Baltimore 03 - Did You Miss Me?

really cool. I can see exactly how much that affects you.’
    Her eyes narrowed dangerously and he knew he’d pushed too far. ‘I’m going now,’ he said, softening his voice. ‘But I’ll be back. I promise.’ He brushed his lips over hers, watched her eyes drift closed and all his bravado fled. ‘God, Stevie.’ His voice broke. ‘I thought I was going to lose you before I ever had you.’
    Because you’ve never had her . You just have a lot of wishes .
    He straightened with a weary sigh. ‘You know, just forget what I said. I can’t make you want me. I can’t make you be ready. I won’t stalk you or force you in any way. That’s not who I am. If you decide you want to see what we could have together . . . well, you know where to find me.’
    His step heavy, Clay walked back to the waiting area. Sorin was waiting by the door, blocking his path. ‘What?’ Clay asked dully.
    ‘She’s my twin, you know. I’m five minutes older.’
    Clay shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t know. I hope she recovers.’
    Sorin huffed a rueful chuckle. ‘I know Stefania better than anyone. She will recover because she’s too damn stubborn to do otherwise. She’s also doomed to be alone for the rest of her life for the same reason. Which makes her a coward and a fool.’ He lifted a shoulder. ‘I listened at the door of her room just now.’
    Clay’s jaw clenched. Keep it together . Don’t knock his head off his shoulders in ICU or that nurse will yell at you again . ‘ I suppose that’s your right.’
    ‘No, it wasn’t, but I did it anyway. You were right, you know. Up until the end when you folded.’
    Clay’s chin lifted. ‘I didn’t fold. I reconsidered.’
    ‘Whatever. Just, please don’t give up on her.’ Sorin stared at him hard, then offered his hand. ‘Be well, Mr Maynard.’
    Clay shook his hand. ‘You too. Your folks have my cell phone and email. Can you let me know if she needs anything?’
    ‘Other than a swift kick in the pants? Sure.’ With that he stepped back and let Clay pass. Mercifully, Stevie’s parents weren’t in the waiting area. Hopefully they’d gone home to sleep.
    Which is where I’ll go . Home . But not to sleep. Because Ford was still missing. And because his heart physically hurt like it never had before.
    He’d never gotten a chance to talk to the MacGregors. Maybe he’d drive back up to Philly and do that tomorrow. Because there was always a tomorrow. Just ask Stevie, he thought bitterly. She thinks she has a million of them .

Chapter Fourteen
    Tuesday, December 3, 11.30 P.M.
    J oseph parked in his parents’ driveway behind the police cruiser he’d had stationed there after the shooting. He hadn’t checked on his family all day so he showed his badge to the officer and let himself into the house, only to be met with a low growl.
    ‘Oh for God’s sake,’ he muttered. ‘It’s me, Patty.’ He turned on the foyer light and the growling immediately ceased, an adult Rottweiler jumping up on him to say hello. ‘No.’ He pushed the dog down, glaring. ‘You could learn a lot of manners from Tasha.’
    He hung his coat over the banister and cut through the living room to the kitchen—
    Where he stopped short, not sure what he was seeing. Not because the room was dark, but because . . . His mind registered the men’s Nikes on the floor next to a lacy white bra before he saw his youngest sister poking her head up over the back of the sofa, a pair of boxers in her hand.
    Oh . My . God . He spun around clenching his eyes shut. ‘Holly?’
    ‘Joseph?’ Holly said tentatively. ‘Didn’t know you were coming home.’
    ‘I guess not.’ He shook his head, hoping to dislodge what he’d seen, and thought of Daphne waving her hands, saying Bleach for my eyes, stat! ‘Who is he?’
    ‘His name’s Dillon. We met at our social center. Say hi, Dillon.’
    ‘Hi?’ Dillon squeaked, then cleared his throat. ‘Hi,’ he said in a deeper voice that still trembled a little. ‘Is he going to kill me?’ he added in a whisper.
    Joseph rubbed his pounding temples. ‘It depends. Is this . . . consensual?’ He choked out the word.
    ‘Of course. I’m twenty-eight, Joseph! I’m not a little girl anymore, so back off.’
    He knew Holly thought he was over-protective because she had Down syndrome, but that wasn’t true. He’d felt this way about his other sisters, too. But Holly was more vulnerable, even if she didn’t want to accept the notion.
    He