Free When a Heart Stops by Lynette Eason Page B

nearest CSU member who’d just arrived.
    â€œFill me in,” Hunter said.
    Dominic did, then said, “Backup didn’t get here until the shooter had ridden off on his motorcycle. There was no way I could catch up with him.”
    â€œI’ve got the description from the ATL you put out. You got anything else to add?”
    Dominic pursed his lips in disgust. “Not much to add to ‘Slender person in a white T-shirt with a baseball cap.’”
    â€œRight.” Hunter smirked.
    â€œLike I said, slender build, probably around five feet nine or ten. Fast as a jackrabbit. Only saw the back of him.” Dominic shook his head. “You going to help me go through the house?”
    â€œSure.” A pause. “Katie’s with me.”
    â€œI saw her.”
    â€œAre you going to be okay working with her?”
    Dominic lifted a brow. “Sure. I’ll be fine, why?”
    â€œShe’s still got a thing for you, you know?”
    â€œKatie?” He didn’t have to fake the surprise. “That was years ago.” Although she had been his hometown contact when he’d needed information about his family. Had she read more into that than he thought?
    â€œMaybe so,” Hunter said, “but she hasn’t let it go.”
    Uncomfortable with the thought, Dominic glanced at the woman he’d known from high school. The woman he considered a good friend but didn’t have any romantic interest in. At least not since he’d left home. They’d dated once, but now . . . his gaze steered itself to Serena. He cleared his throat. “Okay. Thanks for the heads-up.”
    Hunter nodded.
    â€œAre you any closer to finding my father?”
    Frustration stamped Hunter’s features. “No. You don’t have any more ideas, do you?”
    â€œNope. I even had Terry try and track him down, but when someone doesn’t have a job, uses cash, and travels from shelter to shelter, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack. Last time I saw the man, he was behind bars. He told me what happened with Alexia and his intention to kill Mom, Karen, and Alexia the day of the fire.” He swallowed hard, annoyed that thinking about his father’s words still left a bitter taste on his tongue. “I went back undercover for a long time after that and wasn’t even aware when he was released from prison until just recently.”
    â€œWhen you came home into the middle of Alexia’s troubles.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAlexia’s becoming obsessed with this.” Worry coated Hunter’s voice. “She still thinks it’s possible he had something to do with that week of terror we lived through.”
    It was hard to believe it had only been four weeks ago that Alexia had been kidnapped. “The man who questioned her and escaped—” Dominic rubbed his jaw—“I know she was blindfolded most of the time, but is she sure it wasn’t our father?”
    Hunter went silent for a moment. “She says it wasn’t, but sometimes she second-guesses herself. It’s been a long time since she’s seen the man, Dominic.” He lifted a shoulder in a helpless shrug.
    â€œWow, that’s helpful.”
    â€œExactly.”
    Serena came up to them, pulling her gloves off and stashing them in the hazardous materials bag on the curb. “What now?”
    â€œNow, we search the house and see if we can find a file . . . or whatever we’re supposed to look at.”

    In the living room of Howard’s house, Serena looked at the area where she’d sat less than an hour before. Her heart twisted at the sudden demise of a man she hadn’t known, but might have liked to had she been given the chance.
    Dominic and Hunter began searching, sifting through Howard’s life. Dominic took the den area while Hunter headed down the hall. Serena watched from a distance, listening, absorbing the