DINA SAT ON TREVOR’S sofa, a blanket wrapped around her. She couldn’t stop shaking. The tears had mostly dried up, but now that she could do something besides impersonate a fountain she had more problems. Like coming up with a believable reason to tell Trevor she’d come here. He hadn’t bought her blubbered excuse of wanting to surprise him, probably because it sounded silly even to her.

When she’d left her house, she’d only thought of getting somewhere safe. Once here she didn’t know what else to do. Everything was gone, and she had nothing. No phone to call a taxi. No debit cards or cash. No car. No clothes. Just her and a gun.

Trevor stepped out of the kitchen carrying a can of Dr Pepper.

He looked like a cop now with that hard stare.

Coming here was a mistake.

She hunched forward more and glanced at the gun case sitting locked up tight on the top shelf of the built-in bookcases on either side of the fireplace.

A fireplace.

In Texas.

That was a joke.

“Here. Drink this.” He held the can out to her.

“No, thanks.”

“Drink it.”

This was cop Trevor, not the nice guy she’d been texting and talking to. She was out of her league here and floundering.

What the hell did she tell him?

She took the can and sipped the bubbly liquid in an attempt to buy her more time.

Any moment now he’d ask questions and unless she came up with a story she believed, he would see through it.

Trevor sat on the coffee table facing her, his knees on either side of her legs. His hair stuck every which way. His clothes were weird, green pants and a green, long-sleeved shirt.

“Where were you?” she asked before she could think better of the question.

“SWAT team got called out tonight. I probably stink. I haven’t taken a shower yet.” He glanced down at himself and wrinkled his nose.

“I don’t smell you.”

“Drink.” He nodded at the can. “Your nose is stopped up. Be glad. I think I can smell myself.”

She took another sip because why not? It bought her time and gave her something to do.

Trevor kept watching her, but it wasn’t unnerving. When other cops or the FBI had sat across from her, she’d squirmed and felt picked apart. Trevor was studying her, but it was different. She didn’t know how, it just was.

“I know your name isn’t Kate. I don’t know if Iris is really your name or just something you told me. I know your history doesn’t go back more than five years. You’re afraid of something. If you’ll just tell me what’s going on, I can help.”

Oh, sweet, sweet Trevor.

His first instinct was to help.

That was what made him good.

But she wasn’t good.

She blinked a couple of times, but the tears came unbidden.

“Hey. Hey, don’t do that.” He took the can from her and pushed a tissue into her hands from the box he’d brought her earlier.

“You can’t help me,” she said. “There’s nothing to help.”

“Kate? Iris? Come on, be honest with me.”

She had to tell him something.

Rudy’s story. Her battered wife explanation for the scars Trevor hadn’t mentioned. He might not even remember them.

“My ex-husband.” The words felt clunky and wrong, but she had to keep to the story. “He’s the reason I changed my name. He’s the reason I’m here. Hiding from him.”

She couldn’t even look at him. She stared at a spot on the coffee table where the light gleamed off the polished surface.

The silence stretched on.

Trevor didn’t offer sympathy or understanding. He just watched her. Or maybe he was reading her like some kind of book?

“That’s the story you want to go with?” he finally asked.

She lifted her shoulders. The old burns on her arm ached, but it was all in her head. The past coming back to bite her. Nothing she said would be believable. Even the truth was so outlandish it seemed fake.

“Okay.” He squeezed her hands then let go and pushed to his feet.

He took a few steps away from her and she shivered, missing his nearness, the comfort of his presence.

“What are you going to do next?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” She couldn’t go back to the house, but without a few things she was destitute. Creating a new life was expensive.

“I can make a report. Help you fill out everything. But you’re going to have to come clean if you want your ex stopped.”

Dina swallowed. She could maybe use her first FBI alias, but that would alert the feds to where she was. They’d always wanted to squeeze more out of her. If she went that route she’d be trying to evade both her brother who wanted her dead and the FBI who couldn’t keep her safe. She’d done better being on her own.

If she got her money and her laptop back-ups she could start over. With those two things she could leave Kate behind and become someone new. But she didn’t want to. She was tired of the names, the lies, the always being afraid. If it weren’t for her brother, she’d be able to live a quiet life away from everything. Dominick wouldn’t let her go. He was the one person she’d tried to protect in all of this and now he was the one gunning for her the hardest.

She covered her face with her hands.

What should she do?

She had no options and no friends. The only one trying to help her was Trevor.

“I need help.” Her throat hurt and her nose was raw.

“I’m trying to help you.” Trevor stood a few feet away, his hands on his hips.

He knew the law. He probably had connections. If nothing else he might be able to point her in the right direction. She was so tired of this always being afraid business.

“My middle name is Iris. It’s a family name.” She curled her legs under her and wrapped the blanket tight around her shoulders. “You can’t tell anyone about this. It could get you hurt.”

Or killed.

“Just talk to me.” Trevor took a step closer and sat on the sofa next to her.

“My name is Dina.” It felt good to say that out loud. She’d worn so many names, but Dina was hers. Even if it had been given to her by the parents she hated.

“Nice to meet you, Dina.” Trevor placed his hand on her ankle.

“Dina Profaci.” She glanced at him. “That name probably doesn’t mean anything to you.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

Where did she start?

If he had any idea who she was, this would go faster.

The history wasn’t important. What led to this moment was.

“When I was eighteen my parents and my twin brother murdered my best friend, Rosie.” She glanced at Trevor watching her.

He didn’t say a word or even move.

“There’s a lot more going into this. I’m starting in the middle. It’s too much to explain. What you should know is that the FBI had been following us around for a while. After they killed her, they did this to me.” She pulled her shirt sleeve up to show the fading scars where Dad had cut her and Mom had burned her.

“Why would they do that?” Trevor’s face scrunched up, and he reached over, taking her hand.

“It doesn’t matter.” She hadn’t told this story in so long she didn’t want to get sidetracked with the insignificant bits. “A few days after Rosie’s body was found I walked up to the car tailing us and got in. I told them I’d snitch on my parents if they could get me out of there. They said yes, I gave them my parents on a silver platter—but I left my brother out of it.”

She shook her head and swallowed. That was maybe her biggest mistake. But Dominick was her brother. Her twin. No, he wasn’t good, but he’d been a kid. Like her.

“Why were the FBI following you?” Trevor asked softly.

“Because my family is tied up in the mafia.”

Cosa Nostra.

That fucking nightmare had stolen her life, her happiness and her future.

“I get that me turning snitch was a shock. I mean, we had the picture perfect family on the outside. But at home?” She shook her head and picked up the Dr Pepper. After a sip she turned to face Trevor fully. If she was going to tell him, she was going to lay it all out there. “Dominick was the preferred child. Mom and Dad wanted a boy to carry on the family name, to train up into the business, to keep the bullshit going. He was a spoiled asshole, but I loved him. For some stupid reason I thought if Mom and Dad were out of the picture Dominick would get the chance to live his own life. I just... I didn’t know him well enough by then to understand that he was going to turn out just like Dad.”

“The FBI didn’t pick him up on other charges?”

“No, they heaped everything on Dad to get the longest sentence possible. He’d been on their radar for twenty years. Dad stayed out of the sweeps in the nineties and he started up an on-line gambling ring in the very beginning. He had his own thing going on. I couldn’t testify in the courtroom. That’s how worried they were someone was going to try to kill me. They had me on a video with a phone the whole time. Dad screamed at me to the point they had to take him away. After the trial I went into WitSec. I thought—now I can finally live my life, you know?” She rolled her eyes. “God, I was an idiot. Dominick and some guys found me a year and a half later, then two years after that, then a few weeks later. They were always right there, finding me. So I left. I went out on my own, and now he’s sent his best friends after me again.”

“How do you know that?”

“They broke into my house.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah. I was getting a drink, went to the window and saw them standing on the sidewalk. Little Tony walked right up to the door and broke in. At least, I assume it’s him. He always was the muscle. I was already in the bedroom getting out of there.”

It was an odd realization to know the boys she’d grown up with would kill her the moment they saw her. It gave all those times of playing cops and robbers a whole new meaning. The whole time it was practice for her eventual murder.

TREVOR SAT THERE WITH one hand on Dina’s ankle, staring at her face twisted up in pain.

Was this real? Was she telling him the truth?

The whole thing sounded crazy and absurd. But sometimes that old adage was right, truth was stranger than fiction.

“You don’t believe me.” Dina’s shoulders slumped.

“I do.” At least parts of it.

“Give me your phone.”

“Why?”

“Because I can prove it to you. At least part of it.” She held out her hand.

“I use my phone for work so I can’t give it to you.” He took notes and recorded interviews. If Dina wasn’t who he thought, he couldn’t give her his phone. That would be stupid.

“Google it then. Me. My parents. All of it.”

Trevor unlocked his screen and brought up an internet search. He typed in Dina Profaci and watched the search results roll in.

Mafioso’s Daughter Seals Conviction.

Mafia Don’s Daughter Accuses Parents of Murder.

Daughter of the Mafia Speaks Out.

He clicked into one at random and skimmed the article. About halfway through a recap of a day at court was the picture of a nineteen-year-old woman with dark, almost black hair. The camera had captured her looking away, at something else.

The eyes were the same.

That was Dina’s nose and mouth.

The hair was different.

She had more shape to her, filled out.

But she wasn’t lying.

Kate was Dina Iris Profaci.

Shit.

Of course he’d have gotten hooked on the most distressed damsel of all. No wonder she’d stayed on his mind since that night. He had this sixth sense, he always could tell a woman in trouble.

But Dina had no one. The system had failed her time and time again for doing the right thing. If someone didn’t take up for her, she’d become a statistic. Some Jane Doe no one knew who got buried in a pauper’s grave.

He couldn’t let that happen to her.

Trevor cleared his throat.

He had to make his next decisions carefully.

“Can you tell me again about the break-in?” he asked.

“I already told you. You can’t go back there. Not tonight.” She shook her head.

“If we could catch them—”

“They’d kill you.” Dina’s eyes were wide, her olive toned skin pale.

“If we arrest them we remove the threat to you.” That was how he’d keep her safe. Knock the threat out.

“No. You don’t understand.” She pushed to her feet and paced in front of the TV. “Phillip, he was always okay. I mean, I haven’t seen him since I was eighteen. He was always nice, a little obnoxious, but whatever. Little Tony? No. You can’t go near him.”

“Who are Phillip and Little Tony?” He tabbed to his notes app and scrawled the two names.

“They were my friends—well, my brother’s friends—growing up. Their dad’s worked for our dad. Now, I guess they work for Dominick.”

“And how certain are you that’s who was at your house tonight?”

“Dead certain. I heard their voices.”

“Iris—Dina—you’ve got a few options here. First, the FBI—”

“No. No, way. Fuck the FBI. I don’t trust them.”

“The FBI don’t run WitSec. The US Marshals do.”

“Fuck them, too.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“You could treat this like an unrelated incident then. Two guys broke into your house. We’ll take care of it.” Trevor obviously couldn’t work the case. He was too involved with Dina, but he could watch from the sidelines and make sure it got the attention it deserved.

“No.” She turned toward him and shook her head.

“What do you want to do?” What could he do to fix this and help her?

“Leave.” She lifted her shoulders.

“Leave?”

“If you get Little Tony and Phillip, they’ll just send someone else. What happens when you get hurt because of me? Or one of your friends? Or a neighbor?” She closed her eyes. “I can’t do that. I can’t be responsible for anyone else.”

Trevor got up and circled the coffee table. He couldn’t begin to fathom what she’d been through or how she’d gotten to this moment. She’d been a kid forced to make a tough choice, and she kept making them even when the people who should have been there for her weren’t.

He placed his hand on her arm. When she didn’t flinch or pull away, he folded his arms around her, holding her close. She buried her face against his shoulder and clung to him.

“I shouldn’t have told you.” Her voice was muffled, but he still heard the strain.

“No, you did the right thing.”

“Promise me you won’t go back to the house?”

“I can’t promise that.”

“Trevor.” She pushed at his shoulder, but he kept a tight hold on her.

“I won’t go tonight.” If a nosy neighbor hadn’t reported anything in the last few hours, he figured they had until the morning.

Dina looked up at him. Tears clung to her lashes. There was a weariness about her, pulling her down. She wouldn’t hold out much longer. She’d been living with this weight and fear for the safety of every person around her. He now understood why she’d reacted the way she did at the market.

Trevor stroked her back. They stood there for several minutes.

What was the right thing to do here? What did he have to do for work? And what did his gut want him to do?

First thing in the morning he’d handle the break-in. After that it was fuzzy.

Procedure dictated he should notify the proper authorities. The US Marshalls had probably closed her case, but the FBI might still be interested in her as a future witness.

He didn’t know how she’d gone about setting up this new life, but he was willing to bet it wasn’t all above board. If he wanted to help her and protect her, he had to think carefully about every move they made.

Trevor leaned away from Dina. Her nose wrinkled a bit.

“You smell me, too?” he asked.

“Yeah. Sorry, that’s kind of awful.” She covered her face with her hand.

“It’s pretty rank.” He let go of her and glanced down at himself. “I’m going to grab a shower. You want something to eat or drink?”

“No.”

“Are you going to be here when I get out?”

“I don’t have anywhere to go.” She wrapped her arms around herself.

“Don’t think about that tonight. Have a seat and I’ll be out in a minute.” He nudged her toward the sofa.

Once Dina was settled, he grabbed his phone and ducked down the hall to the master bedroom at the rear of the house. He left the doors open in the hopes that if Dina made a break for it he’d hear before the alarm chimed.

What the hell was he getting into?

He grabbed a change of clothes, got the shower going then stripped out of his sweaty clothes.

When he’d met Dina at The Hole she’d sounded like someone who had her shit together. A woman that wasn’t like the ones he normally went out with. But then she’d said something while lying in bed and he’d gotten the drift that all wasn’t right. Then she’d disappeared while he slept and he’d known he’d missed something, he just didn’t know how deep things went.

His friend Jenna had been on him about leaving this alone. Forgetting the woman who’d called herself Iris. Obsessing about her was making the same mistake again. The same one he always made, and each time he was the one left holding the pieces and paying the price.

Trevor didn’t know if he could afford to take one for Dina. This was another level of trouble.

He stepped into the shower and prayed the water cleared his head. Maybe an idea for how to fix everything would come to him. He couldn’t turn his back on her. Not when she needed him.