Page 89 of Serial Burn

“Jesslyn. What are you doing here? Thought you were taking some time off.”

“I am, but...”

He raised a brow. “Right.”

“You’ll let me know if you find a piece of jewelry?”

“ASAP.”

“Thanks.” She spent the next two hours talking to people at the scene, questioning if they’d noticed anyone hanging around, looking suspicious. She didn’t get much to work with, but wrote everything down. She’d return when the fire was out and safe to walk through. When she finally took a break, Nathan walked over and handed her a bottle of water. She chugged it. “How’d you know I needed that?”

“I’ve been watching.”

He had, huh?

“Listen, I’ve got to run. I got a weird text from Eli. I typed out a response, but never sent it. I just realized that and called him, but he’s not picking up his phone.”

“What kind of weird text?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t sound like him.”

“You’re worried.”

He nodded and she patted his shoulder. “All right. Go find him. I’ll text you when I’m done here and ready to head home.”

“Thanks. Just don’t go anywhere unless you have someone with you. Someone who can use a gun.”

“I have a gun and I know how to use it.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I know. I just think it’s best if you’re not alone right now.”

“I know. I feel safer with someone watching my back, so don’t worry, I’ll make sure to stay with people I trust.”

“Good.” He hesitated. “Jesslyn, I like you.”

She blinked. “I like you too, Nathan.”

“No, I mean, Ilike likeyou. I want to ask you out on a date, but I’ve picked up on your ‘keep your distance’ signals and I’m trying to honor those.” He glanced around. “I know this isn’t the best time to bring this up, but I’ve been thinking about this awhile and just wantedyouto think about it. Think about going on a date with me. I won’t ask you for anything you’re not ready to give, I just want to get to know you more. Spend time with you away from all of this.”

It was all Jesslyn could do to keep her jaw from swinging. He was right. This wasn’t the time. “Nathan—”

“Nope. Not right now. Focus on the fire. We’ll talk about us later.”

Us?

He squeezed her fingers and then he was gone.

All righty then. She had some thinking to do.

Her phone buzzed. Lindsay from the bureau. “Hello?”

“I’ve got some interesting information for you. You know how you wanted a list of all the people who lived in the neighborhood the same time you did?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve got that. I’m sending it to your email.”

“That was incredibly fast.”

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