Page 119 of Swept for Forever
“You know it’s not romance that’s keeping me here. Well, itis, but you know what I mean. I’m tangled up with a psycho who has a stiff neck.”
“Exactly. You’re in danger, and I’d feel better if I knew you had a six-foot-something lawyer who can throw a punch watching your back.”
I laughed. “Mom, you are relentless.”
“I just want you happy, that’s all.” A pause. “And alive. Preferably both.”
I hummed to myself. “I know, Mom.”
“Just take care, okay?”
Before I could answer, Dom had already stepped away from the kitchen. He paced the hallway, his eyes locked on his phone, his thumb scrolling. Then he turned, heading straight for me with his phone pressed to his ear.
“Hey, I’ve got to go,” I said to Mom. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Dom didn’t say much on the call, but the moment he hung up, his gaze locked onto mine.
“That was Old Hound Boone. The composite you helped with flagged someone in the system. He’s now a person of interest.”
I frowned. “Who?”
“A loner with a history of trespassing and peeping into people’s bedrooms.”
Something inside me soured fast. “Seriously?”
Dom nodded. “He’s been seen at Blodgett Pass before. Enough times to put him on their radar.”
“Okay,” I drawled, a chill creeping in at the thought of Stiff-Neck outside my window.
“Boone wants us at the station.”
I sat stifflyin front of a lineup of photos, my heart hammering as I studied them one by one. They all looked the same. How the hell was I supposed to know?
“Take your time,” Boone said.
I went through them again.
“No,” I said, my voice firm. “None of them.”
Boone watched me, his gaze assessing. “Are you sure, Miss Jones?”
“The guy, your person of interest, does he have a neck issue?”
Boone frowned. “No. But injuries heal. He fits the rest of your description. We’re using a photo array, so it’s not suggestive. Helps keep the ID clean, legally speaking. Which I’m sure your boyfriend knows.”
Dom didn’t bite.
“None of these men is him,” I said, nudging the photos away. “The man I saw was well-dressed. Put-together. I know these are mug shots, and maybe some resemble the sketch, but he wasn’t some vagrant lurking near a trail.”
Boone exhaled, his hand braced on his hip. Then he nodded. “Okay. We’ll keep looking.”
My body ached with exhaustion. Staring at photos, knowing one wrong pick could ruin a life, or let the right guy walk, was heavier than I’d expected. I was wrung out and left empty.
“Can we go now?” I sighed.
Boone nodded. “Of course.”
