Page 17 of Ink and Ashes
“Hi. My name is Holland Rhodes.” I approach the table, holding my hand out to shake his.
The knot is still present between his eyebrows, but he takes my hand and says, “Raymond Morgan, but my friends and pretty girls like you can call me Ray.”
My stomach turns and I resist the urge to squirm. This guy is old enough to be my father.
“Nice to meet you, Ray. I’ve been looking into the fires that have been happening recently, and I wondered if I could steal a moment of your time.”
Ray leans forward in his chair. “‘Looking into the fires?’ Are you press or something?”
“Or something.” I chuckle. “You don’t know who I am? I thought Lieutenant Caldwell told you all not to speak to me.”
Ray shakes his head, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Why’d he tell us not to speak to you?” Ray asks.
I roll my lips together. “I’m an investigative journalist, and when I heard about the fires on the news, it raised a red flag for me. After looking into them more, I have reason to suspect arson may be involved.”
He scoffs, his jaw clenching the same way Colson’s did, but the look of surprise I’ve been expecting from everyone when I say those words isn’t there.
“No offense, sweetheart,” he starts, so I prepare myself to be offended. “But these fires ain’t arson. And if they were, a pretty girl like you isn’t going to be the one to stop them. Us men have it covered. You can run back to wherever you came from and try to invent problems for them instead.”
I narrow my eyes. That’s the second time he’s referred to my looks in five minutes.
I’m not even going to bother with this one.
Anytime someone has a negative response to my presence, there’s always one of two reasons for it: they either hate me because of what I am, or they hate me because of what’s between my legs.
Lieutenant Colson Caldwell is the former. Raymond Morgan is the latter. And only one of those people is worth spending time trying to get on my side.
Ray is not that one.
I keep my mouth shut as I roll my eyes, standing from the chair and leaving the room. I don’t spare him a second glance as I turn the corner into the hallway.
“Fucking asshole,” I mutter underneath my breath just as a woman walks by.
“You talking about Morgan?” she asks, her arms crossed over her chest.
I huff a laugh. “Is he always a sexist pig?”
She stares at me with narrowed eyes for a brief moment before she bursts out laughing. “Why yes, he is.” She takes a step toward me, uncrossing her arms to hold a hand out to me. “I’m Cassidy. I’m guessing you’re the woman who’s got my brother’s knickers in a twist.”
I laugh awkwardly, shaking her hand as my brows pull together. “Your…brother?”
“Lieutenant Killjoy, as I heard you lovingly refer to him when you first came by.”
I feel my cheeks flush as she leans against the doorframe leading to the station’s meeting room, a smirk on her face. Now that I look at her, I do see the similarities between her and Colson. He’s at least half a foot taller than her, but they both have the same sandy brown hair and piercing green eyes.
“Shit, I didn’t…” I shake my head, not realizing people had heard me call him that.
“Girl, you’re good.” Cassidy laughs. “I mean, I probably won’t ever let him live it down, which might make him hate you forever. But all of us certainly got a kick out of it. It’s one that hasn’t been used on him before, but I won’t lie and say it doesn’t suit him. I’m kind of mad I didn’t come up with it myself.”
I shake my head, my lips quirking up into a small smile. “I shouldn’t have said it, he just kept turning me down before even giving me a chance to explain. It made me so mad.”
“Ah, yes. Colson Caldwell: the king of saying no.” She smiles softly. “Don’t take it personally. He has issues with the media.”
I nod, wondering what kind of issues, but I don’t ask. If I want to figure Colson Caldwell out, I’m going to have to do it alone. Knowing he doesn’t have anything againstmespecifically makes me all the more determined to show him not everyone is predatory.
I take in the uniform Cassidy is wearing. Changing the subject, I ask, “You’re a paramedic, right?”
