AtHerCommand (24 page)

Had Salvi set up Domino? But if he’d suspected her, he never
would have walked into the trap. Dalton’s hands tightened on the wheel and he
realized he was speeding. He eased off the gas, examining the problem from
another angle.

What would Dom have to gain by lying, by suggesting he wait
for Salvi at Suzi’s apartment? What would’ve been in it for her? Then he
remembered the promotion she was chasing.

“I’ve worked hard for years for this promotion. I’ve
never wanted anything more.”

Dalton turned down the street behind Dom’s house as an ugly
suspicion formed. Could this have been about the glory? About who gets the
credit for the takedown—the cops or the DEA? Would Domino have lied about
something this important to ensure her promotion?

A cold anger built as Dalton parked the car and walked
through Dom’s backyard. Using the house key she’d given him, he entered the
mudroom and punched in her security code. Why was he surprised? Every woman
he’d ever cared for had screwed him over. Why should Domino be any different?

He stalked past Smokey without greeting the dog and headed
for the bedroom. He was so furious his hands were shaking. He pulled his
clothes off the closet hangers and threw them on the bed. Once he got all his
stuff into the Jeep, he was out of there for good. It’d be a cold day in hell
before Dalton Cutter ever trusted a woman again.

* * * * *

Domino turned her VW into her driveway and waited for the
garage door to open. She
had
to see Dalton. A call to Meyers on her way
home from the club had yielded a brusque summary of the meeting fiasco and
Salvi’s death. When she’d asked why Dalton had gone to Suzi’s place, Meyers had
said something nonsensical about chickens coming home to roost and hung up.

She pulled into the garage and cut the engine. At least
Meyers had told her Suzi and Dalton were okay before he’d ended the call. Dom
got out of her car and unlocked the door to the mudroom.
Please
let
Dalton be inside so she could see for herself he was safe.

He was standing in her kitchen, leaning against the counter.
Delighted, Dom smiled and took a step toward him before the fury in his face
registered. Confusion, chased with concern, flashed through her. “What’s the
matter—?”

“I can’t believe I trusted you.” Dalton spat out the words
like bullets.

“What?” She stepped closer, the breath caught in her lungs.

He straightened, his eyes filled with self-disgust and a
terrible pain. “That’s what I get for thinking with my dick.”

Shocked speechless, she just stared.

“When I learned you were DEA, I checked you out,” he
informed her.

“You what?” Domino felt like she was on a roller coaster and
had left her brain on the last hill.

“I heard the stories about what an ice queen you were, a
real ball-buster,” Dalton emphasized the ugly words. “But I didn’t want to
believe your job was everything.”

Each word was like a slap. “Why are you saying these
things?” Dom asked, but he plowed on.

“I guess you weren’t willing to share your big arrest with
someone as unimportant as me,” he gestured to himself, a knife slash of a
motion, “just a local cop.”

“Not share the arrest? Didn’t Meyers call you?”

“Sure, I got your message.” Dalton moved toward her and she
almost backed away. “Why do you think I was at Suzi’s apartment when Salvi
almost blew her away?”

Her pulse racing with adrenaline, Domino tried for a calming
tone. “I don’t understand—”

Dalton grabbed her hand and pressed something metal into her
palm. She glanced down to discover the house key she’d given him. And her heart
ached at the finality of the gesture.

“It’s good I found out how cold and ambitious you are,
before it went past recreational fucking.” At her gasp, he dropped her hand and
his lips curled into a mocking smile. “But I’ll give you one thing, babe, you
were a great lay.”

The words struck a fatal blow to her love and the pain was
so deep it went beyond tears.

“Goodbye, Agent Petracelli.” Dalton walked out without a
backward glance.

Through her anguished haze, Domino watched him leave.
There’d been some terrible misunderstanding. He was blaming her for Suzi almost
dying. And he thought she’d done whatever it was for personal gain.

Dom barely noticed when the key slipped out of her hand and
hit the tile floor. She should find out the truth, call Meyers or Bennett for
an explanation. But all she could think about was Dalton’s hate-filled eyes.

Domino sank into a kitchen chair and realized she was
trembling. She tried to breathe past the crushing weight in her chest.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she used her DEA capture and torture training to think
through the pain.

Dalton, the man she’d loved, the man she’d trusted, thought
she’d betrayed him. After everything they’d shared, he believed she was capable
of lying, of endangering her friends and putting her career first. Not once had
he given her a chance to explain.

Smokey, looking wary and subdued, walked into the kitchen.
Needing the comfort as much as he, Domino gathered him onto her lap.
“Everything’s okay, boy,” she crooned as she stroked the quivering dog. But it
was a lie. At that moment, she didn’t think she’d ever be okay again.

She could clear up this misunderstanding and prove to Dalton
she’d wanted him in on the arrest. But what about the next time he decided
she’d lied or couldn’t be trusted?

She cringed as she remembered his words.
I’ll give you
one thing, babe, you were a great lay.
Maybe that was all she’d been to
him. He couldn’t
really
care for her, the person she was inside, if he
hadn’t even given her the benefit of a doubt.

Cuddling Smokey in her arms, Domino did something she hadn’t
done since her father had died. She cried.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dalton slammed the Jeep’s door and stomped into Jason’s
house. The anger that had fuelled his last hours was seeping away, leaving him
sick and empty. He stalked into the kitchen and grabbed a six-pack from the
fridge. Maybe if he got drunk, he wouldn’t think or feel.

Carrying the beer to the living room, he slumped on the
couch. Chi sat on the television. Dalton twisted the cap off a bottle, saluted
the cat and swigged. “You don’t know how great you have it here,” Dalton
muttered to the statue-like feline. “Food, shelter and no female cats to twist
your guts in a knot.”

Dalton rubbed a throbbing ache in his chest with his free
hand. Without the red-hazed fury blinding him to everything else, he couldn’t
stop his doubts. His cop’s instincts warred with his sense of betrayal.

“She looked so surprised,” he said aloud. “Shocked but not
guilty.”

What if Domino hadn’t stabbed him in the back? He smothered
the tiny flicker of hope. After the way he’d acted, the stuff he’d yelled at
her, there was no relationship left to salvage even if she hadn’t screwed him
over. He’d hurt her badly tonight.

“Well, I’m hurting too,” he snapped, desperate to hang on to
the shield of his anger.

He’d
trusted
her. Hell, he’d been half in love with
her. And she’d betrayed him. But Dalton kept remembering the smile on her face
when she’d entered the kitchen and the shocked misery in her eyes when he’d
walked out.
God, what if he were wrong?

Dalton finished the beer and uncapped the next. Maybe he
could drown the growing suspicion he’d just thrown away the best thing that’d
happened to his sorry life.

* * * * *

Early Monday morning, Dalton knocked on the door to Suzi’s
apartment. She answered, looking frail in an oversized T-shirt and jeans, and
he felt a sharp stab of anxiety. It wasn’t the T-shirt’s feminist slogan
A
woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
that rattled him, it
was the bandage on the side of her head.

And because the thought of her being hurt upset him, he led
with a joke. “Did you knock any sense into that hard head of yours?”

Suzi smiled at his teasing. “It’s just a few stitches. I’m
fine.” She pulled him across the threshold and closed the door. “Want some
coffee?”

“Sure.” He trailed her into the kitchen. “But I’m not
sitting at the table with this perverted doll.” He gestured to the over-endowed
Dick.

Suzi snickered, pouring a mug for herself as well as Dalton.

He accepted one of the mugs and moved into the living room.
“I’m not sure this is any better.” He pointed to the fake fur couch. “I never
know whether to sit on that sofa or pet it.”

“Ha, ha.” She curled up in the matching armchair, watching
him closely as he settled onto the couch.

“You know, you don’t look so good yourself,” Suzi pointed
out, scanning the dark circles that shadowed his eyes.

Dalton thought about the last day and a half since the
sting—the hours interrogating Salvi’s lackeys, the paperwork he slogged through
to wrap up the case and the sleepless nights…

With effort, he pushed memories of Domino away. “I
participated in the interrogation yesterday.”

“Yeah, while I was home resting, thanks to Bennett’s
orders.” Suzi sounded bitter.

He sympathized, knowing what it was like to be cut out of an
investigation. “You didn’t miss anything. Those jokers were the bottom of the
food chain. But Hobart and Joey might spill their guts now that Salvi is dead.”

A haunted look passed over her face. Killing a human being,
even one as evil as Salvi, left scars.

“Hey, you did the world a favor and saved your own life
killing that bastard,” he said. “The department’s thinking about giving you a
sharp-shooter medal.”

When her expression didn’t change, he sobered. “Cho, I went
to Jason’s grave last night. I told him you’d avenged his death.” Dalton put
his hand over hers on the arm of her chair. “What if Salvi had gotten off on a
technicality again? How many more people would he have killed?”

“Thanks.”

Suzi didn’t look reassured but he let the subject drop. “Did
you hear we put an APB out for Victor Xavier? And we’re not the only ones
looking for him. The DEA
and
the FBI want to talk to him about the
club.”

“The FBI, huh?” She smiled like a cat in cream but didn’t
elaborate. “Hey, speaking of the DEA, I’m surprised Domino isn’t here with
you.”

The sound of her name was like a brand on his heart and
Dalton glanced away. “We’re not…” He stopped and looked back at Suzi, his jaw
set. “I found out Salvi never had any intention of going to your place. There
was no conversation for Dom to overhear. She deliberately lied to get me out of
the way.”

Suzi goggled. “You can’t really believe that?”

Too restless to remain seated, he rose and paced. “There’s
this promotion she wants. She’ll do anything to get it.”

Suzi pressed a hand to her forehead. “You think Domino lied
about Salvi’s plans so she could cut you out of the bust?”

“Yes. You know what government agents think about cops.”

Suzi stood and faced him. “Yes, and I know what Domino
thinks about you. There’s
no way
she would’ve done that.”

When he didn’t respond, she continued. “Bull, I was at her
house when she chewed Meyers’ ass for not telling you about the planning
meeting. That vindictive bastard was so jealous she was afraid he’d pull
another fast one. She got in his face and made him promise he wouldn’t cut you
out of the bust.”

Meyers.
Jesus, why hadn’t he ever considered the
agent’s role in this thing? Meyers was the one who’d passed along Dom’s text
message. He could have lied and deliberately sent Dalton away from the action
as payback for sleeping with Domino.

Shaky, he sank onto the couch and rubbed his hands over his
face. God, he’d never even given Dom a chance to explain. He’d just taken that
asshole Meyers’ word at face value. She must hate his guts.

Suzi put her hand on his shoulder. “What have you done?”

Filled with self-hate, he told her every filthy thing he’d
said to Domino. When he was done, he couldn’t meet Suzi’s eyes.

“Dammit, Bull, if you weren’t already suffering, I’d punch
your lights out.”

He looked up, seeing pity, not disgust in her face. “There’s
nothing you could do to me worse than living my life without her.”

Now Suzi paced. “That’s it? You’re just giving up?”

He shot to his feet again. “I’ll apologize to her until I’m
blue in the face but it won’t make up for what I said.”

“That’s
right
,” she bit out. “Saying ‘I’m sorry’
won’t do it. This is something you can’t smooth over with flowers either. If
you want Domino to forgive you, you’ll have to fight for her.” Suzi poked a
finger in his chest. “And if you don’t fight for her,
I’ll
never forgive
you.”

Determined, he steeled his spine. “Help me make a plan.”

* * * * *

Dalton showed his Metro PD badge to the guard at the DEA’s
Northern Virginia office and was escorted by a clean-cut young man to Dom’s
department. While the escort stood nearby, Dalton asked the receptionist if he
could speak to Agent Petracelli.

“I’m sorry,” the smiling older woman said in a professional
tone, “she took the day off.”

He frowned. That seemed so out of character for Domino. “Is
she okay?”

The receptionist had him wait while she answered a call then
responded in a friendlier manner. “She sounded as if she had a sore throat but
she said she’d be back in a day or two.”

Dalton nodded, still worried about Domino, and thanked the
woman. Meyers entered the office, carrying a coffee container and a doughnut
bag. He stopped short when he spied Dalton.

“Got a minute?” Dalton asked, careful to mask his outrage.

Meyers’ jaw clenched. “Sure. This way.”

Dalton asked if his escort could wait. After getting an
affirmative, he followed Meyers. The agent led him into an interrogation room
and closed the door to give them privacy. Once the red-haired man had placed
his coffee and doughnuts on the table, Dalton cut to the chase.

“Why did you lie to me about Domino’s message?”

Meyers didn’t pretend innocence and he met Dalton’s anger
with his own. “This was a DEA case from the start. Sure, Dom wanted her cop
there but you’re not one of us.” The agent, hands fisted, got in Dalton’s face.
“And it’s time you learned you can’t fuck your way onto this team.”

Dalton’s fury spiked at having his relationship with Domino
reduced to sex. The great irony was he’d done the exact same thing when he’d
confronted her after the bust. To keep from thinking about that awful night, he
focused on Meyers. “You endangered the investigation because you had a beef
with me?”

“You cops had no business getting involved in this case!”
Meyers yelled.

Dalton itched to beat him to a pulp. “This isn’t about cops
versus agents. This is personal. It just eats you up that Domino never has and
never will want your hands on her.”

With a furious bellow, Meyers threw a punch. Dalton blocked
it with his forearm and poured all of his pain and frustration into a series of
crushing blows that had Meyers stumbling backward and sliding down the wall to
the floor. With blood leaking from his nose and split lip, the agent sat dazed.

Dalton pulled open the door and turned to go. Then he looked
back over his shoulder. “If Domino doesn’t report you to your superior, I’ll
file a formal complaint. If you’re smart, you’ll come clean with your boss
today.”

Tucking his bruised hands in his pockets, Dalton walked to
the receptionist’s desk and followed his escort to the front of the building.
Once in his car, he headed for Arlington. If his campaign to win Domino back
was going to work, he needed to talk with her. If he had to set up camp on her
doorstep, he was going to see her today.

On the way to her house, Dalton thought of the apology he’d
rehearsed, but somehow it didn’t sound right. How could he tell her how
sincerely sorry he was? Pulling into her driveway, he still hadn’t found the
magic words. He prayed for inspiration as he walked to her door.

Ringing the doorbell, Dalton waited for the sound of
footsteps or a change in the faint light filtering through the peephole. What
if she refused to talk to him? The thought had barely formed when Dalton heard
the click of a lock and the front door opened.

Barefoot, dressed in her ratty sweat suit, Domino stood
inside the door,
not
welcoming him in. Her eyes were red-rimmed and
hollow, and their lack of animation stabbed at Dalton.

“Can I come in and talk?” he asked.

“No.”

The word was horrible in its finality. Dalton felt panicky
and plunged on. “I was wrong. I found out the truth today and confronted
Meyers.” He showed her his scraped knuckles. “I want to apologize.”

“Okay, apology accepted.” Her expression didn’t change.
“Goodbye.”

She started to close the door and his hand shot out to hold
it open. “That’s it? ‘Goodbye?’”

Why didn’t she force the door closed against his resistance?
Any show of emotion would be better than this.

“We don’t have any more to say. Whatever we had
going—professionally or,” she swallowed, “personally—is over. In a way, Meyers
did me a favor. I found out where I stood before things went any further.”

“Dammit, are you just going to throw away what we had?” he
shouted and was gratified to see anger spark in her dulled eyes. But the words
she tossed back sliced deep.

“I wasn’t the one who threw it away. The first time our
relationship was tested, you bailed,” she snapped, her voice rising. “I’m
supposed to just forgive and forget? What happens the next time your paper-thin
faith in me is challenged?”

When he opened his mouth to plead his case, she held up a
trembling hand and continued, quieter. “All my life, I’ve longed to have the
type of love my grandparents had, to find someone who understood me inside and
out and loved me anyway.”

Domino looked down, clearing her throat, and Dalton wanted
to hold her more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.

When she met his gaze again, she had her emotions under
control. “I thought you understood me…that we’d connected—”

“We did!” Dalton yelled. He was losing her and desperate to
hang on.

Domino gave him a half smile so sad it would have broken his
heart if there’d been anything left of it. Then she shook her head. “You
believed I lied to you and risked Suzi’s life just to get a promotion.” Dalton
felt a physical pain at the misery in her eyes. “You never knew me at all.”

She took a step back to close the door, and the distance
between them suddenly seemed insurmountable. So he stood on the porch as Domino
locked him out of her life, shocked to realize something she wasn’t ready to
hear—he loved her, deeply and forever.

He walked to his car, his resolution building with each
step. He loved her and,
dammit
, whatever it took, he’d prove it to her.

* * * * *

Domino worked at home the next two days, writing up her
report on the Xecutive Branch case and trying unsuccessfully to kill her
feelings for Dalton. Her efforts to exorcise her love were complicated by the
persistent detective who sent her daily reminders of his pursuit. She could
have ignored flowers and other traditional “I’m sorry” presents but the items
she found on her porch each morning tugged at her heart.

Tuesday’s offering had been a book of Dilbert cartoons, a
reminder of the times they’d laughed together over the comic strip. Wednesday’s
delivery was a music box that played “As Time Goes By” from her favorite movie,
Casablanca
. This morning, she’d discovered a box of the Italian cookies
she liked to dunk in coffee.