I’m hoping tomorrow. Unfortunately, I have no further news about Captain Reynolds.”
“Appreciate all you’re doing, Detective.”
Josh exhaled and tipped his head backward to stare into the cloudless night sky. He’d been chasing bad guys for a long time. Not the same kind of assholes as the detective, but enough to put the pieces together with Kayla’s warning. He hated the thought of forcing Dixie’s hand. His stomach turned over a few times knowing what he had to do.
He unlocked the front door and entered. Striding down the hallway, he saw her bedroom door ajar. With two fingers, he gave it shove. Dix rested with her back against the headboard. In the darkened room his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. The curtains swayed from the breeze and she stared toward the open window.
She remained silent as he crossed the floorboards that creaked under his weight and sat on the edge of her bed. Dix wore a see-through, black, silk negligee, her deep brunette hair falling across her bare shoulders. With one leg bent, she perched her elbow on her knee.
His first instinct was to run his hand along her shapely, slender calf, but he refrained.
“Det. Dean called me. He needs to speak to you. Has more questions.”
“Okay,” she said, still vacantly staring out the window.
“Can’t sleep?”
She gathered her hair into a ponytail near her ear. Clasping the top, she slid her hand down the silky strands. “No. I’ll give the detective a shout tomorrow.”
Being this close to Dix roused more than memories. He knew every angle and feature of her face. He wanted to kiss her again not interrogate her. Josh watched for telltale signs. An alteration in her expression.
Nothing.
If Kayla was right, the healing couldn’t begin until she purged the secret. “It’s time. Tell me the truth, Dixie. What happened in New York?”
She blinked, and her gaze slowly veered to him. “Why? What did the detective say?”
“He wouldn’t tell me, but I can guess, and I’m pretty sure I’ll hit the bullseye.” Josh shook his head. “I don’t want to hear it from him.” He inhaled through his nostrils, his pulse hammering with adrenaline.
Dix bent her other knee and hugged both legs with her arms, a clear indication of resistance, holding everything inside.
“I’ve seen a lot of bad shit in my career, Dix. The brutal things a man can do to a woman. You purposely hid something from me. Tell me…what happened.”
She kept one arm securely wrapped around her legs while she rubbed her forehead with her hand as if trying to rid herself of a major headache.
“Did a date go wrong?” His blood boiled, but he kept his expression blank. Jealousy ground his guts, a foreign feeling that only Dixie aroused.
She stared at the back wall of her room. “Go to bed, Josh.”
He palmed her jaw and urged to her to look at him. Not hurting her, but indicating she wasn’t getting a free pass on this. “Tell me, Dix.”
She met his gaze with defiance. “Let it go.”
Why did she want to hide this from him? He already knew the fucking answer. “I didn’t look at all the notes he sent you. You have a couple more folders back at the Erotic Bean. I want to see them all.”
Dix licked her bottom lip, then worried her upper lip. “This is none of your business. I haven’t been your concern since you left Utah. I don’t have to share everything with you.”
“Then I’ll share my theory. I think you were raped.” He growled out the next sentence. “Then the notes started.” Anger spiraled up his spine. “Kallis’s game began. Watching. Waiting for another chance. A psychological pursuit.”
Dix closed her eyes.
“Tell me I’m fucking wrong.”
She glanced at him, then away.
“I’m not here to judge you. I don’t want to drag the truth out of you. But dammit—I will. Did you know it was Chandler?”
She shook her head in short, jerky motions.
Josh slid his hand down her arm then held her hand. “None of this is your fault, sweetheart. You have to know that. I’m asking for the truth not to torment you, but to help. I can’t avoid hurting you if I don’t know your trigger points.” He squeezed her fingers. “There’s been more than once I’ve had to weave my way through a minefield. One wrong step, and I could have blown myself and my squad to hell. I don’t want that to happen to our future.”
“Our future?”
“Yeah, Dix. You and me. I’m not clueless to the fact