Page 79 of Deep Tide

He eyed the bottle of bourbon as he sat down. Emmet had been right. The ibuprofen had done zip for her pain, and she’d ended up making herself another stiff drink before bed.

She warmed up the coffeemaker and then turned to look at Sean. He wore jeans and his leather jacket again. Apparently, he wasn’t a fan of her Hawaiian shirt idea. His hair was damp from a shower, and he looked way too alert for this early in the morning.

“What happened to your face?” she asked.

He rubbed his cheek. “Caught some gravel.”

She looked at him with suspicion as she retrieved some coffee pods from the pantry. Thankfully, there were two left because she couldn’t bear the thought of giving away her last cup. She reached for the Keurig and hissed out a curse as pain darted up her side.

“I heard about Amelia’s apartment.” Sean got up and walked around the counter. “Mugs?”

“Upper cabinet.”

He took down two mugs and put a coffee pod into the machine. Then he turned to face her.

“Who told you?” Nicole asked.

“Brady.”

She lifted an eyebrow. Evidently, the chief was keeping their FBI friend very much in the loop.

The first cup of coffee finished brewing, and she handed it to Sean.

“I hope you like it black,” she said. “I’m all out of sugar.”

“Black’s good.” He put another pod in and started a second cup. When it was done brewing, she picked it up and watched him over the rim as she took a sip. The coffee was hot and strong, and she was going to need a lot of it today.

“Tell me something.” She set the cup down. “Does Luc Gagnon have any kind of private security working for him?”

Sean nodded. “He travels with a two-man detail. Why?”

“Just wondering. What do they look like?”

“Couple of tall blond guys. They look Scandinavian, but they’re from Serbia.” He paused. “You get a look at who attacked you?”

“No. It happened really fast. And it was dark.” She took another sip and set her cup down. “But one of them was definitely tall. And it felt like he had on steel-toed boots. Of course, I could be imagining that part.”

Sean’s brow furrowed. “You shouldn’t have gone over there alone.”

“Thanks for the tip.” She leaned back against the counter. “So, what brings you here? I’m guessing you didn’t track down my home address just to say hi.”

“I’m hoping you can do me a favor.” He pulled a plastic bag from his jacket pocket and set it on the counter. Inside the bag was a Budweiser can with dirt and grass clinging to it. “I need you to run this for fingerprints.”

“Why?”

“Gagnon had a meeting with someone last night. I’d like to know if he’s in the system.”

“Why can’t you run it?”

“I could,” he said. “It’s better if it doesn’t come from me.”

“Why?”

He just looked at her, not answering her question, and she got an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“Can you run it?” he asked.

“Sure. But you know, it’s going to take a lot longer if I send it to the county lab. You’re the one with all the resources at your fingertips.”

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