He felt a smile curve his lips and thought about that. He discovered he smiled a lot whenever Serena was around. That is, when she wasn't making him frown with worry and exasperation. And outright fear for her life.

Dominic pulled into Serena's driveway. Once inside, he made her wait while he cleared the place. Thankfully, it didn't appear that anyone had been inside. He made the call to Katie while Serena got busy in her kitchen.

"So you're going to stay there awhile? Till 11:00?"

He heard something in her voice but couldn't identify it. "Yes. I've got her covered until then." He frowned. Was Hunter right? Was Katie interested in him as more than a fellow cop and friend?

"All right. I'll be there at 11:00."

"Thanks, Katie."

"Right." She hung up and Dominic just sat there for a minute.

"Everything all right?"

He looked up to see Serena in the doorway. Her beauty took his breath for a moment. He smiled. "Yeah. Fine. Katie will be here at 11:00." Serena bit her lip and looked away. Dominic frowned. "What is it?"

"She's in love with you," she said softly.

He froze. First Hunter, now Serena. "What makes you say that?"

She let out a puff of laughter. "I'm a woman, we notice these things."

He stood and walked over to her, took her hands in his, and said, "I'm not in love with her."

"I know."

He lifted a brow. "You do?"

"I'm a woman, we notice those things too."

"Really?" He had no doubt she was observant.

"Really. Besides, you wouldn't have kissed me on the boat if you were in love with Katie. You're not that kind of man."

"You're absolutely right. I wouldn't have kissed you on the boat. Or now." He pulled her closer and leaned over to capture her lips with his. She returned the kiss, lifting her hands to cup his face. When he pulled back, he said, "I want you to be safe, Serena. I don't want to lose you now that I've found you."

Tears misted her eyes. "I know."

"So," he cleared his throat and backed up a step, "would you like to go to church with me in the morning?"

"I would love to."

30.

SUNDAY, 8:30 A.M.

Serena glanced in the mirror one more time, satisfied that she'd done a pretty good makeup job. The bruise on her cheek was only slightly noticeable. She padded into the kitchen and opened the drawer where she'd shoved Jillian's package.

Tomorrow she'd take it to the bank and put it in a safe deposit box.

Her doorbell rang and her heart flipped as she pulled the package from the drawer. She really needed to put it someplace safer.

Rushing into the foyer, she spied the small table and mirror her grandmother had pa.s.sed down to her. Slipping the package behind the mirror, she let it rest against the bottom piece of wood that protruded to hold the mirror slightly off the wall.

Stepping back, she looked at the mirror and decided it was a good hiding place for now.

She opened the door to find Dominic standing on her porch. "You're the most punctual person I know," she said.

He laughed. "Come on. I'm going to enjoy going to church with you."

Serena smiled. "Yeah. It'll be nice to worship and totally focus on G.o.d for a while." She sobered. "And pray for the capture of a killer."

Dominic's smile slid. "I've been praying that for a long time now."

As they climbed into his car, her phone rang. She s.n.a.t.c.hed it from the side pocket of her purse.

Covenant House.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Serena? This is Mrs. Lamb. Camille is here and said she had to talk to you. She said the guilt is eating her up inside."

Guilt? Concerned, Serena said, "Tell her I'll be right there."

Dominic lifted a brow when she hung up. "We're not going to church, are we?"

"I'm not." She frowned. "I'm sorry. Camille's at Covenant House and I really need to talk to her. Why don't you let me get my car and I'll meet you at church after I finish with her."

"You're kidding, right?"

She read the look in his eyes. "You're going to take me, huh?"

He simply lifted a brow.

Ten minutes later, Dominic pulled into the parking lot. "I'll walk you up and then come back out to make a few phone calls."

"That's fine. There's a security officer on campus at all times and the entrances and exits are monitored. Visitors have to be buzzed in, so if you decide to come in, press the white b.u.t.ton by the door."

He looked relieved. "Sounds like you'll be secure."

"Secure enough."

They walked to the building and Serena showed her ID. After being buzzed in, she headed toward the family room, stopping several times to speak to the girls who recognized her.

"Hey, Ms. Serena, I got a job!" Serena turned to give a too-skinny black girl a hug.

"Good for you, Amanda. I'm proud of you."

The girl frowned. "You won't kick me out of here yet, will you?"

"No way. You know you're welcome here until you can save some money and find a place to live."

The girl's brow smoothed. "I know, but I just wanted to make sure."

"Relax, you're doing great."

Serena gave her another hug, finished her trek down the hall, and entered the family room.

Camille had staked out her spot in the corner of the couch. Her eyes were on the television screen, but Serena didn't think the girl was paying any attention to what played there. Serena spoke to several of the other girls who recognized her and smiled.

"Camille?"

Camille jumped and swiveled her head. Then she popped up and threw herself into Serena's surprised arms.

"Hey." She hugged the thin teen and pulled back with a smile. "Now that's what I call a greeting."

A flush crept into Camille's cheeks. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry at all." Serena gave her another quick hug, then motioned for her to sit. Camille did and Serena sat beside her. "Where have you been? Why didn't you answer my texts and calls?"

Camille's eyes darted to the window then back to Serena. "It doesn't matter. I . . . um . . . I just had some things I had to work through."

"You want to talk about them?"

"Not really."

Serena decided to change the subject. "Have you seen a doctor?"

"No." Camille let out a mournful sigh. "What am I going to do?"

Serena studied the teen. "I don't know, Camille, I guess that's really up to you."

A long pause filled the silence, then Camille whispered, "I almost had an abortion."

Serena's breath hitched and she felt her stomach tilt. "But you didn't."

"I just couldn't. I . . . kept picturing the ultrasound that woman did at the pregnancy center and seeing the beating heart and . . . ," tears welled and spilled over before she finally finished, "I couldn't. I wanted to, but . . . I couldn't."

Serena reached over and gathered Camille into her arms. "I'm so glad you couldn't do it."

"Yeah." Camille rose and walked to the window. Standing off to the side, she pushed the curtain to look out.

"Is something wrong?"

Camille jumped. "No. I just . . . no."

But the nervous flicker of her eyes said she was lying.

"Camille, Mrs. Lamb said something about the guilt killing you. What did you mean by that?"

Licking her lips, Camille turned her gaze back toward the window. Then she said, "You've done so much for me."

"Honey, I care about you. A lot. You know that, right?"

Camille finally lifted her eyes to Serena's. "You've done more for me in the last year than any member of my family's done my whole life. Yeah, I believe you care about me, that's why-" She bit her lip and began to pace.

"Camille, I need to ask you a question and I need you to be honest with me."

Camille stopped her jerky stride. She looked at Serena, wariness flickering in her eyes. "What?"

"Were you at my house Thursday night when the alarm went off?"

She flinched. "At your house?"

"Yes." Why did Camille feel the need to repeat the question unless she was stalling, trying to think of an answer? "Don't lie to me, don't do that. At least tell me the truth. This is important."

The girl snapped her lips together and looked back toward the window. Fear shadowed her face. "Yes. I was there. That's why I came here. To tell you about . . ." She twisted her fingers and bit her lip. "I was looking for you."

"Tell me about what?"

Camille bit her lip and looked away, her expression so tortured Serena actually felt the girl's pain. "Did you try to get in the house and accidentally set the alarm off?"

Camille crossed her arms in front of her stomach and leaned forward. "No, I was . . . no, someone was already in your house."

"What? Why didn't you tell me this before now?"

"Because," she licked her lips, "I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"She saw me . . . um . . . looking in the window. She looked right at me and the look in her eyes was . . . crazy." Camille shuddered and gulped in a breath. "She . . . uh . . . came after me, so I ran and she yelled she'd find me."

Serena stared. "She?"

"A woman. A tall woman dressed like a man with a baseball cap and everything. She had on those clothes they wear in the army."

"Army fatigues?"

"Yes. Camouflage."

Serena leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. "A woman?" She'd have to pa.s.s that information on to Dominic. "But I don't understand how my alarm went off." She looked back at the girl. "I need you to talk to a friend of mine about the break-in and what you saw. He's an FBI agent investigating something, and the break-in may be related."