Page 82 of Fear of Flames
Warmth filled her cheeks as her core did its familiar twist. “We’ll start with the chicken.” Walking around the counter to the stove, she jutted her chin toward the dining table. “I started writing today when I got back from Olivia’s lab.” She dished more chicken and rice onto Fletch’s dish and handed it across the counter. “In Olivia’s lab, it felt good to be typing and researching. The access the agency has to infiltrate other sites is phenomenal. I even checked on my airplane ticket.”
Fletch stopped eating and stared at her. “Why?”
“I wanted to see if the agency had the ability to make it look like someone was where they weren’t. And I found my name.” She shook her head and took her seat. “It’s truly astounding. I thought this stuff was fiction.”
“What did you start writing?”
“I know it will never be published, but I started writing what we’ve gone through. I’ll change it some. No mention of the agency. I know that.”
Fletch leaned back and stretched. “After your conversation with Peterson, I’d like you to help.”
“Help with what?”
“Leo backed up your dad’s data on a hard drive. I spent most of today weeding through it. I believe Denny was on to something. That something got him killed.”
“The Timothy Wells case?” she asked.
“He’s one of hundreds if not thousands of children. I remembered something. Denny mentioned Crossroads the night before he died.”
“That network that was exposed due to Frank Loews’s trial?”
Fletch nodded. “Denny believed there is a new one. I hope he had the proof and didn’t realize it. Will you help?”
“If you answer a silly question for me.”
He lifted his brow. “Oh, we’re making conditions now.”
“I was just curious. You and Olivia seem to know one another.”
“You’ll know everyone here soon. Many agents come and go, like I do. The ones who stay here everyone knows. Olivia stays here.”
She lifted her glass to her lips, suddenly feeling foolish for her concern. “Oh.”
Fletch studied her face. “Are you asking if I’ve fucked her?”
“No.” She batted her eyelashes. “I mean, like you said, there aren’t a lot of people here, and she’s pretty and petite.”
“She’s built like a teenage boy.” He turned his stool and twisted Michelle’s until her knees were between his. After taking her wine glass and setting it on the counter, Fletch leaned closer. “I’ve never fucked Olivia. I prefer women who are shaped like women.” He leaned closer until their noses touched. “I like breasts, curves, and a sexy ass.” His lips curled. “There is one asset that makes me do a double take every time.”
Michelle wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. “What is that?”
Fletch reached for a stray curl of Michelle’s hair. “Gingers make me hard.”
Her smile grew. “I don’t know how in all this trauma I ended up here with you, but I’m glad I did.”
“I’m not letting you go, Chell. We’re going to be a team like Denny and Tracy.”
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
“Happy Thursday. I’m Ali.”
“And I’m Kenzi.”
“We haven’t discussed the Holdcraft case since we announced the sad news about Sheriff Perkins in Iron Falls. Is that because there’s no new evidence?”
“As we’ve discussed before, in the case of a grand jury, there’s no disclosure of evidence. However, thanks to a tip out of Indianapolis, a network analysis found hours before the explosion, someone on Michelle Holdcraft’s internet searched in incognito mode.”
