Page 47 of Crossing Paths
“Yes, Mom.” At Molly’s pained expression, Norah hurried to clarify. “I didn’t mean Jane but an actual mom-type mom. Agoodmom.” She didn’t think she’d actually made sense, but Molly was grinning at her, so at least she wasn’t offended.
“Okay!” Molly stood up. “Good meeting, team. Dash, thanks again for everything today and especially for watching out for Norah. If you hurt her in the slightest, we’ll kill you slowly and painfully.” She delivered that last bit in the same cheery tone as the first, and Dash acknowledged the threat with a relaxed nod. “We’ll leave first and check the area, just in case Detective Mill doesn’t have anything better to do with his Sunday than follow us around. We wouldn’t want him to see you driving off in Bruiser’s SUV.”
Dash hadn’t blinked an eye at the idea of her sisters torturing him to death, but the mention of Bruiser had his lips tightening into a straight line. Molly and Cara headed toward the door, but Norah felt like she should say something. Dash, being Dash, didn’t help smooth over the awkward moment but just watched her with those intense eyes.
“So…um…see you Tuesday?” She realized she was playing with her medical alert bracelet and dropped her arms to her sides. At his affirmative grunt, she gave a stiff wave and then hurried after her sisters. Knowing he was watching her leave made it impossible to walk normally. Was she swaying her hips too much…or not enough? She was so focused on not lookingridiculous that she barely managed to avoid running into the corner of a table. Refusing to look behind her to see if Dash had seen that graceless maneuver, she scuttled for the door instead.
As she stepped out of the diner, she rolled her eyes at how silly she was acting. She’d always considered herself a logical, reasonable person, but Dash flustered her. She knew she could never again make fun of the way Molly, Cara, and Felicity mooned over their guys.
Their guys?Her brain stuttered over the phrase.Does that mean I consider Dashmyguy?She stopped walking, the idea taking her breath away. Thebeepof Molly’s car horn reminded her of where she was and got her moving again, but her thoughts continued to churn. It wasn’t a bad thought, keeping Dash as her very own. In fact, it made warmth spread from her middle all through her body.
Mine.With a smile she quickly erased before her sisters could see and question her about the cause, she hurried to climb into the back of Molly’s car.
The drive home was fairly quiet. Instead of trying to wheedle more Dash details out of Norah, Molly and Cara were focused on making sure no detectives—or stalkers—were staking out the diner or following them home.
Once they arrived at the house, Norah hurried inside. After greeting Warrant, she jogged up the stairs, wanting to get started on her Chloe research. As soon as she stepped into her bedroom, she froze, knowing something wasn’t right. Standing stiffly, her heart racing, she scanned the room. Even though there was nowhere to hide in the tiny space and she knew that plasticstorage bins filled the space under her twin bed, not leaving enough room for a squirrel, much less a fully grown human, she still couldn’t slow her breathing. All her instincts were screaming that someone had invaded her space.
When she spotted what didn’t belong, it should’ve been innocuous. A single pen sat in the center of her neatly made bed. Even without seeing the writing utensil up close, she knew it wasn’t her pen. The unfamiliarity made it terrifying.
Forcing herself to take a step closer to the bed, she glanced down at her feet. An illogical part of her brain, one that had been molded by childhood nightmares and horror movies, was determined that a hand was going to reach out from under the bed and latch on to her ankle if she dared look away.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she told herself, forcing her gaze back to the pen. “No one is in here but me.”
But someone elsehadbeen there earlier.
Had it been Zach, or did he have an accomplice after all?
With fingers that wouldn’t stop shaking no matter how many times she told herself she was being silly, Norah picked up the pen. She realized she was holding her breath and let it out in an audible puff. That unreasonable part of her refused to believe that it was just a pen and not a trigger for explosives or a miniature gun.
As she moved it closer to her face, she realized it was a promotional item with the name of a business printed on it. Spinning it around so she could make out the words, her breath caught in her chest again.
“Porter Sports,” she whispered.Dash’s gym.
Eleven
“You’re not taking this seriously enough,” Norah said, bracing her hands on her thighs as she tried to catch her breath. The training session had been brutal. Every one of her sweat glands was working overtime, even the ones between her fingers and toes. One saving grace was that Dash had cleared the gym for her, so he was the only one to see her punch and kick and throw elbows until her muscles were floppy noodles.
“Yes, I am.” His fierce inner badger was evident in his narrowed, furious eyes, but he was angry for the wrong reason. “He was in yourbedroom.”
“That’s not the important point.” Sure, it was extremely creepy that someone—Zach or another of his criminal buddies—had been poking around in her room, but she wasn’t the target of the implied threat. “You need to be careful. They’re going to try to go after you to get to me…us.” She stumbled over the last bit, knowing it revealed just how devastated she’d be if something happened to Dash. He’d done nothing buthelp her, and in return, she’d dragged him into a dangerous situation.
“Let them.” His casual half shrug made her absolutely wild. He needed to be cautious, not literally shrugging off any threat toward him. “I’ll squash them and then dump them on your porch.”
“Of course, that would be the ideal resolution,” she said, straightening as her breathing slowed to normal—or at least closer to normal than the fish-out-of-water gasping she’d been doing. “But Zach is my mom’s friend, so I know how he operates. He’s sneaky. He doesn’t care about fairness or morals or anything except for money and staying out of prison. He’ll play dirty.”
That annoying shrug reappeared, joined by a small smirk that made her want to stomp her foot in frustration, which was something she’d never done in her entire life. “So can I.”
“At least keep some backup around. Bruiser, maybe?”
His eyebrows drew together into a grumpy frown. “I don’t needDaviesto help keep you safe.”
She stared at him, trying to come up with a logical argument that might get through to him, unlike all theotherlogical arguments she’d tried that hadn’t penetrated his stubborn skull. “I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“I can’t promise that I won’t be.” His expression softened as he reached out to catch her sweaty hand. “But Icanpromise to hurt Fridley—and whoever he sends after us—more.”
As sentimental promises went, it was unorthodox, but for some reason, it caused a whole herd of butterflies to take flightin her belly. Her feelings must’ve been evident, because he took a step closer, his eyes darkening in a different way than his earlier anger at Zach. His free hand cupped her jaw, his fingers as gentle as if he was cradling something precious. Her breath caught as sensations overwhelmed her—the burning heat of his hands, the flare of desire in his eyes, the way her own body seemed to ignite as if his fire had engulfed her.
She couldn’t look away as he leaned closer. Usually in unfamiliar situations, her thoughts would race around chaotically like go-carts on a track, but now her mind was oddly clear. She was focused on one thing, and that was Dash.
