Before the Dawn(70)

"Torez is a good cop. He's been my partner ever since he transferred in last year, and he's always had my back."


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Tucker took Dawn's hand and pulled her up beside him.

Anthony's gaze darted between the two of them.

"Did you know about the affair?" Dawn asked quietly.

Anthony's jaw hardened. "He's had more than one affair, okay? He has a weakness for pretty women, but that doesn't mean the guy is a killer. I don't like the way everyone is looking at him, grilling him."

Too fucking bad.

"I know him," Anthony added darkly. "Don't you think I'd know if my own partner was a killer? I'm not some blind asshole. I would know."

"You don't always know." Tucker's voice was quiet. "Come on, Dawn. Let's go."

Her hand slipped into his.

Anthony blinked. "Dawn? It's...it's not him. Torez wouldn't do this to you. Trust me, okay? It's not him. I get that the situation looks bad, but the truth is going to come out. You'll see who the real monster is, and it won't be my partner."

Not your partner. I didn't want it to be my brother, either. Tucker and Dawn headed out the back, but Anthony followed them. Tucker's SUV was waiting out there. He'd parked the vehicle in the back because he'd seen the reporters swarming out front when they first arrived. He shut Dawn's door and started to walk around the vehicle.

Anthony stepped into Tucker's path. "I'm the one who called you guys down here. I'm the one who has been after this perp from day one."

Tucker stared at him.

"When I saw that girl in the freezer, all I could think about was Dawn. I made that fucking connection right away, and I wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt."

"She's in FBI custody."

"Yeah, well, your fucking custody wasn't so great before, was it? When the bastard nearly got her at Voodoo Tats." Anthony glared at him. "If anything happens to her on your watch..." His words trailed away, but the threat was clear in his eyes.

Tucker wasn't in the mood for any threats. He just wanted to get back to the suite with Dawn. To pull her away from the rest of the world and hold her tight. "Get out of my way."

"You're the one in my way," Anthony snarled, voice low and cutting. "But not for long." 

Screw the idiot. Tucker shoved past him and jumped into the SUV. A few moments later, he and Dawn were driving fast through the city.

"Want to tell me what that was about?" Her question drifted to him.

He had a better question. "Want to tell me how long the guy has been in love with you?"

She sucked in a quick breath.

"Because it's pretty plain to see." He turned at the next light, aware that his hands gripped the steering wheel too tightly. "You two have a relationship that you want to tell me about? Maybe something that you should have mentioned sooner?" Because right now, I want to rip that jerk apart.

"He's not in love with me."

That's not what I saw in his eyes.

"We went out on a few dates, nothing more."

He had to ask, even though he hated the question. "Did you have sex with him?"

Silence. The stark, twisting kind that told him she was pissed.

Shit. The FBI had already vetted her former fiancé-the guy hadn't even been in the country for the last four months so he was definitely not a suspect in the crimes. Now he had to wonder if they needed to take a closer look at any other lovers she'd had. But I thought she hadn't gotten close to anyone since the fiancé. Because, yeah, the FBI had checked that and-

"You haven't been in my life for seven years, Tucker. What I do-and who I spend my time with-that's not exactly your business."

He hit the brakes at the next light and his gaze snapped to her. Shadows slid over her face so he couldn't see her expression. "Bullshit. It's me and it's you. And everything about you has always been my business." He heaved out a hard breath. "We made love, Dawn, and you didn't mention anyone else. I thought you were coming back to me."

"The light's green."

"Fuck the light." But he hit the gas. "You're right. I shouldn't even ask about your life without me. Because I hate to know who you've been with. It makes me jealous. It makes me fucking crazy. It shouldn't be this way, but I still think of you as mine." That was the problem. He would always think of her that way.

"I didn't ask about your lovers."

"Ask. They weren't you. No one else will ever be you."





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