Part 18 (2/2)

She shuddered in a breath, pus.h.i.+ng away the child within her that just wanted her daddy to wake up.

aIam going to take care of Rusty for you, so you wonat have to worry about that. Heas going to be my dog. I promise Iall look after him.a Her only link to her father would be that dog. Shead cherish Rusty as if he was her baby.

She rose and climbed onto the bed to lie next to her father. What would it hurt? She couldnat damage him. He was already gone, had a peaceful look on his face despite all the bruising from the beating.

She reached up to touch his face, willing him to open his eyes, to smile at her, to say it was all a joke.

But he didnat move, didnat open his eyes.

aWhat am I going to do without you, Daddy? I already miss you so much. Who am I going to go to for advice when I need it?a The whir and beep of the machines that did his breathing for him reminded her that her father was, in essence, a machine now, kept alive by technology.

Still, he felt warm to her. His body against hers was her last few minutes of comfort, just as head always comforted her with a hug or by sitting next to her whenever she was hurting.

And when the surgical team came in to prepare him for donation, she slid out of bed, kissed her dadas forehead and let them take him away. She sat in the chair in the empty room that felt so much emptier now without his presence.

aI love you, Dad. Say hi to Mom for me.a She bent her chin to her chest and sobbed.

Twenty.

Anna managed to get through her fatheras funeral, through smiling and small talk with all the well-wishers whoad brought food and condolences the days before and after. She was polite, she made conversation, did all the things that would have made her father proud.

The guys were all there with her. Dante, Gabe and Roman stayed by her, bolstered her when she thought she wouldnat be able to do it. Shead tried to shake them off, tried to do this alone, but they refused to let her. She could go it alone if she wanted to, d.a.m.n them all.

She loved them for it, because she wouldnat have been able to get through those grueling days without them.

Rusty had come home with her the day after the funeral, seemingly lost to be at her place instead of her dadas. He looked for her father in every room, and then finally seemed to realize that his master was gone and attached himself to her instead.

Two lost souls without their daddy. Rusty would look up at her with his soulful brown eyes, the saddest look on his face.

Yeah, she understood. That look broke her heart, and as she wandered aimlessly around the house, or did some packing up around her dadas, one thing became cleara”she absolutely had to get back to work.

She thought endlessly of ways to get back on the case so she could find the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who killed her father.

It was the only thing that compelled her to get up in the morning, get in the shower and get through the daya”find the killer.

But Pohanski refused to relent, insisted she needed more time to heal before she came back to the job.

f.u.c.k the healing. She needed to work. Shead heal when they caught the killer.

And she was already tired of babysitters. Roman had come over this morning to have coffee with her. She loved these guys, really she did, but she was tired of them watching over her, staring at her as if they expected her to snap at any moment.

Right now he sat at her kitchen table rolling his coffee cup between his hands, his attempts at small talk woefully pathetic. She wanted to talk about the case, about the progress in finding her fatheras killer. They wouldnat tell her anything.

aSo Tess has a new client,a Roman said.

She had to make an attempt to at least act interested. aShe does? Thatas great.a aYeah. First Third Bank, their corporate branch, which means sheas going to be busy for the next few months doing their books.a aI imagine she will be. How are the two of you doing?a He smiled. aPretty good, but you know how that goes. Since this case began Iave hardly had any personal time. And now sheas got this new client. So Iam busy, sheas busy. We donat get to see each other as much as either of us would like.a aYeah, I know how that goes.a Really, she didnat, but she was glad Roman had someone like Tess in his life. aIf you like her, youall make it work.a Then silence. Blissful silence. She glanced down at the display on her cell phone. aYou on duty today?a aHoney, weare all on duty until this killer is caught. Pohanski is on the rampage about it sincea”well, since your dad. Heas got us all working double s.h.i.+fts. I just wanted to stop by to see if youare hanging in.a aIam hanging in just fine, Roman. You really donat need to check up on me.a He slid his hand over hers. aI donat mind checking up on you. I know how hard this has been on you.a It would be a lot less hard if everyone stopped reminding her of it. aIam doing all right. Iave been clearing some of the junk from my dadas house. Figure Iall sell the place at some point.a Rusty came into the kitchen, rounded the table and sat by Anna. She rubbed his ears.

aHowas the dog?a Roman asked.

aHeas okay. Sad. Misses my dad, just like I do. I try to give him extra attention and love.a Roman nodded. aSame thing you need.a She laughed. aIs that why youare here?a His expression went serious. aI care about you. You know that. And a little extra attention is exactly what you need right now. You never look after yourself.a aWhat I really want to do right now is get back on the job.a Roman frowned. aYou sure thatas a good idea so soon?a aI think itas a great idea. Iam going crazy here.a He twined his fingers with hers. aI know you think you are, but it takes time to heal after losing someone.a She almost shot off that he wouldnat know anything about that since head never had any family, but closed her mouth. Was she really that far on the ledge that she would hurt someone she loved? She had to get out of here before she burned bridges permanently. aIt does. I know it does. But you know me, Roman. I donat idle well.a He smiled at that. aNo, you donat. But I worry about you.a aYou all worry too much about me. Iam happiest when Iam working.a And unhappiest when she had to lurk within her own thoughts and dark memories.

Dante stepped out of the bedroom, dragging her away from that darkness.

aHey,a Roman said, standing.

aWhatas up?a Dante asked.

aJust came by to say hi to Anna before I headed off to work.a Roman put his cup in the sink and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

aThanks for coming over. Iam fine, really.a aYou need anything, holler.a aWill do.a She walked Roman to the door and opened it, smiling at him and hoping she could get him out the door.

She didnat understand when his smile died.

aWhat?a She followed his gaze, going cold at the sight of the flowers just outside the door.

aNo.a aAnna, let me take care of this,a Roman said.

Dante came to the door, saw the flowers. af.u.c.k.a He took Annaas arm, but she wrenched it away.

aEnough. Enough of this.a She grabbed the flowers, not caring that she was ungloved, that they hadnat been tested for prints. She walked out to the trash can, opened the lid and dumped them and the card inside, then stalked back into the house.

Dante and Roman walked in after her.

aYou think that was such a good idea?a Roman asked.

She whirled on him. aYou know what? I donat care. I donat want to know what was in the note and I donat give a s.h.i.+t about the flowers. I donat care about fingerprints because I already know he didnat leave any. The son of a b.i.t.c.h killed my father. G.o.ddammit, he killed my father.a She fell onto the couch and lifted her chin, daring either of them with her glare to go out there and retrieve those flowers and the note.

Roman raised his hands. aOkay. I understand.a aIall catch up with you,a Dante said, then showed Roman to the door.

He closed the door and came into the room to sit down with her.

aIam not going out there to get that note,a she said.

aOkay.a Dante went into the kitchen. She followed him.

aYou think I should.a He grabbed a cup of coffee. aI didnat say that.a aBut you think I should.a He took a couple swallows. aI donat think you should do anything youare not comfortable with doing. You can leave the f.u.c.king flowers and the note in the trash if you want. I donat care.a aBut there might be a lead in there.a He didnat say anything.

aHe might have said something in the note that may tell us something.a He still didnat say anything.

aG.o.ddammit.a She went to her kit and grabbed gloves, evidence bags and tweezers, walked outside to the trash and grabbed the note. She bagged the flowers, then brought the note inside and into the kitchen. Danteas expression remained benign.

aWhat does it say?a aHavenat opened it yet. I wanted to get it into the bag first.a She pulled the envelope opena”it was unsealed, like the othersa”so she grabbed the end of the card with the tweezers and lifted it partially out of the envelope.

I did it for you, Anna.

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