“Which leads me to believe that it wasn’t suicide.” Draco’s frown deepened. “Whoever made sure Brunner found his way into the river has someone on the inside with the Zurich police force.”
“Wow,” Cate said, feeling as if she’d been sucker punched, guilt leaving a sour taste in her mouth. “If we hadn’t shown up at the bank and mentioned Alpenhorn, he would be home with his family.”
Draco pulled her into his arms and rested his chin against the top of her head. “You can’t blame yourself. He brought it on himself by getting involved in the first place.”
“The professional in me knows that. The human in me can’t imagine what his family is going through.”
“I have to admit, I didn’t like leaving you out there on your own,” he said. “Scared the shit out of me.”
“But you did—and you had my back. I appreciate that.” She rested her cheek against his chest, grateful for his warmth in the chill night air, which had grown even colder.
Cate’s heart hurt. Brunner’s wife had committed her love and life to a banker, expecting he was in a safe career field and would come home to her and their children every night. Because of the choice he’d made, he’d left his loved ones behind.
If she committed her heart to a man like Draco, he was even more likely to be killed in the line of duty than a banker.
No, no, no.
She couldn’t be that woman, waiting for her husband to come home, not knowing if he would. Her arms slipped around Draco’s waist, holding on as if it could keep him from leaving her. If only it were that simple.
“Suicide,” she murmured against his shirt. Suicide of her heart.
Draco snorted. “Suicide, my ass.”
Chapter 7
Draco didn’t sleep in the chair as he’d done the night before. Instead, he lay on the floor in front of the door. If someone wanted in, they’d have to go through a door that wouldn’t budge unless he moved first.
Cate had showered and slipped into bed, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt Hammer’s wife had given her. She’d barely spoken since they’d climbed the stairs to their room at the Hotel Bieri, seeming deep in thought, sad for the banker and probably frustrated they hadn’t gotten the name of the partner Marcus had cheated.
Every time Draco relived Cate’s meeting with Brunner, his pulse shot up, and sleep became impossible. He’d gone along with her rule to stay back and let her interview. It had cost at least a year off his life and new gray hairs. The man could have hurt her before Draco could get to her.
At the moment Brunner had leaped to his feet and bumped into Cate, Draco had nearly lost his mind, sure the man had a knife or gun he intended to use on her.
Draco had been out of his seat and halfway to Cate when Brunner had taken off. When Cate had run after the man, Draco hadn’t been too far behind. Still, he didn’t think he could leave her alone again.
After a while, Cate’s deep breathing calmed him, and he closed his eyes, drifting into a troubled sleep, filled with images of Cate disappearing into a crowd of people and being chased by the man in the gray coat.
When the gray light of dawn edged through the window, he was up and out of the room, too wound up to sit still and wait for Cate to wake. As he had the morning before, he cajoled Frau Bieri into giving him two steaming cups of coffee and a paper bag, this time filled with a hunk of bread, and slices of cheese and cured meats.
He entered the room, juggling the two cups of coffee. When he turned to check on Cate, the bed was empty. For a split second, his heart leaped into his throat. Then the door to the adjoining bathroom opened, and Cate stood framed in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a sky-blue sweater that hugged her body like a second skin. She’d pulled her damp hair back in a ponytail, accentuating her high cheekbones and the shadows beneath her eyes.
His defenses down from dreams he’d had of this woman had his groin tightening automatically.
She inhaled, her eyes half-closing. “Oh, thank God for coffee,” she moaned. She reached out and took one of the cups out of his hand, her fingers brushing lightly against his.
Electricity shot up his arm and set his body on fire. Being with her twenty-four-seven was taking its toll on his ability to remain neutral. He held out the bag of food. “Help yourself. If you’re done in the bathroom, I want to wash up.”
“I’m done. Bathroom’s all yours,” she said as she took the bag and sat with it on the edge of the bed and opened the bag.
Everything about her made Draco want to pull her into his arms and kiss her, like there was no tomorrow.
If Brunner’s death was anything to go by, no tomorrow might happen sooner than he thought.
He locked the door to the room and wedged the chair against the doorknob before striding into the bathroom.
“Is that a little overkill given Frau Bieri is our first line of defense?” Cate asked.
He ignored her jab. “I won’t be long,” he said and left the door ajar to listen for any odd noises coming from the bedroom.
