Chapter 9

Present Day

Theo stared at the package of steaks in his hand. He didn’t know why he was even considering them. It wasn’t like he’d suddenly have the initiative to dust off the grill, fill his propane tank, and actually cook anything. He’d grab something from the diner like he always did, or he’d just wait until tomorrow at breakfast. It wasn’t like he felt hungry, anyway.

Impatiently, he returned the package to the cooler. The only reason he was at the grocery store was because he wanted to delay going home. The quietness made it harder to keep from dwelling on everything. His cart had exactly one item in it—a chew toy for Viggy that Theo had picked up from the sale display by the door. He quickly looked away. It’d be a waste of money. Viggy wouldn’t touch it.

The aisle suddenly seemed too small, making it hard for Theo to breathe. Needing to get out of the store, he turned his cart abruptly before jerking to a sudden stop. He’d almost crashed into another cart—a cart steered by a certain startled-looking, squirrelly waitress.

They studied each other, his claustrophobia fading as curiosity took its place. He couldn’t put his finger on why, but she intrigued him in a way nothing had for a long time. All the questions she’d evaded or answered with lies filled his head, and he was suddenly glad he’d stopped at the grocery store. A conversation with Jules, as frustrating and unilluminating as it promised to be, was so much better than the gut-wrenching emptiness of his house.

“Hello.” She broke the silence first as her gaze darted around, searching for the closest escape route.

“Jules.”

Her nervous gaze bounced off him and landed on the lone dog chew in his cart. “Not very hungry, I’m guessing?”

He liked her Southern drawl. It was almost relaxing. “No.” Her cart, by contrast, was heaped with food, more than one woman could eat in a month. Interesting.

Although she must have noticed the direction of his gaze, she just shifted her weight and changed the subject. “Are you done for the day or just starting?”

“Done.” He looked pointedly at her cart and then back at Jules. “Feeding an army?”

He didn’t expect her to laugh. It startled him how it transformed her. Theo had thought she was beautiful before, but when she laughed… It took his breath away and made him forget his next question.

“You could say that.”

He blinked, looking down for a moment so he could get his thoughts in some sort of order again. What was he doing? He was interested in her as a cop would be interested in a suspicious stranger. There was nothing personal about it. Even as the thought passed through his head, he knew it was a lie. Self-directed irritation made his next question come out more harshly than he’d intended. “Who lives with you?”

She flinched, her fingers turning white as they tightened around the cart handle.

“Sorry,” he grumbled, rubbing a hand over his closely shorn head. He could be an asshole. Theo fully accepted that. He’d never been a bully, though.

Jules blinked, her grip on the cart easing. “Did you just…apologize?” Her accent gave “apologize” a few extra syllables, making the corner of Theo’s mouth twitch. She really was cute. Then her shocked tone penetrated, and he scowled again.

“Yeah.” He was capable of basic courtesies. At least, he used to be. “Why’s that so surprising?”

She studied him again, but it seemed different this time, more…thoughtful. “You just didn’t seem like a huge apologizer.”

“I’m not a huge one.”

Her smile returned as Jules tilted her head down a little, although she still held his gaze in a way that was almost flirty. “You look pretty big to me.”

He found himself leaning a little over the cart handle, as if his body was trying to get closer to her. He was fighting a smile again. His end of this back-and-forth felt a little stiff and rusty, but enormously good, too. It was like when he took an old, corroded engine and brought it back to life. He opened his mouth to respond, but another cart crashed into the side of his.

“Imagine bumping into the two of you here.” It was Hugh. Of course it was.

“Are you stalking me?” Theo demanded, glaring at Hugh, who just looked amused.

“Me?” he gasped, a meaty hand pressed against his chest. “Me stalking you? How do you know I wasn’t here first? Maybe you’re the one stalking me.”

Theo narrowed his eyes. His glare could convince armed criminals to back down, but Hugh just kept grinning.

“What were the two of you talking about?” Hugh leaned on the handle of his cart. “Were you harassing our nice, non-spitting waitress again, T?”

The smoldering anger that sat in Theo’s chest flared at the thought of Hugh trying to save Jules from him. It stung sharply that Hugh thought Theo couldn’t be trusted even to grocery shop, for Christ’s sake, without going on a rampage. It wasn’t just Hugh, either. Everyone at the station, from his lieutenant to the rabbity guy in charge of parking control, treated Theo with the same caution they’d treat a bomb about to explode. Theo was sick of it. Before he could verbally rip Hugh apart, Jules spoke.

“He’s not harassing me.” Theo looked at her in surprise, his mouth snapping shut. “He’s just telling me things I need to know. About the grocery store. Since it’s new to me and all.”

Theo cleared his throat to disguise his snort. Jules really was a terrible liar. And she’d lied to protect him, even though he’d been interrogating her earlier.

After a startled pause, Hugh leaned forward, focused on Jules. “Really? Tell me. I’ve lived in Monroe my entire life, and I didn’t think there was anything to know about the grocery store. C’mon, share. I’m dying to know the Monroe Market secrets.”

Shifting uncomfortably, Jules sent Theo a frantic “help me!” glance, and Theo suddenly understood the lure of a damsel in distress—especially a hot damsel who’d just lied to protect him.

“Don’t you have shopping to do?” Theo asked, giving Hugh’s empty cart a pointed glare. “Unless you’re here just because you are stalking me.”

Hugh grinned at him. “You wish you had a stalker as fine as me.” He looked between Theo and Jules, his pointer finger following his gaze, back and forth like a metronome. “And don’t think I didn’t notice this sudden disturbing alliance between you two.”

“You’re delusional,” Theo said, giving a side-glance at Jules while suppressing yet another almost-smile. It was a nice feeling, to have someone on his side, even in such a minor way. Hugh and Otto had been teamed up for months in a save-Theo-from-himself effort. Even though Theo knew it was well intentioned, it still made him feel like the outsider.

“Delusional, and a stalker. A delusional stalker,” Jules added, her mouth quivering, as if she was hiding a smile. Hugh shot her a displeased glare, but Theo held out his fist to her. She stared at it, looking startled for a moment, but then grinned and bumped her knuckles with his. As soon as they connected, he knew he wouldn’t be interrogating her anymore. He was still curious about Jules—intensely curious—but his interest had changed when she’d come to his rescue. He didn’t just want to figure out what the squirrelly waitress was running from. Theo wanted to know her, to learn the little silly things about her, like why she needed all that food and what she did when she wasn’t at the diner and how she looked first thing in the morning. The last thought made him swallow hard.

“My frozen stuff’s melting, guys. I’d better run.” With that, she backed up her loaded cart, did a U-turn, and headed for the registers. Theo watched her go.

“Thought you didn’t like the new waitress.”

Theo turned toward his partner, narrowing his eyes. “Quit stalking me.” He shoved his cart down the aisle away from Hugh.

“I was shopping, you egotistical bastard!” Hugh yelled after him, the amusement in his voice making Theo clench his jaw and flip him off. Hugh’s laughter followed him through the store. Even that irritation couldn’t keep Jules from his mind, though. Despite his almost-empty cart and Hugh’s presence and still not having anything to eat for dinner, Theo was glad he’d gone to the grocery store after his shift.

He’d made an ally.

A hot one.

* * *

Theo was staring at his bedroom ceiling when the howling started.

It was a low whine at first, barely catching his notice. As usual, Theo was spending the hour between two and three a.m. rerunning the last few days before Don’s death. Sometimes he’d play the what-if game—what if Theo had said this? Or what if he’d done that? Tonight he was replaying the hours and minutes, catching every single clue he’d missed now that it was too late to do any good.

The high-pitched sound increased in volume, and Theo raised his head before letting it thump back onto the pillow.

“Stupid dog. Useless dog,” he muttered, but guilt and his innate sense of fairness wouldn’t let that stand. “Stupid me. Fucking useless me.” As galling as it had been to hear, his LT had been right. Viggy had been a great dog and a great officer when he’d worked with Don. Theo was ruining him. He wasn’t just useless; he was destructive. It was sheer luck that no one had been seriously injured in the explosion at Gordon Schwartz’s house. Everyone would be better off if Officer Theodore Bosco wasn’t around.

The whine amped up to a full howl, as if Viggy was providing a soundtrack to Theo’s self-loathing. The neighbors would be calling dispatch soon, and then Otto would be making a house call. Before, Theo would’ve just gotten a cranky phone call, but the guys had been worried about him since Don had died. Although the rational part of Theo’s brain understood why Hugh and Otto had been acting like anxious mother hens for the past couple of months, he still felt smothered. Every “Are you okay?” made him want to punch someone…hard and repeatedly.

He didn’t know what to do with this kind of anger.

The howl switched pitches and increased in volume. With a huff of mingled annoyance and concern, Theo got out of bed, yanking on track pants before heading to the back door, turning on the porch light on his way. The second he stepped outside, the howling stopped, as suddenly as if someone had flicked a switch.

Theo peered through the gloom to see Viggy slip into his shelter, tail tucked. Feeling like he was suffocating on his pity and hopelessness, Theo headed back to his bedroom. He wasn’t even through the kitchen before the mournful howl began again.

Shoving the heels of his hands against his eyes, he sucked in an audible breath before dropping his hands. He reversed his path and returned to the back door, not bothering to turn on the porch light this time. Again, Viggy went silent, darting back into his shelter as soon as Theo came into view. As he stood on the porch, the cool air of the now-silent night brushing over his bare skin, Theo’s annoyance trickled away, leaving only guilt and sadness in its wake.

He picked his way toward the fenced enclosure, careful not to step on anything prickly with his bare feet. For a long time, he stared at the dark entrance to Viggy’s shelter. Theo was suddenly exhausted, more tired than he’d ever felt, and he sank down to sit on the rough grass next to the chain link.

“I’m sorry, Vig,” he said, his words sounding loud in the quiet darkness. “I should’ve done something. Not sure what, exactly, but there had to’ve been something I could’ve said or done or…something. I’m sorry for being an oblivious asshole and not seeing when Don was hurting so bad he thought death was the better option.”

Viggy’s muzzle poked out of the shelter, followed by the rest of his shape, silhouetted dark against darker. When he was several feet away from Theo, the dog sat and watched him.

“And now you’re fucked up, and I’m fucked up, and I don’t know how to fix it.” Leaning forward, Theo felt the cool chain link press into his forehead. “Don’t really see the point in fixing it.”

With a low, almost soundless whine, Viggy lowered his front end to the ground and rested his head on his paws. The silence stretched, filled only by the low whistle of the constant wind, and it felt like he and Viggy were the only living things in the world. Loneliness hollowed him out, and he tried to think of something, anything, else.

Jules popped into his mind, and he relaxed fractionally. As messed up as he was, there couldn’t be anything between them, but it was nice to have an ally, or maybe, possibly, eventually, a friend. From the little information he’d gotten from her, it seemed like she could use one, as well. Their grocery-store encounter gave him an excuse to talk to her, too. He found himself actually looking forward to going to the diner, and it had been a while since he’d looked forward to anything.

And he was back to thinking about Don. Viggy shifted and whined, as if sensing that Theo’s mood had dimmed.

“I know you miss him.” His voice came out rough, almost hoarse. “I do, too.”

They sat together quietly until the sun turned the sky orange and the neighborhood began to wake. Only then did Theo stand and stiffly walk toward the house to get ready for another shift.

* * *

“This is a bad idea.”

Viggy didn’t respond, not even to shift positions in the back. Not that Theo needed confirmation that this was indeed a very, very bad idea. It had been a long, frustrating shift, and he needed to go home. Despite knowing this, he couldn’t stop himself from turning onto the rutted driveway leading to the old Garmitt place—the one currently occupied by a squirrelly, yet extremely hot, waitress.

He told himself it was his duty to check on her, to make sure she was okay in that remote, ramshackle house. As scared as she was, Jules was obviously running from something, and the thought of what possible danger she could be in made him grind his teeth and push a little harder on the accelerator. Even as he tried to convince himself that his impromptu visit was for Jules’s safety, Theo knew the real reason he was dodging potholes and tree branches along this godforsaken excuse of a driveway was because he wanted to see her. He needed to see her, to feel the stirrings of excitement and even happiness he always experienced when she was around. Before he returned to his tiny, too-quiet, suffocating house, and everything inside him returned to its usual deadened state, he was going to grab a few minutes with Jules, so he could feel alive for once.

As he rounded the final bend, he saw smoke billowing from the open front door. A curl of tension tightened his stomach, and he reached for his radio as his gaze scanned the house, searching for Jules. Her SUV was parked in the front, so she was probably home. The door was open, but she wasn’t outside.

He brought the radio to his mouth, ready to call in the fire, but then he hesitated as he stopped his Blazer abruptly, right next to the front porch. This close, the smoke was much less alarming than it had appeared at first glance. In fact, the haze coming from the house was rapidly dissipating, thinning to almost nothing. Theo decided to check things out before he brought Fire and Med and everyone else running to what might be a false alarm. Stepping out of his SUV, he hooked the radio to his belt, sending a quick glance toward Viggy. Before they’d left the station, Theo had rolled the passenger window most of the way down to give the dog some air. Although it was a warm day, the house and surrounding trees shaded the vehicle. With the window lowered, Viggy wouldn’t overheat in the few minutes it would take for Theo to figure out what was going on at Jules’s house and quickly leave. Assured of Viggy’s safety, Theo turned away from his Blazer and climbed the front steps.

The porch was old, and each riser gave an alarming, high-pitched creak as it took his weight. It was eerily quiet, especially considering the wide-open door and the smoke. Theo had second thoughts about not calling in the fire. Both times at the diner, Jules had acted scared. What if whatever—or whomever—she was trying to escape had caught up with her? Jules could’ve been attacked or injured or taken—

Theo firmly cut off his escalating thoughts, shoving out any what-ifs and firmly blanking not only his mind, but his emotions. He’d gotten pretty good at that over the past few months. His cool shell was firmly reassembled as he stepped over the threshold, quickly checking right then left before entering the house.

What a pit. Theo couldn’t believe someone lived there. It’d been empty for at least five years—and looked it. The previous owners hadn’t done much in the way of maintenance, either, and the final result was a house that needed to have a date with a bulldozer.

“Police!” he called into the open, still-smoky hallway. “Anyone here?”

There was no response, so he took a couple of steps inside. The remaining smoke tickled his throat and gave the old place an eerie cast. Theo held back a cough. He walked down the hallway, checking in each room he passed, but except for a few items—a bright-green beanbag in the living room, an old chest in the library, a cheap drinking glass with awkwardly cut flowers mashed into it on the windowsill in the dining room—the house was empty. Empty and smoky and wrong. With Jules’s SUV out front and the door open, she should be here. He automatically unsnapped the top of his holster, resting his hand on the butt of his gun. He felt his muscles tighten with each new empty room he saw.

The smoke was lightening, but a haze still lingered, dimming the light struggling to find its way through the windows. There was an almost-closed door on his left, and he pushed it open. The hinges protested with a squeal, but the door reluctantly swung to reveal an empty, old-fashioned bathroom. He continued down the hall, his imagination going wild again with thoughts of what could’ve happened. Had Jules’s past caught up to her?

The thought of something happening to Jules made his stomach clench, and he moved more quickly. As Theo got closer to the final door on the right, the one he was fairly sure was the kitchen, he finally heard people. Multiple loud voices piled on top of each other, making it difficult for Theo to hear what anyone was saying. Pausing next to the entryway, keeping his body hidden from whoever was in the kitchen, he listened, trying to pick out individual words.

“…if he comes back!” a child’s voice wailed, rising above the babble of the others. Theo’s muscles tightened. Who was “he,” and why was the kid so upset at the thought of this man’s return?

“…long gone…” Theo barely made out a few words from Jules, but he was certain it was her speaking. The rest of what she had to say disappeared into the cacophony of sound, and the short phrases Theo was able to pick out only confused him more. Someone mentioned an ignition point, and the child shrieked something about making someone homeless, and another person stuttered in a deep, male voice about clean up. Theo frowned, the term “clean up” leading him to think about corpses. All his earlier fears for Jules rushed back, and he couldn’t hesitate any longer.

Theo surged into the kitchen.

A small crowd of people—young people—huddled around the ancient stove, ignoring the light stream of smoke that still drifted from it. No one was looking at Theo, and he immediately dropped his hand from where it had been resting on the butt of his gun. The sight of all the kids made him feel a little sheepish for overreacting.

“What’s going on?”

The entire group jumped as if he’d given them an electric shock, all of them turning to stare at him with expressions that ranged from fear to wariness. Upon closer observation, he confirmed that they were kids, ranging in age from ten or so to late teens—the oldest being none other than his squirrelly waitress. Her hair was caught in two braids, and a smear of black ran across her right cheek. Even smudgy, she was hot.

Not liking the prickle of emotion she woke in him, he looked at the stove.

“Is the fire out?” he asked when it appeared that no one was going to answer his initial question. When they still didn’t say anything—instead staring at him, stock-still and wordless—Theo shifted his weight impatiently and reached toward his radio with the hand not holding his gun. “Do I need to call in the fire department?”

“No!” several of the kids, including Jules, chorused in unison. He kept hold of his radio, since the threat of Fire seemed to have brought everyone back to life. Theo could sympathize with their reluctance. Sometimes—a lot of times—firefighters could be a pain in the ass.

“It’s out,” Jules said, taking a step toward him and positioning her body between Theo and the kids. Her slight figure wasn’t much of a barrier, but there was something in the way she held herself that reminded him of a fierce mama bear. “There wasn’t really a fire. It was more…” She waved a hand toward the stove, as if what had happened was written on its ancient surface.

“It was more of an explosion,” one of the younger boys offered, but his brother—a twin, Theo assumed by their almost identical size and appearance—cleared his throat.

“It wasn’t actually an explosion,” the second one explained earnestly. “The debris just ignited extremely quickly, mimicking an explosion. A small one.”

Theo wasn’t any more enlightened than when he’d first seen the smoke. “Debris?”

Jules cringed. “An old pack rat nest.” A visible shudder rippled through her.

“The rat wasn’t hurt,” the youngest of the group, a girl who looked like a younger Jules, said solemnly. “He left a long time ago. We’re hoping he doesn’t come back, because it would be very upsetting if he did and found out his home had burned.”

“Didn’t you check inside the oven before you turned it on?” Theo asked, stepping closer to the stove so he could look inside. Unfortunately, that move brought him very close to Jules. Under a layer of smoke, she smelled really nice, like vanilla and sugar and baking things.

Her mouth-watering scent was overlaid by the stench of charred rodent, which refocused him. What was wrong with him, that he was sniffing squirrelly waitresses? He reached for the numbness, but for the first time, it eluded him, and he was stuck with feeling the irritated fascination Jules inspired in him.

“No.” She glared up at him, her gaze hotter than he thought blue eyes could be. “I normally do not look inside an oven before I turn it on, because who would ever think a huge rat would build a house inside an appliance? An appliance in which we cook food. Food that we eat!” Her voice had risen to a decibel that made Theo’s ears hurt, but he found himself fighting the beginnings of a smile. Jules was just so outraged that a rat dared take up residence in her stove. Judging by the condition of the house—especially the rough state of the kitchen—Theo was not even a little surprised that a rodent had made its home there. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if one ran across the floor in front of them. Theo almost hoped one would, so he could play hero, and Jules could thank him in that sweet, Southern accent of hers.

Startled by the daydream, he shook it off and tried to distract himself by belatedly trying to place her dialect. She’d mentioned Arkansas, but her drawl didn’t match.

“Where are you from again?” he asked. It was only then he realized his question would’ve seemed random and abrupt. Her surprise morphed into that same hunted look she’d had at the diner, and he swallowed his disappointment at the reminder that she was hiding from something—hiding, and apparently, dragging her family along with her.

“Arkansas,” all of them chorused—all except the hulking, oldest boy, who protectively stepped closer to Jules, watching Theo warily. Theo narrowed his eyes. Their quick, in-unison answer just screamed that it was a lie. Something was not right about the Jackson family, and Theo felt an itch to investigate—an itch that had been dormant until he met her. He pushed back the urge, biting off questions he wanted to ask. Jules had stood up for him, and he’d decided to back off and trust that Jules had a good reason—a good, ethical reason—for running. It was hard to let it go, not only because of his raging curiosity, but also because he wanted to know more about Jules.

He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not. If he opened himself up again, he was stepping down the road to heartache. Feeling nothing was easier, less painful. In fact, it was probably smart to leave this jumpy, lying little family. Now.

Before he could escape, the little girl’s eyes lit up. “A dog!”

As Theo started to turn, Viggy shot past him, heading straight for the huddled family. The small girl stepped forward, hands outstretched.

“Stop!” Theo barked, not sure if he was talking to the dog or to the kid. In the scant seconds it took for Viggy to reach the child, Theo’s stomach twisted. With Viggy acting as unpredictably as he’d been, Theo had no idea how the dog would react. He just knew it wasn’t going to be good. “Viggy, here!”

The dog didn’t even glance at Theo. His focus was locked on the girl, and he shot toward her, as straight as an arrow to a bull’s-eye. Visions of vulnerable flesh bitten and bleeding flashed in Theo’s mind, and he lunged after Viggy. His fingers brushed the harness strap across Viggy’s back, but the dog scooted out of reach, twisting around the little girl’s legs, stretching up to…lick her face? Giggling, the child crouched down to the dog’s level, using both hands to scratch his ruff.

It took a stunned moment for the dog’s action to sink in to Theo’s brain, for the lack of screams to register, and the roar of blood in his ears to ease. The other kids, unaware of Theo’s earlier terror, circled around the girl and dog, reaching to pet Viggy, who rolled onto his back to get his belly scratched.

Theo took a few breaths, still feeling the rush of adrenaline coursing through him. It had been a while since he’d felt anything, and his current state of alertness felt uncomfortable but also kind of, well, good. He closed his eyes for just a second, enjoying the flow of blood and the hard beat of his heart. It felt like his body was finally thawing after being frozen for a long time.

“What’s his name?” Reluctant warmth filled Jules’s voice. Theo’s heart rate increased a little more, and he frowned, his eyes snapping open.

Quit lusting after the squirrelly waitress, he told himself firmly. His body didn’t listen. “Viggy.”

“He’s your dog?” the little girl asked, smiling up at him from her place on the floor next to Viggy. “I’d like a horse, but a dog would be good, too. We can’t get one yet, though. Jules says we need to focus on keeping all of us alive before we add any dependents.”

An audible inhale from Jules caught Theo’s attention, and he looked at her sharply. What about the girl’s statement had upset Jules? Was it the implication that they didn’t have much money, or had Jules meant “survival” in its most immediate form? Were their lives in danger? He examined her face closely, but Jules flushed and dropped her gaze to the dog.

“Is he?” The little girl urged, and Theo’s focus shifted to her again.

“He’s my…” He paused just a second. “He was my friend’s partner.”

The oldest boy looked up from his position crouched by Viggy’s head. He’d been scratching the dog’s upside-down ears, and his hand paused as he spoke for the first time. “H-he’s a p-p-police dog?”

“Yes.” Viggy waved a paw, urging the teen to continue, and Theo gave an amused grunt. The blissed-out dog, sprawled on his back with his tongue hanging out, was a completely different animal than the stressed, unhappy creature he’d been since Don’s death. Theo felt a twinge of gratitude for the family who’d returned the dog to his previous self, even if it was only for a minute or two.

One of the twins regarded Viggy with interest. “Is he trained to find drugs, then? Or does he chase after the bad guys and take them down?”

For the second time in as many minutes, Theo felt the foreign urge to smile. He managed to contain it. “Explosives. And the second one. He’s a dual-purpose dog.”

“He sniffs out bombs? Awesome.”

Theo’s gaze slid to Jules, and he saw she was regarding him thoughtfully. “Did you need something?” she asked.

The question confused him at first, random answers bouncing around in his head. There were so many things he needed. He needed peace, he needed Viggy to get over Don’s death, he needed to get over Don’s death. Theo might even need Jules. He knew he wanted her. “What?”

“Why are you here?”

Feeling caught, he rubbed a hand over his mouth before answering. Even that extra couple of seconds didn’t give him time to think of a good excuse for his presence, so he just blurted out the truth. “I wanted to check on you.”

She flinched, and Theo grimaced. That hadn’t come out right.

“Your house is isolated,” he tried explaining, searching for the right words that would erase her hunted look. “You’re out here alone.” Great, now he was sounding like a psycho stalker. “I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I was…” He shifted uncomfortably. “I was worried.”

After regarding him in silence for a few awkward seconds, Jules smiled. The fearful, timid waitress he’d met at the diner was nowhere to be seen, and he found he couldn’t look away. The sight of Jules and the kids and a happy Viggy made his lungs tighten, and he forced his head to turn toward the stove again. The smoke had stopped, and it was time—past time—for Theo to go.

He opened his mouth to tell Viggy to heel, but he closed it again. The dog’s normal reaction was to ignore him and curl into a miserable ball, and a part of Theo—a rather huge part—didn’t want this family to see that.

“We’d better go.” He focused on the younger girl. “Do you want to help bring Viggy outside?”

“Yes!” Her face lit, and she jumped to her feet. “C’mon, Viggy!” She ran out of the kitchen, the twins following. Theo watched as the dog bounded after the kids, his tail up and wagging hard. It was the first time in a long time he’d seen Viggy without his tail tucked between his legs.

“Thank you.” At the sound of Jules’s voice, Theo turned from the now-empty doorway. “For being so nice to them.”

Theo blinked. He’d been nice?

“I’d really like to get them a dog,” she continued, speaking faster. Her drawl and quick speech blurred her words until they were almost unintelligible. “It’s just that, as you can see”—she waved at the oven with an unconvincing laugh—“we have so much to do with the house and getting the kids started at school, and with my new job and everything, it’s just better that we wait to get a pet. That’s what I meant about not wanting to get a dog right now. You know, what Dee said that I said, and I’m so babbling right now, so I’ll just be quiet.”

Her words ended abruptly, and she stared at Theo, her panic returning in an almost visible flood. Theo was a little disappointed. He hadn’t missed the squirreliness. Plus, her rambling monologue had just convinced him that the reference to “survival” hadn’t meant merely food and shelter. This family was in trouble. “Dee?”

“Yes. Deirdre.” She took a quick breath, as if she was about to launch into another speech. When the oldest boy—the only one who hadn’t run outside with Viggy—shifted slightly closer to Jules, she closed her mouth with an audible click and gave Theo a strained, closed-mouth smile.

Theo’s gaze shifted to the teen. “What’s your name?”

“Sam.” There was no stutter that time. Theo met his eyes, and the boy looked back. There was something in his stance—a hidden flinch, a sense that he was torn between running and throwing a punch—that was troubling and familiar. Theo had seen something very similar when he’d interviewed abuse victims.

Theo’s gaze moved to Jules. Although he could’ve been mistaken, could’ve been influenced by this stupid attraction he was fighting, he was pretty sure she wasn’t the abuser. The protective attitude Sam had toward her didn’t fit.

“You’re all siblings?”

“Yes.” Jules’s chin tilted in a slightly belligerent way that Theo noted with interest. The gesture made him pretty sure her answer wasn’t entirely truthful.

“And the twins’ names?”

“Tyson and Thomas.”

Her entire body was braced, as if she was waiting for a blow. After regarding her silently for a moment, Theo took a step back and gestured toward the doorway into the hall. “I should get Viggy.”

Exchanging a quick glance, Jules and Sam walked out of the kitchen ahead of Theo. Sam gave Theo a few worried looks over his shoulder, but Jules kept her gaze fixed ahead, her spine a little too straight.

Happy, excited shrieks greeted them as they walked through the still-open front door. The three younger siblings had found a fallen tree branch and were playing fetch with Viggy. The stick was so long it threatened to bowl over anyone in the dog’s path, and the kids had to dodge away, laughing.

Jules sighed audibly. “Sam-I-Am, we’re going to have to get them a dog, aren’t we?”

Despite her long-suffering tone, she was smiling, and Theo found it hard to pull his gaze from her face. Tense and serious, Jules was beautiful. Happy, she was…more than beautiful. Theo forced himself to turn toward Sam, who’d made an amused sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. Both were watching their younger siblings with the same expression, a look that Theo had a hard time interpreting. There was love and worry and a ferocious protectiveness and so much more written on their faces, their emotions so naked and raw that Theo felt like a voyeur. He cleared his throat and glanced at the kids playing with the Malinois.

Viggy really was acting like a different dog. No, that wasn’t right. He was acting like the dog he used to be. The usual grief and guilt started to twist in his gut again, and Theo turned abruptly toward his SUV.

Only after he raised the back hatch did he turn back to the family. “Viggy.” His voice was too harsh. Theo knew that, even before Viggy’s tail dropped from its happy carriage and tucked between his legs. “Load.”

As the dog cowered, the kids went silent. Regret flooded Theo, filling him with a caustic burn that was all too familiar. Theo clenched his fists and took a breath, and then another. It was one thing for Hugh or Otto to see the mess Theo and Viggy had become. For whatever reason, Theo didn’t want these kids to have to witness the wreck Don had left. He especially didn’t want Jules to know. Why he cared what she thought was beyond him, but he couldn’t help sending her a sideways glance to see how she was reacting.

Although her smile had disappeared, Jules didn’t look scared or upset. Instead, she was looking back and forth between Theo and the dog with a thoughtful expression.

“He doesn’t want the fun to end,” she said lightly to her siblings. “Why don’t y’all help get him into the car?”

Once again, she was saving him.

The kids immediately dove into the game, running toward Theo’s Blazer while calling Viggy to follow. After a few seconds, he perked up slightly and trotted after the children. When he got closer to the SUV, he slowed, his whole body seeming to shrink in on itself.

Theo moved away from the open hatch and watched as the kids crowded around the back of the SUV, urging Viggy to jump inside.

“Load.” The word came out too loudly, making the kids and the dog jump and look at him anxiously. Theo gritted his teeth, sucking in a breath through his nose before trying to moderate his tone. “The command is ‘load.’”

The three kids relaxed and returned to their efforts. “Viggy, load!”

Reluctantly, as if Viggy was just as loath to return to the reality of grief and loss as Theo was, the dog jumped into the rear compartment. One of the twins—Tyson, Theo was fairly certain—lowered the hatch door. The ease with which these children had gotten Viggy to relax and play made Theo envious. At the same time it raised a flicker of hope that the dog would someday be the happy, confident Viggy he used to be.

“Thank you.” His words were stiff, but they were lucky he’d managed to say anything at all. Theo felt his lungs tighten. This family—the hot waitress and dog-whispering children and their not-quite-hidden flinches—was starting to wake something inside of him. His emotions were bleeding through the armor he’d built to contain them, and it was making it hard to breathe. He needed to leave.

After a single step toward the driver’s door, he paused. “The stove fire is under control?”

Jules grimaced. “Yes. All that’s left is the cleaning.”

“Have it checked before you try to use it again.” The suggestion came out more as an order, but Jules didn’t look offended. She did appear tired and a little sad as she gave him a forced smile that could have meant anything. Theo was pretty sure it wasn’t the response he wanted. “Something could’ve been damaged by the fire, and that thing is ancient. You don’t want to mess around with gas. Have your landlord get it checked.”

“Okay!” Jules held up her hands, palms out in a gesture of surrender. “I’ll have someone look at it.”

Her promise was too vague to satisfy Theo, but there was nothing he could do except call the stove repairman himself. As much as he wanted to do exactly that, he barely knew this family. They’d never accept his help. With a stiff incline of his head to Jules and her siblings, Theo got into the driver’s seat and started the SUV.

As he eased down the driveway, Theo glanced in the rearview mirror at the family watching him leave. He’d expected to feel relief at being away from their agitating presence, but he didn’t.

All he felt was hollow.

* * *

“I like that dog,” Dee said, watching the SUV disappear around the first curve in the driveway.

So had Jules. The dog’s partner was a different story. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him, but “like” was such an inadequate word for what she’d felt. His continued visits to the diner and their unexpected alliance at the grocery store had made most of her initial cop-sighting panic fade.

Despite that, she’d been shocked to see him in her house, all her fears returning in a crashing wave, and she’d had to shove back the instinctual urge to tackle him and yell at her siblings to run. He’d just been concerned about their oven fire, though. And he’d been worried about her. Contented warmth flowed through her at the thought.

“Jules.” The impatient note in Tio’s voice told her it wasn’t the first time he’d said her name.

She tore her gaze from the spot where she’d last seen the cop who was a little too fascinating—and around a little too often—for her peace of mind. “Sorry, T. What’s up?”

“Can we go to the library?” he asked. “I’d like to see if someone scanned in an owner’s manual for our stove.”

She nibbled on the inside of her lip as she studied him, her mind working.

“Don’t you want me to go to the library?” Tio finally prompted when her silence went on too long.

“No.” She shook off her distracted thoughts. “I mean, I’ll take you. I’m just wondering if it’s irresponsible of me to let you work on the stove. Shouldn’t we have a professional…um, oven person look at it? Like Theo said, gas is nothing to fool around with.”

He gave her a look of mixed condescension and long-suffering patience that sat oddly on his thirteen-year-old face. “I’ll be fine, Jules. I know what I’m doing. At least, I will when I get that manual.” He tilted his head toward the SUV meaningfully.

“Okay.” She headed for the house to grab her keys and lock up, calling over her shoulder, “But if you get blown up, I’m going to be annoyed!”

Sam followed her inside, and she gave him an inquiring look.

“Th-Theo?” he repeated, frowning.

Examining her brother’s extra-tense face, unsure of what, exactly, he was asking her, she said, “The cop who was just here.”

“How d-d-do you know him?”

She grabbed the keys and her purse from the kitchen table they’d found at the thrift store. It was a little small for all of them, and the five chairs didn’t exactly match—either the table or each other—but the set had cost a total of seventeen dollars. With their supply of cash dwindling painfully fast, affordability beat out aesthetics. “I wouldn’t say I know him. He’s at the diner every morning, that’s all.”

“B-but you c-c-call h-him Theo?”

She was still confused. “Yes?”

“Why?”

“Uh…because that’s his name? What else should I call him?”

His fists clenched at his sides. “How ab-b-bout Of-f-ficer? Or G-Guy Who C-C-Can Ar-rest You for K-Kidnapping?”

“Sam.” Her voice was soft, and she resisted the urge to squeeze his arm. As tense as he was, the last thing he’d want was to be touched. “It’s okay. He doesn’t know.”

“M-mayb-b-be.” He closed his eyes for a second as his jaw muscles worked, and she knew he was trying to get his stutter under control. “N-not yet. B-b-but he c-c-could f-find out.”

She stared at him helplessly, unable to deny what he’d said. Theo could find out what she’d done, who they were, everything. “If he does, we’ll run.” It was weak, she knew, but it was all she could say to reassure him.

Sam didn’t look at all reassured. “D-d-d-do you l-like him?”

“What?” The word came out a bit screechy, and she winced inwardly as Sam’s frown deepened. “Of course not. That’d be crazy.”

“It w-w-would be cr-cr-crazy.” His grim tone made her drop her eyes. Maybe she’d thought about him a few times—and not in a he-could-arrest-me sort of way—but anyone with a pulse would indulge in a few daydreams when confronted by a man that good-looking. “Th-hat’d b-be b-b-bad, J-Ju.”

“I know.”

“Really b-bad.”

“I know.” Her response was barely more than a sigh as a tiny hope she hadn’t even realized she’d been harboring slipped away. It hit her that this was her life now. Until Dee was eighteen and the threat of Courtney was gone, Jules couldn’t date, couldn’t have any close friends, couldn’t get attached to anyone. If people got close, they’d ask questions. Jules had to be ready to take off at a moment’s notice.

Loneliness crept up her throat, making it tight, but she swallowed the self-pity. It was worth it. Getting the kids away from Courtney was worth the sacrifice. She met Sam’s worried gaze and held it steadily.

“I know, Sam.” No matter how hot and protective and gruffly kind he was, Theo was also a cop, and she was a criminal. Jules had to stay away from him…no matter how hard that may be.