Page 11 of Night Watch
Kennedy chuckled at the face Sierra was making. “Not sure about hotshot, but I am a fed. At least a fed on leave.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your mom.” Sierra rested a hand on Kennedy’s arm and met her gaze.
A pang of guilt tightened Kennedy’s stomach. This wonderful woman didn’t know the truth of what Kennedy had done to her brother. If she did, she wouldn’t be so kind. Not that she would be rude. None of the Byrds would do that. Their parents taught them impeccable manners, but Sierra would likely give Kennedy the cold shoulder.
“And you think this break-in is related to her death?” Sierra asked, leaving her hand on Kennedy’s arm.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t see why else someone would break in here.”
Sierra squeezed Kennedy’s arm. “Then you have the complete services of the Veritas Center at your disposal. No charge.” She snapped on the gloves. “Feel free to watch, but you know you can’t help, right?”
Kennedy nodded. “And I promise not to backseat quarterback.”
Sierra smiled and stepped into the beams of light from the portable units Erik had turned on.
“How did Reed feel about you coming out tonight?” Erik asked.
“He’s fine with it. As long as I’m home for the next feeding.” Sierra looked at Kennedy. “Reed’s my husband, and we have a two-month-old son, Asher. The new love of my life.”
“Poor Reed’s been replaced already.” Erik grinned.
Sierra laughed, and Erik joined her. His face, with its wide jaw sporting a thick close-cut beard, lost the tension and lit up. Kennedy’s heart catapulted, and she couldn’t look away from him.
He caught her watching, and his cheerful expression evaporated. He turned to Sierra. “What do you need me to do?”
She got out her camera. “Move out of my camera range.”
Of course, Sierra would start with scene photos. Kennedy should’ve thought of that and gotten out of the way, but she’d been too flustered by the armed intruder to think logically. Was still flustered and needed some air. She turned and nearly fled onto the back deck, sucking in air and holding onto the railing.
The river lapped against the floats, the sound soothing. The cloud cover had evaporated, letting the temperature drop, and the sky sparkled with a million little stars around the half moon.
If life had been easy right now, she would stay here for hours, admiring the night. The wind whipped across the deck, and the smell of rain freshened the air, but stars had broken through the clouds. The rhythmic sound of flowing water and the starry night could be so romantic with Erik, whose heavy footfalls sounded behind her.
“You can’t be out here.” His deep voice thundered through her. “It’s not safe.”
All thoughts of romance vanished, and she spun. “You don’t think he’s here, do you?”
“We can never be too safe.” He gestured for her to precede him back inside.
She didn’t argue but strode into the living room, staying just inside the door to keep out of Sierra’s photos.
He slid the door closed and stood next to her, and she caught his distinct scent. She knew it so well. “I never thought your mom would choose to live on a boat.”
Kennedy looked out the window. “After Dad died, she needed a change.”
“I’m so sorry, hon—” He curled his fingers to his palms. “I can’t imagine losing one parent, let alone both of them.”
Tears burned for release, but she controlled them. She wouldn’t add crying in front of Erik and Sierra to her night. “It’s been tough—harder for thinking my mom was murdered.”
“About that.” He sounded reluctant. “Just in case you’re right and she was murdered, I need you to leave your phone here so you can’t be tracked when you leave. We’ll give you a virtually untraceable phone to use. So if you need to export information, we should do that now.”
She picked up her phone, but paused. If she gave it to him, she would be handing over a lifeline, and it put a hitch in her heart. When had she become so dependent on this device?
“Trust me,” Erik said. “I get your hesitancy. My whole life is on my phone. But if you end up needing a new one, we can restore your information.”
Would it be the same? No fun blue cover with periodic elements on it. Maybe not personalized with her ringtones. Might not include her mother’s last few messages.
No. No.Kennedy couldn’t lose those. “My mom’s messages. Will they transfer too?”
