Page 53 of Burning Truth

She looked up at Severn for input. It wasn’t a bad idea.

“Just don’t let him know you know who he is,” Johnson warned.

Nodding, Addie’s thumbs flew over the screen.I think you’re a bitter, low-life criminal who has nothing better to do with his time than terrorize innocent people.

There was no response for a long time.

No, Addison, I’m just a concerned citizen trying to sweep the city free of corruption.

Is that why you keep going after law enforcement?

He sent her the wink emoji again.

Then you’re even worse than a low-life criminal. You’re a snake in the grass, going after the people who protect us. I hope they find you and take you out.

They won’t find me. They’re too busy chasing their tails.

Gabbie had been typing in the background, and a couple of scenes flashed up on the big screen. Severn recognized the government building downtown, where he presumed the Department of Emergency Services was. Then she switched to a different building. It was obvious Gabbie was scrolling through CCTV cameras in the area. “I have the GPS localized to this area.He’s at work at the Charles D. Shipley building and responding to her.”

“This guy is pissing me off,” Addie growled, and Severn grinned at the expression on her face. Then he sobered. This wasn’t the time to be registering how beautiful she was. Again.

“The Shipley building is where we get our private investigator licensing done,” Parker said, laughing lightly. “This guy is a dick.”

“There are several smaller departments in there,” Gabbie said, “and a lot of people work there.” She looked at Johnson. “You shouldn’t take him out there. There are so many people in that building.”

Rodrigo entered the room and handed Johnson his phone. Everyone listened to her side of the conversation, and it sounded like they were confirming a time to serve the warrant and the use of SWAT. Then she started to argue.

“Sir, I don’t think that’s wise. We have the fingerprint on the C4 and video footage of him.” She paused, her mouth tightening. “No sir. No, sir. Yes, sir. I will, sir.”

She hung up the phone and huffed out a sigh. She looked at Addie. “He wants us to watch him for a bit, get more evidence on him. So, you will have an unmarked tail on you all night tonight.” Severn narrowed his eyes at her, but didn’t disagree. “Don’t look for them, but they’ll be there.”

Severn’s expression had gone dark. “And does he realize that the longer we take to bring him in, the more chance he has to hurt people?”

The detective held both of her hands up in a frustrated gesture. Her hands were tied as well. He looked at Addie. She seemed resigned, her brow furrowed as she worried at a fingernail. “I think he’s going to do something, because he wants me to report on it tonight.”

“Unfortunately, I think you’re right. Detective,” he said, turning to look at her. “You’d better get eyes on him now because people are going to die.”

16

As soon as they climbed in Severn’s truck, she tilted her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. She was so emotionally wrought, and she just needed some quiet time.

“Addie,” Severn murmured in her ear. Then he stroked his fingers along her cheek. With a lazy smile, she opened her eyes. They were in a dark parking garage, and it took her brain a moment to realize she’d fallen asleep. “Where are we?”

“In the hospital parking garage. I thought you’d want to see Jake before we went to work.”

Nodding, she sat up, looking at the time on the dash. “Oh, my gosh! I closed my eyes for like, two seconds.”

It was more than an hour since they’d left Lost and Found.

“Well, you were sleeping really well, so I just drove the outer belt a couple of times.”

She stared at him incredulously. It probably took at least thirty or forty minutes to drive all the way around the city, and that was assuming there was no traffic. “You did that for me?”

Unbelievably, his cheeks seemed to go a little pink. “Well, you needed some rest. I texted Ron and told him you were coming in a little late, considering everything that had gone on.”

Addie leaned over the center console and wrapped her arms around his neck. It wasn’t especially comfortable, but she didn’t care. “Thank you for that,” she said, kissing his neck. Then she drew back enough to kiss him on the mouth. There was still a hint of smoke to him, but she didn’t care. Severn ran his fingers into her hair to hold her head, and she forgot about her discomfort. He took her mouth like a starving man.

When she drew back, she was smiling. “You know, I can’t wait to get rid of this damn stalker, because I want to enjoy my time with you without dangerous crap hanging over us.”

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