Explosive Alliance (9 page)

TWELVE

K
rista felt like a wayward child as Cash and Skyler trailed her around Opa's house while she looked for anything missing or out of place. They'd only made it through the first room, and Krista was perspiring under their scrutiny. Skyler continued to keep Krista under the microscope, but since Cash had asked about the paper in the door, he'd been looking at her funny, too.

She hadn't lied to him about it. She
had
seen the technique in a television show once, but that wasn't the whole truth. Not one to lie, she could hardly look him in the eye without flinching.

At this rate, she'd never make it through the whole house. She faced Skyler. “Isn't one of you trailing me enough?”

Skyler stared at Krista for a few moments, then held up her hands. “I'll step out.”

“No, wait! That's not what I...” Krista let her words fall off as Cash cocked an eyebrow. “Never mind.” She went back to work.

“You got this?” Skyler asked Cash.

“Yeah,” he responded. “Maybe you should take Otto to the fire station while we do the search. He looked pretty beat last I saw him on the porch, and he could rest on our couch. I'll bring Krista over once we're done here. We can all sit down to talk about how to make sure this doesn't happen again.”

When Skyler didn't respond, Krista turned to look. Skyler's gaze was fixed on Cash. Maybe Skyler was wondering if it was a good idea to bring Krista into their home.

Cash seemed to have no such concern. “C'mon, Skyler. Otto's sick. He needs rest and he's not going to get it here with all the commotion going on.”

Skyler chewed on her lip and glanced at the door. Krista had seen Skyler's compassionate side and suspected Skyler wanted to do what was best for Opa as long as it didn't compromise her investigation.

“Fine,” she finally said. “I'll take him and assign Brady to oversee the forensic team. You can continue to supervise Ms. Curry's review of the property.”

Krista felt like a fraud. She'd wanted Skyler to call her Ms. Curry, but the name rang false each time, and as Krista got to know this team, it bothered her. Still, she wasn't ready to tell them her real name.

She forced out a smile and called over her shoulder as she headed for the door, “I'll just say goodbye to Opa.”

When Krista returned to her search, Skyler stepped outside and closed the door. Without looking, Krista felt Cash move closer. She could smell the clean, fresh scent she'd come to associate with him and wished he'd back off.

She wanted his protection—needed his protection—but after this incident, he was bound to stick even closer to her. She couldn't handle the stress of this emotionally charged chemistry between them on top of everything else. It was high time they got it all out in the open. She turned, catching him by surprise, and he bumped into her. He gripped her elbow. She took a hasty step back and nearly tripped over a footstool.

“You're sure jumpy.” He carefully watched her.

“I wanted you to leave instead of Skyler.”

“I'd have to be blind not to have noticed that.” His lips tipped in his trademark cocky smile. She should find his attitude irritating, but it had the opposite effect on her.

She took another step back for good measure. “It's this thing between us. The chemistry or whatever you want to call it. I'm not in a place for a relationship right now and it's making me uncomfortable.”

“Afraid you can't resist me, huh?” he joked.

“I'm serious here, Cash. I can't deal with it, and I want to make it perfectly clear that this isn't going anywhere.”

His jaw tightened for a moment, then a thin smile claimed his mouth. “I get it. Hands off. All business. Just what I want, too.”

“You seem mad.”

“Mad? No. I'm good.” He gestured at the hall. “Let's get back to the job at hand.”

She went to work, but even after sharing her feelings, she remained uncomfortable under his scrutiny. Not only because of his intense study, but also because her mind kept going to her escape bag in the crawl space. It was well hidden, and she wasn't worried about them discovering it today, but she had a strong urge to grab the bag and run.

She entered her bedroom and saw her gun lying on the bed.

Oh, no.
How had she not realized he'd find the gun on his sweep of the house? She could have prepared an explanation instead of standing here looking suspicious.

“Is that your gun?” His tone was casual, as if they were talking about the weather instead of a loaded pistol.

She flashed a look at him, saw the steely resolve in his eyes, his rock-hard expression. Withholding the truth would be a mistake.

“It belonged to my dad. I keep it for protection.” She faked a laugh. “You know, single girl and all that.”

“You have a permit for the gun?”

“No, I mean...he gave it to me so I... Do I need one?”

“Depends on where your dad bought it and if you ever take it out of the house.”

“It stays here,” she said, keeping to what she was certain of. “Is that a problem?”

“No. The only permit you need in Oregon is to carry a gun outside your home.” He eyed her, his expression begging her to offer additional information.

“Funny story,” she said to dodge his curiosity. “Did you know the law
requires
you to own a gun in Kennesaw?”

“What?” He laughed, just as she'd hoped.

She smiled back. “I'm not joking. If you live in the city limits, the law requires the head of households to own a gun. Keeps crime down.”

He scrunched his brows together.

“Look it up online if you don't believe me.”

“Trust me, I will.” His lighthearted tone gave way to another suspicious look. “You didn't mention your father's name.”

No, of course she hadn't. She never mentioned him if she could help it. He was in prison, and she didn't want to be tied to him, but Cash would dig if she didn't respond.

“Max Nealy.” The bogus name her father had taken when they'd moved to Georgia came much easier to her lips than his actual last name. He'd chosen a different last name from her so if he was arrested he wouldn't drag her into his mess. Now it could make it harder for Cash to locate her father.

Before Cash could ask anything else about her past, she turned her focus as quickly as she could to finishing her inspection.

“Nothing's missing or disturbed,” she said, keeping her gaze on the ransacked room.

“Don't you find that odd?” Cash asked. “Someone enters your house, but nothing's taken?”

“I don't know what to think.” She turned to get a read on his thoughts “You seem to find it odd, though.”

He nodded. “Why go through all the trouble and risk exposure to break into your house, then do nothing? Makes no sense.”

“Then maybe we
are
missing something. If so, it's not obvious to me.”

He rubbed his jaw, his gaze a million miles away.

“What are you thinking?”

“That I don't have enough experience here. Let's go pick up Otto, and we can run this past Skyler and the other team members.”

Cash led the way out of the house and stopped next to Brady, who was talking to Veronica, the same forensic tech from last night.

“We're heading to the firehouse,” Cash said. “You good here?”

Brady nodded, then looked at Krista. “I'll need your keys to lock up.”

Right, she was leaving him in charge of her home. She hadn't thought of that. Hadn't thought of Brady being in Opa's house alone with access to every nook and cranny. Access to the crawl space. “You know, on second thought, I think it's a good idea if I stay to lock up. Maybe Veronica will find something that you'll want to talk to me about. Plus, Opa's very particular about his house.” She spoke the truth. Still, it felt like a lie.

Cash's eyebrows shot up but not faster than Brady's.

“This situation is my fault,” she said quickly. “I already hate that I've disturbed Opa's peaceful sanctuary and if I stay, I can help ensure nothing else is moved or changed. I'll go sit on the couch while you do your thing.” She retreated to the house and heard footsteps jogging up behind her.

“I'll keep you company,” Cash offered.

“If you like,” she said pleasantly, but she knew the next few hours would be some of the longest of her life.

* * *

Krista followed Cash across the firehouse's polished concrete floors. They stepped through a large open bay area that was once home to the fire trucks and into a huge family room with air ducts and plumbing running above. A spicy, mouthwatering aroma came from the open kitchen, where Darcie was preparing the meal that Cash had offered to share with her and Opa while they discussed the break-in.

“If you want any food, you'd better pick up your speed,” Brady called over his shoulder as he charged through the kitchen.

“Better listen to him,” Darcie warned, but she had a smile on her face. “I made my famous enchiladas and he's not apt to leave any on the plate.”

Cash shook his head and led her to a dining room with a long table and chairs for twelve. Plain white plates ringed the table and platters with cheesy enchiladas, rice and corn sat in the middle.

“About time.” Brady winked from his seat next to Opa. Jake sat at the end of the table and Darcie dropped onto a chair on the other end.

“We have left seats open for you.” Opa grinned and pointed at two available chairs next to Skyler.

Krista didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out Opa wanted her to sit with Cash. She made a mental note to tell Opa to back off his obvious matchmaking when they got home.

“Let's say grace before we pass the food.” Darcie gestured for everyone to link hands, and the team members silently complied.

Interesting. The entire team prayed together. Not a common thing in law enforcement, Krista suspected. After the amen, food seemed to fly from platters and onto plates as teammates talked over each other and laughed at puny jokes. Opa smiled through all of it and even took more food than he'd been eating of late. Despite the stress, this was turning out to be good for him.

In a lull, she heard someone fumbling with the front doorknob. She shot a look in that direction, but she couldn't see the entryway.

“Relax.” Skyler's eyes sparkled like a child's on Christmas. “That'll be Logan.”

Cash leaned closer. “Her fiancé.”

“I should move. He'll want to sit here.” Krista started to get up.

“Please, don't.” Cash stopped her. “They spend enough time hanging all over each other. We could all use the break. Right, guys?”

“Isn't that the truth,” Jake grumbled.

“Amen to that,” Archer added, then the others started laughing.

Skyler shook her head and looked at Brady. “You made sure Veronica covered everything?”

“Subtle change of subject, Skyler,” Darcie said. “Real subtle.”

“I wasn't trying to be subtle.” Skyler peered at Brady.

His mouth bulging with enchiladas, he nodded.

“This whole break-in seems odd, doesn't it?” Archer asked as he salted his corn. “If the bomber didn't rig the place to blow and didn't steal anything, what was the point of it all?”

“I've been wondering the same thing,” Cash said as Krista heard the front door close in the background.

Skyler shifted in her seat, likely in anticipation. “What if he was looking for something?”

Jake looked up from scooping rice onto his plate. “Then the place would have been tossed, but it wasn't even disturbed.”

“If it was the guy who's been tailing her,” Skyler said, “then he would know the house was empty, giving him plenty of time to perform a neat search.”

“But why? He'd already broken in last night. There's no point in hiding the fact that he came back,” Brady suggested before stuffing another bite of cheesy tortilla into his mouth.

“I'm wondering what he could possibly want,” Krista stated in case they thought she had any idea of what this intruder was looking for.

Brady swallowed, his gaze locked on her. “That seems pretty obvious to me. He was looking for something you have that could incriminate him.”

“Incriminate him?” The words flew out before Krista could control her tone. “What would I have that could incriminate a bomber?”

Brady kept his focus on her. “Plenty of things if you're working with him.”

Her mouth fell open, and she didn't know what to say.

“With all of you riding her case, if she possessed something incriminating, wouldn't she have already turned it over by now?” a man Krista suspected was Logan asked from the doorway.

All eyes turned to him. He stood tall in a well-tailored suit, white shirt and striped tie.

“You don't even know what we're talking about, Suit,” Brady fired back, but there was humor in his tone.

Cash glanced at Krista. “He's FBI.”

“Haven't you learned yet, Brady?” Logan rested his hands on Skyler's shoulders. “Feds know everything.”

The group groaned in unison.

“Seriously,” he said after the noise died down. “My sweetie here filled me in.” He bent and kissed the top of her head. “Hi, honey.”

She smiled up at him. “Hi back at you.”

“You were saying, Logan?” Jake asked, bringing everyone back.

“Right.” Logan nodded. “Skyler brought me up to speed on the investigation, and I heard enough of the discussion on my way in to give my opinion. Like I said, if she had something that could be used to catch this guy, I think she'd have turned it over to you by now.”

Brady dropped his fork to his plate with a clang. “Krista could be hanging back to see how this goes down. If charges are brought, then she'll use this item to plea-bargain her way to lesser charges.”