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“But we should be.” I smiled at her. “What information are you waiting for? What girl is missing? Maybe I can help you.”

A woman wearing a long coat burst into the café, looking frantic. “Please call the police! There’s a body of a little girl around the corner!”

Vivian gasped as the color drained from her face. She darted out of her seat, rushing over to the lady. Her voice trembled. “Where’s the body?”

CHAPTERTWELVE

VIVIAN

I grippedArrow’s hand tightly as we rushed out the door.

Please don’t let it be Aimee.

I couldn’t believe we were still holding hands, but I didn’t care. I needed stability. I didn’t know how I’d react if the body belonged to Aimee. I might collapse into a heap of sorrow on the ground.

The woman led us to a corner where a small body was wrapped in a large blanket. I trembled as I approached. Arrow released my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me close.

As I stepped closer, my stomach churned. The lifeless face of a little girl with blonde hair greeted me. She was carefully wrapped in several blankets as though someone had taken the time to bundle her up and protect her from the chilly weather.

Tears filled my eyes as I imagined what that poor girl had gone through. Who had killed her?

“Don’t touch anything!” a woman shouted at a man who took a notecard tucked between the blankets.

“FTM. Maybe it’s her initials?” He placed the notecard back and stepped away. “She’s so young . . .”

Aimee could already be dead. What if her body was wrapped in a blanket somewhere, and no one had discovered it yet? Emotions flooded me, and I couldn’t keep it together. I turned into Arrow’s shoulder and cried.

Arrow ushered me away from the growing crowd and wrapped both arms around me, cocooning me from the cold and chaos. At that moment, I felt safe and protected. This wasn’t the same protection and safety I felt with my parents. This was different. This was something I’d never felt with a man before.

But I could be too vulnerable right now to decipher my true feelings. Fear and worry collided in me, and I didn’t know what to do.

When the police arrived, I watched as the EMT took the girl.

“Check all the nearby cameras.” A detective gestured to one of his men.

Arrow took my hand in his again. I looked at our joined hands and wondered how it all happened. I didn’t wake up this morning with plans to hold hands with any man. The predicament between the two men had occupied my mind.

But my heart was hurting too much to think about that now. Arrow’s gaze fixated on something across the street. I followed his gaze to a group of people watching the crime scene. Who was he looking at?

Nausea rose in me, and I returned my attention to my body.

I yanked at his hand. “Can we go now? I don’t feel well.”

He looked at me, and concern filled his eyes. “Okay.”

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

ARROW

“You don’t haveto come up. I can get to my apartment fine.” Vivian walked past the front desk and waved at the security guard. “Hi, Marvin!” Then she headed toward the elevator door.

I was right beside her. “You don’t look fine. Besides, it’s common courtesy to invite your savior up for a cup of coffee.”

“My savior?” She stepped into the elevator, and I followed her inside.

“From the cold. I was your charger just now.” I slung an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to me. “Didn’t you feel warmer from my touch?”

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t push my arm away until we got to her apartment door.