“So you’re going to leave me here by myself?” Her tone and body language were challenging.
“Fine. If you come with me, you will stay in the truck the whole time. I’m just going to talk to him and ask him to come in to answer some questions. Got it?”
Her smile was way too big and way too sexy as she nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll wear a hat and sunglasses on the drive over.”
* * *
Carson glanced around the quiet neighborhood. This was an older Florida neighborhood, the kind that had mostly retirees. Almost all ranch-style houses, jalousie windows and ADT stickers on street-facing windows even though most of them likely didn’t have security systems installed.
“What did we talk about?” he asked as he put his truck in park.
“Oh my God, you’re ridiculous.” Sienna was practically bouncing in her seat, this never-ending fountain of energy. She’d pulled her hair up into a ponytail and it swished every time she moved. Which was a lot. “I’m not getting out. Promise.”
He’d already run the license plate of the sedan under the carport and it had come back as registered to the owner of the house. The guy Sienna said was in the Bahamas. “Okay. I just wanted to make sure there was no miscommunication between us. You shouldn’t even be with me, but since you’ve consulted with the PD before, it should be all right.” She shouldn’t be with him at all, especially not on an active investigation, but as of now Fox wasn’t technically linked to this case. He might be once Carson questioned him, but that was up in the air.
“Just go knock on the door. Get him to come into the station. Use that charm of yours,” she added.
He couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not and resisted the urge to lean over and brush his lips over hers. He certainly didn’t have that right but the urge to kiss her was there nonetheless. Always there, lingering.
He couldn’t get her out of his mind, not when she’d so thoroughly burrowed herself under his skin. This woman was in his blood at this point. And he was questioning his own sanity for continuing to want her so damn badly.
Sunglasses on, he slid out of the truck and scanned the neighborhood. He waved once at the older woman watering the yard across the street.
The woman was wearing a housedress, her gray hair curled perfectly. Didn’t wave back, just watched him cautiously.
According to the computer run he had done, the owner of this house had inherited it when his mom died. And if the guy was into drugs as Fox was, it stood to reason that the neighbors didn’t care for the owner or any associates.
After another quick scan of the street, he hurried up to the front door, knocked once. As he did, he realized the door was already ajar.
Nudging it open with his boot, he called out. “Kevin Fox? My name’s Carson Irish. I’m with the police.”
The door creaked as it swung open, and that was when he spotted what was most definitely blood pooling in the hallway from an open doorway. Shit.
Moving quickly, he withdrew his weapon and swept inside. As he moved, he called in backup before sweeping the rest of the house. He went room by room, methodically checking each room, but when he was done there was only one dead body sprawled on the tile of the small bathroom.
Kevin Fox with a bullet hole right through his head.
Chapter 8
Carson looked out the window from his boss’s office to the bullpen where Sienna was sitting at his desk. She was talking on her phone, likely to one of her brothers, as they’d been calling her all day.
He quickly reverted his attention back to his boss, Captain Tobias Johnson.
“I think we need to get Sienna out of town,” Carson said bluntly, looking between his boss and partner. Someone had broken into her house, stolen electronics, an attorney she’d worked for was dead, and someone she’d investigated was dead. She did not need to be anywhere near here right now.
Julian simply nodded because ultimately it was the captain’s decision, not theirs.
Tobias was quiet for a long moment. At six feet with broad shoulders that highlighted his high school linebacker days, his boss had a commanding presence. “I don’t like any of this, especially the optics if this gets out.”
Carson knew what he meant even though his boss didn’t say it out loud. Sienna was a MacArthur, and one of her brothers owned a large company and had been voted sexiest bachelor a bunch of years in a row. The other owned his own security firm and worked for one of the biggest tech companies on the East Coast. Not to mention her wealthy parents were well-known in the region for all their charitable work.
“She won’t stay with her family,” Carson said. “But she’s agreed to go out of town with me. One of her brothers has access to a place in Miami where we can lie low.” It wasn’t true that she’d agreed, but he would convince her. Because after this recent murder, he simply wanted Sienna away from here. Yes, he wanted to investigate, but he trusted Julian, and sometimes it was wise to know when to step back. Right now his job was to keep her safe. Period. Because if she stayed here, she was going to be a bigger target.
And she might not like it, but in the end she would see that he was right. He just had to convince her to leave with him.
“I trust your judgment,” his boss finally said. “We need to make sure we keep her potential involvement with the two murders quiet as long as possible. We need her safe. Do what you’ve got to do. I want all the details later, but get her out of town.”
Carson was surprised at how quickly his boss was moving on this but maybe he shouldn’t be. Tobias had always been a big-picture type of boss and had never micromanaged.
His boss continued, his expression darkening. “And I want answers,” he snapped out. “Two people are dead. I don’t want any more deaths.”
“We’re working around the clock.” Julian’s tone was neutral.
Carson simply stood and nodded because it didn’t matter what they said at this point.
“She really agreed to go with you?” Julian asked once they were out in the bullpen, the door shut behind them.
He snorted softly.
His partner cracked a smile, the first one Carson had seen in a while. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to have a hard time convincing her?”
“Shut it,” he muttered as he reached his desk.
Sienna popped up immediately. “Is everything okay? What did your boss say?”
“Everything’s good.” Good being a relative word. But she was alive, and he was going to make sure she stayed that way.
“You’re not in trouble?” she asked.
He blinked. “No. That’s not why we were in there.”
She eyed him carefully as if she wasn’t sure she believed him. “All right. So what’s our next move?”
“To get you somewhere safe. I’ve already talked to Daniel, and—”
“I’m not staying with my family. My parents are out of town and my brothers will smother me. Not to mention, I—”
“Can I finish?” he asked.
She bit her bottom lip, looking ridiculously sexy. “Sorry.”
“As I was saying.” He lowered his voice. “I want to get out of town with you. Just the two of us so you can lie low. If someone is gunning for you, they won’t find you here.”