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“Sounds good.” He held her gaze for a long moment. “Good night.”
“Good night.” She entered the bedroom, closing the door behind her. The darkness outside should have helped her fall asleep.
It didn’t.
Elly tossed and turned, then gave up. It was no use. Slipping out of bed, she pulled the blanket off and eased into the main living area. The sofa faced a TV. She turned it on, instantly decreasing the volume so as not to wake Joe.
He needed to sleep more than she did.
She curled up in a corner of the sofa and tried to focus on the movie playing on screen. It was, of course, a Christmas movie, one she normally loved.
The sound of a door opening startled her. She turned in time to see Joe emerge from his room. “Can’t sleep?”
“No.” She gestured to the television. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“You didn’t.” To her surprise, he crossed over and dropped beside her. “I was worried you’d have nightmares.”
“That’s the reason I was in the bathroom when the shooter opened fire.” She sighed. “And likely why I can’t fall asleep, now.”
“Elly.” He said her name on a sigh and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I wish you weren’t stuck in the middle of this mess.”
She leaned gratefully against him. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“Always.” He drew her closer still.
She buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder. She knew Joe was just being kind and supportive because Rhy was his boss, but breathing in his musky scent made her wish for something more.
Much more.
* * *
Listeningto Elly’s deep breathing, Joe smiled when he realized she’d fallen asleep. Holding her like this was incredibly wonderful and pure torture at the same time. No matter how much he wanted to kiss her, she was Rhy’s baby sister and, therefore, off-limits.
He’d promised his boss to treat her with the respect and professionalism she deserved. And he would.
Even if it killed him.
His thoughts went back to the shooter. The sketch of his likeness had been all over the news. What was the point of silencing her now? Sheer revenge? Seemed like a huge risk considering the guy had escaped the scene of the Christmas parade without being caught.
He needed to dig deeper into the victims, specifically Gabrielle and Henry, the ice skaters. The more he thought about this perp, the more he believed the guy had either military or cop training. Maybe Gabrielle had a former boyfriend or husband who fit the profile.
Steele had left a laptop for him to do some digging, but he didn’t want to disturb Elly.
Yeah, he was in trouble. Deep trouble. But that wasn’t enough to make him move away. No, instead, he rested his cheek against Elly’s hair and closed his eyes.
He must have slept because he awoke when she shifted against him. He blinked, noticing the sun had finally risen enough to lighten the room. Elly stirred in his arms but then seemed to relax again. He was glad she was getting some rest.
He eased away from Elly, gently setting her prone on the sofa. She was beautiful, even in sleep. He tore his gaze from her with an effort.
Enough. There was work to do. He knew from Rhy all about the Finnegan family reunion and Christmas party Elly had planned—he glanced at his watch—one week from today.
They needed to find this son of a gun and toss him behind bars well before then.
He took a moment to clean up in the bathroom, then tiptoed to the small table. Seeing the coffee maker, he glanced back at Elly, wondering if making a pot would wake her up.
Forcing himself to wait, he opened the laptop and powered it up. The noise made him wince, but Elly didn’t stir.
Taking that as a good sign, he opened a browser and began to dig into Gabrielle and Henry’s social media pages. Unlike him and a lot of other cops, the skaters had a huge social media presence. He supposed that went along with being professional athletes.
