Page 52 of In Her Sights
Nervous giggles fueled by adrenaline threatened to bubble out of Molly, but she forced her expression to stay serious.
“The two of you shouldn’t be up here.” The firefighter, a very attractive black man, frowned at them disapprovingly as more of his colleagues moved around them, looking for the explosion site.
“Sorry, sir, but we had to check if someone was trapped up here.” She grabbed John’s hand. “We couldn’t have lived with ourselves if someone died when we could’ve helped.”
The firefighter’s frown lightened slightly, although his tone remained scolding. “The next time there’s an explosion of any kind, stay outside and wait for help to arrive. Professional help.”
“Yes, sir,” Molly said, perfectly willing to make that promise, as John nodded in agreement.
“We’ll do that. Let’s go, sugarplum, and get out of these nice people’s way,” John said, ushering her toward the stairs.
Molly turned and said over her shoulder. “Keep your eye out for trip wires. That friend of Sky’s seems to be quite the…practical joker.”
The man who’d just admonished them stared at her for a long moment, looking bemused. “We’ll do that.” Turning, he called out to one of the other firefighters, “Carson! I need you to walk these two out.”
As Carson escorted them through the house, Molly could barely contain her excitement and the need to share her find with John.
Once they stepped outside, however, and she saw her least-favorite detectives, Bastien and Mill, interviewing Mother Tick, she was distracted from the cell phone burning a hole in her pocket.
“Here you go. The detectives will want to speak with you.” He nodded toward the Denver cops.
“Thank you, Carson,” Molly said politely, even as she plotted an escape route. The detectives’ backs were turned toward the house, so she was pretty sure she and John hadn’t been spotted yet.
“No problem.” The firefighter tromped back inside, and Molly hustled toward the crowd of onlookers that had gathered to watch the action. John must’ve recognized the cops, too, since he kept pace without asking why she was basically running away from the house and skipping out on the inevitable police interview. She risked a glance over her shoulder once they were safely mingling with the gawking neighbors. Detective Mill started to turn his head, so she grabbed John’s arm and pulled him past the last ring of people.
John’s look was distinctive enough that she knew Mill would recognize him if he caught a glimpse. The cops would figure out that they’d been there once Mother Tick described them, but Molly figured they could stop by the police station and find a more sympathetic officer to take their statement. Mill and Bastien would tie them up for hours, just because they had decided she was guilty by association with Jane. She and John didn’t have time for that, not when they needed to bring Sonny in.
Once they were free of the crowd, Molly forced herself to slow down to a brisk but not racing pace. John’s car looked too far away, and she resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder to see if either of the cops had followed. The normal sounds of civilization—traffic, a lawn mower in the distance, the faint sounds of kids playing—quickly covered up the chatter of the crowd, but Molly still didn’t relax until they finally reached John’s car.
By mutual silent agreement, they didn’t speak until they were both seated and the doors were closed. As John pulled away from the curb, he glanced at her, his anticipation clear. Apparently, her suppressed glee had been obvious…at least to John.
“I found a phone,” she said, pulling out his multi-tool but leaving the cell in her pocket. She didn’t even want to touch it before Norah could work her magic, in case Molly erased something by accident.
“Sonny’s phone?” John accepted the multi-tool absently as his eyes lit with the same excitement that Molly felt.
“One of his phones. It was under the light-switch plate.”
“Nice!” He dropped the tool into his pocket and then raised his fist for a congratulatory bump. “I have people who can take a look at it.”
“So do I,” she said, although she did bump his fist. “Norah’s the best, and she’s cheap. She works—at least partially—for street cred and family dinners.”
She was braced for him to argue, but he just held on to his wide smile and shrugged slightly. “How can my tech guys beat that?”
The mention of tech guys reminded Molly of their appointment, and she hurried to glance at the clock. She grinned. “Look at that! We survived an explosion, found a clue, and we’ll still get back in time to have a security system installed.”
“We’re just that good,” John said solemnly, making her laugh. It hadn’t been that funny, but the giddy relief that had built up over the past few hours needed to release somehow, and there was no way she was about to cry, especially in front of John Carmondy. Even though she’d discovered that he was an enormous marshmallow mashed inside a huge, muscular package, and that he would most likely be as sweet as pie were she to dissolve into a wet, sobbing mess, she didn’t want to reveal that side of herself to him. She wanted him to see her as tough, as an equal partner, someone who would have his back, just as he had hers.
Shaking off her wild thoughts, she pulled out her phone as a distraction. After reading a few texts from her sisters, she sent off a group text summarizing what had happened over the course of the morning…although she minimized the whole explosion thing. They didn’t need to know how scared she’d been when she’d thought it was a regular grenade, or that she and John had come inches from being blasted into nothingness.
A buzz from her phone brought her mind back to the present, and she saw that Norah had texted.
Great news! I’ll be back at the house in a few minutes, and I’ll take a crack at it.
Felicity and Charlie each sent a short congratulatory text, and Cara stayed silent. Concern rose in Molly’s chest, but then she remembered that Cara had class until one. Cara, being Cara, would never even consider keeping her phone on—even on silent—during a class.
“Any news on the hunt for your mom?” John asked, pulling her attention away from her phone.
“Nothing solid yet, but they do have a few leads.” Charlie had been exasperatingly vague, as usual, but Felicity had filled in some of the blanks. “They’re pretty sure they’re on the right track.”
