Free Save the Date! by Heather C. Myers Page A

Brent said, stuttering slightly. He looked as helpless as Dixon was sure he felt. "It wasn't there last night, so probably this morning."
    "We'll send it to the agency and check for prints," Dixon said, glancing back down at the article. "Any print that doesn’t belong to you or me should be considered suspect." Brent said nothing but nodded. Dixon had never been one for words, nor was he talented at reassuring anyone, but he placed his hand on Brent's shoulder and locked eyes with him. "We will get to the bottom of this, sir," he said firmly, hoping Brent believed him. "I won't let her out of my sight."
    "Yes, of course," Brent said, attempting a smile but failing miserably. "I, I know you will, Black. I just, it would give me great relief if you moved into the house, at least, at least for now. I know I am asking you a lot, and I promise you will be greatly compensated, but please… It would put me at ease if I knew you were here to call upon if something happened. Please?"
    Brent was not a man who said please unless he was with his family. Dixon realized this was not an order, but a request. He found it quite surprising, but even more so than that was the fact that he answered without hesitation. "Of course," he said.
    "And you won't have to worry about your apartment," Brent assured him. "I will pay the rent, of course. Oh thank you, Black. Thank you. I need to get to the office, and I'll drop the paper off at the lab."
    "Harvey should be here soon," Dixon told Brent. "I'll inform him of the events that have transpired and we'll see what to do from there."
    Brent left, and fifteen minutes later, Dixon's partner, Harvey Stevens showed up. Dixon explained everything to the man, and even showed the untainted announcement he had been reading to emphasize his points.
    "She is a beaut, isn't she Dan?" Harvey asked , cracking a smile and hoping to alleviate the tension he could feel radiating off his partner. "Very easy to fall in love with, huh?"
    Dixon shrugged.  "She is quite charming when she wants to be," he said, his eyes returning to the photo and looking at it. And maybe Harvey was right. If he spent enough time with her… Not that he loved her now, or anything, but he did care about her, and if anyone tried to harm her, they would have to go through him first. But yeah, he could see how she was one of those people one couldn't help but fall in love with.
    "Sounds like you like her," Harvey teased, and then laughed. "I remember when you were first assigned to the case, how the two of you couldn't stand each other. Every night, I'd call you up to check up on things and you would tell me everything about her antics or what she had done to piss you off."
    Dixon's lip curled up into a half smile that did not quite reach his eyes. He didn't really find anything funny right now, though he was grateful for his friend's attempt. But even so, when Dixon focused on something, or considered something to be important, nothing else consumed him more than solving a problem. And this was quite a big problem.
    "I like her," he admitted, but that was all he would say on the matter.  “A little.”

Chapter 13
    By the time Saturday came around, Gemma was seriously sick of everything and anything that related to weddings. She couldn't even watch her favorite movie, Wedding Crashers , without turning it off (though she did wish she was marrying Vince Vaughn just so she could dance with the man) fifteen minutes in. Invitations went out at the beginning of the week, and Gillian had already RSVP'd. Ever since her best friend had found out, Gemma was beginning to think Gillian was getting a kick out of how events had played out, and found Gemma's situation quite amusing. Gillian, of course, didn't know the whole wedding shindig was for show, but she still found it humorous. Gemma frowned just thinking about it.
    "Well, I'm glad my life is suitable entertainment for you," Gemma had told her friend sarcastically.
    "Oh, it is," Gillian had