Mia didn't believe her. Her friend's tone and body language were too reserved and distant. "Did you have a good weekend?" she asked and slowly took a few steps closer.

"Mmm-hmmm," Gina replied as she deliberately took a step to the side, retreating farther away from Mia's approach. "Look, I'm really tired and I'd like to be left alone."

Halfway across the room, Mia abruptly stopped, a little hurt and confused by Gina's terse brush-off. "All right."

She turned to go and got as far as exiting the room and nearly closing the door when she changed her mind. Mia just couldn't bring herself to walk away and allow Gina to withdraw further emotionally, not when Mia sensed that her friend needed her-even if Gina wasn't in the right frame of mind to admit as much. And that meant being there for her roommate and making sure Gina knew she cared. No matter what.

She swung the door open once again just as Gina turned, completely facing Mia for the first time. Gina's right arm was wrapped in an ace bandage, from her hand all the way to just a few inches below her elbow.

Immediate concern had Mia striding across the room, wondering what the hell Ray had done now. "Gina, what happened?"

Her friend held up her good hand to hold off Mia, but the panic in her eyes spoke volumes. "It's not what you're thinking."

Mia highly doubted that claim, because she knew with absolute certainty that this recent injury, just like all the others, had been caused by Ray. She'd bet every cent she had on her hunch.

Mia crossed her arms over her chest, doing her best to keep her anger in check-along with the overwhelming urge to reach out and shake some sense into her friend. As calm as she could manage, she said, "Then tell me what happened, because I'm not leaving your room until you do."

"Fine." Gina said defensively. "I sprained my wrist."

"How?" Mia asked, wanting, needing details.

Gina glared at her, a snap of anger raising her voice to a high pitch. "It doesn't matter!"

"Yes, it does," Mia shot right back, furious now. "Did Ray hurt you?" Again.

"He didn't mean it," Gina finally said. "It was my fault. He hit me because I made him angry."

Mia was so stunned by Gina's reply that she felt as though she'd just been slapped, but she quickly recovered. "No man should hit a woman, Gina. Ever."

"It's none of your business, all right?" Gina yelled at her as tears welled in her eyes. "Just leave me alone!"

Gina's words felt like a knife in Mia's chest-sharp and cruel. They were also filled with a desperation Mia no longer knew how to deal with. Ray was turning her friend into someone she barely recognized anymore, and all Mia could do was watch helplessly as Gina allowed him to dominate her body, her soul, her entire life.

"It is my business because I care about you," Mia whispered around the tears clogging her own throat. Then she turned and headed back out of the room but stopped before closing the door behind her.

She met Gina's gaze and saw the pain and misery there. "You need to leave him, Gina," she said softly but didn't sugarcoat her words. "Before he does something to really hurt you."

On that parting remark, Mia left Gina alone and headed for her own bedroom down the hall. Without a second thought, she picked up her phone and dialed the number for Cameron's cell phone. She needed to tell him to step up the investigation on Ray.

Not for her sake, but for Gina's.


"HERE are a few case files for you to review, along with a new client we're scheduled to meet with first thing tomorrow morning."

Cameron leaned back in his chair and watched his partner, Steve, slide the aforementioned documents across the conference room table to the new guy they'd hired the day before. Wesley Donner was only twenty-five, young by both his and Steve's standards, but surprisingly he'd arrived at his interview with five years of P.I. experience under his belt and an eager, go-get-'em attitude. Steve and Cameron had liked him immediately. Wesley was one of those high-tech computer whiz kids and the first applicant both Cameron and Steve had agreed on, without any reservations, so he'd been the one they'd hired on as an associate.

Now, late Wednesday afternoon, they were in the process of handing out some of the newer cases to Wes for him to take home and review, along with familiarizing him with the business, their list of retainer clients, and how they did things. It was such a relief to have a new guy onboard, and while Cameron's workload still felt overwhelming, he was at least able to hand over a few of his easier cases for Wes to handle and finish up.

In the middle of the meeting, Cameron's cell phone rang, and he glanced at the display to see who the call was from. He had every intention of letting the call forward to voice-mail and retrieve it after they were done briefing Wesley, until he recognized the number as Mia's home phone.

He hit the connect button. "Sinclair here."

"Cam, this is Mia. I need to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?"

The urgency and slight tremor in her voice reminded him of the way she sounded when she'd called him Sunday evening to tell him about her exchange with Gina-and her growing concerns about Ray. And that was enough to make her a top priority for him.

"Of course. Give me a sec."

Cameron glanced at Steve as he pushed away from the table and stood, all too aware of the huge secret he was keeping from his partner. Mainly, Cameron's affair with Mia.

"It's a client." Which wasn't a complete lie, because Cameron was handling Mia's case. "I need to take this privately."

"Go on and take the call." Steve waved him away with his hand. "I'll finish up with Wesley. We're just about done here anyway."

"Great." Cameron left the conference room and waited until he was behind closed doors in his own office before he spoke into his cell phone again. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly, no." She laughed, though the strained echo he heard made him realize just how vulnerable she was feeling. "I received more pictures in the mail today. I thought you might like to see them."

He swore beneath his breath, hating that she'd been subjected to yet another assault-and that she had to deal with this latest attack by herself. "Yeah, I want to see the pictures."

Unfortunately, his evening was shit tonight, and he had no idea what time he'd be able to make it over to Mia's place. He had a few interviews lined up for a legal case, and Doug Shelton had called him earlier to let him know his wife had an "appointment" at seven p.m. and was supposedly working late. Cameron had no idea how long that surveillance would ran, but he didn't want to leave Mia home alone, considering her current mental state.

A solution came to mind. "Are you free tonight?" he asked.

"Yes."

Perfect. He glanced at his watch to gauge his time frame. "Tell you what. I'll swing by and pick you up around six fifteen, after I finish up with some interviews I have scheduled. I've got surveillance tonight on another case, but because there's always a lot of waiting time involved, we can use that downtime to talk."

"Okay." She sounded grateful for whatever time he could give her. "I'll be ready when you get here."

"Hang in there, and I'll see you in a while."

He disconnected the call, belatedly remembering he had some very interesting information on both Ray and Mia's neighbor, Will, to share with her in terms of them being suspects in her case. Cameron had been crazy-busy since Monday, and he hadn't seen Mia since leaving her place Sunday morning, so tonight would give him the opportunity to bring her up to date on what he'd discovered so far on both men.


AS usual these days, Cameron was running late. His interviews ran longer than he'd anticipated, and he'd picked up Mia twenty minutes later than scheduled. He was starving to the point of getting a headache, so he'd made a quick stop at a fast-food joint for a burger and soda. Mia had already eaten dinner, so she ordered just a drink.

He'd scarfed down his meal in a few bites as he drove to Trish Shelton's offices, which didn't leave a whole lot of room for conversation with Mia. Luckily, he arrived just as Trish was leaving the building and getting into her car, and he tailed her to the same restaurant she'd gone to the week before. He parked the company's Ford Excursion across the street where it was dark but still afforded him a view of the front entrance of the place.

Cutting the engine, he turned toward Mia, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet since he'd picked her up. Then again, he was certain she had a lot on her mind, which they'd get to just as soon as he made a quick assessment of Trish's after-work meeting.

"I'm going to lock you in the truck while I go inside for a few minutes to find out who this woman is hooking up with," he said, taking the keys out of the ignition. "Stay put until I get back and then we'll talk."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." She smiled, but he could see she was still very troubled by the pictures she'd received earlier-and he'd yet to get the chance to look at.

He got out of the vehicle, locked her in, and engaged the alarm for good measure. Then he crossed the street and entered the restaurant. Before he could stroll past the hostess stand, the young woman standing behind the podium stopped him.

"Party of one for dinner?" she asked and reached for a menu.

Cameron leaned an arm on the edge of the stand and flashed the hostess a flirtatious grin that usually worked to his advantage. "No, actually I'm meeting a friend for dinner, and I'd like to check to see if he's arrived yet. Do you mind if I take a quick look around?"