Page 40 of Hot Zone

Fox came into my office, handed me a cup of coffee, and took a seat. “So what are you working on?”

“I’m just going through my old school materials, trying to put together something for a class I’m teaching on Monday. They left the subject up to me.”

“Any idea what you’re going to do?”

“I was thinking about talking about what we’re dealing with now with the arsonist. Not giving too much of what we know, of course, but more things like what to look for in a suspicious fire and things you might stumble on that will let them know to be extra cautious.”

“Like a dog tied to a dresser in an empty building?”

“Exactly. Not that Keith did anything wrong by saving the dog, just that something out of place like that should set off your Spidey senses and make you more aware of your surroundings.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” he said.

“Okay, well, if you have any examples I could use, let me know, and I’ll toss them in.”

“Will do.” He stood up and let out a sigh. “I guess I better get back to work. I’m waiting on the lab report on the matchbook and cigarette. I’m still hoping that will give us something we can work with.”

“You’re gonna catch him, Fox. You just stay on it.”

“I asked the mayor if he would consider bringing in outside help, but he isn’t ready to go there yet.”

He headed back to his office, and I went back to work getting things lined up for Monday. Luckily, I had plenty of material I could use since teaching this class was the furthest thing frommy mind. Not only did we have the arsonist to worry about, but Mars was never far from my thoughts.

Things had been okay since our talk the other night. As a matter of fact, he seemed to take it really well, and things had gone back to the way they were BK, also known as before the kiss, because yeah, I was feeling some kind of way about it, and that kiss was still living rent-free in my head no matter what I did to get rid of it.

I knew he’d started looking for a new place to live, and I should be thrilled. The best thing that could happen would be for him to take his cat, all the stuff in my garage, his daily astrology updates, and his sexy ass somewhere else.

But just because that would be best didn’t mean it was what I wanted. Truth was, I enjoyed his company, and I didn’t want him to leave, not that I had any intention of telling him that.

This morning, he’d mentioned that he was going to a Halloween party at Kirby’s, which meant I would have the house to myself tonight. I thought about going out with the guys to The Spotted Dog, but if Mars was going to be drinking tonight, I wanted to make sure he had food on his stomach first.

I would also feel better if I was home so he could reach me if he needed anything. So it looked like this would be a good night for me to chill and finish the book I’d started the other day but hadn’t finished yet.

I left work a little early so I could pick up dinner on the way so he would have plenty of time to eat. Mars’s favorite place in my house seemed to be the oversized armchair, which sat in front of the fireplace, so that was where I expected to find him, but he wasn’t there. I didn’t see him out back either, so I set out to look for him.

“Mars,” I called out as I went down the hall and stopped outside his closed bedroom door. I was about to knock when the door was pulled open. “Samuel, you’re home early.”

“I am. I wanted to make sure you ate before you went out tonight. I picked up fried chicken with some sides.” I looked around him to find more clothes than I thought he owned at this point spread all over the bed. He’d said this was a costume party, so I guess he was trying to put something together to wear.

“Thanks, Samuel. I don’t have much time to get ready, and I was just planning on grabbing something there, but if it’s ready, I could eat.”

“Okay then, it’s in the kitchen. If you’re ready.”

He looked back over his shoulder at the mess. “I am, I guess. I bought a costume for tonight, but now I’m having second thoughts, so I was trying to see if I could put something else together before Mika gets here.”

“Well, come eat real quick. Mika can wait if you aren’t ready when he gets here.”

He sat down at the table and quickly scarfed down a piece of chicken and biscuit. “Sorry to eat and run on you, but I seriously have to get ready.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “You go get ready.”

He started to leave the kitchen but turned to look at me before he went through the door. “You could come with us, you know. You haven’t gone out and done anything fun since I’ve been here.”

“That’s sweet of you, but clubs aren’t really my thing.”

He cocked his head to one side, a thoughtful expression on his face. “So what’s your thing then? What does Samuel do for fun? You know what they say about all work?”

“Don’t you worry about me. I’m good. You just go and have a good time.”

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