Page 562 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“Sure.” Asher hit the print button and Rembrandt walked over and stood over the printer, as if he could magically make it print by glaring at it.

Asher glanced at her, grinned. Eve hit him on the back of the head.

The printer spit out the list and Rembrandt took it. Returned to Asher.

“Okay, now I need you to hack into the International Children’s Defense League and see if you can get me a list of names.”

Asher lifted an eyebrow. “Um, if it has private donors, it’ll be an encrypted site. It’ll take time.”

“How much time?”

“Hours. Days, even.”

By the look on Asher’s face?—

“You don’t know if you can do it,” Eve said.

Asher shrugged. “I’ll try.”

Rembrandt checked his watch, something that looked like an antique. She’d noticed it the first day—and the fact that John Booker had one that looked just like it. Must be a department thing.

“It’s after 3 am. I’d better get you home, kid.”

That was probably the right decision. But she glanced at Rembrandt, searching for something that might indicate he was coming back…

He didn’t look at her, staring at the printout.

Okay, and now they were back in middle school.

Asher got up and headed to the door.

She caught Rembrandt’s arm, and he turned. Barely met her eyes.

“What’s going on?”

He drew in a breath. Then, oddly, lifted his gaze to hers, reached out and touched her cheek. He drew his thumb down it in a caress, a gesture so sweet it left her wordless.

“I don’t want any more regrets,” he said quietly.

Then he walked out the door behind Asher, and closed it.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Maybe I haven’t been completely clear about the way things were between Eve and I, the first time through. The fact is that we didn’t exactly hit it off right away. Sure, I brought her coffee, offered to pay for her busted camera, but like I said, I wasn’t all that bright back then and it didn’t occur to me to ask her out for at least two months. And even when that did finally happen, it was just the first step on a long road.

I liked her, sure, but during that season she was trying to track down her father and brother’s murderer, and although we worked together, flirted, downed a few after work beers and occasionally found ourselves folded together on her sofa, we dodged any commitment for a couple of years.

Then came my undercover years, and that’s another story, but it’s hard to love a man you hardly see, and when he does finally turn up, he looks like he’s just escaped from a maximum security prison, and tells tales that are straight out of an FX television series.

Let’s just say that Eve had her reasons for not wanting to tie herself to a guy like me.

And then there was Silas. Always in her ear, whispering that I was trouble. He was probably right, but it didn’t help our relationship.

Eve would argue with me, but I always suspected he was holding a torch for her.

Yet, despite Silas, despite the demons that kept me on the run, Eve and I kept finding each other, drawn by something bigger than ourselves, our fears, insecurities and even vices. We understood each other, more than anyone else in our lives could, and at the end of the day, respected each other.

Eve was my compass, my anchor to a life I desperately longed for, even if I didn’t know it.

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