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numbers. Not Wendy. He’d been dazed by the instant, visceral wave of lust at their first meeting, but she hadn’t taken him seriously, not for a second. She’d taken one look at him, and she’d dismissed him.
    Which was probably why he’d shown up a month later at a fashion-show fund-raiser she participated in. He’d put big money in the plate—okay, big for his cop salary. His gesture didn’t impress her, as he’d stupidly hoped, but impressed some of the other models, and they’d invited him to the after-party.
    He’d caught her sneaking out early. Pouring rain outside, and not a cab to be had. He offered her a lift home. She offered him a cup of coffee for his ride back out to Broslin. Which had turned into—
    “It’s a temporary thing,” Bing said.
    Joe rubbed his chest with his fist. He didn’t want to be responsible for Wendy, or her toddler son, Justin. He especially didn’t want Wendy to see him like this, all busted up. Not that he was vain.
    “Her ex, Keith Kline, has turned threatening, from what Sophie says. I don’t know all the details,” the captain went on. “Wendy and the boy are staying here in Broslin, at Sophie’s place, temporarily. Sophie’s out at the log cabin with me.”
    His lips flattened. “The cops in Wilmington aren’t doing anything because the guy hasn’t committed any actual crime yet that can be proven. From what Sophie tells me about him, my gut says he will. Sooner or later he’ll hurt her bad. Point is, Wendy is scared. He knows it, and he’s being an asshole. Keeps pushing her.”
    Joe tried to line up that batch of new information in his head, fit it into the picture he’d formed of her. Their first meeting had lasted five minutes, the second an hour and a half. Obviously, there were a lot of gaps.
    Yet all that darkness the captain was talking about didn’t seem possible. She’d been nothing but light and perfection both times he’d met her. Still, he knew how abusers manipulated and how hard the abused worked to keep their problems hidden.
    The thought of Keith Kline, or any other idiot, laying hands on Wendy didn’t sit well with him. The ex sounded like he could use a little talking to. Joe knew the type. Bullies. They started with threats, then knocked people around when they didn’t get what they wanted.
    Bing said, “Sophie figured if Wendy was in Broslin, at least she’d be in my jurisdiction. If the jerk shows up and tries anything, I’m going to come down on him like a ton of bricks.”
    “But you can’t give her a protection detail.”
    “For one, she won’t ask for it. The bastard has her scared but good.” Bing’s eyes steeled. “She wouldn’t even talk to me about it. But even if she did, I couldn’t justify twenty-four-hour surveillance on a domestic violence complaint that was never substantiated and didn’t take place in my jurisdiction.
    “I figured, since you’ll be taking a sick day, maybe you could drive by a couple of times, hang around at the house with her. All friendly like, since you know each other. Nothing official. If you’re on sick leave, you can hang out wherever you please.”
    “I’ll keep an eye on her.” Even if he didn’t need time off. He was sore from the crash, but he’d taken beatings ten times worse on the football field.
    “I appreciate it. If you can do that today, it’ll give me a chance to figure out what we can do to keep her safe long-term.”
    Joe glanced toward Phil’s office, where Mike stood guard at the door. “I’d like to be the one to notify Marie.”
    The news was damn tragic no matter who brought it, but she might take it better from someone she knew. Joe had met her a couple of times. She was from Delaware. She and Philip had met at college. “I could drop by on my way to Sophie’s place.”
    Bing nodded. “You take my car and drive over. I’ll ride back to the station with Harper when we’re done here. You can drop the cruiser off when you get a