Page 121 of Love Me Fierce

“Fuck,” I grit out, then huff a breath.

“I know.”

Though my instinct is to put this guy on a WANTED poster and canvass every city in Idaho and Utah to see who might recognize him, the last thing we want is to spook him into hiding. Yet doing nothing isn’t an option, either.

Ashley Lambert’s haunted eyes flash through my mind.

“What do we do?” I ask, leaning back in my chair.

“We’re dispatching field agents to that store in Ogden. Maybe he’s been back, or maybe that salesclerk will recognize him.”

“And if that doesn’t pan out?”

“We keep digging. I know it’s frustrating, but we’re closing in.”

“It doesn’t feel like it.”

We end the call and I pull up the emails on my laptop. Maybe a bigger image will help me figure out what about this guy snagged my attention. I sip my coffee and click through the series again, twice, but nothing pops. When I pull up the sketch, it just pisses me off.

This guy is moving through the world in plain sight, but I can’t getto him.

Are we going to have to wait until he takes another young woman’s life to stop him?

I decide to go for a run and use the laundry room to change into my gear.

Under normal circumstances, moving helps me think, and refreshes my optimism. Not today, though I do appreciate the way it channels my pent-up frustration.

When I return home, the breakfast show is in full swing. Vivian gives me a bright smile from the kitchen where she’s scrambling eggs for the boys in a pair of leggings and one of my flannels. Thanks to her fancy new walking boot, she’s no longer tied to the crutches. Another sign that we’re all healing.

I wrap my arms around her and kiss her behind her ear. “Morning.”

“Morning,” she replies on a sigh.

We get lunches made and the boys out the door, then we shower together the way we have every day since she moved in, including a bonus round on the linen shelf. While Vivian finishes getting ready for her first day back at work, I make us breakfast and a travel mug of her tea. While I wish we could stay at home together all day, both of us have jobs to do, work we both believe in. For Vivian, it’s caring for children and new moms.

For me, it’s catching a killer.

I’m in my office gathering some papers when she peg-legs in. “I warmed up your coffee,” she says, carrying it to my desk.

I set it aside and pull her sideways onto my lap. “Thank you.” I slide my nose alongside hers, savoring her honey scent and the warmth of her body.

Her eyes fill with that tender longing I love. “You’re welcome.”

She gives the case files, maps, and murder books a quick glance. “Is this what got you out of bed this morning?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes linger on Marin’s murder book. “Any leads?”

“A new angle, yeah.”

She sighs. “That’s good.”

“We’ll see.”

I caress down the curve of her back and wrap my arm around her waist. Our lips meet in a slow, sensual kiss. An electric buzz flips my belly inside out. Being away from her today is going to be torture.

She pulls back and presses her forehead to mine. “We should go… before we can’t.”

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