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He needed to talk to her. Get to know her as Tess. Get to the point that he could think of her as Tess. That was the only way she’d be safe.
Except for the fact that he’d been working for a decade on a case against the Pavic family. Her mother’s family. The family he suspected had enveloped either her father or her uncle, or both, after the dramatic house explosion.
Rosa Pavic had married Martin Blanco and died not long after Catalina had been born. Flynn couldn’t remember Cat talking about her family other than her father and uncle. And only then with a shiver of revulsion. Did she know her mother’s family was a crime family? Did she know her grandfather led the organization?
According to Tansy, Tess was a whiz with data and patterns. Which didn’t surprise him at all. She’d loved numbers and had wanted to teach math at the highest levels.
Wit Sec had probably squashed that dream. People in their care had to learn to change up their patterns in order to stay hidden. If you were a huge fan of takeout sushi, you couldn’t order it because it was a way to track you down.
So many changes. He’d known all that in theory, but thinking about it in connection to the woman in front of him was a whole different thing. She’d had to lock down her dreams and habits and develop new ones.
Maybe he could use that to build a rapport back. Gain a little ground after letting his anger show. “So, zoology? How did that happen?”
Tess’s smile was small and sad. “It was very different from numbers but still interesting.”
“Do you like it?”
She nodded. “I liked the analysis bits from the beginning, but I’ve learned to enjoy the more hands-on aspects as well.”
“Like canoeing in the snow?”
This smile was more genuine. “Like that. It’s nice to see where the data comes from, not just use the data someone else has generated.”
And that was the perfect segue into how she could help him, but he didn’t want to throw that at her yet. He needed her to trust him first. She hadn’t trusted him enough before to let him in on her new life. And while his head knew that was smart, his heart hurt.
“Your turn. What is your job? Do you like it?”
Her soft question jolted him again. He’d assumed she knew who he was, that he was coming to Midnight Lake. “I’m an FBI agent.”
Tess’s eyes widened and her mouth opened but it took a moment before she spoke. “You’re Sam’s friend from the FBI? You’re a partner in Midnight Security?” The fear was back in her voice and in her eyes.
“Yes.”
Her entire body slumped and she looked down into her mug. “I guess that settles it. You have all the connections with these people. You’ll stay and I’ll go.”
“We can figure this out. Tess.” There was a hesitation before he was able to add her name, but there was another shock to his system.
He’d said it before. He’d called her Tess before. No, he’d called her Tessa. And that had slipped out of her mouth only moments before.
What the hell did that mean?
Chapter4
Deep Dark Secrets
Tessa watched as the memory hit Flynn.
He stared at her and she couldn’t look away. “Tessa. Contessa. From that stupid play we had to read aloud in English Lit. You hated that play, hated having to read aloud.”
His words were soft and hesitant, unlike the harsh ones from earlier. “I called you Contessa for ages after that.”
Then he’d shortened it to Tessa. And she’d loved it. She felt as if she could be anyone, do anything. If she could leave her family name behind, she could be who she wanted to be.
A niggle of guilt ran through her again. She’d always wondered if that wish had somehow caused the destruction of her home and the deaths of her father and uncle.
“Why did you choose that name? Wait, did you get to choose your name?”
She nodded and shrugged. “It was a good memory.”
