popping the thing open so Moreno could get in. A few more minutes had him buckled into the driver’s seat beside her, Station Seventeen firmly in the Camaro’s rearview as he angled the car toward North Point.
“So freelancing on a case like this is a little ballsy, isn’t it?” Kellan asked. As a firefighter, bucking the chain of command was a surefire ticket to censure. Not to mention stupidly dangerous.
Isabella’s expression said she disagreed. “I’d hardly call this freelancing,” she said, twirling her index finger to connect the two of them in an imaginary circle. “We’re just going for a ride.”
“A ride your sergeant and your partner know nothing about.” He couldn’t even imagine trying to pull something like that off with Bridges, Gamble, Shae, or even Slater, and the kid had been a firefighter for all of five minutes. But they were still a team, a unit. They trusted each other for backup, even on the small stuff.
“I just want to give the place another look to see if I can find enough evidence to make an official case. That’s all,” Moreno said, and God, he should’ve known she’d be fine with breaking the rules.
“If you say so. But this little tour is a one-time deal, so whatever you need, you’d better get it while you can.”
“Believe me, I don’t like this any more than you do. After today, I’ll be out of your hair.”
After a minute of silence that lasted for roughly a decade, Moreno took out her cell phone, bringing the screen to life with a flick of her thumb. “So was there anything unusual about the nine-one-one call for this house fire?”
“No,” Kellan said, focusing his gaze through the windshield. If something had been sideways about the call-in, he’d have mentioned it to her sergeant days ago.
Her lips pressed into a flat line. “Okay. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary when you arrived at the scene?”
“No.”
“Any onlookers acting suspicious or anyone who might not have belonged?”
“No and no.” Little wonder she didn’t have much of a case. He’d already answered every last one of these questions, for fuck’s sake.
Isabella let out a sharp exhale, and whoa, how come she was mad at him ? “Look, you hate me for what happened with your sister, and I get that, okay? I trusted Collins without vetting his team, and one of his guys was dirty. But you found the pictures of those girls, and you’re the only link I have to this scene, so how about you set your dick aside for just a couple minutes so I can do my job and get somewhere with this case, huh?”
For a split second, Kellan sat completely stunned in the driver’s seat, but his irritation didn’t leave him speechless for long. “I might be a little more willing to help if you’d do your job without wasting both of our time. I already told you this stuff the other day.”
“Right. And I’m sure you think I’m incompetent enough to have no idea that these questions are repeats, and that there’s absolutely no good reason to ask them twice.”
Her brows arched at the whaaaa? that had to be plastered all over his kisser, and wait… “You didn’t just forget?”
“Walker, please.” She laughed, although the sound wasn’t completely sarcastic. “I remember how you take your coffee, for God’s sake. I’m not going to blank on the details of a case I’m trying to break.”
Her words sank in good and hard, and hell if she didn’t have a point. Kellan turned off of Washington Boulevard, his curiosity doubling with every stoplight and side street, and screw it. “So why ask the same questions again if you already know the answers?”
“Because you’d be surprised how many details get swallowed by the adrenaline of a moment,” Moreno said, her shoulders softening ever so slightly against the black leather seatback behind her. “Sometimes witnesses remember particulars from an event after they’ve had a little time to process, so repeating interview questions
“So freelancing on a case like this is a little ballsy, isn’t it?” Kellan asked. As a firefighter, bucking the chain of command was a surefire ticket to censure. Not to mention stupidly dangerous.
Isabella’s expression said she disagreed. “I’d hardly call this freelancing,” she said, twirling her index finger to connect the two of them in an imaginary circle. “We’re just going for a ride.”
“A ride your sergeant and your partner know nothing about.” He couldn’t even imagine trying to pull something like that off with Bridges, Gamble, Shae, or even Slater, and the kid had been a firefighter for all of five minutes. But they were still a team, a unit. They trusted each other for backup, even on the small stuff.
“I just want to give the place another look to see if I can find enough evidence to make an official case. That’s all,” Moreno said, and God, he should’ve known she’d be fine with breaking the rules.
“If you say so. But this little tour is a one-time deal, so whatever you need, you’d better get it while you can.”
“Believe me, I don’t like this any more than you do. After today, I’ll be out of your hair.”
After a minute of silence that lasted for roughly a decade, Moreno took out her cell phone, bringing the screen to life with a flick of her thumb. “So was there anything unusual about the nine-one-one call for this house fire?”
“No,” Kellan said, focusing his gaze through the windshield. If something had been sideways about the call-in, he’d have mentioned it to her sergeant days ago.
Her lips pressed into a flat line. “Okay. Did you notice anything out of the ordinary when you arrived at the scene?”
“No.”
“Any onlookers acting suspicious or anyone who might not have belonged?”
“No and no.” Little wonder she didn’t have much of a case. He’d already answered every last one of these questions, for fuck’s sake.
Isabella let out a sharp exhale, and whoa, how come she was mad at him ? “Look, you hate me for what happened with your sister, and I get that, okay? I trusted Collins without vetting his team, and one of his guys was dirty. But you found the pictures of those girls, and you’re the only link I have to this scene, so how about you set your dick aside for just a couple minutes so I can do my job and get somewhere with this case, huh?”
For a split second, Kellan sat completely stunned in the driver’s seat, but his irritation didn’t leave him speechless for long. “I might be a little more willing to help if you’d do your job without wasting both of our time. I already told you this stuff the other day.”
“Right. And I’m sure you think I’m incompetent enough to have no idea that these questions are repeats, and that there’s absolutely no good reason to ask them twice.”
Her brows arched at the whaaaa? that had to be plastered all over his kisser, and wait… “You didn’t just forget?”
“Walker, please.” She laughed, although the sound wasn’t completely sarcastic. “I remember how you take your coffee, for God’s sake. I’m not going to blank on the details of a case I’m trying to break.”
Her words sank in good and hard, and hell if she didn’t have a point. Kellan turned off of Washington Boulevard, his curiosity doubling with every stoplight and side street, and screw it. “So why ask the same questions again if you already know the answers?”
“Because you’d be surprised how many details get swallowed by the adrenaline of a moment,” Moreno said, her shoulders softening ever so slightly against the black leather seatback behind her. “Sometimes witnesses remember particulars from an event after they’ve had a little time to process, so repeating interview questions
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