TAMED | FREENBECKY

25

After spending the entire night in a failed attempt to track Becca's stalker through the city streets, Freen was exhausted and frustrated to the point of tears. Though she'd been able to follow the man's scent from Becca's building to a corner several blocks away, once again his trail had suddenly disappeared. Now she was certain he either owned a car or traveled via taxi, but that brought her no closer to discovering his identity and keeping Becca safe. The hours she'd just wasted randomly wandering through various neighborhoods hoping to catch a whiff of his scent had gotten her nowhere. Unfortunately, it didn't seem likely that she'd find the guy by accident. For all Freen knew, he didn't even live nearby.

That meant she needed to come up with a new strategy. Though she hadn't any idea what she planned to do when she found Becca's stalker, Freen had no choice but to try to hunt him down. The police weren't having any luck, and if she could do anything to help them, she planned to, Even if it meant risking discovery.

Freen's best-case scenario would be to confront the guy during one of his attempts to get close to Becca. Then she could follow him as he fled and hopefully find out where he lived. To do that, she'd probably need to keep up a constant surveillance on Becca. The fact that Becca already had the police watching her meant that Freen would have to be creative in her attempts to provide a second level of security without being noticed.

Unfortunately, creativity would have to wait until after she'd had a nap. It had been a long, draining night and her brain wasn't cooperating. Right now she couldn't come up with a plan of attack if her life depended upon it.

As Freen pulled her car up to her apartment, bleary-eyed and ready to get some much-needed sleep, the sight of Detective Dasha standing on her front porch sent her gut into sour, twisting panic. Dasha turned at the sound of the engine, nodding curtly as Freen pulled into her parking spot, then cut the ignition. Heart pounding, she prepared for what she was sure would be an unpleasant conversation with Becca's jealous ex-girlfriend. Without knowing whether Dasha was there in an official capacity or simply as Becca's defender, Freen wasn't even sure what she should be nervous about.

Everything. Right now she was nervous about absolutely everything.

Taking a deep breath, Freen opened the car door and got out. She forced a polite smile and returned Dasha's nod. "Hello."

"Good morning." Dasha clasped her hands behind her back, studying Freen's face as she approached. Every inch the suspicious cop. "Long night?"

Freen didn't let herself react to Dasha's subtle taunt. She had no idea what Becca had told Dasha about what happened between them, but Freen wasn't about to rise to the bait. "Can I help you with something?"

"I hope so. I wanted to talk to you about that phone call you made last month. You know, the one where you reported finding a body in West Gate Park."

Freen kept her expression neutral and indicated that Dasha should step aside so she could unlock the door. Dasha did so with another curt nod. Inviting Dasha into her sanctuary wasn't her first choice, but she refused to have this discussion on her front porch where anyone could overhear. She pushed open the door and strolled inside, gesturing for Dasha to follow. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, thanks." Dasha stepped into her foyer, taking a none-too-subtle look around. "Nice place."

"Thank you." Freen led Dasha to the living room and pointed her toward the couch. "Have a seat."

Returning her intense focus to Freen's face, Dasha sat carefully at one end of the couch. "Sorry to drop by so early in the morning."

"It's okay." Freen sat at the other end of the couch, careful not to let her face or voice betray her anxiety. True, she had nothing to hide as far as knowing more about the murders than she let on. But so much of Freen's involvement in this case was tied up in her ability, so talking about any of it with Dasha meant treading on dangerous ground. "This is an important case, I know. But the last time I checked, anonymous tips to the police weren't illegal."