by Marcia James
* * * * *
Domino turned her VW into her driveway and waited for the garage door to open. She had to see Dalton. A call to Meyers on her way home from the club had yielded a brusque summary of the meeting fiasco and Salvi’s death. When she’d asked why Dalton had gone to Suzi’s place, Meyers had said something nonsensical about chickens coming home to roost and hung up.
She pulled into the garage and cut the engine. At least Meyers had told her Suzi and Dalton were okay before he’d ended the call. Dom got out of her car and unlocked the door to the mudroom. Please let Dalton be inside so she could see for herself he was safe.
He was standing in her kitchen, leaning against the counter. Delighted, Dom smiled and took a step toward him before the fury in his face registered. Confusion, chased with concern, flashed through her. “What’s the matter—?”
“I can’t believe I trusted you.” Dalton spat out the words like bullets.
“What?” She stepped closer, the breath caught in her lungs.
He straightened, his eyes filled with self-disgust and a terrible pain. “That’s what I get for thinking with my dick.”
Shocked speechless, she just stared.
“When I learned you were DEA, I checked you out,” he informed her.
“You what?” Domino felt like she was on a roller coaster and had left her brain on the last hill.
“I heard the stories about what an ice queen you were, a real ball-buster,” Dalton emphasized the ugly words. “But I didn’t want to believe your job was everything.”
Each word was like a slap. “Why are you saying these things?” Dom asked, but he plowed on.
“I guess you weren’t willing to share your big arrest with someone as unimportant as me,” he gestured to himself, a knife slash of a motion, “just a local cop.”
“Not share the arrest? Didn’t Meyers call you?”
“Sure, I got your message.” Dalton moved toward her and she almost backed away. “Why do you think I was at Suzi’s apartment when Salvi almost blew her away?”
Her pulse racing with adrenaline, Domino tried for a calming tone. “I don’t understand—”
Dalton grabbed her hand and pressed something metal into her palm. She glanced down to discover the house key she’d given him. And her heart ached at the finality of the gesture.
“It’s good I found out how cold and ambitious you are, before it went past recreational fucking.” At her gasp, he dropped her hand and his lips curled into a mocking smile. “But I’ll give you one thing, babe, you were a great lay.”
The words struck a fatal blow to her love and the pain was so deep it went beyond tears.
“Goodbye, Agent Petracelli.” Dalton walked out without a backward glance.
Through her anguished haze, Domino watched him leave. There’d been some terrible misunderstanding. He was blaming her for Suzi almost dying. And he thought she’d done whatever it was for personal gain.
Dom barely noticed when the key slipped out of her hand and hit the tile floor. She should find out the truth, call Meyers or Bennett for an explanation. But all she could think about was Dalton’s hate-filled eyes.
Domino sank into a kitchen chair and realized she was trembling. She tried to breathe past the crushing weight in her chest. Squeezing her eyes shut, she used her DEA capture and torture training to think through the pain.
Dalton, the man she’d loved, the man she’d trusted, thought she’d betrayed him. After everything they’d shared, he believed she was capable of lying, of endangering her friends and putting her career first. Not once had he given her a chance to explain.
Smokey, looking wary and subdued, walked into the kitchen. Needing the comfort as much as he, Domino gathered him onto her lap. “Everything’s okay, boy,” she crooned as she stroked the quivering dog. But it was a lie. At that moment, she didn’t think she’d ever be okay again.
She could clear up this misunderstanding and prove to Dalton she’d wanted him in on the arrest. But what about the next time he decided she’d lied or couldn’t be trusted?
She cringed as she remembered his words. I’ll give you one thing, babe, you were a great lay. Maybe that was all she’d been to him. He couldn’t really care for her, the person she was inside, if he hadn’t even given her the benefit of a doubt.
Cuddling Smokey in her arms, Domino did something she hadn’t done since her father had died. She cried.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dalton slammed the Jeep’s door and stomped into Jason’s house. The anger that had fuelled his last hours was seeping away, leaving him sick and empty. He stalked into the kitchen and grabbed a six-pack from the fridge. Maybe if he got drunk, he wouldn’t think or feel.
Carrying the beer to the living room, he slumped on the couch. Chi sat on the television. Dalton twisted the cap off a bottle, saluted the cat and swigged. “You don’t know how great you have it here,” Dalton muttered to the statue-like feline. “Food, shelter and no female cats to twist your guts in a knot.”
Dalton rubbed a throbbing ache in his chest with his free hand. Without the red-hazed fury blinding him to everything else, he couldn’t stop his doubts. His cop’s instincts warred with his sense of betrayal.
“She looked so surprised,” he said aloud. “Shocked but not guilty.”
What if Domino hadn’t stabbed him in the back? He smothered the tiny flicker of hope. After the way he’d acted, the stuff he’d yelled at her, there was no relationship left to salvage even if she hadn’t screwed him over. He’d hurt her badly tonight.
“Well, I’m hurting too,” he snapped, desperate to hang on to the shield of his anger.
He’d trusted her. Hell, he’d been half in love with her. And she’d betrayed him. But Dalton kept remembering the smile on her face when she’d entered the kitchen and the shocked misery in her eyes when he’d walked out. God, what if he were wrong?
Dalton finished the beer and uncapped the next. Maybe he could drown the growing suspicion he’d just thrown away the best thing that’d happened to his sorry life.
* * * * *
Early Monday morning, Dalton knocked on the door to Suzi’s apartment. She answered, looking frail in an oversized T-shirt and jeans, and he felt a sharp stab of anxiety. It wasn’t the T-shirt’s feminist slogan A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle that rattled him, it was the bandage on the side of her head.
And because the thought of her being hurt upset him, he led with a joke. “Did you knock any sense into that hard head of yours?”
Suzi smiled at his teasing. “It’s just a few stitches. I’m fine.” She pulled him across the threshold and closed the door. “Want some coffee?”
“Sure.” He trailed her into the kitchen. “But I’m not sitting at the table with this perverted doll.” He gestured to the over-endowed Dick.
Suzi snickered, pouring a mug for herself as well as Dalton.
He accepted one of the mugs and moved into the living room. “I’m not sure this is any better.” He pointed to the fake fur couch. “I never know whether to sit on that sofa or pet it.”
“Ha, ha.” She curled up in the matching armchair, watching him closely as he settled onto the couch.
“You know, you don’t look so good yourself,” Suzi pointed out, scanning the dark circles that shadowed his eyes.
Dalton thought about the last day and a half since the sting—the hours interrogating Salvi’s lackeys, the paperwork he slogged through to wrap up the case and the sleepless nights…
With effort, he pushed memories of Domino away. “I participated in the interrogation yesterday.”
“Yeah, while I was home resting, thanks to Bennett’s orders.” Suzi sounded bitter.
He sympathized, knowing what it was like to be cut out of an investigation. “You didn’t miss anything. Those jokers were the bottom of the food chain. But Hobart and Joey might spill their guts now that Salvi is dead.”
A haunted look passed over her face. Killing a human bein
g, even one as evil as Salvi, left scars.
“Hey, you did the world a favor and saved your own life killing that bastard,” he said. “The department’s thinking about giving you a sharp-shooter medal.”
When her expression didn’t change, he sobered. “Cho, I went to Jason’s grave last night. I told him you’d avenged his death.” Dalton put his hand over hers on the arm of her chair. “What if Salvi had gotten off on a technicality again? How many more people would he have killed?”
“Thanks.”
Suzi didn’t look reassured but he let the subject drop. “Did you hear we put an APB out for Victor Xavier? And we’re not the only ones looking for him. The DEA and the FBI want to talk to him about the club.”
“The FBI, huh?” She smiled like a cat in cream but didn’t elaborate. “Hey, speaking of the DEA, I’m surprised Domino isn’t here with you.”
The sound of her name was like a brand on his heart and Dalton glanced away. “We’re not…” He stopped and looked back at Suzi, his jaw set. “I found out Salvi never had any intention of going to your place. There was no conversation for Dom to overhear. She deliberately lied to get me out of the way.”
Suzi goggled. “You can’t really believe that?”
Too restless to remain seated, he rose and paced. “There’s this promotion she wants. She’ll do anything to get it.”
Suzi pressed a hand to her forehead. “You think Domino lied about Salvi’s plans so she could cut you out of the bust?”
“Yes. You know what government agents think about cops.”
Suzi stood and faced him. “Yes, and I know what Domino thinks about you. There’s no way she would’ve done that.”
When he didn’t respond, she continued. “Bull, I was at her house when she chewed Meyers’ ass for not telling you about the planning meeting. That vindictive bastard was so jealous she was afraid he’d pull another fast one. She got in his face and made him promise he wouldn’t cut you out of the bust.”
Meyers. Jesus, why hadn’t he ever considered the agent’s role in this thing? Meyers was the one who’d passed along Dom’s text message. He could have lied and deliberately sent Dalton away from the action as payback for sleeping with Domino.
Shaky, he sank onto the couch and rubbed his hands over his face. God, he’d never even given Dom a chance to explain. He’d just taken that asshole Meyers’ word at face value. She must hate his guts.
Suzi put her hand on his shoulder. “What have you done?”
Filled with self-hate, he told her every filthy thing he’d said to Domino. When he was done, he couldn’t meet Suzi’s eyes.
“Dammit, Bull, if you weren’t already suffering, I’d punch your lights out.”
He looked up, seeing pity, not disgust in her face. “There’s nothing you could do to me worse than living my life without her.”
Now Suzi paced. “That’s it? You’re just giving up?”
He shot to his feet again. “I’ll apologize to her until I’m blue in the face but it won’t make up for what I said.”
“That’s right,” she bit out. “Saying ‘I’m sorry’ won’t do it. This is something you can’t smooth over with flowers either. If you want Domino to forgive you, you’ll have to fight for her.” Suzi poked a finger in his chest. “And if you don’t fight for her, I’ll never forgive you.”
Determined, he steeled his spine. “Help me make a plan.”
* * * * *
Dalton showed his Metro PD badge to the guard at the DEA’s Northern Virginia office and was escorted by a clean-cut young man to Dom’s department. While the escort stood nearby, Dalton asked the receptionist if he could speak to Agent Petracelli.
“I’m sorry,” the smiling older woman said in a professional tone, “she took the day off.”
He frowned. That seemed so out of character for Domino. “Is she okay?”
The receptionist had him wait while she answered a call then responded in a friendlier manner. “She sounded as if she had a sore throat but she said she’d be back in a day or two.”
Dalton nodded, still worried about Domino, and thanked the woman. Meyers entered the office, carrying a coffee container and a doughnut bag. He stopped short when he spied Dalton.
“Got a minute?” Dalton asked, careful to mask his outrage.
Meyers’ jaw clenched. “Sure. This way.”
Dalton asked if his escort could wait. After getting an affirmative, he followed Meyers. The agent led him into an interrogation room and closed the door to give them privacy. Once the red-haired man had placed his coffee and doughnuts on the table, Dalton cut to the chase.
“Why did you lie to me about Domino’s message?”
Meyers didn’t pretend innocence and he met Dalton’s anger with his own. “This was a DEA case from the start. Sure, Dom wanted her cop there but you’re not one of us.” The agent, hands fisted, got in Dalton’s face. “And it’s time you learned you can’t fuck your way onto this team.”
Dalton’s fury spiked at having his relationship with Domino reduced to sex. The great irony was he’d done the exact same thing when he’d confronted her after the bust. To keep from thinking about that awful night, he focused on Meyers. “You endangered the investigation because you had a beef with me?”
“You cops had no business getting involved in this case!” Meyers yelled.
Dalton itched to beat him to a pulp. “This isn’t about cops versus agents. This is personal. It just eats you up that Domino never has and never will want your hands on her.”
With a furious bellow, Meyers threw a punch. Dalton blocked it with his forearm and poured all of his pain and frustration into a series of crushing blows that had Meyers stumbling backward and sliding down the wall to the floor. With blood leaking from his nose and split lip, the agent sat dazed.
Dalton pulled open the door and turned to go. Then he looked back over his shoulder. “If Domino doesn’t report you to your superior, I’ll file a formal complaint. If you’re smart, you’ll come clean with your boss today.”
Tucking his bruised hands in his pockets, Dalton walked to the receptionist’s desk and followed his escort to the front of the building. Once in his car, he headed for Arlington. If his campaign to win Domino back was going to work, he needed to talk with her. If he had to set up camp on her doorstep, he was going to see her today.
On the way to her house, Dalton thought of the apology he’d rehearsed, but somehow it didn’t sound right. How could he tell her how sincerely sorry he was? Pulling into her driveway, he still hadn’t found the magic words. He prayed for inspiration as he walked to her door.
Ringing the doorbell, Dalton waited for the sound of footsteps or a change in the faint light filtering through the peephole. What if she refused to talk to him? The thought had barely formed when Dalton heard the click of a lock and the front door opened.
Barefoot, dressed in her ratty sweat suit, Domino stood inside the door, not welcoming him in. Her eyes were red-rimmed and hollow, and their lack of animation stabbed at Dalton.
“Can I come in and talk?” he asked.
“No.”
The word was horrible in its finality. Dalton felt panicky and plunged on. “I was wrong. I found out the truth today and confronted Meyers.” He showed her his scraped knuckles. “I want to apologize.”
“Okay, apology accepted.” Her expression didn’t change. “Goodbye.”
She started to close the door and his hand shot out to hold it open. “That’s it? ‘Goodbye?’”
Why didn’t she force the door closed against his resistance? Any show of emotion would be better than this.
“We don’t have any more to say. Whatever we had going—professionally or,” she swallowed, “personally—is over. In a way, Meyers did me a favor. I found out where I stood before things went any further.”
“Dammit, are you just going to throw away what we had?” he shouted and was gratified to see anger spark in her dulled eyes. But the words she tossed back sliced deep
.
“I wasn’t the one who threw it away. The first time our relationship was tested, you bailed,” she snapped, her voice rising. “I’m supposed to just forgive and forget? What happens the next time your paper-thin faith in me is challenged?”
When he opened his mouth to plead his case, she held up a trembling hand and continued, quieter. “All my life, I’ve longed to have the type of love my grandparents had, to find someone who understood me inside and out and loved me anyway.”
Domino looked down, clearing her throat, and Dalton wanted to hold her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.
When she met his gaze again, she had her emotions under control. “I thought you understood me…that we’d connected—”
“We did!” Dalton yelled. He was losing her and desperate to hang on.
Domino gave him a half smile so sad it would have broken his heart if there’d been anything left of it. Then she shook her head. “You believed I lied to you and risked Suzi’s life just to get a promotion.” Dalton felt a physical pain at the misery in her eyes. “You never knew me at all.”
She took a step back to close the door, and the distance between them suddenly seemed insurmountable. So he stood on the porch as Domino locked him out of her life, shocked to realize something she wasn’t ready to hear—he loved her, deeply and forever.
He walked to his car, his resolution building with each step. He loved her and, dammit, whatever it took, he’d prove it to her.
* * * * *
Domino worked at home the next two days, writing up her report on the Xecutive Branch case and trying unsuccessfully to kill her feelings for Dalton. Her efforts to exorcise her love were complicated by the persistent detective who sent her daily reminders of his pursuit. She could have ignored flowers and other traditional “I’m sorry” presents but the items she found on her porch each morning tugged at her heart.
Tuesday’s offering had been a book of Dilbert cartoons, a reminder of the times they’d laughed together over the comic strip. Wednesday’s delivery was a music box that played “As Time Goes By” from her favorite movie, Casablanca. This morning, she’d discovered a box of the Italian cookies she liked to dunk in coffee.
