Page 28 of Trap ’N’ Trace

“Hello, Remy.” The tone of her voice wasn’t angry anymore, just sad. He wished he could whip up something upbeat to say. Not a damn thing came to mind. His dog nuzzled Kat’s cheek, and she sifted her fingers through Remy’s thick ruff. “Thank you, girl.”

Remy was good like that. When someone needed canine love, she was all in.

Dayne shot into the left lane, heading north on the parkway. The dashboard clock read 9:30 a.m. They had just enough time for Kat to pay her respects at the Thorpes then a quick stop at his place to grab a few things.

A few minutes later, her hands fell to her lap, again clasped tightly.

“Do me a favor.” He pointed to the glove box. “Grab me a fresh roll.”

“A fresh roll of what?” Her brow furrowed. “Toilet paper?”

A snort flew from his lips. “Now who’s a comedienne? Just open it. You’ll see what I mean.”

Kat did as he asked. “What are these?” She pulled out one of the three-inch wide rolls of paper studded with brightly colored candy dots.

“Dots.” He indicated the wood dispenser he’d installed on the dashboard between the driver and passenger seats. “It’s old fashion candy. You can buy it by the inch, but I eat so much of it, I order it by the roll. My favorite is the red one. Rootie Tootie Raspberry. Hang it up for me, will you?”

Ironically, her crack about toilet paper was spot on. The wood hanger his dad had specially constructed was pretty much identical to a toilet paper dispenser.

She pulled out the wooden dowel, stuck it through the center of the roll, then reinserted the ends of the dowel into the bracket.

“Try one.” All he wanted was to make her smile again. Even for a few minutes because things weren’t about to improve any time soon. Not with a killer on the loose and two funerals on the horizon.

From the corner of his eye he caught her look of skepticism as she examined the roll of candy. Finally she peeled off a red dot, popped it into her mouth, and crunched down. “These are good.”

“Knock yourself out. Tear off a few inches.”

She did and began popping different colored dots into her mouth. “Is this candy standard issue for all FBI agents?” she asked between crunches.

“No.” He chuckled. “There’s no line item for candy in the Department of Justice’s budget. My mother used to buy it for me when I was a kid.” One of the few good things he remembered about his mom. “The sugar keeps me going when I’m on the road, and the crunch keeps me awake when I work nights.”

“Does she still buy you candy?”

He shook his head. “She died when I was ten.” From a crack overdose.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago, but I remember the dots.” And finding his mother’s body.

“So you were raised by your father?”

He grunted. “I never knew my father. I’m not even certain my mother knew who he was.” He’d never told that to anyone before. Not even his closest friends.

After exiting the parkway, he stopped at a red light and caught Kat staring at him, her features soft as she gave him a weak smile.

“What?” He frowned. Ah, shit. “Don’t feel sorry for me.”

“It’s not that.” She stared out the windshield, crumpling the now-empty strip of paper in her fist. “I just feel…empathy.”

He exhaled an angry breath because, fuck. Last night, she’d told him her parents died when she was sixteen, so after that, she’d grown up with no parents at all. At least he’d had his adopted parents. Compared to her, he’d been lucky.

The light turned green and he jerked the wheel left, harder than intended. Being around her reignited not only his old insecurities about growing up without a cent to his name, but about Britt. Still, that was in the past and it wasn’t fair to judge Kat by the actions of others. She really was turning out to be a decent person. “Sorry. If anyone can empathize, it’s you.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have pried into your personal life. It’s none of my business.” Her cell phone dinged, and she dug it from her leather purse. “Emily found several security companies to choose from. She’s emailing the details.”

“Give her my email and have her copy me on it. Don’t hire anyone until I review everything.”

“Bossy, aren’t you?” An impish grin tugged at her lips.