Page 36 of Shadow Strike
But he’d been withdrawn and quiet all morning.Because of the kiss or the note?The note was about crackers.Why would that make him act awkward around her?
It had to be the kiss.He regretted it.
Her heart fell to her knees.She sliced more lemons, the knife striking the cutting board with far too much force.
The front door opened, and CB walked in, followed by a woman Regan didn’t recognize.She wore her dark hair in a high ponytail, had skipped makeup, and moved with confidence in a navy blue suit.
“Regan,” CB said, “this is Special Agent Claire Dawson from the FBI, Missoula field office.”
Claire extended her hand.Regan hurriedly wiped hers and pasted on a smile.“Hi.Thank you for coming.”
Her grip was firm, her smile warm.It lit her face.“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.I’ve listened to your podcast.You’re doing great work.”
Her cheeks heated.“Thank you.”Regan gestured behind her.“Can I get you anything?Coffee?A soda?”
“Coffee would be great, thanks.”Claire glanced around the bar and its handful of customers.“Is there somewhere private we can talk?I’ll need to take your statement first, then CB’s.”
“My office.”Regan gestured toward the back hallway, removing her apron.“It’s small but quiet.”
She glanced at CB.He gave her a brief nod of encouragement.That was it.
She poured two cups of coffee and led Claire through the swinging door, past the kitchen, to the cramped room she used for paperwork and inventory.A battered desk, two chairs, and stacks of invoices she’d been ignoring.Not impressive but functional.
Claire settled into one of the chairs and pulled out a handheld recorder.“I’m sure CB told you, I need to record this.”
“Yes, of course.”
For the next forty minutes, Claire asked questions, and Regan walked her through everything.The first letter arriving.The escalating demands.The careful way she’d handled each piece of correspondence, using gloves from the moment she realized what she was dealing with.She opened her desk and pulled them out.Claire made a note in the recorder and tucked them into her briefcase.
Regan continued about the attack in the alley.Denny Crue’s threats, CB’s intervention.Ryder’s appearance yesterday morning and his comment about her mother.
Claire was professional but also kind.The type of agent who made witnesses feel heard rather than interrogated.“I’ve been in contact with Kristina.Based on this testimony, she’ll file the cease and desist order today.You should have a copy in your inbox by tomorrow morning.”
“And I just…give it to whatever Outlaw shows up for the extortion money?”
Claire smiled.“Ryder Briggs will be served officially with the papers.”
Regan drew in a shaky breath.“And if someone still shows up Friday?Do you need to be here, just in case?”
“If anyone shows up, CB will alert me, and he will handle it until I arrive.Once we have prints confirmed from the letters, we’ll have a solid evidentiary foundation.”She clicked off the recorder.“I appreciate your thoroughness, Ms.Hill.The gloves, the careful handling.Most people don’t think about forensics until it’s too late.”
“Journalism taught me well.”Regan managed a tired smile.“I’ve covered enough crime stories to know better than to contaminate evidence with my own fingerprints.”
Claire stood.“I’ll take CB’s statement now, if you’ll send him back?”
Regan found CB at the bar, nursing a tall glass of iced tea with a lemon wedge and reading something on his phone.The sliced lemons from her earlier rampage were gone—he must have gathered them up and put them in the fridge.
He looked up when she approached, and she felt that pull again—the magnetic tug toward him that she’d been trying to rationalize away all morning.
“Your turn,” she said.
He nodded, pocketed his phone, and headed for the office without a word.
Regan busied herself restocking the cooler, trying not to watch him go.The door to the hallway swung shut, and she was alone with her thoughts again.
“So.”
She nearly dropped a bottle of Coke.Her mother stood at the end of the bar, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised in that knowing way that had terrified Regan as a teenager.
