Page 30 of Through the Fire
“What are you doing?”
Kit turned around to face Hugh. When she raised a speaking eyebrow at his lurking, he just held his hands up in an innocent-looking shrug.
“Nothing,” she said.
“Do I need to tell you again to leave her alone?”
“Nope.” Moving over so that she could see out a narrow window into the parking lot, her gaze scanned the cars. Elena reversed a sedan out of her parking spot and sped down the main street. Kit frowned. Her driving didn’t match her fearful, timid personality—at all. “I’m not going to question her.” At least not in an official capacity. “I just want to get to know her…to understand her.” Hugh seemed to be actually listening thoughtfully, so she let a bit of her suspicion show. “There’s something a little weird about her.”
With a snort, Hugh moved over next to her so he could also see out the window. “If a little weirdness meant someone committed murder and arson, then half the people in town would be guilty. The whole town would be burned down.”
Kit gave him a speaking look. “Half the town is burned down.”
“Touché, young’un. Touché.”
“Aren’t you younger than me?”
Hugh gave a small shrug before pushing open the door. “Maybe, but my soul is older than the mountains.”
She couldn’t hold in a small choke of laughter, and Hugh gave her a triumphant look before pausing in front of the door. His expression turned serious, and Kit braced for a lecture.
“It’s fine if you want to make friends with Elena,” Hugh said, and Kit sent him a sharp look, expecting him to follow that up with a warning.
“But…?” she prompted when he stayed silent.
“But nothing.” He shrugged. “You both are new in town and could use a friend. I know we’re a prickly bunch, especially after what happened with the lieutenant. His betrayal was a blow.”
Kit studied his face, looking for any sign that he was teasing, but he seemed sincere. “Thank you.”
One corner of his mouth quirked up. “If you’re going to be hanging around Elena, just be aware that Jules’s friends tend to attract explosions and snipers and kidnappers and things.”
Kit blinked. “Uh…okay. Good to know.”
Giving her a wink, Hugh started across the parking lot. As she followed him, that tiny bubble of hope rose in her chest again. As nosy and distrustful as the other Monroe cops could be, they were growing on her. Now she just had to prove to her new partners that she could be trusted.
Chapter 10
Alex stood in front of what used to be Grady’s General Store and swallowed a string of creative swear words. It was as if fate was making this part of her plan as difficult as possible.
Think, Alex, she told herself firmly. The only thing you’ll accomplish by having a hissy fit in downtown Monroe is drawing attention, and that won’t help the situation.
It was horribly frustrating, though, that the only place to buy a gun in Monroe was now a bombed-out wreck.
The only legal place to buy a gun, the logical voice in her head corrected her. Too bad she didn’t have any connections in this backward place. From her research, it had seemed like every resident was armed, from toddlers on up, but that didn’t do her any good unless she had a way to get hold of a gun. Any trip out of town would need to be explained to her extraordinarily nosy roommates and their cop love interests, and the required background check would be noticed by a certain Mateo Espina, and she didn’t want to make him curious enough to visit “Elena Dahl”…not until her plan had been set in motion. She’d been hoping that the Monroe general store owner could be convinced—either by flirting or cash—to forego the background check, but she hadn’t taken into consideration that the store wouldn’t still be standing.
“What happened?” The querulous voice made Alex whip her head around to see an elderly man standing next to her. She silently reprimanded herself for letting him sneak up on her while she’d been staring at the burned-out remains of the store.
“I don’t know,” she said, putting on her innocent Elena persona even as she eyed him carefully. Despite his frail, stooped body and the hazy cast to his eyes, she knew better than to underestimate anyone. “I’m new to town. Are you visiting?”
“’Course not. I’ve lived in Monroe since 1962.” He straightened as if offended by the idea that he wasn’t a local.
“You don’t know what happened to the store?” she asked.
His indignation faded, replaced by what appeared to be confusion as he studied the building’s blackened skeleton. “I don’t…” His voice trailed off, and then he turned toward her. “Have we met?”
“Not yet.” An idea began to sprout as she put on her sweetest smile and held out her hand. “I’m Elena Dahl. I’m staying with Jules… She works at the viner?”
