Nate gave a slow nod and reached out to take the card. He slipped it into his right front pocket and said, "All right. But I really don't think I'll hear anything from her." He laughed, a short sound that reminded Serena of something more like a cough. "I mean, I haven't heard from her since she disappeared. Why would you think she'd surface now?"

Serena sighed as she thought about the gifts. "Call it a gut feeling."

"Could you give me the names of your relatives in Ecuador?" Dominic asked.

The lawyer shook his head. "I think Rafael Perez was the name of a cousin or a second cousin who was around my age." He shrugged and held up his hands. "I'm sorry, I can't think of anyone else. It was a very long time ago and I never met them, just overheard conversations."

Dominic stood and Serena took that as her cue. Standing, she held out her hand and Nate shook it. Dominic already had his phone in his hand and, after a quick handshake, said to Nate, "Thanks so much. We'll be in touch."

"I hope you find her." He sounded dubious, as though he didn't believe they'd be successful.

"We will." Dominic's tone left no doubt that he thought they would.

Serena wished she had his confidence. Her head ached and muscles she knew existed, but hadn't thought about in a while in relation to her own body, throbbed.

Once outside, Serena and Dominic walked to his car. She noticed his tight shoulders, his roving eyes. Always alert. "You think the killer's watching?"

"It wouldn't surprise me." He opened the car door for her and looked around. "Do you feel like you have a target on your back?"

"Nope. My forehead."

Dominic flinched at the thought of Serena with a bullet in her head. "No more joking about being targets. Gives me the creeps."

She dared to laugh. "What? The big bad FBI guy has the creeps? I thought you guys joked all the time in morbid fashion. Like it's some kind of ritual."

"We do." He slid into the driver's seat and cranked the car. Serena slammed her door and fastened her seatbelt.

Morbid jokes were the norm around the office. He partic.i.p.ated in the fun most of the time, but when it came to joking about Serena and death, he didn't want to think about it, much less joke about it.

He dropped the subject and dialed BSU again. He hoped his computer forensics buddy was working today.

Terry O'Donnell picked up on the second ring. "What can I do for you, Dom?"

"I need you to track down a Rafael Perez. Last known location, Somewhere, Ecuador. He's a relative of f.a.n.n.y Correa Lindell. Do a search for her, you'll probably find him."

"Any more info?"

"Yeah. If you come up empty in Ecuador, try Bogota, Colombia."

"Okay, got it. I'll find him and get back to you."

"One more thing."

"Shoot."

"Gwendolyn Lindell. I need you to find her too. Last known location, her home address in Columbia, South Carolina." He rattled it off for Terry.

"That it?"

"For now."

"Sit tight. I won't be long."

Dominic hung up. "We'll know something soon."

"I thought you already looked for Gwendolyn and couldn't find her."

"Yep, but we now have some new information. Terry may be able to put out new feelers, check old ones, and come up with something that'll give us an indication of where she is."

"I sure hope so." She remembered her text. Should she bring it up? Maybe he wasn't interested in spending a few hours on her boat. She bit her lip, then blurted, "I'm taking the boat out Sat.u.r.day. Are you interested in going with me?"

Dominic nodded. "Sure. That would be wonderful."

"I'd already planned to take tomorrow off to run errands and work around the house, get my mind off all of this craziness. Soaking in the warm sun will feel good regardless."

He reached over and took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers. "A couple of hours in the sun will do us both some good. I'll make sure Katie and Hunter are still running down the leads Sat.u.r.day morning and offer to switch off with them another time. I don't want this case sitting idle for one second."

"I understand, and I also understand if you don't want to go. I almost feel guilty even asking."

"Don't. We're human and we have to recharge or we'll fall apart. I didn't answer your text right away because I wasn't sure I'd be able to go. My mother's friend, Michael, wanted Alexia and me to go eat with him and my mom Sat.u.r.day morning." He gave a brief smile. "I think he's trying to get to know us a little better. Anyway, they've decided to do dinner instead. So, all that to say, yeah, a couple of hours on the water sounds great. We've been going nonstop on this case. Some downtime is needed or we're going to crash and burn."

Relieved he hadn't just been ignoring her invitation, she felt silly for even thinking he had. But she really wanted him to go with her. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted.

But was it because he made her feel safe-or because she really wanted to be with him? "How is Stephanie doing?"

His jaw tightened. "She's still hanging in there. Mich.e.l.le keeps asking about her, of course, but the docs said she shouldn't see her yet."

"I'm so sorry."

"Me too." He took a deep breath. "So, early?"

"Early's fine."

"I'll be at your house around 8:00?"

"Perfect."

In the prison parking lot, he pulled up behind her rental, and she got out of the car. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime."

As she reached for her car door, Dominic called out, "Serena."

She turned to see his window rolling down as he leaned across the seat toward her. "You hungry?"

She lifted a brow. "Always, why?"

"Would you want to go to that little cafe around the corner from my office and grab a bite to eat?"

Her stomach flipped. "Sure." Spend more time with Dominic or go home to Yoda and Chewie? A no-brainer. "I'll follow you over there."

"Parking's probably tight right now and we go right by the hospital. How about you leave your car there and I'll drive us over?"

A relieved smile spread across his face. Had he thought she'd turn him down? Did she look stupid?

Serena climbed back in the pa.s.senger side and shut the door. She smirked at herself, thinking how much her feelings for him had changed since childhood. She'd gone from schoolgirl crush straight into an adult longing to get to know the man better.

As Dominic pulled out onto the street, she glanced in the side mirror, wondering if someone else was following them. Seeing no one there, she still couldn't help the shiver that danced across her skin or the feeling that this string of dead girls was just getting started.

21.

THURSDAY, 7:17 P.M.

Dominic held the door open for her and she stepped into the refreshing cool of the interior. An a.s.sortment of smells a.s.saulted her and she breathed in deeply. Baking bread, parmesan, cinnamon, sizzling steaks. Her stomach rumbled.

"Are you sure you have time to do this?"

"Hey, a man's gotta eat, right?"

She laughed. "Absolutely. So does a girl. But I know things are crazy with this investigation . . ." She shrugged.

"I asked you, remember? Besides, I wasn't sure you'd say yes. Now that you have, you can't back out."

"If you're sure."

"Well, it's either eat with you or grab something at the drive-thru. I'd rather eat with a beautiful woman." At her lifted brow, he paused. "Let me clarify that. Not any beautiful woman. Just you." Serena smothered a grin as he sighed. "I think I'm going to stop talking now. I just keep shoving my foot deeper down my throat."

Serena let out a genuine laugh. Seeing this side of him was a treat. He always seemed so self-a.s.sured, confident, like he had control of the world and everything in it. This not-quite-secure, little-bit-awkward Dominic was intriguing.

And he thought she was beautiful.

That was good to know. She knew that a lot of men liked the way she looked, but the only man's opinion that mattered right now was Dominic's.

Some of the day's weariness slid from her shoulders as Serena slid into a booth. Fifteen minutes later, as she speared a bite of salad, she said, "You think you'll hear something from Terry soon about Gwendolyn Lindell?"

"I think so. He's one of the best when it comes to tracking down someone." He paused a moment, took another bite, then asked, "So, why did you come home?"

His abrupt question made her jerk and he laughed. "Sorry. My mind's jumping from one topic to the next."

She gave a low chuckle. "It's fine." Then a small sigh escaped her. "I left Spartanburg because . . . it was time."

"Alexia said she was a little surprised you'd come home because you had some good friends in Spartanburg."

"I had some very good friends. And I miss them, but . . ." Did she really want to get into it?

"But?"

He wasn't going to give her a choice but to sc.r.a.pe at the scab that had started to heal over the gaping wound. "I was dating a guy and I knew he was getting ready to ask me to marry him." Dominic froze and Serena saw wariness enter his eyes. "Hey, you asked."

The wariness receded and he nodded. "Yeah. I did. Go ahead."

She shrugged. "He wanted to get married, settle down, have a few kids."

"And you didn't?" A frown played around the corners of his lips.

"I did. He just expected me to quit my job."

"Ah . . ." Realization danced across his face.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Ah . . ."

"So you broke it off?"

"I had to. I want a family, but I love my job and I'm not ready to quit. Yet."

"Yet?"

"Maybe one day. For a few years until my children, if I end up having some, are in school. But he didn't agree to that. He meant quit my job. Period. And I couldn't see myself doing that."

His brows drew together at the bridge of his nose. "I can't see it either. Sorry."

A slow smile curved her lips. She couldn't help it. She really liked this man. Flashes of her childhood, the times in his home, turned the smile into a frown. "Tell me about what happened to you after you left home. Alexia thought you hated her."

Dominic went quiet and Serena wondered if she'd stepped over the line with that question. Then he nodded. "I did hate her for a while. But now I know her actions probably saved my life. There's no telling where I would have ended up if she hadn't done what she did."

"Alexia said you'd forgiven her for calling the cops on you and having you arrested for the drugs, but she hasn't said a whole lot about your background and how you came to work with the FBI."

He shook his head as he sipped his tea. "It's really quite amazing. G.o.d gave me another chance. Fortunately, I was smart enough to recognize it before I destroyed it."

Serena watched him, took in each expression that flitted across his face. She knew he was letting her see a part of him he usually kept closed off. "Dad was there when Marcus responded to Alexia's call. As you can imagine, Dad showed up and started beating on me. Alexia tried to jump in, but Dad knocked her out cold. Marcus intervened and arrested Dad and me."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Anyway, Marcus made some kind of deal with the judge, got the charges dropped, and took me home to live with him and his wife." She thought she saw moisture spring to his eyes just before he looked away. Clearing his throat, he said, "They taught me what it means to be a G.o.d-fearing man. One with integrity and ethics and compa.s.sion for others. Marcus became the dad I always wanted but never had."

"Why would he do that?" Serena thought about her own father. While he was a good and generous man in a lot of ways, he'd never take a chance on bringing home a juvenile delinquent. If he did and the kid broke the law or caused trouble, it could tarnish the man's good name.

Dominic wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I asked him after I graduated from the academy."

"What'd he say?"

"He showed me a picture of a kid who was about fourteen years old. It was their son, Joe, who'd been killed in a car wreck about three years before. Marcus said when he arrested me, he was viciously angry. He saw me, a kid throwing his life away on purpose, whereas his son's life had been s.n.a.t.c.hed from them. He railed at G.o.d about the unfairness of it all. And he said G.o.d just told him to help me."