Free Shadow in the Pines by PJ Nunn

bad boy every girl’s mother warned her about.
    “So, what’s up?” she asked bluntly when the waitress moved away.
    He surprised her again by pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. “Do you mind?”
    “No,” she shook her head, watching as he lit up.
    “I’ve been checking things out, today,” he said, exhaling slowly. “Looks like your boss was right to be worried.”
    “Really?” she perked up. “What’d you find?”
    “Thaddeus Gregory was a lab assistant for Ophidian, and he went to the police several times with ideas, apparently. They did check it out, but nothing came of it. Then, I found a note in one of the files that said he’d moved out of town, so I called to see if I could find him,” he looked serious.
    “And?”
    “He’s gone,” he said simply. “Never showed up anywhere. I ran his social and there’s been no income or activity since he left here.”
    “Well, shoot! What does that mean?” Dani was afraid she already knew.
    “I’ve requested his records from the university so I can get his family information, but according to what I saw, he’d been working steady from the time he was sixteen. It’s not likely that he’s alive.”
    Dani tried to process what she was hearing, staring absentmindedly at the smoke curling from the tip of his cigarette. “So, what’s your professional opinion of all this?” she asked.
    “I don’t have enough to open the case back up, but I think I’ll nose around a little bit.”
    She waited, but he didn’t say anything. There was something else bothering him, though, she was sure of that. She’d eaten half of her meal, barely tasting it, when he finally broached the subject.
    “About last night…” he said tentatively, causing her to look up from her plate. “I hope you don’t mind that I stayed. I shouldn’t have, but I was worried you wouldn’t sleep…” his voice trailed off.
    Funny, he didn’t look like such an old fashioned gentleman.
    “Noah, it’s all right.”
    “No, it’s really not,” he argued.
    “Noah,” she reached across the table to take his hand. “Just say it, dammit.”
    His eyes were drawn to hers and he stared into them for a long time before he spoke again.
    “I’m worried about you,” he said, finally. “And I want to be there to protect you. But do you have any idea how hard it was not to touch you last night?”
    In spite of the distress on his face, a smile tugged at her lips. If he’d seen her dreams, he wouldn’t be asking that question. Time to lay the cards out on the table?
    “So, touch me, then,” she said softly, prompting a groan from him.
    “You don’t get it,” he said roughly. “I could make love to you all night, but if I do, I’m done.”
    Dani wasn’t sure what she expected, but that wasn’t it. She didn’t even know what he meant. “You’re right. I don’t get it.”
    “How can I protect you if I’m not objective anymore? Hell, I sat up half the night wondering if I should pay Abraham a visit, just to make sure he didn’t mess with you! What kind of cop is that?”
    Dani had no idea any of that would even be an issue. Secretly, she felt a little thrill at the thought that he was jealous but he was too distressed about it to dare say anything like that.
    “So, what do we do?”
    Sighing deeply, he said, “I don’t know. I’ve tried to figure that out all day. Every time I decided I’d just back off so I could watch out for you, I’d remember how you looked last night, falling asleep on my shoulder. Then, when I saw you again tonight… I really don’t want to back off.”
    Candlelight from the table flickered in his eyes as he held her gaze, making them look like warm, clear brandy.
    Dani breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good. Then don’t leave me,” she whispered, fearing that’s exactly what he had in mind. “I don’t……… I don’t want to be without you, Noah,” she said, admitting it to him and to herself for the first time.
    He closed