From Darkness (Hearts & Arrows Book 3)(30)

“You do that anyway.”

“Yeah, but I’ll be able to do it with no fear of retaliation.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Hey, I meant to ask…do I always pick scissors when we play Rock-Paper-Scissors?”

“Every time. Why?”

“Josie said something about it the other day.”

Tori raised a blond eyebrow. “Ah. Still hung up, huh? You’ve surpassed your twenty-four-hour mourning period.”

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”

“Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” Tori rolled her eyes. “Maybe your hands-off approach isn’t the way to handle it. I’d probably march over and plant a fat, sloppy kiss on her if I were you.”

“You’d probably perform heart surgery with a sledgehammer, too.”

“Probably,” she said with a shrug.

He slung his bag over his shoulder. “You do realize that your way isn’t always the best way.”

“But it usually is.” She punched him in the arm and waved as she rounded the corner. “Have a good day,” she called from the entry.

“You too.”

Jon let out a sigh.

He loved Tori—she knew him better than anybody did—but they weren’t meant to be together. They had both known that since before they broke up and before they found out Tori was pregnant.

For a couple of years before they’d broken up, they’d dated and lived together, and when they’d found out about Lola, it’d just made sense to keep living together. It was the easiest way for them to care for their daughter and the easiest way for Jon to take care of both Tori and Lola. It fulfilled him to do it, and he and Tori worked seamlessly together—as long as they weren’t trying to be together.

They’d driven each other crazy when they dated, fighting about everything, but once the pressure of romance had been removed from the equation, they’d been able to find a level of companionship and respect for each other that made them an excellent team.

“I’m ready, Daddy!”

Ruby, the stuffed dog, was cradled in Lola’s arms, and she had on her pink backpack with a giant white kitten on the back.

“Well then, let’s get going.” He held out his hand, and she grabbed two of his fingers.

They walked in the chilly morning to Tori’s parents’ house where he dropped off his daughter under the watchful eye of Tori’s father, who scowled at him from behind her cheerful mother.

As he walked out of the building and toward the subway, he marveled again at the vastness of New York. Growing up in Louisiana, he had known every kid within five miles, easy. In New York, you could live next door to a kid your age and not only never meet them, but not even go to the same school as they did. Tori and Josie had grown up just a few blocks away from each other but had never met, and that fact blew his mind on a regular basis.

Jon smelled roses, and he looked up, confused for a split second before realizing he was a few buildings down from the Midtown South Precinct. He decided to stop and check the board, and as he pulled open the door, he remembered seeing Josie for the first time since he’d moved back.

He was struck again by the deep desire to help her with Anne’s murder and wondered if maybe Tori was right. Maybe it was time he pressed Josie for information about Anne.

When he rounded the corner, he found her standing at the board like déjà vu, like he imagined so often, just exactly as she had been a month before. When he remembered to breathe again, he straightened himself out and put on the most charming smile in his repertoire, hoping it would be enough to blast a crack in her shell.



The station bustled around Josie, but her focus was on the Wanted flyers plastered on the police bulletin board. She flipped a page back and snapped a picture with her phone.

“Dibs on the meth head.”

Josie jumped at the sound of Jon’s voice, and once the rush of old desire passed—because it always showed up, every time, without an invitation—she found herself instantly agitated.

“You’ve got to quit sneaking up on people, Jon. One of these days, you’re going to get accidentally shot.” She didn’t meet his eyes. Instead, she kept them on the board and pretended to go about her business even though her brain had come to a skipping, grinding stall.

“Well, I only sneak up on you, so I’m pretty sure I’m safe.” He leaned against the wall at her side to face her, but she still wouldn’t look at him.

“Lucky me. And no, I’ve got the meth head. You can have the pedophile. I always have trouble not shooting them.”

He watched her. “How are you doin’, Josie?”

“Fine,” she clipped as she flipped another flyer out of the way. “Do you want the gas-station robber?”

Jon stuffed his hands in his pockets with his eyes on her like a couple of ten-pound weights. “Nah, you can have him. How about the missing girl?”

She stiffened. “That’s all you. I’m taking a break on missing persons.”

He searched her face. “I really want to know if you’re all right.”

Josie finally looked at him and found she’d been justified in trying to avoid it. His eyes were so blue, they were almost black, heavy and intent on her. His dark brows were just low enough to show his concern, concern that was honest and real.