Made to Be Broken

The next time I woke was from a dream in which I was on a game show, about to win a trip to Egypt, if only I could remember the name of the guy in the Inferno whose contrapasso punishment was eternally eating the brain of the coconspirator who'd betrayed him. The show's buzzer kept malfunctioning, going off before my time was up, and I was about to complain when I realized the buzzing sounded like Jack's predictably banal ring tone.

I pulled myself from the dream as he was slipping out the door, phone to his ear. A moment later, he returned.

"Everything okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah. Go back to sleep."

I did.

I woke again as the daylight streaming through that crack between the curtains hit my eyes. As I shifted, Qui

"Good morning," I said.

His lips curved in a drowsy, sexy smile. He started to say something, then a sharp rap at the door had me jumping back so fast I pulled the covers with me.

"Got it," Jack grunted.

I looked past Qui

"What the fuck is this?" he said as he opened the door.

"Just repaying your ungodly early visit from yesterday." Evelyn's voice preceded her. "Is Dee bunking down -?"

She stepped in and noticed me, sitting on the edge of the bed. Then she saw Qui

"Well, that's one solution," she said.

"The cheapest one," I said, stifling a yawn. "But, no, I'm not making the guys squeeze into one room to save money. We were up late and never got around to renting another."

Qui

"Sorry," he said. "We're a little casual around here."

"Oh, don't rush on my account."

I glanced over to see Evelyn admiring the view as much as I'd been, and taking far fewer pains to hide it.

I fished my jeans from under the bed. "Coed sleeping arrangements are always tricky."

"Not if you do it right. Of course, if you do it right, there's no need to worry about clothes."

I shot her a look.

She sighed. "Youth really is wasted on the young."

"How'd you find us?" Qui

"I can find anyone."

"Called last night," Jack said. "Wanted the hotel number. Said she had to fax something."

"I needed to talk to Dee."

"The phone works."

"And I had business in Detroit, so I decided to make a trip of it."

"What business?"

"None of yours."

Jack snorted, not buying it, but when he opened his mouth to call her on it, I shot him a look that asked him not to.

I said, "If it's about what we started to discuss yesterday, let's let the guys get showered and shaved while we go grab coffee and talk. I'm interested in hearing – "

"Oh, I'm sure you are." She flashed a smile that set my teeth on edge. "We'll get to that. Eventually. Probably."

I turned to Qui

He gri

I tossed the grin back. "So that's your excuse?"

"Absolutely."

I took my duffel and headed for the bathroom, then stopped, leaned out and looked at Evelyn. "Catch up later, then?"

Her lips tightened. I smiled and closed the door.

For the first half of the run, I said little, feet pounding the pavement hard, knocking thoughts of Evelyn from my mind, letting myself get caught up in Qui

Having now finally passed that first-date exchange of information – "What's your job? Ever married? Any kids?" – seemed to open the floodgates for Qui

Mostly, though, he talked about his job, including a couple of cases he was currently working. While he avoided identifying details, he still gave me more than he should have. I knew that was intentional. It was his way of saying he trusted me, and he knew I didn't quite trust him yet, so here was a bow-wrapped package of confidential information, proof he had no plans to flip on me.

By the halfway mark, Qui

For the first time in seven years, I told my story to someone who understood. Really understood. I'd had people say, "I see how that could happen." I'd had some – cop friends – who said it and meant it. I'd had plenty of people who tut-tutted at the media for ruining my life. I had people who were outraged at it and fired off letters on my behalf. But the one thing I never had was the one thing I needed most, and Qui

He understood what it meant to me to lose my job. Others said it was a shame, but I'd only been an officer for a few years, and I got a good buyout, so no harm done, really. Qui

The more we talked, the more I realized that Evelyn had been right. You couldn't find a better match for me if you tried. And if I screwed this up, I'd never forgive myself.

When we were a block from the hotel, I stopped at the mouth of an alley. Qui

"You okay?" he asked. "Did you -?"

I wrapped my fist in his sweaty shirt front and walked backward into the alley.

His eyes danced. "I meant what I said. No need to rush. I'll give you all the time – "

"I've had more than enough," I said, pulled him to me, and kissed him.

Chapter Forty-two

I unlocked the hotel room door with my card.

"Breakfast is served," Qui

"You go ahead. I'll talk to Evelyn."

He sailed toward the bathroom. Halfway in, he spun. "Dibs on the strawberry cream cheese. Anyone else wants it, they gotta arm wrestle me when I get out."

Jack glanced over at me. "Good run, I take it?"

"I think the exhaust fumes go to his head."

"Bouncy, chipper hitmen," Evelyn murmured. "I despair for this generation."

I pulled the coffees from the cardboard tray. "The cream and double sugar is Qui

"So we're done playing games, I take it, Dee?"

I forced a smile. "I never started."

She eased into the armchair, stirring her coffee. "Getting confident, aren't you? Of course, it's easy when you have a bulldog at your back, ready to snap my hand off if I look at you the wrong way. With that kind of backup, even the most timid mouse isn't afraid to bare her teeth."