Page 58 of Dark Memories
“It was a righteous shooting, Harry.”
“Delaney. And I know, but still…”
“Right, Delaney.” He grinned. “Gonna be fun watching you announce yourself as Delaney to the department clowns.”
“Why?”
“They think you’re a boy, you know, just one of the guys, and that’s a girl name.”
She punched his arm. “Go away.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He laughed as he jogged up the stairs.
“Men,” she muttered. The coroner arrived, and she walked to the chair farthest away from Davidson’s body, sat, and waited for IA. To keep from thinking of the moment she’d pulled the trigger of her weapon, she stared at the floor and thought of Zach.
So much had happened in a week that she was having a hard time processing everything. Zach was back in her life, and who saw that coming? If things moved forward between them—and she hoped they did—she’d have a little girl in her life.
If she and Zach got married someday, she’d be a mom. That alone should have her looking for a brown paper bag to breathe into. But she was surprisingly good with being a mom as long as Kali was the kid. Not that she was going to bake cookies or have mom-daughter girlie-dresses shopping trips—God forbid—but she could show Kali how to put a hurting on any boy who took unwanted liberties. She could teach Kali that she could be anything she desired—a fighter pilot, a smoke jumper… hell, the president if that was what she wanted. Or if being a wife and mom someday made her happy, that was cool, too.
And then there was Zach, the man who had owned her heart from the first night, when they’d shared a pizza and beer after he’d helped her move, and he’d kissed her even though she was sweaty from lugging boxes. She sighed at the thought of falling asleep and waking up in his arms every day.
But why hadn’t he kissed her again?
Zach paced, the phone to his ear, doing three things at once as he waited for Delaney. Two investigators had arrived a few hours ago. One had gone downstairs, he assumed to talk to Delaney. The other had questioned him and then Robbie. After that he’d had a long talk with his brother and mother. Robbie seemed to be willing to put his life in Zach’s hands, and Zach had already made an appointment for him with a therapist. They both had shut their mother down when she’d said Robbie was just fine and didn’t need “a head doctor.”
Honestly he didn’t care a whit about his mother’s opinion. Her coddling of Robbie from the day he was born had resulted in a spoiled boy who’d made terrible life choices. Zach was just happy that Robbie was finally seeing that the road he was on was leading him to nowhere. He only hoped it lasted.
Now he had Jackie and his chef on a conference call, and Cinda on another line. She’d finally returned his call from an hour ago.
“Bring Kali home,” he told Cinda. “My pilot is at the airport, waiting for you.”
“We’re not through shopping.”
“Translated,you’renot through. Kali could care less about shopping. She misses her dog. Her dog misses her. I miss her. Pack your bags and get in the car idling outside the villa now, Cinda.”
“I have an appointment tomorrow for a fitting for a gown I simply adore. Why can’t I send her back to you while I stay here?”
“Whatever. Just have her on my plane.” He disconnected, then went back to his conference call. “Jackie, call Giovanni. Kali knows him and likes him. She thinks he’s funny. Tell him I’ll owe him a favor if he’ll escort Kali home. I’ll send him back on the jet.” His plane would have to return to Italy anyway to bring Cinda home.
“On it,” Jackie said.
“Good. If he has a conflict, let me know. James, I want ice-cold beers and your best pepperoni pizza dripping with hot extra cheese served at seven. Make something good for dessert. Oh, and some of those cake-on-a-stick things.” Kali loved them.
“Cake lollipops?”
“Yes, those.”
“I’m on it,” he replied. “I hope I’m not stepping out of line, but I like your detective.”
“So do I. Hang up, James. I have some business to do with Jackie.”
“Later, boss.”
After he heard the click of James disconnecting, he said, “Jackie, call Marcus. Tell him I’ll be by to see him first thing in the morning.”
Marcus was his personal jeweler. It was too soon to ask Delaney to marry him, but when the moment felt right, he’d be ready with a ring in his pocket. It would be a much nicer one than what he would have been able to afford back when he’d thought he’d ask her to marry him the first time. He’d messed up then, but he’d get it right this time around.
“Are you ring shopping?”
