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did for a living. Greedily, he’d wanted more. And had wanted more than sex, too. Their connection had been immediate and powerful, and he’d left thinking they were meant to be together.
    Life had simply intervened in the worst possible way, and he’d spent the next six months in jail instead of with her.
    Camille was fumbling in the bag she carried, pulled out her key ring and used the electronic garage door opener. After he drove in and parked, he got out of the driver’s seat, reaching in the backseat for his beat-up leather case. A moment later, they climbed two steps to the deck that wrapped around the rear of the house and stood at her back door.
    Though she had keys in hand, her expression was frozen as she looked into her neighbor’s yard.
    “What?” Drago asked.
    Camille shook her head. “Nothing. I thought I saw Gloria at the back window.”
    “The kid’s mother?”
    “Right.”
    Distracted for a moment by a barking dog, Drago said, “Maybe we should talk to Mrs. Kawecki.”
    “Maybe we should try, though I don’t know what good it would do even if I could talk to her. Rodriguez might consider that another violation.” She sucked in air as if she was suddenly having trouble breathing. The barking dog got her attention for a moment before she said, “As far as I could tell, Sandy is a nice kid, never in trouble. Not that I know her that well. I don’t know any of my neighbors personally. I really don’t have the time since I work homicide.”
    “If you don’t know them, how did you get Sandy to walk your dog?”
    “I only got the dog about a month ago. I didn’t have time for him, either, but I found him running the streets, so what was I going to do? I figured I’d find his owner, but no one responded to my posters, and I wasn’t about to turn him in to animal control. So I hired Sandy to walk Max the days I worked. She seemed to be responsible enough when I hired her.”
    Turning back to the door, Camille jangled her keys. “I need to go inside first.” As they heard more barking she added, “Max can be a little aggressive.”
    “Dogs like me.”
    “He isn’t fond of men.”
    “That must be inconvenient.”
    She rolled her eyes before unlocking the back door. A sharp bark followed by a growl greeted them.
    “Told you.”
    Stepping inside the kitchen, she half closed the door behind her as she grabbed the dog’s collar. He was a big, mottled black and brown beast of undetermined origin. Looked like a street dog. Sounded like one, too, as he pitched himself toward Drago. But as she murmured sweet nothings to the beast and surrounded him with her affection—something Drago could only envy—the dog calmed down and whistled through his nose.
    “Good boy.” Still holding on to his collar, Camille opened the door. “You’re free to do what you want now.”
    If only that were true.

Chapter Three
    All too aware of Drago’s presence in her home, Camille feared turning her back on him. Feared he might get her at a disadvantage. She needed to be on point, all right. With
him
. She wouldn’t give him a chance to score another victory with her.
    Even as she thought it, the word “victory” made her queasy. That wasn’t the way it had been, not then. Only afterward, when she hadn’t heard from him as promised, had she cheapened the amazing connection they’d made by viewing their weekend as a win for him, even though she’d gotten as much out of it—maybe more—than he had. She didn’t do relationships, but she would have made an exception for Drago Nance. Only he hadn’t called, and then he’d showed his contempt for the law by punching a prosecutor, and her fantasy of what might be between them had shattered.
    “Good boy,” she murmured to the dog as she let go of his collar.
    Max immediately moved closer to Drago, who simply ignored him until the dog lost interest.
    Camille noticed his gaze running over the ancient kitchen, which she would someday find the time and money