Four-Alarm Blaze [Southern Heat 4] by Alexa Aaby Page A

jeans with black canvas flats. She looked like a breath of fresh morning air. As she quickly approached, they both greeted her.
    Logan was first to speak. “Good morning, Nina.”
    “I’m glad you could make it in today,” Kyle said.
    “Funny, but I was about to say the same to you,” she responded with a glint of mischief in her clear brown eyes. “Good morning gentlemen. Since we’re only working for half a shift on this fine Saturday, I’m taking you two out in the field with me to survey the crime scenes. I’ve brought along my tablet to ensure a thorough assessment.”
    “Kyle and Logan, can I see the two of you in my office before you hit the road with Nina?” Chief Moore requested.
    “I’ll be waiting outside,” Nina said before she turned and walked toward the garage entrance with them watching.
    “Logan Brock and Kyle Rogers, I want you two in my office—now!” Chief Moore yelled.
    “I don’t like the sound of that,” Kyle said.
    “Me neither,” Logan added.
    When they reached the chief’s office, they found him leaning against the front of his desk, confirming their assumption was correct.
    Sweeping his dark brown hair back from his face, Moore said, “Before you two head out with Ms. Taylor, I wanted to speak with you in private.”
    “A simple request would have been enough,” Kyle commented.
    “Don’t be a wise-ass, Rogers,” the chief said. “I’ve been watching the two of you around that woman. I teamed you up with her because you’re the best of the bunch.”
    “We understand that, Chief. Listen, you don’t have to—“
    “Don’t interrupt me, Logan. I want you both to keep this arrangement professional. I have the utmost respect for Nina, but I don’t want you two to start locking horns over a pair of longs legs and a tight ass. Do you hear me?”
    Logan and Kyle stared at each other briefly. In unison, they replied, “Yes, Chief, we understand.”
    “Enough said. Now get the hell outta here and find that asshole. I want him behind bars before he has the chance to strike again.”
    They left the office immediately after. Neither one of them spoke a word until they grabbed their gear and walked out of the garage towards Nina’s car.
    “I swear that I could almost see steam rising from his head,” Logan told Kyle.
    “You—I thought he was about to say that he knew we were intimately involved with her. I was not prepared for that. I don’t know what I would have said,” Kyle said, running his hand through his hair.
    “We’ve got to keep our relationship a secret until this whole thing is over,” Logan replied. “If he gets wind of any of this, he’s gonna nail our asses to the wall.”
    “I can’t stop seeing her, Logan. She’s in here, man,” Kyle said, tapping at his heart. “I can’t do it.”
    “You don’t have to tell me,” Logan replied. I think we should let Nina know the chief is on a fishing expedition. It’ll be easier to keep this thing under wraps until the investigation closes if she’s in the loop.”
    “It would be a lot easier if she wasn’t so damned sexy. It’s hard to keep my eyes off of her. I mean, I’m trying to be discreet, but it’s almost impossible, bro.”
    Logan grabbed him by the shoulder. “Be that as it may, we’ve got to be careful. If the chief finds out that we’re personally involved with Nina, he’s probably gonna see to it that we’re suspended.”
    Kyle smiled at him reassuringly. “Hey, we can handle this. We’ll just make sure that he doesn’t find out.”
    “We’ll have to, because I’m not about to put this thing on hold. When I’m with her, I can’t seem to keep my hands off of her,” Logan said.
    “I know the feeling,” Kyle confirmed as he opened the back door of Nina’s car. “You get to ride shotgun—this time, man.”
     
    * * * *
     
    For the next several hours, the trio reexamined four of the remaining crime scenes where the arsonist had left behind a trail of menacing