Alone in the Dark. Marie Ferrarella

shrugged, willing to back off for now. “There were a lot of people I had to hold my own with.” She thought of her brother and cousins. “You know how it is.”

      “No,” he replied flatly, “I don’t.”

      “No siblings?”

      Finishing his cake, he pushed the plate aside. “I have a sister.”

      From his tone, she made a natural assumption. “But you’re not close.”

      He and Laura had once been extremely close, the way two siblings involved in a dire situation could be. But now both wanted to forget the childhood that linked them to tragedy.

      “We exchange Christmas cards.” How was it that she’d managed to turn things around again? “Look, this isn’t about me.”

      “No,” Patience agreed cheerfully, “it’s about me. And I’m curious about you. This is the first time I’ve seen you out of uniform and outside the clinic.” And as such, she wanted to make the most of the opportunity. She’d been curious for a while now. Unlike the other K-9 cops who came to the clinic, Brady volunteered nothing. “You never come to my uncle’s parties.”

      He finished his second cup, then set it down. “I’m not much of a party person.”

      “Neither is my brother Patrick, but he shows up.” She reached for the coffeepot, but Brady shook his head, placing his hand over the top of his cup. Patience withdrew her own hand from the pot. She nodded toward the cake, silently offering him another slice, but he turned that down, too. “Haven’t you heard, Coltrane? Socializing is good for you.”

      “General rules don’t usually apply to me.”

      A rebel. She’d known as much when she’d first seen him. There was something about the way he’d held himself, something about the way he’d walked that told her he preferred the road less taken.

      Why did she find that so intriguing?

      “I’m beginning to get that.”

      Brady rose from his chair. “Good.”

      No, Patience thought, rising to her own feet, not good at all.