Page 97 of Deadly Evidence
He gave her a shy grin. “Is...um...Mia still there?”
“I’m sorry. She had to leave today or she couldn’t have helped her roommates move into their new place for college.”
He appeared so crestfallen that Anna almost gave into the temptation to give him another hug. “She left her e-mail address, though.Andshe plans to come for a visit in August.”
Brady clapped him on the back. “August will be here in no time, son. Do you have a laptop?”
He shook his head.
“Well, I’ve got an older one—it works fine for e-mail, and you’re welcome to it. Anna could help you learn how to use it, if you don’t know already. It’s a good skill to have if you ever decide to go on to school.”
Dante looked up at him. “I’d like that,amigo. Thanks.”
“Hey, could you go on over to the truck for a minute? I need to talk to her.” Brady winked at him. “Alone.”
He waited until Dante crossed the parking lot, then he turned to Anna and rested a hand at the small of her back, guiding her toward a bench set in the shadows. “How are you holding up?”
“Losing Lacey was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Getting her back was my greatest gift.”
She perched on the edge of the bench, her hands curved over the front of the seat. “And Gil...despite everything, I’m going to miss him. Someday Jonah will be gone as well, and life is going to be empty without those two. So how about you?”
Brady leaned forward to brace his elbows on his thighs and loosely clasp his hands. “Things change.”
Leaning over to him, she gave his shoulder a small, playful bump with her own. “A good thing, right? You spearheaded the investigation here in Saguaro Springs, and that sure turned out well. You’ve probably got assignments scheduled into next year.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I would if I still worked there.”
“Youquit?”
“It was my life for almost ten years, Anna. But nothing was ever the same after Chuck and the other two were killed in that ambush. I knew that once their killers and the rest of the Garcia gang were in jail, it would be time to leave.”
“And that time has come?”
He nodded. “In ways I didn’t expect. For years, I’d thought about starting an investigation firm close to where Chuck’s widow lives, because she needed help.”
“And she doesn’t?”
“For the past two years, she did. But this week she was actually rather blunt. ‘I know you feel bad about my husband, but it wasn’t your fault,’ she said. ‘Now I’m building a new life, and so should you.’ She also said she’d found a boyfriend who’s wonderful with my godson Tyler.”
“Well...that’s good for her and Tyler. Right?”
He nodded.
“So now what?”
“All this time, I was focusing on what I could do for Melissa. I knew she needed help to get by. She needed someone in the wings to act as a substitute dad for her son. I was responsible forthe DEA operation that took her husband’s life, so I figured that person ought to be me.”
An ember of hope flickered to life in Anna’s chest. “And now?”
“I need another few months to wrap up some ongoing cases and other unfinished business with the DEA. But then I’ll be free to follow my heart.”
He looked down at her, his eyes grave. “Leaving here will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, because you hold my entire life in your hands.”
Her breath caught as time seemed to stand still.
“I know we haven’t known each other very long. But I’m hoping that what you said to Gil is true.”
“It was.” She reached up to rest her hand against his cheek. “I did find someone who makes me truly happy. And that someone is you.”
