Undercover Hunter(92)
He nodded, his gaze growing distant for a few seconds. “Liking to help people doesn’t mean you can’t also like to kill them. In fact, you might even see some murders as a form of helping.”
“Too true. Anyway, a call came in before I could learn anymore. I’d have given anything to find a spiderweb in that office and have time to carry on about it.”
He surprised her with a chuckle. “That would have been a sight to behold.”
She pursed her lips at him. “I can pretend to be a weak, scared female when necessary. I don’t like it, but I can do it.”
“I hope I get to see the show sometime.” But his eyes were still smiling at her. “Not much scares you, does it?”
“I’ve faced most of my fears, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have any left.” Like fear of letting a man close enough to hurt her again.
He ate some more chicken, pointing to her plate as if to remind her to eat, as well. She needed to, she realized. The army had taught her not only to sleep at any opportunity, but to never pass up a meal when you were in the field. All the cold walking around town had caused her energy to ebb. She was running on excitement now. Sooner or later, the crash would come.
“So which databases do you want me to search? No point in duplicating your efforts, or Gage’s.”
She swallowed a mouthful of chicken and quickly sipped some coffee to wash it down. “That diner may make killer steak sandwiches, but the chicken is dry.”
“Maybe it’s something new they added and they’re just learning how. Or maybe Mavis was annoyed at how much room I took up while I waited for you. They were fairly busy.”
She laughed at that.
“Databases,” he reminded her. “What do you want to know?”
She thought he could probably work it out on his own, but it was nice of him to ask. “I was thinking DMV. If he moved away for a while, we should be able to find out when he canceled his Wyoming license and when he got it back. In short, the period of his absence. If the dates come close...”
He nodded. “Anything else?”
“I’d like to look at his birth registry. Once we know who his mother was, maybe we can find out what she looked like.”
“I can check local obituaries, too. In case.” He paused, a broccoli floret on his fork. “I hate to say this, because I’m truly worried about you, but your idea could work.”
She felt flattered. She was more used to hearing about how she wasn’t getting it, that she didn’t understand what she was doing—at least when it came to those rape cases. She gave Cade high marks for saying it when he’d been so opposed to her taking the risk.
But Cade was different, she admitted when she had finished eating, cleared away her dishes and gone to get more coffee. At every turn he treated her like an equal. Her first impression of him couldn’t have been more wrong. Clearly, he wasn’t part of the men’s club that she’d come to know all too well that thought women were not as good as they were.
Cade cleared his own dishes. She had a feeling they were going to wait a while before washing.
Then he stole her breath. “So, do you want to work or do you want to make love?”
Speechless, she watched him standing there, leaning back against the counter. A faint smile danced over his lips. Wonderful lips, as she had discovered.