Page 21 of Sizzling Nights

"Me too."

She leaned back. "I'm going to do some research. Want to research together?"

He chuckled. "Yes. I'd love that. Do you like coffee while you research?"

"Yes."

"I'll get a pot going, you get your computer."

She stood and sauntered toward the bedroom, and he watched her. He stared at her while they were at the Sandbar every chance he got. He enjoyed watching her walk. She was strong and confident and sure of herself. It didn't hurt that she was gorgeous. A beautiful woman who was also smart and confident, though scared right now. She was confident enough to even blow the whistle on a crime syndicate in the first place. She'd get her mojo back as soon as she realized she had more power than she thought.

Marco poured them each a cup of coffee and set them at the dining room table.

He was finally going to use his dining room table, though it wasn’t for a meal with his friends as he had first envisioned. It was going to be for research.

That was okay.

He was going to use it for the first time with Theresa, and there was a lot to like about that.

Theresa came in and set her laptop on the table next to his, near where he had placed her coffee cup. She opened the lid on the laptop and then settled in. He sat in the chair next to her and did the same with his laptop.

She took a deep breath and looked at him.

"What do we start researching first?"

He chuckled. "That is the fifty-million-dollar question, isn't it?"

"I think we need to look first at new businesses within the last... what, how long did you say you were on the run?"

She swallowed. "I've actually been on the run for about a year now. It'll be a year—oh, next week."

"Okay, so where were you before you came to Blossom Springs?"

"Well, I left Maine. I ran to New York City. I didn't like how busy it was, and I figured they had a lot of connections there, so I left and started heading southwest.

"I drove and drove and drove. I spent two nights in St. Louis—just outside of the city. I didn't like that city either, then I narrowed my focus to small towns.

"So I drove into Kentucky. I found some small towns and spent some time there. Then I moved through Tennessee, staying outside of the major cities.

"Next was Georgia, and I found some small towns around the military bases. I felt safer there, I suppose—because of my military service, being near bases, it seemed like security for me. But I never really felt at home or completely safe.

"So I left Georgia and came into Florida. I spent a month in a couple of different cities in northern Florida, then decided to move farther south.

"And that's when I ended up here."

He nodded. He watched her face as she spoke.

You could see it when she mentioned certain cities—like New York and St. Louis.

The look on her face said it all.

She didn’t like those cities. And likely, not feeling safe anywhere had a lot to do with it.

"Okay," he replied, "so probably not enough time in any of those cities or towns for them to follow you or trace you anywhere. Did you ever feel like you were being watched or followed?"

She put her hands on her lap and turned to look at him.

Her pretty brown eyes stared into his, and he could see right into her soul.

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