A Profiler's Case for Seduction(53)

“Go,” he replied. “I just wanted to let you know that I don’t believe you’re in any danger.”

She started to leave and then turned back to him, her eyes shimmering with the emotion she refused to allow into her heart. “Watch your back, Agent Flynn.”

“Always,” he replied.

There was no question that Mark had been on her mind since the moment Dora had crawled out of bed and stood beneath a warm shower spray that morning. Her body had tingled and sung with the memory of his touch. The most difficult thing she’d had to do was tell him that she didn’t want him in her bed again even though it was a lie.

Having Mark in her life for a finite period of time was safe, but inviting him in forever would be a disaster. Secrets and lies, that was the sum of this new life Dora had built, and she wasn’t about to take a chance on destroying it.

If she were smart, she would tell him that she didn’t want to see him again. She’d tell him that there was really no reason for them to have coffee or any further conversation, except she didn’t want to deprive herself of him completely.

She knew it was selfish of her, sensed that Mark was developing real feelings for her that went beyond friendship. She felt the same thing toward him, but loving any man for any length of time was impossible for her.

As she hurried toward her next class she once again told herself she was being a bit self-indulgent, flirting with a bit of emotional danger, but couldn’t bring herself to cut it off cleanly with him. At least she was grateful to learn that the stalker wasn’t after her, although she was concerned that somebody was apparently after Mark.

He was trained for danger and she hoped he’d utilize all of his skills, all of that training to keep himself safe. She couldn’t imagine anyone who would want to hurt Mark unless it was the same person who had killed all three men, unless somebody thought he was getting too close to them.

She figured they’d pretty well solved the murders by holding Troy Young for the crimes. So, if it wasn’t Troy threatening Mark, then who?

Questions continued to haunt her through the day and into the evening as she began her shift at the bookstore. It was another quiet night, with few customers coming in. Dora used the quiet time to study and refused to indulge in thoughts of anything else except the class work in front of her.

It was only at eight that she finally closed her laptop and sat back in the chair behind the register and allowed her thoughts free rein.

There had been so much ugliness when the personal details about the victims had come to light. Dora had shied away from hearing all the sordid details. She’d had enough ugly in her life to last forever and the last thing she wanted to do was ruminate over the ugly in her past.

The fear of tainting Melinda had kept her mute about the two women’s personal relationship, and the shame of who Dora had been kept her from ever wanting to share that time in her life with anyone.

That was why there could never be anything lasting between her and Mark. That’s why she could enjoy his company while he was in Vengeance but had no intention of pursuing a relationship of any kind once he left town.

She would always have to be on her guard, afraid to share too much. She’d seen revulsion in the eyes of a man she loved once before and it had driven her to the edge of ruin.

She’d truly believed Jimmy Martin would be her salvation, her defense and protector in the town without pity that had spawned her. But ultimately the damage he’d done to her had been devastating.

For the past three years her single goal had been to learn to find the happiness within, to not need anyone else to fulfill her. It had been an empowering lesson to realize she didn’t need anyone but herself to navigate in the world. If she chose to allow somebody to walk with her, then it was a choice, not a need.

She would never need a man again.

Still, at eight-thirty when Mark walked through the bookstore door, she couldn’t help the jump of her heart, the giddy happiness that accompanied the accelerated heartbeat.

“Hi,” she greeted him.

“Hi, yourself,” he replied with the easy grin that fired warmth through her entire being. “Good day?”

“Yes, it’s been a good day,” she replied as she locked up the cash register and prepared to leave for the night. “What about you?”

He raked a hand through his messy dark hair. “Another day of frustrations, but I don’t want to talk about work.”

“You look tired,” she said as they stepped out of the store and into the night air.