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Dennis smiled at the sight of her, his mask of civility in place. “Fiona, what a surprise. I didn’t—”

He ducked when she tossed the locket at him. It whizzed over his head and bounced off the wall behind him.

“You asshole!”

Outrage narrowed his eyes. “Are you insane? I’m a law enforcement officer.”

“Oh, what are you going to do, arrest me for assault with a deadly necklace?” She hitched the strap of her purse up higher on her shoulder, her phone tucked in the outer pocket. Before she’d stepped out of her car, she’d called Joe so he could listen in—and intervene if things got dicey. “You’re lucky I didn’t take a blowtorch to your precious locket after what you did to Joe.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh please. I saw your footprint on his back. Or was that your cop buddy’s handiwork?”

The little vein on the side of Dennis’s forehead was starting to stick out, which was good, because she wanted him mad and not questioning her motives.

“I’m not going to dignify that accusation with an answer.”

Determined not to show weakness, Fiona jutted her chin, but it was hard when her instincts screamed for her to get the hell away from this man. “Then we have nothing further to discuss. Don’t call me, don’t knock on my door, don’t send anything to me in the mail, and don’t come to the school unless it’s for official police business.”

Dennis glanced back to where the necklace landed, and something too vicious to count as a smile curled the corners of his mouth. “Not a problem. Have fun with your pussy boyfriend. And don’t even think about crying to me when he dumps your crazy ass.”

He slammed the door before she could rattle off any of the insults she’d filed away for occasions just like this.

Hands on her hips, Fiona stared at the door, annoyed that she hadn’t gotten the last word but happy because she’d accomplished what she came here to do. Ignoring the big black pickup truck with the dark tinted windows across the street, she walked back to the curb where she’d parked her car.

Now that the excitement was over, she noticed the tremble in her hands, and it took two tries for her to fit the key into the ignition. She’d never done this kind of thing before, and she hoped her performance had been convincing enough to keep Dennis from wondering why she’d suddenly decided to hand-deliver the only thing he truly wanted from her.

Halfway down the street, she glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the pickup pull away from the curb and drive in the opposite direction. She wasn’t sure which of the Flint brothers was behind the wheel—the window tint was too dark to see inside—but knowing Joe sat in the passenger seat had given her a much-needed confidence boost.

She drove to a convenience store a few miles away, where the truck was parked at the pumps. Austin—she was pretty sure it was Austin; the Flint brothers looked an awful lot alike—was busy filling the tank. As she pulled alongside, the truck’s passenger door opened, and her heart stuttered like it always did whenever she caught sight of Joe.

Today he wore jeans and a gray shirt that molded nicely to his torso. A pair of sunglasses covered the fading bruise around his eye. He gave Austin a subtle nod right before he climbed into her car.

The door clicked shut, and just having him this close made her whole body hum. Without saying a word, he leaned over the center console and gave her a kiss that almost made her forget to keep her foot on the brake.

“I take it that means I did well,” Fiona said, more than a little dazed when he finally pulled back.

“You were fucking phenomenal. I’m so proud of you.” His eyes were warm and filled with affection that heated her from within. He kissed her once more before relaxing into his seat.

She followed his directions to the Six Points building, located in a sprawling industrial complex not too far away. Once inside, he reached for her hand and led her down a long corridor to an office that looked like a hacker’s paradise.

A floor-to-ceiling framework of shelves took up an entire wall and was loaded with an assortment of electronic equipment, their little lights blinking at varying intervals to indicate who knew what. On the other side of the room, two empty office chairs sat in front of an L-shaped desk with a bank of computer monitors that made it impossible to see more than the top of the head of the woman tapping away at the keyboard.

As Joe raised his hand to knock on the doorframe, the woman called out, “Come on in and make yourselves comfortable. Things are about to get interesting.”

She looked up as they entered the room, her pale skin a sharp contrast to her shoulder-length auburn hair. Vibrant green eyes teeming with intelligence peered through cat-eye glasses, while her long-sleeved shirt with a snarling grizzly on the front warned others not to poke the bear.

Her gaze flicked over the monitor. She smiled. “Hi, I’m Larissa. You must be Fiona.”

“The one and only.” Nerves jittering, Fiona gave a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Larissa turned her attention to Joe and concern took the edge off her features. “The bruising around your eye’s gone down a bit. How are you feeling?”

“Better, thanks. Do you have any good news for us?”

“Oh, yeah. This guy’s definitely not the type to let any grass grow under him.” Larissa reached for the large, insulated travel mug on her desk and took a sip. “Officer Shady must have loaded that memory card into his phone the minute you left his house. He’s already accessed the data and watched the video twice.”

No surprise there. Dennis had always been impatient. Not having access to the card must have been driving him out of his mind. It made her all the more convinced that he’d been the one who’d broken into her apartment.