“I mean no disrespect, it’s just…” Ellie glanced at the scene around them before returning her focus to the shielded man. “You’re homicide detectives. Investigating fires isn’t exactly in your wheelhouse. Not unless…”
Her remaining words were lost as understanding settled like a rock in her gut.
Oh, no. Please don’t let that be why they’re here.
“One of the tenants didn’t make it out of the building in time,” Detective Brandt revealed what Ellie had been praying wasn’t true. “An elderly woman on the tenth floor. She was alive but unresponsive when they found her.”
“Paramedics did what they could,” Knox added grimly. “Unfortunately the woman died on the way to the hospital.”
From beside her, Lucky blew out a breath and ran a hand over his jaw. “And since arson is the fire’s suspected cause—”
“Any death occurring during the commission of a felony is automatically considered a homicide,” Ellie finished for him.
Well, would you look at that?
Not only did they make damn fine dance partners…now they were finishing each other’s sentences, too. What was next…two spoons and an ice cream sundae?
The memory of his warm, undulating body brushing against hers back at the club rushed to the forefront of her mind. And though this was the absolutelywrongtime and place, but Ellie couldn’t help but think—
I’d rather forgo the spoons and just lick the ice cream off of him.
The loud peeling of a phone ringing was like a bucket of iced water on her wild—and highly inappropriate—imagination. One she’d desperately needed.
You think you could maybe focus on what’s actually important and not your tempting protector?
“It’s Logan.” Lucky looked up from the phone she hadn’t even seen him retrieve. “Archer must have called him. I need to fill him in.”
“Of course.” She motioned for him to take the call.
While Lucky spoke to Logan, Detectives Knox and Brandt used the interruption as a cue to return to their jobs.
“Don’t worry, Ellie,” Knox told her. “We’re still keeping tabs on the hunt for Harvey. We hear anything new, you’ll be one of the first to know.”
“I appreciate that, Travis.” Ellie shook the man’s offered hand and looked back up at the burning building. “I’m still not convinced any of this is him. But if it is…if Harvey is the shooter and the arsonist…he’s evolved into a killer who’s unpredictable.”
And those were the most dangerous kind.
Chapter 11
“She’s staying with me.” Lucky stated this as if it were law. To him, it may as well be. “We get to my place, I’ll dive into the nearby CCTV feed, as well as the camera building’s entrance. Hopefully, one of those caught the bastard’s face.”
There was a long pause before Logan’s deep voice came through the phone’s speaker once more. “You sure you want a client in your personal space? Because you know the firm will flip for a hotel for you both.”
“Hotels are a security nightmare,” he shot that idea down real fast. “I have a spare room, my townhome is secured out the ass, and I live there, so…I already know the place inside and—”
“Ellie!”
Hearing the woman’s shouted voice, Lucky swung his head around to see a worried Archer jogging his way from across the street. With a half-wave, his teammate made sure Lucky saw him, and a handful of seconds later, Archer was there.
“Hey, Nash just got here,” Lucky informed Logan. “I’m going to bring him up to speed, and then I’m getting Ellie the hell out of here.”
“I’ll call Boyer and Van and bring them up to speed. I’ve also got a contact in the fire marshal’s office, so I’ll try to get ahold of her and see what they know.”
“If not, I bet Knox can,” Lucky suggested. “He and his partner are here, on scene.”
“Knox?” His team leader sounded confused. “Why is he—”
“Someone died in the fire.”