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Dominic’s pulse still hadn’t slowed to normal. It had shot into the stratosphere when Elaine Chang had called to tell him Gia was missing. It’d climbed higher when he’d watched in horror as Eddie Smith held a gun to her head and then at Presley. He’d almost stroked out when bullets started flying.

Kayne Serruto had executed a perfect shot. Dom knew he’d been a Navy SEAL, and those guys were total rock stars. Still, Dom wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but he did not doubt that if Kayne hadn’t killed Smith, he would’ve shot Gia, Presley, or both. He owed a massive debt of gratitude to Kayne. When he said as much, Kayne waved him off.

“No thanks necessary.”

Now, as Dom held Gia and watched Detective Reggie Branch being loaded into an ambulance, he concentrated on breathing deeply. They had caught the person responsible for tormenting Presley and for setting the arson fires, resulting in multiple murders. The ordeal was over.

Dominic glanced over his shoulder to see Eddie Smith being wheeled out in a body bag. He held Gia’s head against his chest so she didn’t see what was happening. It took everything in him to refrain from going over and kicking the shit out of his lifeless corpse. Didn’t matter that he was already dead. For what he’d put Gia and Presley through, he deserved all the hell Dominic could rain on him.

He ran a hand over Gia’s downy soft hair. She was being so strong. He’d have to get her back into counseling. He didn’t want her to have nightmares from the ordeal, especially since he’d have enough for the both of them.

“Did he hurt you, baby?”

She leaned back to peer in his face. “No. I was scared at first, but then I thought, WWPD.”

“What does that mean?”

“What Would Presley Do?”

Dom choked on a laugh and hugged her again. Presley was an excellent role model. He was glad Gia had gotten to know her, even for a short amount of time. It would crush them both when she left, but they had each other.

Before it got too late, he called Elaine to let her know Gia was okay. Without getting into too much detail, he told her they would be by soon to pick up Major and Gia’s things.

As it did constantly, his gaze moved toward Presley. She was talking with the authorities and looked to be in total control, which was a complete turn-on. He’d seen her being sweet and accommodating with his daughter. He’d witnessed her all vulnerable and needy with him. Each facet of her personality only amplified his feelings.

Oh, who was he kidding? He loved everything about her.

She glanced over and smiled at him, and despite what had happened earlier, he was happy.

A thought struck and dread gripped him.

“Daddy?”

“Oh, sorry, baby.”

He didn’t realize he’d been squeezing Gia, so he loosened his grip. It hit him now that the suspect was dead, Presley would be going home.

#

The day’s events pressed down hard on Presley, and she was beyond exhausted. Gia had to be as well. She hated that the young girl had been traumatized because of her. Presley still hadn’t recovered from seeing a gun pointed at that sweet head. Didn’t know if she ever would. Nightmare city.

Presley should’ve anticipated Eddie snatching Gia, but she honestly hadn’t seen it coming. He must have researched Dominic when he realized Presley was with him. Kidnapping her had been the quickest way to draw Presley out into the open, but it must have been a guess on his part. How had he known Presley had become attached to her?

Gia was now with her dad. As much as Presley wanted to hug her, she knew Dominic wasn’t about to let her go anytime soon. She wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to see Presley again. Because of her, his daughter had been in mortal danger. Eddie hadn’t been wielding a toy gun. It had been the real deal with genuine bullets.

Sirens wailed as the ambulance pulled away with Reggie inside. Presley needed to apologize for being so rude to him when he wouldn’t definitively say the crimes were related. She prayed he’d make it. The injury looked bad.

Authorities in white coveralls wheeled Eddie Smith out in a body bag. Presley didn’t care what he’d said about all the deaths being her fault. You didn’t wake up one day and become a serial killer unless there was something seriously wrong with you. His father was a potential rapist, so she wasn’t surprised Eddie had damaged genes.

There would be hours of interviews at the police station, and having been on the other side before, she wasn’t looking forward to the grind. The interviewers would try to trip her up to determine exactly what had happened. She’d have to relive Gwen’s death and Ed Smith Senior’s attack over and over. Dread pooled in her stomach. Gia would also be grilled, and Kayne, too, since he’d pulled the trigger and killed Eddie. The sooner they got it over with, the better. Then they could go home and sleep for the next two days straight.

Three hours later, Presley was ready to crash. She still hadn’t had the chance to talk to Gia. They’d been separated to give their statements. She exited the interrogation room to see several people gathered around Kayne. They were laughing and joking, treating him like the hero he was. He’d taken out a cop shooter. He saw her, said something to everyone, and came over to her.

“Ready to leave?”

“Hours ago.” She glanced around. “Where are Dominic and Gia?”

“They went back to the safe house. Gia wanted to spend the night there.”

“How did she seem?”

“Resilient. She’s lucky she has her dad.”

Yes, she most definitely was.

#

Dominic sat beside his daughter, listening to her repeat her ordeal to the detectives, marveling at how strong she was being. Eddie Smith had shown up at her school. She knew not to go anywhere with strangers, but he’d flashed her his badge and told her that Dominic and Presley had been in an accident. He promised to take her to them. That’s how he’d grabbed her.

The detectives interviewing Gia didn’t keep her long since she’d already been traumatized. He was immensely grateful for that. It helped that Dom knew both of them. They were gentle and understanding with her.

Once Gia was released to leave, Dom stopped by the Chang’s house to pick up Major and Gia’s things. Elaine felt awful that Gia had been taken. He explained what had happened and that there was no way she could’ve stopped it.

Gia begged to stay in the safe house instead of going home, and she wanted to stop and pick up an Oreo ice cream cake for Presley because she’d mentioned that it was her favorite.

As they waited for Presley and Kayne to return, Major rested in his bed beneath the gas fireplace. Gia fell asleep on his lap while he watched television but saw nothing. He was worn out, but his mind raced a thousand miles a minute. So many thoughts ping-ponged around his brain that he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to turn it off. First and foremost was getting Gia back into therapy so she could move past the ordeal. He didn’t want her to suffer any ill effects. Second was Presley. He loved her with all his heart and soul. It was a once-in-a-lifetime love. If he lost her, he wasn’t sure he could go on. He would for his daughter, but he would be a shell, sleepwalking through the motions.

What was he going to do about it? That was the question.

Major scrabbled up from his bed and let out a woof. Gia sat up, her curly black hair sticking up in several spots. “Daddy?”

He stood with her in his arms. “It’s okay, baby, Presley’s home,” he said and instantly cringed. Bad choice of words since they weren’t at their house and Presley wasn’t part of their family.

Gia wiggled out of his arms and ran to the door. “Presley!”

#

Presley called the number one of the detectives had given her for updates on Reggie Branch. He was listed in critical condition and undergoing surgery to remove the bullet. They weren’t giving a prognosis yet. She said a prayer that he pulled through.

She yawned, trying to stay awake as Kayne drove to the safe house. Part of it was an adrenaline dump from being involved in a shootout, some was exhaustion from all that had transpired, and the rest was getting little sleep the last two nights because of Dominic and his talented lips, fingers, and other impressive body parts. She wouldn’t trade the time they had spent together for anything, especially since she would return to Indiana soon.

Presley had committed to attending Jessie’s event tomorrow night. She planned on keeping that pledge. That meant she had approximately thirty hours to spend with the man she loved and his precious daughter.

“You can go home tomorrow,” she told Kayne.

He glanced over at her. “What about the gala thing?”

“You don’t have to stay for it.”

“I already have the tux. Might as well use it. Besides, I’m sure I’ll get called in for more interviews tomorrow since I pulled the trigger. There are ramblings of the FBI poking their nose in since so many people died.”

“Speaking of, how are you doing?”

Kayne looked over at her again with his brows raised. “You mean because I killed him?”

“Yes.”

“I’m okay. It’s never easy to take a life, but I’d do it all over again. He shot a cop and turned the gun on you. I didn’t even think, only reacted. I have no doubt he’d have squeezed the trigger.”

Presley swallowed. “Me too. I don’t think I’ve thanked you.”

“No thanks necessary, cher . We’re teammates.”

That brought a lump of emotion to her throat. God, she loved her CObrA Securities family. She thanked her lucky stars every day that they had hired her. When she thought about it, she owed a small measure of thanks to Ed Smith. If he hadn’t attacked her, she would still be a police detective, grinding away at a thankless job. Instead, she worked for the most incredible company on the planet with the most amazing coworkers. Cases were challenging, diverse, and rewarding. Presley couldn’t have dreamed of a better job.

That’s why her heart was breaking. She had to choose between two loves. Maybe she was putting the cart before the horse. Dominic had never mentioned the L-word or a long-term commitment. He might see her as a temporary liaison. She was relatively confident he felt the same way, but until he said the words, she wouldn’t know for sure.

“He loves you, you know.”

Presley’s head snapped to Kayne. “What did you say?”

“Dominic. He’s ass over tea kettle for you.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. “What makes you say that?”

“Hello? I have eyes, cher . You, I read right away. That’s because I know you. You’re like an open book to me. It only took a few minutes with Dominic to ascertain the feelings were mutual.”

Hope soared before reality clipped its wings. “What am I doing, Kayne? He lives hundreds of miles away. He has a daughter. Dominic can’t uproot his life any more than I can.”

“Why can’t you?”

Her head swiveled toward him again. “What do you mean?”

He met her gaze. “Why can’t you move?”

“I love my job. It’s my life.”

Kayne focused on the road again. “You only get a short amount of time on this big blue marble, cher . Happiness isn’t easy to come by. True love even more so. Seems to me you should grab onto it when you can and never let go.”