Page 49 of Dark Terror
She was killing him. He peered into those gold-flecked eyes staring at him with so much trust, and wondered if his heart had grown wings so it could flutter around in his chest. The hell was happening to him? He wanted to agree to anything she asked of him. Except this. He would not hang her out as bait to a man determined to kill her.
“You know as well as I do, Harry, that no matter how many safeguards we put in place, things can go south for the stupidest of reasons. I’m not onboard with dangling Cara as bait, not ever.”
“We’ll give it a few more days, but if we don’t turn anything up that leads us to our man, we need to present the idea to our boss. In the meantime we need to get Cara’s phone to the lab. No doubt he’s still using a burner phone, but who knows. If it’s the same one as before, they might be able to get a lock on it.”
Gabe was adamant about not risking her life to solve his case, which sent all kinds of warm, fuzzy feelings through Cara. But she wanted this mess she’d stepped into over, wanted the fear and the constant looking over her shoulder gone. Two tall, blond men had come into the library today, and both times her heart had landed in her throat. Was one of them the one who claimed to know everything about her? Was he bold enough to put himself in front of her, waiting to see recognition in her eyes?
It had to end, and if using her as bait would achieve that, she’d do it. She’d meant it when she said she trusted Gabe to protect her. And Harry had said they’d bring in the whole team, which she’d definitely want.
“Cara, you aren’t being paid to stand around and chat with your friends.”
She jumped at hearing Mrs. Kastrop behind her. “Ah, they’re here because—”
“This is an official police visit, ma’am. We have further questions for Ms. Jenner,” Gabe said, his gaze on her boss far from friendly.
“You people simply cannot continue to disrupt our day. If you need to speak to Cara, do it on her personal time, not the library’s.”
Uh-oh, Gabe thought when Harry made that little noise she did when someone annoyed her.
Harry tilted her head as she eyed the head librarian. “You people?” She waved her hand between herself and Gabe. “You mean us lowly officers of the law? The ones doing their best to catch a murderer roaming the streets? The very one who is threatening an employee of yours? One would think that would concern you.”
“There is no need to be rude, Miss…”
“It’s Detective Harrison, madam. Cara is coming with us to the station. We need to review the events of the night of the murder with her.”
Madam?His partner’s disdain for the woman dripped with her every word. Gabe swallowed a grin as his gaze swung to Mrs. Kastrop, curious to see the woman’s response. One thing he’d learned at his father’s knee was that women could be fierce warriors when someone they cared about was threatened. That lesson had also included some wise words.
“Never think less of yourself, son, when your mother proves that she’s as capable as you or I are at protecting those we love. Actually, in her case even more capable.”
Over the years he’d learned the truth of that, of both his police officer mother and his partner. Women were a force to be reckoned with, and he’d be forever indebted to his dad for teaching him that valuable lesson. It was probably one of the reasons Harry hadn’t shot him so far. She knew he respected every thought coming out of her head… except for the one that they should use Cara for bait. He’d have a conversation with her about that later.
“She won’t be paid if she leaves,” Mrs. Kastrop said, making Gabe grind down on his molars.
He gave the woman a hard stare. “Yes, she will. Otherwise I know a good attorney who will make sure of it.”
“She’s going to make my life miserable for a month as punishment,” Cara said after Mrs. Kastrop stomped off, muttering under her breath about unreliable employees.
Harry put her hand under Cara’s elbow. “Let’s get out of here.”
“I can’t keep leaving work,” Cara said from the back seat of the car. “And can I have my phone back?”
Gabe glanced over her shoulder. “We were going to come get you anyway.” He hadn’t told her yet that Sheri’s sister would be here this afternoon, and they’d have to offer to let her take the dog. “As for your phone, we’re going to hand it over to the lab guys to see if they can trace the call. We’ll get you a temporary one.”
“Why were you coming to get me?”
Harry twisted in her seat. “Sheri Carstad’s sister will be here this afternoon, and—”
“She wants Cricket?”
Gabe heard the tremor in her voice. “We don’t know, but we have to ask if she does.”
For the rest of the ride to Harry’s so they could pick up the dog, Cara stayed quiet. It had been a hard week for her, and the ugly little thing had given her comfort. He wished he could let Harry off at her house and then take Cara away somewhere. Maybe into the mountains to a pretty little cabin with incredible views where he could help her forget about murders and stalkers and a dog that she’d grown to love. He had all kinds of ways in mind to make that happen.
After a brief stop at Harry’s, they arrived at the station with Cara, Cricket, and all his food and toys in tow. When and where had she gotten all those toys? And the dog bed stuffed under his arm? The meeting room wasn’t being used at the moment, so they took her and the dog there.
“Maybe she won’t want him,” Cara said.
She’d taken a seat at the conference table and had her arms wrapped around the dog. Gabe dropped the dog bed on the table, and then walked up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders. When she tilted her head back and rested her cheek on his arm, his heart did another funny thing. It melted. Not literally, of course, but it sure felt like it.
