Page 28 of Take a Hike
“She just told me she’d be questioning me again later.” The hint of amusement was gone as if it’d never existed. “The don’t-leave-town part was implied.”
It was Charlie’s turn to chuckle. “I know the sound of that.”
“Any alibi?” Bennett asked, his deep voice a surprise after he’d been silent so long. Charlie didn’t think she’d ever not be startled when he spoke.
Kieran didn’t look fazed, however. “Work. Other than that, I was usually home. Alone.”
“Ugh.” Charlie made a face. “That’s a terrible alibi. It just screams, ‘I killed Cobra!’ Too bad you don’t live here. That’d be an excellent alibi to be constantly surrounded by all the cranky, caffeine-deprived hotties milling around out there.” She gestured toward the door.
Kieran’s frown had deepened at the word “hotties,” and he opened his mouth to speak, only to snap it closed as the door swung open.
A ginger-haired firefighter filled the doorway. “What are you doing in here?” His accusing gaze instantly landed on Kieran. “You shouldn’t be in here when the chief’s gone.”
Charlie waited for Kieran to explain that he had Early’s permission, but of course he didn’t. The contrary man just glared at the redhead for a solid ten seconds before turning his head as if he couldn’t even be bothered tolookat the other man anymore. It was so deliciously cold and cutting that Charlie could barelykeep the gleeful grin off her face. Kieran was constantly, eternally furious, so the fact that he couldn’t be bothered to waste any of his rage on his coworker was a rather glorious insult. When the ginger’s face turned an unhealthy shade of angry reddish purple, however, she decided to smooth things over before his head exploded.
“It’s all good,” she said. “Early doesn’t mind that we’re in here.”
Somehow, that seemed to enrage the man even more. “I’m texting him.” He released the doorknob so he could tap at his phone more efficiently, and Kieran wasted no time. Reaching in front of the other man, he pulled the door closed with a solid thud and then turned the lock.
The sight of the redhead’s startled, open-mouthed expression before he was shut out of the office struck Charlie as funny, and she muffled her chuckle with her hand. “Can’t believe that some people never grew out of their ten-year-old petty-snitch stage.”
Kieran focused his bitter-cold gaze on her, and those icy-blue eyes warmed to the flickering heat of a Bunsen burner flame. Suddenly, she lost her ability to speak.
Six
“So!” Fifi slapped her hands together sharply, jerking Charlie out of the daze Kieran’s hypnotic gaze had caused. “What’s the plan?”
A pounding on the door interrupted before anyone could answer. Ignoring the knocking, Charlie turned back to Kieran. “How much longer until your shift’s over?”
He glanced at his watch. “I was off an hour ago.”
“Perfect.” Fifi clapped her hands again. “Let’s split up and tackle all the crimes.”
Charlie wrinkled her nose, not liking her sister’s newly acquired mannerism. “Is that going to be a thing?”
“What? Splitting up to investigate mysteries like the Scooby gang?”
“The clapping.”
“Maybe. Why?” Fifi eyed her with a look Charlie didn’t trust. “Don’t you like it?”
“Maybe.” Her tone was cautious. Once her sisters knew her weaknesses, they could annoy her to their little hearts’ content.
“You don’t, do you?” Fifi was positively gleeful, and Charlie’s heart sank.
“The clapping is going to be a thing, isn’t it?”
“Now it is.”
“Okay.” Kieran was obviously having trouble holding his scowl, but Charlie appreciated the effort. “Are you two done?”
A booming voice from outside the office was easy to hear, despite the closed door. “Chase, why the hell are you still knocking? Don’t you think I would’ve answered if I were in there?”
Kieran reached over and unlocked the door right before an older man—Chief Early, Charlie assumed—charged through it. He came to an abrupt stop at the sight of the four of them filling his office.
“I tried to tell you, Chief,” the ginger’s triumphant voice came from behind Early. “Byrne’s been in there with the door closed for almost an hour. Who knows what files he’s dug through—or what he’s taken.”
“Chase…” Chief Early somehow managed to both sigh and bellow at the same time. Charlie was impressed. “Byrne asked to use my office. He’s allowed to be in here. Why don’t you do something useful, like inventory the spare bunker gear?”
