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Roger. They’d said everything that needed to be said. But if they talked more, would she retract what she’d said?
He didn’t want her to do that. At least, he shouldn’t. He’d taken his cues from her all along, and he needed her to stay adamant about resisting because he wasn’t sure he could. But he had to. For both their sakes.
“I need to talk to you.” Jack braced his hands on his hips.
“I’m listening.”
Jack flung an arm toward the back steps. “Any reason why we need to do this in the driveway?”
His brother stomped over to the steps and disappeared inside. Mitch collected his ballistic vest and followed Cath inside. The sound of TV news rolled in from the den. Aunt Edi must be in place in her chair. Mitch envied her the ability to block out everything else.
“Where have you been?” Jack stopped pacing long enough to scowl at Cath.
Mitch crossed his arms. So he and Cath had shacked up. That didn’t mean he’d lost focus. On the contrary. “Working the job. I told you this morning when you called that I had to pick up my truck.”
Jack made a rude sound. “You’re getting distracted.” He shot another glance at Cath. “You realize you’ve only got two days to make good on this arrest. Otherwise, Big Easy’s name will be mud.”
Cath straightened and stared at him, her blue eyes wide.
That’s right. Point out my incompetence in front of Cath. She already thought him… Mitch rubbed his sweaty palms together. He didn’t know. In her eyes, he could still be arrogant? Cavalier? A terrible picker of parking places?
“This is why you want me to lose more time by going with you tonight?” Mitch propped his hands on his hips.
“You discover a lead to your fugitive since we talked in the a.m.?” Jack confronted him.
“No.” Mitch glanced at Cath and walked toward the hall. “Let’s go to the office. You can give me the deets on your bail skip.”
* * *
“It’s open.” Cath pushed herself higher against the bed pillows, careful not to disturb Tiger balanced against her leg, a paw extended for a wash.
Mitch walked in and closed the door behind him. “Mind if I collect some clean clothes?”
“Be my guest.” She waved toward the bureau. “Why didn’t you tell me you only had two days left to find my brother?”
“I didn’t see the point. We both want to find him as soon as possible.”
He hadn’t wanted her to feel pressured. “That was considerate of you, but you should have said something.”
“We were hardly on speaking terms in the beginning.” Mitch walked to the dresser. He’d allowed her to use a drawer for her underwear, and he must have opened that one because he stared at the contents before slamming it shut and opening another.
She stroked a hand over her kitty’s silky fur. “Jack thinks I’m distracting you.”
“I told you not to pay attention to anything he said.”
She ignored his remark. “You don’t think last night was a distraction?”
His lips compressed into a thin line. A muscle in his jaw jumped, and a dull ache started in her stomach. She’d made such a mess of explaining herself. “I didn’t mean to make you mad tonight.”
“When was I mad?” He grabbed a clean pair of tactical pants from the closet.
“When I told—” She stopped. Regurgitating her earlier remarks would not help anything now. He stood motionless in front of the closet. “I hung the vest you gave me this morning on the back of the door, in case you’re looking for that.”
“I need the thick one.” He rubbed a hand over his head. “Jack’s felon is violent.”
Her chest seized. Mitch could be hurt tonight. Or killed. This might be her last chance to tell him…what? A lump the size of that same bulletproof item lodged in her throat. “Please be careful.”
“I always am.”
