“It’s like a giant game of chess.” Yael crossed her arms across her chest in an effort to conserve heat. She wasn’t sure if she was cold because of the weather or the fact they were hunting such a sadistic killer. Both chilled her to the bone.

“Only we’re not allowed to see the board,” Alex agreed.

Shane turned toward them. The guy was so handsome. Worse, he seemed like a decent person. Straightforward. Genuine. So competent she wanted to sink into whatever was going on between them and let it take them wherever it wanted to go. It wouldn’t last. He’d said as much on the drive home from the bar last Friday night, but that was probably just as well.

Alex followed her stare. “He seems like a good guy from all accounts.”

She gave her boss the side-eye. “You checked him out?”

“I check out everybody, Yael.” The look he gave her told her there was no point pretending he didn’t know the truth about her past. It would insult them both to believe otherwise.

Yael shrugged. “He’s not looking for a relationship with someone like me.”

“Sometimes people surprise us,” Alex said.

“Somehow I doubt it.” She huffed out a humorless laugh. “It’s not like I was caught shoplifting. My brother shot up our high school and killed ten people.” Saying it out loud made her want to turn away and hide.

“Not to mention murdering your parents.” Alex’s voice was compassionate and tears pricked her eyes.

“Yeah, not to mention that,” she acknowledged, feeling hollow and fragile.

“You weren’t to blame, Yael.”

She looked away. “That’s not how a lot of people saw it.” She’d been charged as an accessory and had stood trial even though she’d had no knowledge of her brother’s plans.

“You were exonerated.”

“The jury were split. I almost went to prison for the rest of my life and the press vilified me. The families…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. She understood their pain but they’d never understood hers. “Every time I’ve let anyone close or tried to settle down, someone figures out my past and the harassment begins all over again.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Alex held her gaze, calmly.

“You won’t be able to stop it.” She pushed away the feelings of failure and self-pity. “What do you want me to do now?”

“I want you to help me catch this bastard. I want to put him in a place where he can never hurt anyone ever again.”