“I know. It felt like an eternity. But the thing is, I truly believe she is still in danger. I believe Mason Lloyd intends to harm her, and he will as soon as he can find her.”

“Why?”

“He’s controlling and vengeful. And extremely manipulative. That’s the weird part.” She shook her head. “After everything that’s happened, everything he’s done to make her life miserable, he still has some kind of strange hold over her. I can tell by the way she talks about him. I think that’s what worries me more than anything.”

Antonio looked down at Kate’s hands as she played with the sleeve of her sweater. She’d gone out of her way to come here and make this case for her sister—the same sister who had put her through torture for the past week. After all that, Kate was not only ready to forgive Vanessa, she wanted to help her out of the mess she was in.

“I want to help your sister, Kate. But she needs to talk to us. No more hiding. If she’s got a problem with this boyfriend of hers—”

“Ex-boyfriend.”

He nodded. “If she’s got a problem, she needs to come in and make a statement. Or we can go to her. But she needs to put forward credible information, so that we can follow up.”

“She is credible. I know you probably don’t trust what she has to say because she let people believe she was dead for a week, and I totally get that, but she was afraid for her safety and she still is. Mason Lloyd is dangerous, I’m telling you. He’s harassed her and threatened her for months, and she has evidence. She kept a journal of everything he did—”

“Where?”

“She has it with her.”

“Tell her to bring it in. We need that information, and we need to interview her for an investigation to ever get off the ground.”

“I know.” Kate shook her head and looked away. “I’ve told her all that. Unfortunately, she doesn’t always take my advice.”

Antonio felt a pang of sympathy as he looked at her. Sometimes families sucked, especially siblings. His had put him through the wringer more than a few times. But nothing that came close to what Kate had been through.

“We’re keeping an eye on Lloyd,” he said.

He had no idea why he told her that. It was true, but it wasn’t the sort of thing he should be telling Kate.

The pure relief on her face made his pulse pick up, and he knew that was the reason. He had a soft spot for this woman. It made no sense whatsoever, but there it was.

“Thank you.” She rested her hand on his—just for a second—and then pulled it away. “I really, really appreciate it.”