“Worth saying twice. Go on, now. Don’t keep him waiting.”
Morgan stood and took her bowl to the sink. Outside the kitchen window, the last of the leaves were coming down in the wind, spinning slowly toward the ground.
“Frank,” she said, without turning around.
“Yes.”
“For the record, I’m glad you wrote back.”
Behind her, the silence was the warmest kind.
“So am I,” he said. “So am I.”
36
RESORTING TO BRIBERY
PATRICK
Patrick rana hand through his hair, checked his breath, popped a breath mint, and opened the door. Morgan gave him a shy smile as her subtle scent carried in on the light breeze.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
It took a moment for his brain to come back online, because he couldn’t stop thinking of the other night. And… yep, based on the flare in her eyes, she was thinking about it too.
“Come in.”
She stepped over the threshold, and he helped her remove her jacket. She was wearing another soft sweater that hugged her curves. Curves that he’d mapped with his hands and later, his mouth.
Her eyes shifted to the stairs, lingered there for a moment, then met his again. She cleared her throat. “Just so you know, what happened the other night—it’s not something I do often.”
Patrick looked at her. “I know. Me neither.”
She stared at him for a beat. Then she laughed—a real laugh, unguarded, the kind that surprised her as much as it surprised him. “Right.”
“What?”
“You have charmer written all over you.”
“Judging a book by its cover?” he asked, lifting a brow, keeping his tone light and teasing. “I expected better from one of the youngest MDIs ever to receive diplomate status with the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators and a file full of formal commendations from law enforcement agencies and the DA’s office.”
Morgan blinked, opened her mouth, then closed it again. “DeepTrace.”
He inclined his head. “GraveDigger.”
“You’re right. I made an assumption based on something other than facts. I apologize.”
“Apology accepted.”
She held his gaze for a moment, then something in her expression shifted, settled.
“Okay,” she said. “Tell me what you found.”
He told her everything, beginning with the shell company and ending with Torres and the two versions of the incident report,and watched recognition move across her face—not surprise, but confirmation.
“I’m impressed.” Morgan sat back, and a tiny wave of pride washed over him. He had a feeling she didn’t say those words to many people.