Stirring Attraction(38)
It wasn’t until she’d returned to the front door fully dressed that she realized what she’d done. She’d opened her closet without worrying what might jump out at her. For the first time in six weeks, she felt safe and happy.
And the man responsible was sipping a to-go cup of coffee while he stared at her coffee table.
“Trying to figure out how we’re going to break it tonight?” she asked.
He nodded as if she’d asked him about the position of her new outdoor lights. “I have a few ideas.”
Chapter Twelve
DOMINIC WALKED UP the porch steps he’d built alongside his father back in high school. They’d gone from one project to the next after his mother died. His mom had made list after list of plans, things they could tackle later, when his father wasn’t so busy at the station. And they’d done them all. After he graduated, Dominic had tried to involve Josie, mostly to keep an eye on her while she was grounded.
He paused on the top step and stared out into the yard. They’d started with a vegetable garden, and then moved on to larger construction projects, him and his dad both trying to stave off the heartache and loss.
After spending another long night on Lily’s couch fighting the urge to climb into her bed, then getting up at dawn to install a camera on her front porch and floodlights in her yard, he needed a shower and a nap. Lily was with Josie for now, completing the inventory at the bar. But Dominic had promised he’d be at Big Buck’s in time to help her set up. Josie and Noah had a meeting at a brewery up by Portland, and Caroline wasn’t due in until close to five o’clock. Not much need for a dishwasher on a quiet weekday afternoon.
But he could smell the fried eggs and bacon from here. And his dad’s cooking still trumped sleep in his book. Dominic pushed open the door. His father stood by the stove, an apron covering his police uniform as a line of fried eggs sizzled on the skillet. Three placemats sat on the four-top in the kitchen.
“Where’s Lily?” his dad asked.
“Work.” He sank into a chair as his father plated breakfast.
“I thought she’d be with you or I would have called with the news.” His dad deposited one plate in front of him. “But it might be better for you to hear it first.”
“News about what?” Dominic plucked a piece of toast off the plate in the center of the table.
“The Salem police called yesterday and reported a similar crime. Young woman attacked while jogging.”
His hand froze, still holding the bread over his plate. “Attacked with a knife?”
His father nodded. “He spoke with one of my deputies. I wanted more details before I told you and Lily. When I called him back, the chief said they had a suspect in custody and they’d like Lily to come up.”
“He’s tall and broad shouldered?” Dominic had read through the case file so many times he knew the description by heart. “Wearing a sweatshirt?”
“No sweatshirt this time, but the suspect wore a mask.”
Dominic nodded. He’d reviewed the case file and come up with next to nothing aside from a belligerent dad who picked fights over PB&J and one locked in a custody battle. But none of that involved Lily.
He stared down at his plate, his teeth grinding together. He knew damn well that she honest to God believed she’d been the target of the attack, that there was a reason a knife-wielding lunatic had come after her. But he also knew how hard it was to swallow the fact that sometimes you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time—like in front of a terrorist with a gun.
He’d wanted to support Lily. And yeah, he wanted a chance to crush the guy who’d attacked her. So he’d tried to replace the facts with new ones. He’d allowed his feelings for Lily to cloud his judgment.
“He took the victim’s phone,” his father added between bites of egg. “The Salem PD used it to track him.”
Dominic buttered his toast, his brow furrowed. “That doesn’t fit. The guy who attacked Lily never went for her cell. She was listening to music on it. She had it in her hand when those girls found her. He never tried to take it.”
His father set down his fork. “The man they arrested isn’t a hardened criminal. They found prescription antipsychotics on him. Enough to suggest he hadn’t been taking his meds.”
“Are you sure they were his?”
His dad nodded. “They ran his prints. He’s been arrested before. Mostly public disturbance, that sort of thing. And a long psych record.”
“Did he confess to attacking Lily?” he asked.
“No.” His father let out a sigh. “The suspect claims he’s never been to Forever. Never heard of it. And they didn’t recover a knife. Just the phone.”