And yeah, maybe his life experiences had jaded him, made him cynical. After all, he spent a lot of time knee-deep in the scum of the earth, seeing the worst humanity had to offer—everything from abusive and cheating spouses, to criminal and civil crimes, to far worse. But he could live with being cynical and jaded. He couldn’t live with something happening to Kylie because he didn’t take this seriously enough.

“The brothers close up their shop by five or six every night,” he said. “There’re windows in their warehouse. I should be able to keep to the shadows and get a good look inside without any trouble.”

“How?” she asked.

“I grew up here. I know every nook and cranny like the back of my hand.”

“That’s good,” she murmured, clearly trying to hide the horror in her voice as she looked around at the decayed buildings and dirty streets that symbolized his very ugly past. “Maybe . . . maybe it wasn’t so rough back then, when you were a kid?” she asked with sweet hope.

He gazed out the windshield, trying to see the neighborhood from her point of view. “This is cleaned up. It was far rougher back then.”

She squeezed his hand. Comforting him, he realized, and felt something in his chest tighten.

“Where did you live?” she asked softly.

“Right down that street.” He gestured with a jerk of his chin rather than take his hand from hers. “This used to be a navy base. In and around all the gangbangers’ hideouts and graffiti are old Victorian homes that once upon a time were captains’ or generals’ homes.”

She nodded. “I love the architecture of the time,” she said. “All the ornate woodworkings on the bevels and crown moldings, and the attention to detail. Would’ve liked to see it back then in its height of glory.”

Trust her to imagine the forgotten beauty in a place like this.

“You should be proud,” she said. “You came from here and made something of yourself.”

His chest tightened again. Emotion, he realized, which he couldn’t afford. Not now, not ever. But still, in spite of himself, he turned his hand over and entwined their fingers.

She gave him a small smile with those dark lips he wanted wrapped around his—

“So what do we do now?” she asked.

Definitely not act out the X-rated porno playing in my mind. “Watch a little bit longer and get a feel for things.”

She nodded her agreement, but not ten minutes in she began to squirm.

He slid a questioning look her way, making her grimace. “It turns out that stakeouts are kind of boring,” she said.

“I like boring. It means nothing has gone fubar.”

Yet.

“I’m just wondering about you,” she said. “You’ve got a lot of secrets.”

“So do you.”

“Me?” she asked. “I’m an open book.”

He had to laugh. “If that’s true, then why don’t you tell me what this scavenger hunt is really about? Why does that carving mean so much to you?”

She looked out the window and didn’t speak for a while. “I’m guessing you don’t usually get a lot of quiet time like this on the job,” she finally said.

“No.” He didn’t call her out on the change of subject. She wanted her secrets? Fine. That would keep his own safe as well.

“Your job can be pretty dangerous,” she said.

“Only if I get stupid.”

She looked at him. “I can’t imagine you doing anything stupid on the job. You’re sharp and focused, and the very best at what you do.”

He was pretty sure the words weren’t supposed to turn him on. “And you know this how?” he asked.

“Archer speaks highly of you. So does Spence. A lot of people talk about you, actually. Like Molly.”

“Molly’s my sister. She’s not going to talk shit.”

“Oh, she talks shit,” Kylie said on a laugh. “Just not about your work skills.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “And what shit might that be?”

She smiled and bit her lower lip, looking away.

Oh hell no. Leaning in, he cupped her jaw and turned her face back to his. As he studied her, he realized she was blushing again. “Okay,” he said. “I definitely want to hear this story.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Try me,” he said.

“It was last week. Girls’ night out. We were going to the pub, but we had to go for a walk first because half of us needed money from the ATM down the street. We were laughing because Haley didn’t want her receipt. She said that sometimes you have to hit no on getting a receipt because you don’t need that kind of negativity in your life.”

Joe laughed. “Let me guess. At which both Elle and Molly had heart failure.”

“Yes.” Kylie smiled in memory. “Anyway, once we got back to the pub and had a few drinks, Haley said that if she didn’t bat for the other team, she’d want to ride you like a bronco all night long and that though she’s never really been sure if she believes in monogamy or not, she’d want to keep you.”

Not much surprised Joe, but he felt his brows vanish into the hair falling over his forehead.

“Yeah,” Kylie said. “And then Molly said that Haley would have to get in line for the bronco riding part because you usually had women on the line. But as for the keeping you part, many have tried, yet none of have succeeded.”

Joe snorted.

“So it’s true,” she said.

“She’s talking about my feral early years,” he said. “But I’m an old man now. I’ve slowed down some.”

“You think thirty is old?” she asked.

“Not for normal people, but I put a lot of living in my first thirty years, so yeah, sometimes I feel ancient.”

He’d meant it as a joke but her gaze was serious, her tone quiet. “I knew you grew up rough even before you brought me here,” she said.

“How? And if you say another girls’ night, I might have to muzzle my sister.”

She laughed softly. “Not a girls’ night, no. But a couple of months ago, a few of us went with Molly to your mom’s grave site and left some flowers.” She broke the eye contact and looked down at her hands. “Molly told us how she died when you were young and how your dad suffers from PTSD so badly that there were long stretches of time when he couldn’t work. She said that you took care of the both of them.”

Joe shook his head. “Molly did plenty of taking care of me too,” he said and paused. “I wasn’t easy.”

“Well, that’s a shock.”

He met her gaze across the dark interior of the car. Clearly she was trying to lighten the mood for him. Her mouth was curved but her eyes were still serious. “Your life might have been ugly and hard, Joe,” she said, “but from the outside looking in, you had all the important things.”

“Such as?”

“Acceptance,” she said. “Love.”

There were few people who could wade through the bullshit that life had to offer and find the small, necessary kernels of truth. Kylie had been through her own sort of hell, far different than his but hell nevertheless, and yet she was still the optimist to his cynic.

The light to his dark, he realized with not a little shock.

He reached for her hand, entwining their fingers to bring them up to his mouth. He brushed a kiss over her knuckles, then got out of the car and had to clench his jaw in order to not let out a litany of warnings as Kylie got out as well.