“I know.” Casey raked a hand through her hair. “And I’d pound the pavement all night, if I thought that Peg Harrington wouldn’t cut us off at the knees. We’ve got to play ball a little or the Feds will kick us out on our asses. They’ll be out there 24/7. So I’ll spend tonight reviewing my notes and seeing if something I haven’t spotted yet jumps out at me.”
“You get some rest, too,” Ryan advised, yawning as he came to his feet. “You’ve got a packed day tomorrow.”
“Will do.”
But both guys knew that meant “won’t do.” Just as they knew they’d be burning the midnight oil themselves.
It was well past two in the morning when Casey’s doorbell rang.
She’d been scribbling notes in the margins of her lists, and had pretty much reached a roadblock that couldn’t be skirted until the morning’s interviews.
She put down her pen and smiled. Only one person had the stamina, the tenacity and the incentive to show up on her doorstep at this ungodly hour.
She went down the two flights of stairs and peeked outside. Then she
unlocked the door and pulled it open.
“Hi,” she greeted her guest with a smug grin. “Here for breakfast?”
Hutch walked inside, kicked the door shut and dragged Casey into his arms. “Damn straight.” He was already unbuttoning her shirt as he covered her mouth with his. He lifted her off the floor and turned sharply, pressing her against the wall as he continued yanking off her clothes. “First time will be right here,” he muttered, his voice rough with desire. “Then I’ll take you to bed.”
“It’s four flights,” she reminded him breathlessly, unzipping his fly. “I might not leave you with the strength.”
“Try me.”
“I plan to.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Day Two
Krissy rolled over and hugged Oreo. She buried her face in his soft fur. Like always when it was dark. And here, it stayed dark whenever the lamp wasn’t on. The night-light helped. It looked just like hers. It kept her from getting too scared.
The bed was soft. The blanket was, too. And she was wearing a nightgown now. The pajamas were gone. They’d been gone for a long time.
With her eyes shut, she could pretend she was home. She hadn’t been able to do that before. Too many bad things had happened. But since she drank the milkshake, the bad things were going away. She felt warm and sleepy. She’d been happy to climb into bed. The hand that stroked her hair as she went to sleep felt like her mommy’s. The voice was gentle like her mommy’s. Maybe she’d dreamed the whole scary day.
Maybe when the lamp went back on, she’d be in her own bed. Then she could tell her mommy about the bad nightmare.
If her mommy had already left for work, she could always tell Ashley.
But she didn’t really want to.
Not anymore.
With a huge yawn, Casey towel-dried her hair. The sun was just rising outside her bathroom window. An hour and ten minutes of sleep. Not exactly the requisite amount for a productive day. Yet Casey had never felt more energized. If it weren’t for the case preying on her mind, she would have loved nothing more than to stay in bed with Hutch until noon, making up for lost time. He was an amazing lover, and with weeks, sometimes months, separating their visits, the intensity of their time together was pretty damned breath catching.
But those extra hours were not meant to be. Not this time. Not when both of them were committed to finding Krissy Willis.
Casey came out of the bathroom to find Hutch tossing aside his towel and pulling on his clothes. He glanced up as she walked across the bedroom in her terry robe, and shot her a very sexy, very sated grin.
“Thanks for the best shower I’ve had in ages,” he said. “I barely remember getting clean.”
“You did,” she assured him. “I washed your back myself.”
“Among other parts.”
“And you returned the favor.”