DOMINICK PEERED OUT the window onto the street shrouded in darkness.

The same dark-colored sedan had been parked across the street and partially covered by the neighbor’s hedges for going on a day and a half. The most telling thing was that there was always someone inside and the steady stream of exhaust coming out of the tailpipe.

There were two explanations.

The cops were watching him.

Or, the scarier option, the family was watching him.

With the cops he had plausible deniability. He had an alibi and had never touched the body. If Little Tony was stupid enough to kill a pig, Dominick wasn’t going down with him.

The family wasn’t as clear cut. There were rules, but they changed given who held sway at the moment. There were plenty who wanted Dominick’s turf, so to speak. The old timers knew the digital scams were the new way, but they didn’t know how to get started. Dominick had built his gambling business from the ground up, just him. He wasn’t going to give up his business to anyone.

He stepped back from the window, feeling the walls of his own home close in around him.

This wasn’t right.

It wasn’t fucking right.

He paced through the darkened rooms to his workstation with his wall of monitors. From here he could keep an eye on all the gambling sites and boards he managed. Watching the dollars roll in was cold comfort in the face of what was barreling toward him.

Dominick needed results.

He picked his cell phone up off the desk and hit dial.

The line rang a few times.

Where the hell was Phillip?

“Hey, boss.” Little Tony’s deep baritone wasn’t what he expected.

“LT. What’s going on?”

“Talking to some guys,” Little Tony responded.

“Have you found her?” Dominick said slowly. Little Tony knew why Dominick was calling. Didn’t he? Or had his last brain cell finally died?

“She’s still here.”

“Here? Here where? Where are you?”

“We’re at the restaurant right now. Hold on. Phillip is back.”

There was a moment of rustling as the phone exchanged hands.

“Hey, D. Sorry about that.” Phillip’s tone was downright cheerful.

“Take a walk,” Dominick said.

“Hey, I can barely hear you in here. I’m going to walk outside, okay?” Phillip infused his words with a chuckle. “Nah, you stay here. I’m just going to catch him up on everything.”

Dominick listened to the background noise fade away and Phillip’s breathing.

“Hey, sorry about that,” he said.

“First, where are we with finding Dina?”

“We thought she’d run, but it turns out she’s looking for us. She’s been to two of our contact’s place of business today. Judging by the plates of the vehicle she was in, I think she’s working with the local cops.”

“Shit,” Dominick muttered.

“They’re country bumpkins. Idiots. We can handle them. I know how important it is to you.”

Phillip’s tone was placating. He was trying to put Dominick’s mind at ease. Because he realized the hot water he was in?

“We need to talk about LT,” Dominick said.

Phillip sighed. No surprised questions, no outright denial. He knew this was coming.

“He killed a lead when we got here,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to tell you, but...something’s up with him.”

“He’s become a liability. My ass is on the line over the last clean-up. I’ve got a car sitting outside my house. You heard anything?”

“No.” Genuine surprise laced Phillip’s voice.

“Okay.” That eased Dominick’s nerves. Phillip was well-liked and traveled in many circles. If someone hadn’t given him the heads up about a leadership change that could bode well for Dominick. “We’re going to have to do something. I just don’t know what yet.”

“Me either.”

They stood there in silence. The three of them had grown up together. When Dominick had struggled to take over his father’s piece of the business, both Phillip and Little Tony were right there willing to help him. The idea of going forward without one of them wasn’t something Dominick had ever imagined, but here they were.

Not everyone was cut out for this business, and others were more suited to it. Little Tony would have done well in the seventies or eighties, but not now. The tide had changed and Cosa Nostra was a different animal now. There wasn’t room for someone with his tendencies in their midst. He would have to be put down, like a rabid dog.

Dominick would do it. He couldn’t ask Phillip to.

“Hey?” Dominick tuned toward the stairs. “I’m going out. Text me any updates.”

DINA HAD NEVER VENTURED inside the charming Ransom Library. She avoided public places whenever possible as a rule. The quaint wooden building looked like something out of a story book with its wide veranda, domed roofs and the tall clock tower that chimed the hour. It was the kind of place that didn’t seem real.

Trevor pulled up to the curb and leaned toward her. The wrinkle between his brows hadn’t eased since they’d woken up to the reality that normal life held sway now. He still had to work and she couldn’t do nothing.

“I’ll come by at lunch, bring you something, then be back around five to pick you up.”

“Okay.”

“I called Mimy, and she knows you’ll be here.”

“Setting the grandma gang out to watch my back?” It was a funny mental image until she recalled just how big Little Tony had grown up to be. The L.O.L. Gang wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

“You can call or text me if you need anything. In fact, I’d appreciate an update every now and then.” He nodded at the burner phone they’d driven to the next town to purchase since no one in Ransom sold them.

“I’ll order a replacement for mine today. Where do you think I should have it sent to?” She also needed a new laptop, among other things.

“Send it to the station. Address it to me.”

“Okay.”

Trevor’s radio chirruped, and he winced.

“Got to go?” she asked.

“Yeah. I don’t want to, but...”

“You have to. I understand.”

He reached for her, cupping her face, running his thumb over her cheek. She held perfectly still, savoring the sweetness. It couldn’t last, but she could remember it. Trevor leaned in and kissed her. She sighed and drank him in.

They had no guaranteed moments together. Tonight she might not even be here. She hadn’t yet made up her mind.

“Go,” he said in a rough voice. “Go, before I take you back to the cabin.”

She laughed and opened the passenger door.

Dina grabbed the bag with her external drive and a few other odds and ends she’d scurried away then closed the door before Trevor made good on his threat. Or was that a promise? She stepped up onto the curb and waved. He wiggled his fingers back at her, then turned the SUV back toward the road.

She was on her own.

Her house, car and clothes were about four miles away. This was as cool as it was going to get today. She could make the trek over there, load up and be gone before Trevor was back with lunch. But that would be running, and she was done with that. She didn’t know where they were going or if she had a future here, but she wasn’t running from Dominick, Phillip or Little Tony. That wasn’t the life she’d dreamed of when she went to the feds.

Things with Trevor were still weird. She cared for him. She still wanted him. But she couldn’t totally trust her emotions for him, either. He kept saying things between them were different that he wasn’t adding another trophy to his collection for helping a woman in trouble. From the sound of it, this was exactly what he’d always done. She couldn’t trust him to know the difference even if his heart was in the right pace.

She turned toward the library and took a deep breath.

Here went nothing.

No matter what came next, Dina had to protect her income and that meant being available or setting up someone to cover for her over the weekend. She was lucky enough to work with a large pool of talent and had covered for enough people that someone could throw her a bone and return the favor.

She climbed the stairs and crossed to the heavy wood and glass front doors. The gold foil seal proclaimed the building a historic Texas site. That she could totally believe. In the entry a six foot tall and four foot wide metal plaque caught her eye. Flames licked out of the flat surface while matchstick looking homes went up in fire.

We Stand Stronger Together stood out in stark relief on a banner waving over the flames.

A little note card mounted next to the display said, In memory of the 1968 fire.

It was a wonder the library was still standing considering it appeared to be a mostly wooden structure.

Dina pushed into the library proper and stopped, taking in the place.

She’d assumed the inside of the building was as interesting as the outside. It wasn’t disappointing.

Stained glass windows reminiscent of a Catholic church cast colorful light display on the shelves. Old oil lanterns were still mounted to the walls, but instead of candles they sported flickering bulbs that were more ambiance than functional. Overhead lighting had been carefully tucked into the ornate ceiling and instead of a chandelier, a half globe served as the sun for this little universe.

“Hello.” A woman about Dina’s age approached her. She had light brown hair braided over her shoulder and a cheerful smile. “May I help you?”

“Yes. Is there a computer room? I was told I could use the internet here.”

“They’re right over here. My name’s Elisabeth. Come on.” She gestured for Dina to follow her around the built-in circulation desk to the left of the entrance. In the first alcove half a dozen computers were set up, each at an antique desk.

“Wow.” Dina hefted her bag higher up on her shoulder.

“Are you new to Ransom?” Elisabeth asked.

“Oh, no. I’ve just never been in here.”

“I see.” Elisabeth clasped her hands in front of her and turned toward the shelves. “I’ve lived here my whole life and this place still seems...”

“Magical?”

“That’s the word.” She smiled and nodded.

“I would have never imagined such a neat place in a small town.” Dina turned to look at the rest of the library. There wasn’t anything modern or manufactured about a thing.

“Well, that’s because of the old White family. In the early 1900s they got very self-important, built what’s called The Mansion and decided to gift the city with a library. It took about three years for the whole thing to be built and outfitted. By 1915 the family had lost all their money. According to the town history the last White left in the 1920s.”

“Wow.”

“I’m sorry, you’re here to use the computers, not get a history lesson.” Elisabeth held up her hands.

“No, that was interesting. Thanks.” Dina turned in a circle, still taking it all in. “This place is insane.”

“I know. When I was little, I used to pretend it was the library in Beauty and the Beast. You’ll have to go upstairs and see the meeting area. Or not. I’m sure you’re busy.”

Dina was intrigued now.

“What’s special about upstairs?” she asked.

“You have to see it.” Elisabeth shook her head, eyes closed, her smile hinting at something wonderful.

“I’ve got all day.”

Dina met Elisabeth’s gaze. For a moment they stared at each other.

“Okay. Come on. Want to leave your bag behind the counter?” she asked.

“I’d better keep it with me.” Dina wasn’t crazy about carrying it, but her livelihood was on these drives.

“Okay. Come on.” Elisabeth gestured at a staircase situated against the back wall. “What brought you to Ransom? Family?”

“No, I was starting over,” she said slowly. “I needed a fresh start.”

“Wow. That must have been hard. I keep thinking I should move away, somewhere no one knows me, but my roots are here. I can’t seem to get away.” Elisabeth didn’t seem happy by that situation.

“You could, you know? Leave. It’s scary, but after a while you find yourself. But, I am more of an introvert. I also have no family to worry about, which makes it easier.”

“I don’t know.”

There was a story there, something plaguing Elisabeth. Dina had been haunted by her past enough that she knew how that felt and she didn’t want to see anyone else go through that.

They climbed to the top of the stairs and stopped.

“Wow,” Dina whispered.

There were still rows of bookshelves to her right and left, but the main area was empty save for some couches and armchairs. More shelves were built into the walls and she spied at least one of those rolling ladders. The ceiling rose away from them while the windows here were less painted, allowing in the bright morning light. The whole space seemed to glow.

“We get a lot of people in here that want to take pictures now. Back when I was a kid and my dad would drop me off here, it was pretty empty. I got into so much trouble playing on the ladders.” Elisabeth chuckled.

“I’m surprised you don’t work here.” It was obvious to Dina that Elisabeth loved this place.

“City budget only allows for one full time librarian. She is in her sixties with no plans to retire. The rest of the employee budget funds part-time staff.” She shrugged. “It’s just not enough of a salary to live off.”

“What do you do then?” Dina took a few steps toward a sofa and set her bag down.

“Wow, I don’t get that question a lot.” Elisabeth chuckled. “I’m a history and computer science teacher at the high school.”

“Sorry?” Dina blinked at her.

“It’s just...everyone here knows my life story. I’m not used to people not knowing.”

“I get that.” Dina’s family heritage had branded her life for so long and dictated who she was that being free from that was sometimes still strange. “I think you have it harder coming from a small town like this. People don’t just know your history, they recognize you. They have personal experience with you. I at least, I mean, people knew about my family but not my face.”

“What did your family do?”

“They were into a few things. Yours?” Dina glanced from the rows of books to Elisabeth.

The other woman stared at her, blinking rapidly.

“My dad was—” she closed her eyes, “is—Mike Becker.”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“See what I mean? Everyone else knows.” Elisabeth glanced down. “My dad was part of this biker gang thing. He killed a bunch of people.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Elisabeth Becker. People don’t usually ask about that.”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t know.” Dina sank onto the sofa.

“It’s okay.” Elisabeth leaned against the armrest.

“My parents killed my best friend,” she said.

It was Elisabeth’s turn to stare at her in wide eyed, slack jawed shock.

“I’ve spent the last eight years not talking about it. Hiding from it. And this week I haven’t stopped talking about it.” The age old ache in her chest was there. She still missed Rosie and the life they wanted to lead, far away from the bullshit.

“Wow, that’s...that’s serious.” Elisabeth slid from the armrest to the seat cushion. “My dad killed my friend’s parents. She’s never spoken to me since then. That was...a long time ago.”

“It pisses me off that I have to live with what they did.”

“Yeah. It feels like everyone I know is waiting to find out if me or my brother are going to turn out like him.” Elisabeth lifted a hand and swiped at her cheek.

Dina swallowed down her pain. Dominick was exactly like Dad. She’d hoped he wouldn’t be, she’d done her best to protect him and give him a fresh start, but he was already on that path. She prayed Elisabeth’s brother wasn’t.

DOMINICK STARED AT the two sleeping figures on the bed.

He hadn’t anticipated this to be quite so easy. Rosetta Volta’s sisters looked almost exactly like their oldest, traitorous bitch of a sister.

Did they know about Rosie’s past? What she’d done?

In the grand scheme of things, Rosie’s part hadn’t been all that great. She’d stepped out of line, been a traitor to the family and easily taken care of. Dealing with her had been business as usual.

He remembered arguing with Dad.

Dad had insisted Dina was part of it that she’d known. But Dad had never really understood Dina. They’d all protected her, kept her insulated from the real world. There was no way Dina had been involved.

When Mom and Dad burned Dina, he’d cried.

Dominick would never admit that to anyone, but he knew. He’d watched them hold his twin sister down and burn her to get the truth out of her.

Dina hadn’t been part of Rosie’s plot, but they’d created their own downfall that day. He could understand Dina’s anger. It had been justified. But going against family was a crime that would never be forgiven.

Rosie’s sisters were going to help atone for that chapter of their family’s life. Rosie’s transgressions had consequences they were all dealing with in the form of Dina. After all, if Rosie hadn’t turned snitch and traitor she wouldn’t have been silenced. If she were still alive, Dina would have never gone to the feds. They’d be one, happy family.

He crossed to the bed and checked each girl’s pulse. The Rohypnol had hit them harder than he expected. They couldn’t be expected to travel incapacitated. Until they woke up, he was stuck in this dive watching them sleep.

If Phillip and Little Tony hadn’t taken care of Dina, Dominick would. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of this sooner.

TREVOR SANK INTO HIS chair and pulled his keyboard toward him. His partner, Detective Parson, sat across from Trevor with a none too happy expression on his face. The old guy didn’t like being left on his own or Trevor’s mandatory off days following tactical operations. Parson was always extra grumpy on Trevor’s first day back.

“Morning,” he said.

“You missed quite an exciting day yesterday.”

“Did I?” Trevor was apprehensive about what that might mean. With Parson, interesting could mean anything from a dead body, an illegally dumped livestock carcass or general tomfoolery.

“Manager down at the market called last night. Two kids stole a case of that canned whipped cream off the delivery truck.”

Trevor groaned.

“This morning several businesses along Main Street reported white stuff smeared on their front windows.” Parson leaned back in his chair.

Great.

Just what Trevor wanted to do with his day, spend it tracking down a bunch of kids.

“Do we have any idea what kids these are?” he asked.

“Teenage ones.”

“Anyone see them?”

“Besides the manager, no, and he wasn’t wearing his glasses. Something about taping them together for shift.”

“Great.” Trevor leaned back in his chair. “I’ll touch base with Casey, see if he’s got some ideas for where to start.”

“You do that.” Parson pushed to his feet and strode across the room.

Trevor figured he had a few minutes. His partner would hit the bathroom, then grab coffee and shoot the bull with whoever was around for a minute. Which left Trevor with a few moments to follow up on his own leads.

After yesterday’s incident at the convenience store, he didn’t think taking Dina with him to check these people and locations out was a good idea. She was far too involved to let him take the lead.

He pulled out his phone and the list Alex had given him.

The next to the bottom name and number was for a privately owned waste management company that specialized in construction clean-up.

Trevor hit dial and picked up a pen.

He’d been hoping for an hour or two to check up on a few things on Dina’s behalf, but if he was going to spend his day running down the cream caper duo.

“Trentino and Sons,” a man with a deep voice answered.

“Hi, yeah, I was curious if you had office hours. I wanted to drop by and talk about a project I’m taking bids on.”

“You’ll have to make an appointment.”

“Okay, what do you have available?”

“I don’t know.”

“Should I call back and speak to someone later?”

“Yeah, do that.”

Shit. It was a good thing Trevor wasn’t really looking to drum up business. That response wouldn’t garner any kind of interest.

Before he could end the terse call with Trentino and Sons and incoming call overlay the current one.

Mom.

Damn. He’d been preoccupied and hadn’t called her for a day or two.

Trevor ended one call and picked up another.

“Hey, Mom. I was thinking about you.” He smiled and mentally kicked himself for not making time for even a short call.

“It’s not your mother,” a cold, male voice sad.

“Dad. Hey.” A chill swept through Trevor. What did Dad want if he was using Mom’s phone to call him?

“Your mother has been, well, you know how she can get?”

Trevor grunted. Far be it for Mom to have human emotions. Dad wouldn’t understand such a plebeian thing like that.

“I thought it might be nice if you surprised her for dinner,” his father continued.

“I see.” Trevor routinely met up with Mom when it was just them for meals, accompanying her on errands outside of Ransom. For the most part they kept their time apart from Dad. Maybe this was him making an effort? At his age? Not likely.

“Well, that was all. I imagine they have you busy with that petty theft from last night.”

Trevor didn’t answer. Both because he didn’t want to, and he wasn’t going to discuss even that silly case with his dad.

“Okay, well, hope to see you tonight, son.”

“Bye.”

Trevor hung up and shuddered.

Most people in town gushed about his father, what a great detective he’d been, how his loyalty to the town and law helped preserve their way of life. What people didn’t see was that Dad didn’t have an off switch. That same unyielding, follow the letter of the law methodology was what he applied to parenting.

“You found out about those kids yet?” Person plopped back down in his chair.

“No, sorry, old man called.”

“He hasn’t died yet?” Person’s nose wrinkled.

“No. No, he hasn’t.” Trevor stifled a laugh behind his hand as he fired off a text to Casey.

Person might be a crotchety old guy who resented anything new or different, but he’d also seen Trevor’s father for what he was underneath the celebrated detective.

“Looks like Casey’s at his desk.” Trevor wiggled his phone at Person. “I’m going to go see if he has a list for us.”

“I’ll be here.” Person saluted Trevor with his coffee.

Trevor picked up the incident report for the last few days and took it with him to skim on the short walk to where the patrol officers gathered to do their work. It wasn’t all that long ago that Trevor had called this room his office and these people his direct peers. Some days he missed the routine work, but not the crazy calls. He couldn’t count the number of times he’d been called out to count cows or calm neighbor disputes over lawn ornamentation.

Casey sat at a desk that butted up to the wall. He was one of the few officers that maintained a dedicated space. Through a series of events that still mystified Trevor, Casey had wound up as the resource officer for all five of the Ransom schools, public and private.

“Hey, man.” Trevor dragged a chair over to sit at the end of Casey’s desk. School would be back in session soon and his schedule crazy.

“What happened to you last night?”

“Have you heard about the whipped cream theft?” Sadly that was not the most ridiculous question Trevor had ever had to pose to someone before.

“No.” Casey turned from his computer.

“Yeah, I guess two kids stole a case of canned whipped cream last night then today there’s whipped cream all over windows up and down Main Street. Thought you might have a short list of suspects for us to look into.”

“Oh boy.” Casey scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ve got a few in mind. Let’s check their social media first? That might help narrow down who you want to talk to.”

“Thanks.”

“So, last night?” Casey tapped on the keyboard, bringing up a bunch of web pages.

“What about it?” Trevor squinted. “What’s all this?”

“I have a quick list of accounts for my usual suspects.” He clicked into one of the pages. “You two left before the burgers came off the grill.”

“Something came up.”

“Something?” Casey pulled his hands away from the keyboard and stared at Trevor. “Did you actually look into her past? Or did you do one Google search, and that’s it?”

“Hey.” Trevor snapped and pointed at the computer monitor playing a video of a teenage boy was spewing whipped cream on a park bench. “That’s our guy.”

He wasn’t going to discuss Dina’s history with anyone.