jealousy knotted in his stomach. Were the two of them a couple? Normally, he’d walk away from that kind of situation; he wouldn’t break up a home, even an unhappy one, but Dante couldn’t walk away from her until he was certain she was taken.
“I don’t care what you believe,” Dante said. “It’s the truth, and I’d like to find this girl so I can bring her home too.”
Cassidy glared at Kyle before turning her attention back to Dante. “Is that what you do? You find missing women?”
“Not just women; I locate missing men too.”
Kyle snorted. “Or he makes them go missing.”
“Kyle!” Cassidy slapped her hand on the bar. “I think it’s time you get back to work.”
“I don’t have any work to do.”
“Find some, or I’m going to dump a bucket of rats on your head while you’re sleeping.”
They live together, Dante realized with a sinking sensation in his stomach.
She was only being polite by talking with him, but they were together. And they had one very screwed-up relationship if threats of rats were involved. Dante finished his drink and set the empty glass on the bar. The burn wasn’t enough to sear away his disappointment.
“You wouldn’t,” Kyle said.
“You know I would,” Cassidy said.
Kyle gave her a disgruntled look before storming away from them. Cassidy rolled her eyes, but her attention returned to Dante when he shifted beside her.
“I’m sorry about my brother.”
Dante buried a rush of joy. “Your brother?”
“Twin. He’s ten minutes older. Please don’t hold him against me.”
He chuckled but didn’t know if it was because of the amused gleam in her eyes or his inexplicable relief. She wasn’t with Kyle. That still didn’t mean she was single; he was sure a lot of men chased after her, but at least he didn’t have to worry about the vamp at the end of the bar.
“He can be a little overprotective,” Cassidy said.
“Do you often threaten to dump rats on his head?” Dante asked.
She loved the sound of his Boston accent. It wasn’t thick like some people she’d encountered, but more subtle and flowing. “Only when he’s stepping over the line. And I don’t threaten; I’ve done it before.” Cassidy laughed when Dante’s eyebrows shot into his hairline. “My siblings and I like torturing each other; it’s part of the fun.”
Dante chuckled and pushed his glass toward the edge of the bar. He’d only planned to have one, but he’d keep drinking if she kept talking. “That it is.”
Cassidy tilted her head to study him. “You and your siblings tortured each other too?”
“On occasion.”
“I’m sure it was only on occasion. I know how brothers work.” She held her hand out to him. “I never got the chance to tell you my name last time. I’m Cassidy Byrne.”
Dante studied her fine-boned hand for a second before taking it. The contact with her skin sent a jolt of electricity through him, and his hand closed around hers. Lifting his head, he met her gaze as her lips parted on a small breath.
Judging by her reaction, he wasn’t the only one who felt it. He resisted pulling her closer as the wild flutter of her heart pounded in his ears. And then, he realized his heart matched the beat of hers.
He only introduced himself as Dante to her last time. Usually, he wouldn’t have given someone his real name while working a case, but he hadn’t been able to lie to her. “Dante Alvarez,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Chapter Six
A small smile tugged at the corners of her red, rosebud mouth. “You too, Dante. Are you going to tell me why you’re searching for these women?”
Knowing he’d look foolish if he continued to stand there, holding her hand, he reluctantly released it. “It’s what I do. It’s what I’ve always done.”
“You’re a police officer?”
“In another life. But weren’t we all something else in another life?”
“Not me; I was born this way.”
Dante did a double take as his jaw almost dropped. Somehow, he managed to stop himself from gawking at her like an idiot, but he wouldn’t have been any more shocked if she told him she was the reincarnation of Cleopatra.
“Wait… what?” he asked.
Cassidy chuckled and, before she could think about the action, rested her fingers on his arm. She never would have touched anyone else she’d just met, but the gesture felt so right it frightened her little.
She wasn’t an idiot; she grew up around mated vampires and had been around plenty of men who did nothing for