system.”
“Not going to argue with a mom and a nurse.” Frank opened the packet, pulled out the little tea bag and set it in the mug while the tea kettle heated on the stove.
As they waited, he could literally hear the gears turning in the FBI agent’s head.
Wait for it…
“Gonna tell me what happened, and why we found you cuddling the wedding photographer in your lap like she was someone you’ve known for years instead of a few hours? And why you felt the need to hold a gun at the door until you were sure it was us coming in?”
And here it was. The moment a friend, colleague, and member of his adopted family questioned his actions. Hell, he’d question them, too.
He ran his left hand over the stubble on his lower jaw.
“I gave Miss Peele a ride home after the wedding. When we got on her street, the road was blocked by fire engines. Turns out it was her house on fire.”
“Damn. That sucks,” Jake said, all seriousness.
“That’s not the worst. While we were standing across the street an explosion occurred and the house literally blew all to hell.”
“A bomb?”
Trust the FBI agent in his friend to jump to that conclusion. The same one he’d had. Especially after she’d whispered those words about her brother— what have you done?
Frank shook his head. “Don’t know. Could’ve simply been a gas leak.”
“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” Jake said, lowering his voice.
Frank glanced at the sofa where Sydney sat talking quietly with Sami. “She assumed her brother might’ve been in there when we first saw the fire.”
“But…?”
“After the explosion, she said something strange.” He didn’t take his eyes off Sydney while he spoke.
“Jesus, Castello, it’s like pulling teeth to get information out of you.” Jake grabbed his arm to get his attention. “What did she say?”
He stared into the other man’s face. “She whispered, Ian, what have you done? ”
“Ian would be…?”
“Her brother.”
“And that set off what Luke calls the Spidey-sense .”
It wasn’t a question. Jake and all the Edgars brothers had talked at length how when something wasn’t right, or one of their wives was in danger, they all seemed to get a tingling up their spine. Luke had given it a name, stealing it from his favorite superhero.
“The way she said it, and how still she went…” He shook his head, trying to make sense of everything that happened and his reaction to it. “I just had to get her away from there as fast as possible. If she’d been a high-priority witness or political target, I could understand the feeling that we were out in the open. Exposed. Being watched. But she’s just a little fashion photographer.”
“That we know very little about.”
Jake’s words brought him up short and Frank’s gaze shot back to Sydney, who finally had some color back in her face. Could she be in league with her brother over something sinister? Or could they be in some kind of trouble, and exploding their past as a way to dodge the consequences?
The teakettle whistled. As he poured the water into the mug, he let his mind revisit the scene at the burning house like he’d watched Abigail do when she was seeing a crime scene again.
Sydney running to the house. Sydney trying to fight her way past the fireman. Her face as she watched her home burn. Her focus on the house, her eyes large with fear.
“No, her reaction to the fire had been real. No way could someone fake that kind of shock.” He added a spoonful of sugar to the tea, then another. Finally, he faced his friend once more. “Luke and Abigail trusted her. Not just with their wedding pictures, but on at least one of their assignments…Milan, I think it was.”
“True,” Jake said, leaning one hip against the counter. “But you and I know that someone can be a good person in public and have dark secrets they’d kill to keep hidden. I could pull some strings and get my people to do some background
“Not going to argue with a mom and a nurse.” Frank opened the packet, pulled out the little tea bag and set it in the mug while the tea kettle heated on the stove.
As they waited, he could literally hear the gears turning in the FBI agent’s head.
Wait for it…
“Gonna tell me what happened, and why we found you cuddling the wedding photographer in your lap like she was someone you’ve known for years instead of a few hours? And why you felt the need to hold a gun at the door until you were sure it was us coming in?”
And here it was. The moment a friend, colleague, and member of his adopted family questioned his actions. Hell, he’d question them, too.
He ran his left hand over the stubble on his lower jaw.
“I gave Miss Peele a ride home after the wedding. When we got on her street, the road was blocked by fire engines. Turns out it was her house on fire.”
“Damn. That sucks,” Jake said, all seriousness.
“That’s not the worst. While we were standing across the street an explosion occurred and the house literally blew all to hell.”
“A bomb?”
Trust the FBI agent in his friend to jump to that conclusion. The same one he’d had. Especially after she’d whispered those words about her brother— what have you done?
Frank shook his head. “Don’t know. Could’ve simply been a gas leak.”
“There’s something else you’re not telling me,” Jake said, lowering his voice.
Frank glanced at the sofa where Sydney sat talking quietly with Sami. “She assumed her brother might’ve been in there when we first saw the fire.”
“But…?”
“After the explosion, she said something strange.” He didn’t take his eyes off Sydney while he spoke.
“Jesus, Castello, it’s like pulling teeth to get information out of you.” Jake grabbed his arm to get his attention. “What did she say?”
He stared into the other man’s face. “She whispered, Ian, what have you done? ”
“Ian would be…?”
“Her brother.”
“And that set off what Luke calls the Spidey-sense .”
It wasn’t a question. Jake and all the Edgars brothers had talked at length how when something wasn’t right, or one of their wives was in danger, they all seemed to get a tingling up their spine. Luke had given it a name, stealing it from his favorite superhero.
“The way she said it, and how still she went…” He shook his head, trying to make sense of everything that happened and his reaction to it. “I just had to get her away from there as fast as possible. If she’d been a high-priority witness or political target, I could understand the feeling that we were out in the open. Exposed. Being watched. But she’s just a little fashion photographer.”
“That we know very little about.”
Jake’s words brought him up short and Frank’s gaze shot back to Sydney, who finally had some color back in her face. Could she be in league with her brother over something sinister? Or could they be in some kind of trouble, and exploding their past as a way to dodge the consequences?
The teakettle whistled. As he poured the water into the mug, he let his mind revisit the scene at the burning house like he’d watched Abigail do when she was seeing a crime scene again.
Sydney running to the house. Sydney trying to fight her way past the fireman. Her face as she watched her home burn. Her focus on the house, her eyes large with fear.
“No, her reaction to the fire had been real. No way could someone fake that kind of shock.” He added a spoonful of sugar to the tea, then another. Finally, he faced his friend once more. “Luke and Abigail trusted her. Not just with their wedding pictures, but on at least one of their assignments…Milan, I think it was.”
“True,” Jake said, leaning one hip against the counter. “But you and I know that someone can be a good person in public and have dark secrets they’d kill to keep hidden. I could pull some strings and get my people to do some background
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