Page 30 of Rescued Heart

“Of course. Right away.” Thad answered with far more warmth than Leo, whose once-reddened face had become an ashen color.

But Grace didn’t move. She shifted on her feet until the men had walked in the direction of the cop car. Once they were out of earshot, she stole a glance at Eddie before squaring her shoulders up to Olivia.

“Leo’s worried about the timeline and the financial backing.” Grace nibbled on her bottom lip before checking over her shoulder to where Bianca listened to a woman who had tears streaming down her face.

“But without cameras to prove what happened…” There was another glance toward Eddie. Who was this woman exactly? “What if someone could be here on set undercover? Looking for clues.”

Olivia shook her head. “I don’t have that kind of authority to assign. With being short-staffed as is, an undercover stint would probably be difficult to arrange.”

Grace faced Eddie. “What about you, Eddie Rice?”

Him?

Eddie ran his finger along the collar of his turnout jacket. “I don’t think my crew offers that kind of help. But there are great private security options in town.”

“I think you’re exactly the man for this particular job. Especially after your daring rescue of Bia Pearl.”

Somehow, this wasn’t going to go well. “I believe the woman rescued is named Heidi.”

Grace lowered her voice. “It was supposed to be Bianca in that building, not Heidi.”

Olivia scowled. “You think someone’s after Ms. Pearl?”

“No one is after me.” Bianca stepped up beside Grace and whispered something. All Eddie caught was, “He said no, we need to leave it alone.”

She didn’t bat her lashes or twist her fingers through her hair. Maybe he’d misjudged her when she’d first arrived at the field yesterday.

Bryce jogged up behind them. “Sorry about that.”

Eddie widened his stance. “Everything good?”

Bryce sighed. “Nothing an accident report shouldn’t take care of. Now, what did I miss here? Need anything else from us, Officer? One of my guys is already taping off the area.”

Olivia tilted her head in Bianca’s direction. “It seems Bia Pearl was originally supposed to have been in the building.”

Bryce’s eyebrows lifted.

Grace spun toward Bryce. “Since the police are overloaded with cases, I’ve suggested Eddie Rice hang around the set.”

Eddie crossed his arms. That wasn’t how it’d gone down.

Bianca slid her arm around Grace’s. “Eddie’s got enough on his plate. I’m sure the police will find all the clues they need. Thank you so much for saving Heidi. We’d better go check on her.”

Grace did not budge. “The crews here will probably remember little details about the moments leading up to the collapse and are probably less likely to call the police to give an update; however, they might mention it in conversation to someone they view as a buddy.”

This needed to stop. He was all for solving this case, but this was a rehash of Bianca’s suggested deal at the baseball field.

Eddie squared his shoulders. “Lieutenant, they want me to pretend to be Bianca’s…date. This is a horrible idea. Rescue doesn’t need me out of rotation. If I’m gone from the station, then they’ll be a man down. Plus, I’m a youth mentor. The kids can’t catch me in a lie.”

Or he’d be a hypocrite.

Olivia’s phone dinged. Her expression puckered. She turned her screen toward Bryce and Eddie.

Eddie caught the mayor’s name and the wordsThe movie must be able to keep filming.

Bryce dipped his chin. “Gotta love election year.”

Apparently, they were being strong-armed by Gregory.

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