Page 16 of Countdown to Murder
Nothing will happen during an op. No one is going to sleep alone. Basic safety protocol. You’re stuck with me.
I was positive I would get zero sleep if he was two feet away from me in the same bed.
“I planned to stay awake the last thirty or so hours, but I’ll need a few uninterrupted sleeps —alone— between now and then if I’m to make that happen.”
He wrote again.
You’re saying you can’t sleep in a bed with me?
“No. I don’t think I can.”
He gave me a huge shit-eating grin and put his hands on his hips. “You’re giving information to the other side, Darlin’.”
“You aren’t the enemy, Panda.” I didn’t know why he’d called medarling, but I wasn’t going to use nicknames with him.
“Not what I said.”
He removed his hands from his hips and wrote again.
You’re tiny. There’s a sofa in the room you can use if you must. Under no circumstances are you going to sleep in a room alone.
We’d both written with a soft hand, and he quickly erased the page and then scribbled over it to make sure no one could see what had been written. He folded the topback over and put the pad and pencil into his inside jacket pocket.
He looked down at me a few seconds, reached a hand towards my face, and withdrew it before he touched me. Both hands went back to his hips. He stared at his feet a second, and when he lifted his face and met my gaze, my heart stalled a few beats and then jumped into fast-forward.
“Wewillpick this conversation up again when the op is over.”
His declaration made my pulse race even faster, and I spun on my heel — turning away from him instead of holding his gaze. I blew out a breath and headed down the driveway to the garage. Our equipment was in the bay beside the car. We’d unloaded it and left it in place until we knew where it was going. Two guards were making sure the vehicles weren’t messed with, so it was safe enough. Theoretically.
Chapter Nine
Panda
We carried our things to the bedroom and Mira helped me put the blackout sheet over our window. We’d be sleeping during daylight hours, and we’d want dark. The FBI team had arrived, but I figured they’d need a few minutes to get the lay of the land before I showed up.
“I’ll handle the FBI,” I told her. “I want you beside me, but silent. We have to deal with them, get some food, and have our meeting before we can sleep. Feel free to speak up in the meeting if you have something to say.”
“I thought the meeting was just management?”
“I’m in charge, and you’re my partner. You need to know everything I do, and our people need to know you and I are a partnership from the get-go.”
“Okay. You’re right, of course, but I wasn’t going to assume.”
The FBI team tried to throw their weight around and insist their people come on board and have a full-time presence, but I merely had to tell them I’d get with Aaron Drake and let our bosses work that out, and they dropped it. We all knew if our bosses got involved, Aaron Drake would win. I don’t know how he does it, but he does.
The kitchen has two pantries, one near the cooking area, and another down the hall from the kitchen. The murder happened in the hallway between the two rooms, which meant the front part of the kitchen wasn’t included in the crime scene.
One of Jones’ crew was manning the grill, and he looked up and smiled when we walked towards him. “I’m doing hamburgers, eggs, sausage, and bacon. Tell me what you want and I’ll cook it. There’s buns, bread, and bagels on the counter. Butter and cream cheese in the fridge, along with the usual burger fixins. That part’s up to you.”
Mira had a fried egg and three slices of bacon. I had three burgers with a scrambled egg and bacon on them, and some sausage on the side.
We ate in silence, listening to the FBI agents, their crime scene people, and their medical examiner. The team was efficient, and fifty minutes after they arrived, they put the body on a gurney and everyone left. They interviewed the people who’d found the body along with me, Sloan, and our client. They dusted for prints in the attic, on the stairs, and all around the site of the murder. It appeared hecame down the back steps, saw someone to kill, and did so.
Mira went to leave when she finished eating, and I put my hand on her arm. Her gaze on my hand was dark and violent, and I retracted it.Damn.
I’d refrain from physical contact, but I wasn’t going to let her wander off. “Where are you going?”
She gave me an imperious look this time, not malevolent but not friendly either. “To the weight room.”
