Kristi deserved a little discomfort. As much as she’d served up to him. Jesus, in the past two weeks he’d had three dreams involving her. One hot as hell, their naked bodies covered in sweat as they made love in a bed that was floating down a swift, dark river. In the second dream he’d watched as she’d taken off with a faceless man, looping her arm through his as they walked into a chapel with bells chiming, and in the third, she was missing. He kept catching glimpses of her, only to watch as she vanished into a rising mist. That nightmare had tormented him just last night, and he’d woken to a pounding heart, dark fear pumping through his bloodstream.

“Gonna be a long term,” he advised the dog as he signaled to leave the highway. Up ahead the lights of the city cut through the fog.

His cell phone rang. Bruno let out a soft woof as Jay managed to turn off the radio, answering without looking at the digital display.

“McKnight.”

“Hi.”

Well, speak of the devil. Jay’s jaw hardened. He’d recognize the sound of Kristi Bentz’s voice anywhere.

“It’s me, Kristi,” she said, and then added, “Kristi Bentz.” As if he didn’t already know.

“You memorized the number.” The wipers skated noisily over the windshield and he switched them off, driving for half a second with his thigh.

“Yes, I guess I did,” she said tightly.

His right hand gripped the wheel again and he braced himself. “Need something?”

“Your help.”

“With an assignment?”

She only hesitated a heartbeat, but it was enough to warn him. “Yeah.”

God, she was a liar. “Lay it on me.”

Angling his truck off the main road at the outskirts of the city, he followed what was becoming a well-worn route to his cousins’ house.

“I can’t. Not over the phone. It’s too complicated and I’m already late for work. It, uh, it took me a long time to screw up the courage to call you.”

Now that was probably the first bit of truth in the conversation. He didn’t respond.

“I thought that maybe…maybe we could meet,” she said.

“Meet? Like in my office?”

“I was thinking somewhere else.”

Jay was watching the road, spying a kid on a motorized scooter who, as he passed, zipped out of a driveway to speed across the road behind him. “Jesus!” he muttered.

“Wow…I’ll take that as a no.”

“I wasn’t talking to you. I’m driving and a kid nearly hit me.” He slowed for a stop sign. “Where?”

“I don’t know. Maybe the Watering Hole.”

“For a drink?”

“Sure. I’ll buy.”

He stepped on the gas and drove to the next corner, where he turned down the street to his part-time bungalow. “You mean, like a date?” he asked, knowing she’d probably see red.