Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

was O positive. It wasn’t her blood in the basement either.’
    ‘Do we know where Richard Odum is?’ Daphne asked. ‘Was he at the courthouse today? Maybe one of Bill Millhouse’s followers who got cold feet?’
    ‘I put a BOLO out on Odum when I was on my way up to Timonium, but we’ve got no hits yet,’ Joseph said.
    ‘Actually, we did,’ Brodie said. ‘While I was typing the blood in the Timonium basement, Bo heard from the other SWAT teams. Odum was found dead in one of the other houses he bought with Reggie’s defense fund. His throat was slit. The blood in the Timonium basement could be his, but I can’t be certain until I’ve run the tests.’
    ‘And his wife?’ Joseph asked.
    ‘Her body was found with his,’ Brodie replied.
    Doug’s getting rid of loose ends , Joseph thought, but kept it to himself. At some point Ford would become a loose end too. They had to find him before that happened. And Joseph wanted to shift the topic before Daphne realized that fact.
    ‘My team’s going to be gathering downstairs for a debrief soon.’
    Her gaze became challenging. ‘And I should stay here?’
    ‘You’re welcome to join us. I may not be the most enlightened man on the planet, but I can be taught.’
    The challenge softened to gratitude. ‘Yes, I’d like to join you. Thank you.’
    Brodie put the watch in her briefcase. ‘I’ll go break the not-such-bad news to SA Smith and his fiancée. I’ll meet you in the team room, Agent Carter.’
    When they were alone neither of them said anything for a moment.
    Joseph sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Daphne. I didn’t wait for all of the evidence. I just raced down here to tell you and I put you through hell.’
    ‘Why did you? Race down here to tell me, I mean.’
    ‘The media. One of the reporters saw me leave the house and guessed Ford was dead. Three of the stations had already broadcast the story of “rumors” that Ford was dead before I was even halfway down here. I didn’t want you to hear it that way.’
    She was watching him, her expression suddenly inscrutable. ‘That addresses the urgency, I suppose,’ she said softly. ‘But you could have called me.’
    ‘Oh no I couldn’t,’ he blurted out, his face heating as her eyes widened. He backpedalled, trying to salvage his pride. ‘Daphne . . . you’re an amazingly strong woman. But even a strong woman shouldn’t hear news like that on the phone. It needed to be in person.’
    ‘Grayson was here.’
    ‘Dammit,’ he snapped. ‘I didn’t want it to be Grayson. I wanted it to be me .’
    Her expression abruptly changed, swinging from inscrutable to wide open. In her eyes he saw a deep yearning that gave him the courage to say to hell with salvaging his pride and to give her the honesty she deserved.
    ‘I wanted it to be me because I’m a selfish bastard,’ he said quietly. ‘If you’d needed anyone after you were told, I wanted it to be me. I wanted you to need me.’
    ‘I did,’ she whispered. ‘And I will again before this is over.’
    And then? ‘Whatever you need,’ he managed.
    And then she stunned him by walking into his arms, once again sliding hers around his waist. ‘I need not to have to be strong. For just a little while. Please.’
    His arms tightened around her. Finally . He was holding her, not because she was light-headed or ill. Because I’m me . She came to me . He ran his hands up and down her back, learning the feel of her. ‘For as long as you want.’
    ‘Joseph?’
    He loved the way she said his name. ‘Yes?’
    ‘If you had gotten yourself killed today, I would have been very angry with you.’
    He smiled against her hair. ‘I certainly don’t want to make you angry.’
    ‘I’m serious.’ She pulled back far enough to see his face. She was serious, her blue eyes dark with worry. ‘I want my son back. But I don’t want you killing yourself to make it happen. Please. Promise me.’
    He swept his thumb over her lips. Just once. ‘I promise.’
    ‘Thank you.’ She continued looking up at him, searching his face for something he couldn’t guess. He only knew that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Soft and vulnerable. But underneath she was tempered steel.
    And he knew that he needed her. Wanted her. He cupped her cheek in his palm, closing the distance between them. Watched her eyes slide closed as he covered her mouth with his. He spread his hand across her back to bring her a little closer. And let himself sink a