True Love Lost (An FBI Romance Thriller (book 3)) by Morgan Kelley

winter coat with tiny skulls on it?” He was grinning now. Something about this woman entertained him and fascinated him.
    “Yes, I happen to like them . I collect kitschy clothing too. Obviously.” Then she paused and considered it. “Is this inappropriate for a crime scene? Sometimes I forget that not everyone sees the humor in an ME wearing a jacket with skulls.”
    He laughed. “ I think it’s just the opposite, Desdemona. They seem very appropriate to me.”
    She chewed on her bottom lip.
    “Is there something on your mind?” he asked, as he carried her suitcase to the door.
    Desdemona wasn’t sure she could trust the man yet. In her past she’d noticed that men would betray easily, and she didn’t want to get burned. Something about the man made him likable and easy to talk to about things.
    “We’re going to be partners on this assignment, so you can trust me and share anything you wish with me.”
    It was like he read her mind. It freaked her out how astute he was with her.
    “Really?”
    “Yes, really.” Something happened in her life that made her this distrustful and worried about what people thought about her. That was blatantly obvious, and now he felt the need to heal it for her.
    “Do you think that Director Blackhawk doesn’t like me because of what I wear to work?” She just spilled it, and hoped he wouldn’t tell her what they discussed. “If my work attire is the issue, I’ll wear the standard FBI attire to keep the peace between us.”
    He looked confused at her words. “I don’t know why you think she dislikes you, Desdemona. In fact, she thinks you're smart and really good at your job.” It was truth; Elizabeth said those words, so it wasn’t betraying confidence. There was no way he’d tell the doctor that his sister-in-law was just as worried as she was about being liked. Protecting Elizabeth was priority one, she was his family and the love of his life.
    “I just know that sometimes my clothing choices can be inappropriate. I just like whimsical, and when you deal with death all day long, you need to find happiness in something or you’ll lose your mind.”
    Whitefox shrugged. “Elizabeth is pretty laid back about clothing. She doesn’t particularly like stuffy FBI attire. ”
    “I can tell.”
    Whitefox didn’t tell the woman that Elizabeth could be very girly, and that she collected vintage nineteen fifties frilly aprons. It would shatter the illusion that she worked hard to promote that she was tough as nails.
    Desdemona opened her front door and stopped moving. All the humor and joviality was sucked from her body is a quick vacuum when she saw it.
    Shit!
    “What’s wrong?” he asked, as he nearly walked into the back of her.
    Desdemona Adare bent over and tossed the red rose that was laying on her stone steps over into the snow. “Nothing,” she answered, as she set the alarm, closed the door, and continued to the Denali.
    Callen Whitefox saw the flower and immediately sensed her unease, and he was curious as to why. But now wasn’t the time. If he pushed, she’d clam up and he’d find nothing out. Sometimes it was best to just observe and go from there.
    “We’d better get going,” she said over her shoulder. There wasn’t a wors e time to have a flower show up, and there wasn’t a better time to have to leave the area. Her hand automatically went to her hip, where her ME badge and her gun sat clipped. Yeah, it was a very good time to head out into the field and escape for a little while.
    When she hopped in, she saw the acknowledgement in his eyes, and knew that it would eventually come up again. Until it did, she knew it would sit between them like a weight. A man like Whitefox wasn’t going to let it go for long and already she could feel his questioning gaze, assessing her and the situation.
    Whitefox started up the Denali and his smartphone beeped. “I have incoming messages. Can you see if they’re the case files that we’re supposed to use