Page 68 of Perfect Fling

Cole clenched his jaw tight, and he actually thought he might burst a blood vessel. “Talk about her like that again, and I’ll offer my services to the federal government instead.”

His boss let out a low groan. “She’s not just your baby’s mother.” Another round of cursing commenced. “And I’ll be losing you anyway.”

“No, you won’t. Give me what I need, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

He could hear the sound of shuffling papers in the background. “Victoria Maroni went AWOL on Witness Protection after she testified.”

Cole bolted upright in bed. But instead of swearing up a storm or going crazy, everything inside him went silent, much as it did when he was undercover and things were about to come to a head. “The feds didn’t follow up on her?”

“Why should they? She did her job, testified, and the guy was convicted. They won’t spend manpower or money to keep track. She’s not their problem anymore.”

But she was his, and Cole had just gotten proof that Victoria had dropped off the grid.

He ran a hand through his hair. The crazy woman could be anywhere, including Serendipity. But how the hell could she have been in such a small town all this time and not have drawn attention to herself? Unless she just came and went, slipping in and out unnoticed.

“You there?” Rockford asked into the silence.

“I’ve got to follow up on something. I’ll be in touch.”

“Hey! I got you your information. You owe me—”

“Talk to you later,” Cole said, disconnecting the call. He immediately dialed Mike. “Pull photos of Victoria Maroni. Show them to John Brass and see if she’s the brunette who hired him.” Cole felt certain she was behind the shooting and was now stalking Erin, but he wanted to build an airtight case.

“Who was that?” Erin asked, joining him in the bedroom.

“Where’s your mom?”

“She left.” Erin pointed at the phone, indicating she expected an answer.

“That was Mike.” He explained everything he’d learned up to that point.

“So basically all we have now is confirmation.”

He nodded.

“That and a buck fifty will get me a bus ticket.” She began pacing back and forth on the plush cream carpet.

“But now we have a face. Your brothers know who to look out for. It’s a small town, and if they show her photograph often enough, someone’s bound to have seen her.”

Erin paused. “Okay, I’ll think positive,” she said, correctly interpreting his unspoken message.

“Good.”

“Cole?”

“Yes?” he asked.

She stepped to the bed, settling next to him. His T-shirt was huge on her leaner frame, but he liked her in his clothing. It was a damn fine view, especially since he wouldn’t be seeing her undressed anymore.

“My mother told me about the clothes you had her buy.”

“They’re hanging in your closet. I brought a few shopping bags of things in too.” He hadn’t wanted to go through the more personal items.

“I’m... well, thank you. It was beyond sweet of you to have her replace everything and—”

“You lost everything. It was the least I could do.” He really didn’t want her making him out to be some sort of nice-guy hero. Just because he replaced her clothes didn’t mean he could give her what she expressly said she wanted.

His head pounding, he rose to his feet.