watched him. But he strode over and turned the light out because he couldn’t look at her anymore, couldn’t stand to see the pain there. “Get some sleep. We’ve got a long stretch ahead of us.”
For once, she didn’t argue with him. He heard the shift of the blankets as she lay down, but he knew sleep wouldn’t come easily for either of them anytime soon.
CALLIE STANTON unconsciously twirled a strand of long, dark hair around her finger while she pored over the case files she’d brought home with her. Great companionship on a Friday night.
Not that she had many other choices.
Another long night faced her, and she’d already gone through her share of Diet Coke in an attempt to keep her eyes from drifting shut again. Sighing, she repositioned herself on the couch since her feet were starting to fall asleep.
She should be happy for the downtime, when she wasn’t racing to help anyone, when she wasn’t headed to the hospital to counsel a victim. Or worse. But she knew exactly why she wasn’t content.
This was the time the loneliness hit her the hardest, like a sudden, sharp ache, so fierce she actually had to force a breath in and out.
One day, my prince will come…
Her mom used to sing that song as she would twirl around the small kitchen of the brand-new apartment, the one she’d rented for them after they’d left Callie’s abusive father. At the time, it had been forever since she’d heard her mother sing, let alone smile. In that tiny room, it was as if she’d been reborn.
Callie’s mom never remarried, but she did date and finally ended up with a man who loved her to pieces.
Callie never allowed herself to open up as easily. Between her past and the jobs she held, the day job and the secret one, she probably never would.
The sudden, loud knocking at the door did what the caffeine was supposed to as the thumping in her chest could attest to. Hesitantly, she went and looked out the peephole.
Men in suits.
“What do you want?” she called through the heavy apartment door.
“FBI, ma’am. You’re going to need to come with us.”
Her skin chilled and she prayed this had nothing to do with Susie’s case. “For what reason?”
“Ava Turkowski,” was all they said, all they needed to say, before she unlocked the door and swung it wide open.
“Is she all right?”
“She’s missing. You need to come with us, ma’am,” one of the men repeated.
Ava. Missing. Not good.
She grabbed her keys, shoved her feet into her old sneakers, glad she was still dressed in the jeans and button-down shirt she’d worn that day.
“I’m ready,” she said. And really, she thought she was always ready for anything.
The night air was humid for this time of year, and she wished she’d brought something to tie her hair up.
From her youngest days, the middle of the night had always been her favorite time. The insanity of the day dissipated, but the new day had not yet formed and there were endless possibilities. Things that could go right.
Yeah, and one day, your prince will come.
After she was roughly pushed inside the town car, she realized that it was most definitely not her horse-drawn carriage.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
