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be the one with you. If anything happened to you...
His voice trailed off, but she heard the pain, the loneliness. Then I wait for you.
The smile he gave her was sweet. Thank you.
She snorted out a laugh. You just want in on the interview, Detective Zucco.
Got it in one, Rand. His smile faded away. I want to know why he didn t think it necessary to
fill us in on the Romanov file. If he s not the one we re looking for, why did he lie about it?
He could be a puppet, like Kensington.
He could be. We won t know until we get him out of the office and question him.
Will you be able to tell once he s out of that office?
Yeah. He won t be able to hide then, not from me and certainly not from Damien.
Good.
Dante nodded his thanks as Dinah placed two Cokes down on the table and moved off. So. Would
you want to make living with me official?
She choked on the sip she d just taken. He let go of her hand long enough to pound her between the
shoulder blades.
What? She was stunned. How long had he been thinking about this?
I want to know if you ll give up your apartment and move in with me full time.
She stared at him as if he d just grown a second head. Live with him? On a full-time basis? I d
have to think about it.
She watched as his big hand curled around his glass. There s nothing to think about, as far as I m
concerned. I want you to live with me.
He was serious, and she couldn t just dismiss what he d said. She had to admit, the thought was
tempting, but she needed some time to think about whether or not they were ready for such a serious
step so soon. They both deserved to have her be certain that this was what she wanted. I tell you
what. Let me think about it, and I ll give you an answer tonight. She pointed at him. But if I say yes,
I get to decorate your beige boredom of a living and dining room. Capisce?
His nod, when it finally came, was slow. He was disappointed, but accepted her decision.
Capisce.
They ate their hamburgers in an uneasy silence. She didn t know what was going through his head,
but she knew what was going through hers.
Disappointment. She was surprisingly disappointed that he d only asked her to live with him. But
what more could she expect? They hadn t been lovers for all that long, and in the grand scheme of
things, if you counted the time when they d hated each other, they d known each other less than a year.
And, she decided, it showed that he wanted some kind of a commitment from her. It would mean
that they were more than just exclusive.
They d be a couple in every sense of the word.
Of course, a living arrangement could be dismissed much easier than a marriage. All she had to do
was move out. End of relationship. Game over. End score: Dante one, Beth zero. It would shred her if
she lost Dante, but if she didn t take the chance she might lose him anyway, before she d really had
him.
She d definitely have to think about it.
Chapter Twenty
It was obvious she was still thinking about it when they pulled up outside of Blessing headquarters
half an hour later. Her pensive expression hadn t changed since he d first asked her to move in with
him. He was hoping she d give him a positive answer that night, but he was frightened that maybe
he d pushed too soon. Now he ran the risk that she d turn him down, and he d be left out in the cold.
The sky was darkening, the wind blowing as they got out of the car. The snowstorm that the
weathermen were calling for was about to hit. He could smell the snow in the air.
Shivering, Elizabeth hugged herself, breathing hard on her hands and rubbing them together to
generate warmth. Dante wanted to warm them, but surrounded by the coming and going of the people
around them he didn t dare unleash his flame. Instead, he ushered her into the Blessing office as
quickly as he could, considering his lack of an arm.
He looked around the office and wasn t surprised to see it shutting down for the day. Blessing was
running back and forth, telling people to go home, urging people to put their coats on, and reminding
one elderly volunteer that she had a ride if she needed one.
He watched Blessing move around the office, strong and charismatic, and understood what Jennifer
Blake had seen in him.
He was strong, a natural leader. Others gravitated to him, around him, drawn to his innate
charisma. The man seemed to care about all of his office workers, and Dante couldn t see any sign
that Blessing s attitude was all an act.
Elizabeth strode right toward Blessing. Dante had the pleasure of seeing his faint grimace before he
smiled. Good. He didn t like anyone who thought it was all right to cheat on their spouses.
Mr. Blessing. Is Mr. Cranston still here? She kept her tone pleasant, a smile on her face.
Yes, he s still here, but I believe he s going to be leaving soon. He s from Florida and finds the
snow storm frightening. He sounded confused over the question, as if he d been expecting something
else. Perhaps a confrontation on his cheating ways?
One thing was for certain, a man who could cheat on his spouse, with his friend s wife no less,
would have no problems cheating his constituents. He was definitely not getting Dante s vote, that
was for sure.
Cranston finds the thought of sharpening a pencil frightening. With a brisk nod, she moved past
him and into the accounting offices.
Cranston was there, scurrying around like a rat, muttering to himself under his breath as he tried
valiantly to gather together all of his belongings. Dante watched him for a moment, trying to see the
miasma that should have been there. But the Shem stench was so thick he couldn t see whether or not
Elizabeth was human, let alone Cranston.
Gabriel was right. Whoever it was, the Shem was clever to hide this way.
Cranston darted to his briefcase, hesitated, muttered again and turned toward the coffee maker. He
paused, his lip caught between his teeth, then headed for Oates s office. Cranston stopped just outside
the door, returning once more to his desk.
Mr. Cranston? Dante s voice boomed through the mostly empty office.
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