Page 64 of Built for Mercy

“He assaulted her?”

She nodded. “Callie faked an engagement to him because she had a hunch something was off. She was right, but it almost got her killed.” She tossed the rest of her wine back, and I stood to get the bottle. “Well… things got really bad and Callie quit her job to move back home in Pennsylvania. Things settled down. The killings stopped. Liam moved back to New York. That was that.”

“Until…” I urged, wondering why she was taking her time with the story.

“Until she spotted her ex, Owen Fisher, on the same day that not one but two of those killings happened… in her hometown. She put the pieces together that he was the killer and was targeting her.” She shuddered. “Callie and Liam were shipped off in WITSEC, and while they were gone, the Feds turned our precinct upside down. We found out that our previous captain lied about submitting the case to the feds when it first went cold, and again when he pressed Callie and Liam to reopen it. Turns out he was doing it with a bunch of cases so our clearance rates were higher, which meant more funding, higher budgets, and so on.

“Unfortunately, it also meant he was embezzling funds out of the precinct to pay for his own cushy lifestyle, leaving all of us behind in a mess. I’m still adjusting to my new captain but I don’t trust him. I certainly don’t trust any of the new personnel, because I know the city is watching all of us like hawks. Which makes it hard for me to make any wrong moves, in and out of my job.”

“Jesus,” I muttered.

“Yeah.” She took a deep breath before diving into her food.

“All because of those two, huh?”

Sophie laughed. “I guess so. Had they not had an affair, things would have beenverydifferent. But also, I can’t imagine how Callie felt knowing she was shacking up with a serial killer for a year.”

I winced. No doubt, I had killed more people than he had. Sophie seemed to realize her mistake when she dropped her head into her hands, groaning. The light from the chandelier above us reflected off her dark hair and the silver rings on her fingers.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay, Soph. I know I’m a monster.” I ran a finger along the edge of the table.

She put her fork down. “You’renota monster. You… you’re like me.” I arched a brow. “I just mean, you’re not killing for sport. It’s part of your job.” Her eyes searched mine, and somehow she made me hate myself a little less. Put herself on my level, even though she was leagues above me.

“You really are amazing, you know that?”

She beamed. “Thank you. Wanna watch a movie?”

***

Sophie’s body was nestled between my legs, her back to my chest as we snuggled on the couch and watched some girly movie.

I didn’t really care.

I was just happy to be with her.

I felt… normal. Like I didn’t carry the weight of my family’s wealth or worry about the next person who stepped out of line.

I felt…peace.

Doing something so mundane twisted my insides. I wanted to do this every night with her, wanted her in my space. And maybe she did too—she’d just made my placecozier, after all. But part of me still braced for the moment she’d pull away, like commitment was something she didn’t quite trust yet.

I stroked her hair rhythmically, her soft tresses slipping through my fingers. Her head fell back against my shoulder, and seeing her like this…

My dick was hardening the longer she stayed pressed against me.

She giggled at something in the movie and squirmed a little, creating friction against my lap. Breath rushing out of me, I refrained from flexing my hips into her. She was clearly enjoying herself; she didn’t need me going all carnal on her.

Especially after the emotional day she’d had.

But…fuck it.

I wasn’t going to pretend to not want her.

Pressing my lips to the soft spot behind her ear, I snaked an arm around her midsection under the new blanket she’d bought.

She hummed. “I was wondering when you were going to make a move,” she murmured, still facing the TV.