"You aren't scared?"
"I have room for more than just fear in my life."
He nodded. "I...need to ask you a few questions, Dawn. That's why I'm here. Not so much Tucker this time as it is...you."
"Me?" Her brows rose. "What do you possibly want to know about-"
"I was watching you when it was revealed that Tucker had been coming down to New Orleans at least once a year. You didn't look shocked."
Because she hadn't been. But now, she schooled her expression.
"You knew he was here those times, didn't you?" He frowned at her, his hands on his hips, his coat pulled back so that she could see the edge of his holster and the badge clipped to his hip. "You're one of the best PIs that I've ever encountered. If you're being watched, you know it, right?" He motioned to their surroundings. "That's how you knew the perp was here. You pick up on the small details. You saw Tucker when he was in the city, didn't you?"
Sometimes, it wasn't about seeing. It was about a primitive awareness. A knowledge that you were in someone's sights.
"You haven't answered my question."
"Yes." She licked her lips. "Yes, I knew he came down here."
"And you weren't alarmed by that?"
"Tucker doesn't alarm me."
He took two quick steps toward her, but then seemed to catch himself. "His brother tortured you. Someone is killing in the exact same method that Jason Frost used. You find out that Tucker has been stalking you-"
"He wasn't-"
"-and you're not alarmed?" His voice rose. "Why the hell not?"
"Because all Tucker has ever done is protect me."
"He's a killer," he rasped, staring at her in disbelief. "I got a friend to dig into his service records. Do you even know how many confirmed kills that man had when he was a SEAL?"
///
She didn't want to know. Or rather, she didn't want that news coming from Anthony. It was another tale for Tucker to share.
"He's a killer. His brother was a killer. And you magically think you're somehow safe with him?"
She crossed her arms over her chest. There wasn't anything magical about it. Tucker was a good man. She...trusted him.
"Jinx lived right below you. You make a living by learning the secrets that people keep..." His head cocked. "Am I truly supposed to believe you didn't notice that she was having an affair with someone? That you didn't try to learn the guy's identity?"
"I don't spy on friends," Dawn gritted out. "Jinx had her life and I had mine."
He nodded. "Right. Okay. Say I buy that... There are just... Things are bothering me, Dawn. Things aren't adding up."
Her phone rang, vibrating in her pocket.
"You found those gloves right away. Gloves that had basically been preserved so no evidence on them would be tainted."
"Red gave them to me-"
"Did he? Because he isn't around to back up that story."
She didn't like where this was going. Dawn pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen. Tucker. "I have to take this. Excuse me." She turned her back on Anthony. "Tucker? What's happening?"
"I'm off the case."
She'd expected that after the news about the DNA and Heather Hartley. Knew it had to be coming, but...
"And I'm supposed to stay the hell away from you."
Her heart squeezed in her chest. "I see."
"Reporters are closing in. Samantha says my presence will just draw more attention, that the brass at the FBI wants me to back the fuck off. It's an order, not a request."
She swallowed. "I...I understand."
"No, you don't. The last place I want to be is away from you, but at least Macey is there and-"
"Macey isn't here. I sent her away."
The floor creaked behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Anthony's frown.
"You sent her away?" Tucker's voice sounded strangled.
"Julia will need extra hands in her lab. She's slammed with all of the bodies, working day and night." Tension gathered at the base of Dawn's neck. "But look, Julia said she found skin cells beneath Jinx's fingernails. Those could give us the identity of the killer-and there could be more evidence. The victims are the key right now. So dealing with those bodies? That's priority." That was why Macey needed to be at the lab. Dawn forced her voice to lighten. "And I'm not alone. The NOPD has a patrol right outside my building. Anthony is here now-"
"What?"
"Dawn." Anthony's voice was sharp. "We aren't done."