An hour ago, before Quinn had told him what he had just now, his answer would have been a resounding “Yes,” and he would have gone for his keys right then. At least, that’s what he told himself. But now, looking at her, remembering the girl he’d first met, the woman who had hurled angry words at him in a hospital room, the woman who had wept so brokenly over her father’s casket, he thought of the man he’d so admired, the man who had died when he should have stopped it. And he knew if he didn’t stay to make sure she was safe, he might as well slide back into that dark pit he’d escaped and end himself as he’d once thought about.

“Quinn’s right,” he said. “We stay as long as there’s even a slim chance.”

“But...you don’t have to.”

It was clear to him she didn’t want him to, didn’t want him here. He couldn’t blame her. What Quinn had told him had dug its way a little deeper into his mind now, and the word pity was beginning to surface. And he’d had enough of that in his life. He would have preferred her anger to...that.

“I’ll stay out of your way,” he said, his voice tight.

“Adam—”

“I think we need to expand our parameters a bit,” Quinn said, cutting off the growing tension. “Amanda, we’ll need a list of people in your life that aren’t connected to your father.”

She blinked. “You think one of my friends could be behind this?” Her tone was even more disbelieving than before.

“No. But they still might know or have seen or remember something you haven’t.”

“Oh.”

“We’ll also need to know about any ex-friends. Especially ex-boyfriends.”

“But...there aren’t any. Not since Dad was killed.”

Adam couldn’t help it, he stared at her. No one? In five years? How the hell had that happened?

“What about the professor?” he asked.

Greg had told him about the man that very evening, that it had been going on for several months now. He’d sounded none too happy about the relationship. And Adam remembered wondering, after she’d blown up at him in the hospital and they were wheeling him into surgery, why the guy wasn’t with her.

Her head came up. “He was...less than supportive when it happened. In fact, he dumped me the day after. Said he couldn’t take it, and he’d never liked dating a cop’s daughter anyway.”

Adam stared at her for a moment. No wonder she’d been so broken, to have that dropped on her at the very moment where any decent human being would have stood by her at least until she was through the worst, even if they knew they’d be leaving after.