Page 51 of Race to Save Her

“What was your problem the other day? I thought we had a respectful working friendship.”

He laughed and stopped chopping. “Seriously? Is your confidence that low?”

Katie turned to leave. “You know, I came here as a courtesy to…”

“To what?” He kept her gaze as he pushed up his sleeves, revealing severe scarring on his arms. If it bothered him to show it—it didn’t seem to make a difference now.

Katie realized Ames had a chip on his shoulder and there wouldn’t be any talking to him—perhaps another time. She kept her cool. “I’m sorry I bothered you. If we have any other questions about the investigation, we’ll contact you.”

She made it to the door before Blitz trotted up next to her, demanding another pet.

“He seems to like you,” said Ames.

Katie turned to see the dog staring at her. “It’s definitely mutual, but for the handler not so much.” She opened the door. It was raining outside, coming down in heavy buckets, followed by thunder and lightning scarring the night sky. She took a step outside and prepared herself to walk to her car.

Ames pulled her back inside and kept his hand on her forearm. She looked at him, annoyed.

“What?”

Katie pulled back her arm. “I’m leaving.”

“Just wait a few minutes. It won’t last long.”

The last thing Katie wanted to do was stay in Ames’s house longer than she had to.

“I have some information that might be useful for you,” he said, closing the door against the weather.

She still wanted to leave, but any information regarding the case could be crucial. “Okay, what do you have?”

Ames immediately moved to the hallway and retrieved a towel from a cabinet. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She began trying to dry her clothes and her hair.

“Look,” said Ames. “We may have gotten off on the wrong foot.”

“May?”

“I actually thought you had a thicker skin than this.” Ames went back to chopping vegetables.

“It’s not about thick skin. It’s about professionalism and a homicide case. This— is a very unusual investigation.”

“I tell you what. Stay for dinner and we’ll call it a draw.”

“I couldn’t stay for dinner,” she said.

The thunder crashed above their heads—perfect timing.

“A quick bowl of my awesome vegetable soup?”

Katie admitted she hadn’t had lunch and was hungry. She walked to the window and observed a heavy storm, the likes of which she hadn’t seen in a while. Looking at her watch, she said, “Okay. Thank you.”

“Good choice.”

“It does smell good. Have you always cooked?”

“Well, it comes with the job at the firehouse. You either sink or swim when it comes to cooking for the entire house.”

Katie nodded. She felt uncomfortable but decided to take a seat at the bar, where she could watch him cook. “Need any help?”