat against his chest and he couldn’t figure out why the fuck she hadn’t said a word to him about a letter.

He hadn’t questioned her much, because he figured this was the start of something, but from her words it sounded like it’d happened for a while. They had all made assumptions. “Start from the beginning. Maybe if yougetitout, you will sleep better.”

She shifted in his lap and tried togetup. “I'll go grabthe note he sent me.”

He let her go but hated the second she was out of his arms. His eyes followed her as she bent over and grabbed her jeans. He was a damn perv watching her ass at a time like this.

The bed dipped as she sat next to him. “He leaves me notes at crime scenes. Sometimes they're in the blood. Sometimes they are on rose-colored paper.”

She held out a piece of paper.

Ginger grabbed a Kleenex from the side table before he grabbed the paper. “You didn't think to mention a serial killer was sending you messages at crime scenes? Why the hell didn't you report this?”

“I told Detective Miller the second I figured out the pattern. He told me to mind my own business and if I wanted to be a cop, to go to school.” She let out a frustrated sigh and shifted so shecouldseeover his shoulder. “I even tried talking to another detective, but they all said the deaths were suicides and it was Evan’s case. The cops wouldn’t touch the cases he closed. They weren't going to reopen cases on my hunch.”

“This right here isn’t a hunch. You have evidence.”

She shifted. “He accused me of making the evidence up and if I took it any higher, he would make sure I wasn’t hired for any more jobs. My business has grown enough now, but a year ago I needed the work.”

The blood drained from his face as he read the letter. This man was a sick fuck, and he had a target.

“Why the hell did you not tell me?”

She rolled her eyes and plucked the piece of paper from his hands. He wanted to point out she touched evidence with bare hands.

“You aren't here for this, or my personal life.” She took a deep breath. “Once Brittany gives you the information you need, everyone will leave. Why the hell should I drag you into my drama? I can’t even get the police to help me.”

Ginger's instincts were to protect. “When the Commander calls me up and gives me a mission report and objective, I doit. No questions asked. The team goes in and executes the op. Seven years ago, my mission was Carter, butitturned personal. Brittany did some fucked up shit to me years ago, but I wouldn't walk away from you if you needed my help.”

“I find it hard to believe that if Brittany called with intel, you wouldn't be on the first flight out of here.” Rose held up her hand. “I'm not saying I want you to choose between taking Carter down and me. That is crazy talk when all we've had is one kiss. But we have to be honest with each other. You're going to leave when the mission is a go, and I'll be here picking up the pieces of my life. I can't afford to let myselfgetinvolved in a relationship with you because I have to look out for Tyler.”

He hated how weak her voice was and tugged her back into his lap. “Rose, you've knocked me on my ass. For years, all I wanted was revenge, but what does thatgetme in the end? Being here with you and Tyler,itfeelsdifferent.”

She stared into his eyes. “This is crazy talk for two people who only met a week ago.”

“My mom met my dad on a Sunday, and they married five days later. Dad always said, the second he laid eyes on Mom, he instantly came up with a plan to never let her go. They celebrated their thirty-fifth anniversary two years ago.”

She sighed. “That sounds like a romantic fairy tale. Not everybody in life gets a happily ever after.”

Did she not understand how any man would jump at the chance to spend time with her? Yes, she had some quirks like the bugs and now had a serial killer with his sights on her, but she also lit up the room when she sauntered in.

“Tell me about your last boyfriend.” He didn'tknowwhy he’d asked the damn question, but he wanted toknowwhy she didn't believe in love.

She shifted on his lap and ground her ass against his cock. Her eyes widened when he groaned.

“Sorry if I'm too heavy.”

He swatted the back of her ass. “You're light as a feather. Stop delaying and tell me about the man who broke your heart so I can kill him.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Thereis no man who crushed my heart or ran away withit. Brittany and I had horrible parents. We didn'tseelove at home. They hated each other, and I wondered if my dad killed our mom, but I was too young. His anger got worse after she died, and one day Brittany and I came home, and he was dead.”

His teeth ground together. That wasn't the story Brittany had told him about her childhood. Nope, she had said her parents were amazing but had died in a car crash.

“How old were you when you lost your dad?” he asked.

“Twelve. Brittany and I couldn't afford the rent, so we moved into an abandoned building near our school. She took care of me. At night, she would stay up and make sure nobody hurt us. When she searched for work, she had Aden stay with me. He fed my passion of insects.”

He hated she had experienced the dark side of the streets.Itwasn't until his time in the military he learned what the homeless dealt with: stealing, using drugs, and fighting over spots to sleep.

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