Cold Fear (22 page)

Frazer nodded and leaned back in his chair. “I’m going to trace that photograph, Kit, but to be honest it might be difficult to press charges because, as suggestive as it is, there’s no nudity, no intimate body parts on display.” He pulled out his cell and eyed the image with his head tilted to one side. “It actually looks staged to me, like something a pissed off seventeen-year-old would orchestrate to get back at the other girls at the party. But the scheme backfired when Helena died.”

Kit threw him a look that was both full of gratitude and reluctantly impressed. Because he hadn’t fallen for her trick and immediately condemned her the way Izzy had.

Izzy’s mouth dropped. “So, you mean you didn’t give him a…”

Kit shot out of her chair. “For God’s sake, Izzy. You can’t even say it. Jesus. Blow job. Fellatio. That’s a term you’re probably more familiar with as it’s Latin.”

“You didn’t do it.” Izzy repeated stupidly. Why it made her feel better she had no clue.

Kit eyed her archly. “Maybe I did it for real after we got high?”

But she hadn’t. Izzy knew she hadn’t. “I should have hosed the place down,” she said instead.

Kit sneered. “You should try it some time. It’s called having fun. I wasn’t expecting it to become an Internet sensation, I just wanted those bitches to freak out for a while before I showed them the other photograph. Prove what idiots and bullies they all are.” Kit showed them her phone with another photograph taken side-on with Damien’s pants clearly zipped and her smiling innocently up at the guy. Same pose, a million times less pornographic. “After Helena was killed I forgot all about the stupid photographs. Then I got pissed about what they wrote. Fucking bitches.” Kit wiped her eyes and picked up her coat. “Can I go now?” she asked Frazer.

“Who took the photographs?”

“Franky. Jesse’s friend. But I don’t think he’d have sent the picture to anyone, not with what happened to Jesse and Helena. He’s a good guy.”

The guy was in a shitload of trouble already. Izzy doubted he’d admit to another infraction.

“It’s a starting place and that’s all I need.” Frazer looked like he’d solved the whole problem. He texted something on his phone then checked his messages. “Chief Tyson got the girl you hit to drop the charges. You
will
need to apologize.”

“Like hell.”

He looked at Kit for a moment as if he was trying to figure out why she didn’t operate under the rules of normal logic.

Welcome to my world.

“Do it for Helena. You get tonight to think about it, otherwise you’ll be back here tomorrow, and Miranda’s parents will press charges for assault.”

Kit’s narrow-eyed glare could blister paint. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll apologize to the bitch, but the whole time I do it I’ll be staring at her squinty eyes and stupid fricking nose.”

*     *     *

K
IT STALKED OUT,
heading to the waiting room, which was thankfully empty except for Ted. Izzy followed close behind.

Ted stood when he saw them. “How about I take you home, Kit-kat?”

“I’ll take her,” insisted Izzy.

“I’m not a child. I can drive myself.” Kit was close to flouncing off like some pissed off debutante.

Izzy took another deep breath, searching for her elusive inner Zen. “I don’t want you driving when you’re this upset.”

“Why? Scared I’ll embarrass you?”

“No, I’m scared you’ll run off the road, or hit another car because you’re too upset to concentrate properly.”

“I don’t care,” Kit spat.

Izzy opened her mouth to argue, but Frazer beat her to it. “Go with your uncle, Kit. I’ll arrange for your car to be driven home.” He held open his palm for her keys.

“Fine. I’ll go with Ted.” Kit slapped the keys into Frazer’s hand, treating him with the same disdain she treated everyone else.

Izzy should have been embarrassed, but she was too numb from the events of the last few days. She trailed outside the police station, and a feeling of complete and utter failure settled around her shoulders as Kit stalked off toward Ted’s truck without a backward glance.

She folded her arms over her chest. “She hates me.”

“She’s hurting.”

“And I made her furious. Rather than supporting her I acted judgmental.”

“She’s acting like a brat and is old enough to know better,” Frazer said grimly. “Any guardian seeing their underage charge apparently performing oral sex is allowed to get a little upset. I’d be worried if you didn’t.”

“Why did she let me think the worst of her?” Izzy didn’t get it.

“I’m guessing it was a way of punishing herself for what she sees as failing Helena.”

Izzy turned horrified eyes on him. “And rather than talking about her feelings, she let everyone think she was screwing around with Damien when Helena was killed?”

“She
was
screwing around with Damien when Helena was killed—doesn’t mean it was her fault. But she needed them to think the worst of her because that’s how she feels about herself. And she wanted the excuse to lash out at people, including you, when she proved them wrong.”

“How did you know she was lying?”

One side of his lips curled up, and there was a glint in his eyes that made her breath catch. “Let’s just say I had a little help from a guy who’s good with technology.”

She watched Ted and Kit drive away. Kit didn’t even look at her. Izzy wanted to hide her eyes with her hands and make it all go away, but that was weak and pathetic and not something Izzy would give in to. “Do you have kids?” she asked instead.

He shook his head and stared out at Pamlico Sound, which ran about a hundred yards behind the red-bricked building. “No kids. No one.”

“Not even a dog?” He loved dogs. She didn’t know what she would do without Barney.

His eyes hardened. “My ex took my dog. After a week or so, he escaped her yard and was hit by a car.” His shoulders were rigid, his face a series of stern lines.

“Do you think she did it on purpose?” Izzy asked. She’d heard the bitterness in his voice when he’d spoken about his ex to Jesse earlier.

“Let’s just say I had no problem signing the divorce papers after that.”

A lump formed in Izzy’s throat. He didn’t say more, but she knew it had hurt. “I’m sorry about your dog.”

His gaze remained impassive. “It was a long time ago. Your uncle has always lived on the island?”

She nodded and they started walking towards her car. “He was mayor for about fifteen years. He retired when my mom took sick. Helped to look after her. She had cancer.”

“You didn’t nurse her?”

Tension radiated along her spine. “I was deployed.” And grateful to be deployed. “Made it back just before she passed. Ted watched Kit when I bought out my commission.”

“Why did you enlist?”

“At first it was expediency. They paid for medical school, which I couldn’t have afforded otherwise.” The sea breeze tangled her hair. “But I was honored to serve my country.” They weren’t just words. It had been a privilege to give back, to support troops who needed her. “And the Army suited me. I enjoyed not having to make decisions about what to do with my life.”

His brows rose. “That’s a pretty honest assessment though you don’t seem like someone who has difficulty making decisions.”

“It isn’t the easy stuff I struggle with—like what to make for dinner, or whether or not I should workout. And I know what I’m doing when it comes to patient care.” Her gaze cut to his and then quickly away. “But figuring out where I can be the most effective? Where I’m needed most? Someone forcing me to take a vacation? The Army makes those things easy.”

“You don’t strike me as someone who likes being told what to do.”

“I don’t, except in certain situations.” And suddenly her mind was in the gutter and for the third time in fewer days a fierce blush heated her cheeks. “I’m not talking about in the bedroom.” Because whether he was interested or not, she wasn’t about to have that misunderstanding between them. The day someone started tying her to the bedposts was the day she broke their jaw. “But I like rules, I like structure, organization, standard operating procedures. All the things teenagers hate.”

As silence stretched between them Izzy remembered the words Kit had thrown at her.
Maybe if you learned to give good head you wouldn’t be stuck home every night like some fucking virgin.

Dammit. She wasn’t going to care about what her messed up little sister thought of her. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“The FBI must be chock full of rules.”

He laughed and his whole demeanor changed. For a moment he lost his stiffness and looked younger, the curve of his mouth pulling her in and seducing her with its fullness. “The FBI does love rules.” He shrugged. “It’s an advantage of being an ASAC—I have less people ordering me around. But taking orders doesn’t come naturally to me. You might have noticed, I’m pretty damned bossy.” The gleam in his eye said “in and out of the bedroom.” But maybe that was her imagination working overtime.

The wind ruffled his damp hair. “You’re pretty senior to be down here working a case.”

He shrugged and straightened his slightly crooked tie. “The agent who should have been here is pregnant and there were complications with the pregnancy. I came in her place.”

“Is she okay?” Was that why he’d looked so tense and angry when he’d first arrived?

“Yes. She’s going to be okay.” From his expression she realized this woman meant something to him. He’d said there was no one in his life but that didn’t mean—

“It isn’t mine.”

“Pardon?”

“The baby. I can read your thoughts from the look on your face. You’re thinking Agent Rooney is having my baby. But trust me, I might care about her but not like that.” He muttered under his breath. “I value my life too much.”

If he could read her mind that easily, she was screwed. She took a step back and found herself brought up short by her car. “It’s none of my business.”

He took a step closer. She watched him, mesmerized by the intensity of his gaze.

“I meant it when I said there’s no one in my life. No commitments. No obligations.”

The air in her lungs vanished as she read the offer in those blue eyes.

“But my priority is the case.” He tilted his head to one side as he regarded her. He obviously knew she was attracted to him, and that she was wary. Unfortunately it was his job that scared her to death—and those acute observational skills.

She found herself sucking in air as her heart went wild.

He straightened to his full height, a good five or six inches above her 5’6” frame. Not so tall she couldn’t lean up and kiss him if she wanted to. She held herself firmly in place even as her fingers curled with the effort of not reaching for his lapels and pulling him down to her lips.

“You should get back to Kit.”

His words snapped her back to reality and she fumbled her keys. She shouldn’t be thinking about kissing the guy. She had a teenager to ground. She cleared her throat and asked, “Do you really think you can get control of that photograph?”

“Not me, but a friend of mine.”

With her car door unlocked, she faced him again. “I don’t know how to thank you, but I am grateful.”

“Earlier you mentioned food.” He grinned at her surprised expression and she caught another glimpse of the man beneath the badge. “I don’t have time to get to the store. Anything edible in the cottage would be all the thanks I need—even a loaf of bread and a pint of milk.”

He opened the door for her, standing close enough to feel the heat of him jump across the space that divided them. His gaze shifted to her lips. She stared back, heart skipping as she imagined what it might be like if one of them crossed the line and took the other one with them. Then the shutters came down as if he realized his thoughts were showing on his face.

His expression grew serious. “Keep an eye on your sister. You might want to keep her off social media tonight. It’s going to be a rough ride for a while. The good news is Kit has a thick skin, but combined with Helena’s death?”

“I’ll watch her.” The genuine caring in his voice warmed something deep inside. She got into the car and he closed her door, and then strode quickly away without looking back.

She needed to keep her distance, she reminded herself. Even though she was attracted to the guy, she couldn’t get sucked in. ASAC Frazer had just found the remains of two bodies out at Parson’s Point. Bodies she’d helped bury seventeen years ago.

*     *     *

I
T WAS ALMOST
seven o’clock when Izzy carried the pot of chicken curry in both hands and a plastic bag filled with some basics hooked on her arm. She almost went flying down the steps when Barney rushed past her out onto the beach to chase a seagull who’d landed too close to his water bowl. She steadied herself and took a deep breath. The bird flew off and Barney gave her an
I’m-so-clever
grin.

“Doofus.” She laughed softly.

The dog followed her up the steps next-door and sat beside her as she put the pot down to knock at the door. She tried to tell herself the thought of seeing Frazer didn’t make her pulse skip, but she was lying.

The door opened almost immediately, to a harried looking Special Agent Randall who had his phone pressed to his ear. He held his finger up to ask her to wait for a moment, but Barney went right inside and made himself at home. Izzy felt a bit stupid standing there with a pot of curry, but she’d promised food, and it seemed the least she could do after all the help he’d given her with Kit.

Randall hung up and ran his hand through his hair, making it stand up on end. “Sorry, that was a friend of mine. One of Frazer’s BAU agents. I discovered she’s been in the hospital for the last few days, and he didn’t even tell me.”

From the clenched jaw and glitter in his eyes this was a bad thing. Randall pulled it together and forced a smile. “What’ve you got there?”

“I went on a cooking spree and made enough to fill the freezer. I told ASAC Frazer I’d drop off something for you two for supper, and some milk, eggs and butter, because I know you guys are busy.” She handed the pot over, potholders and all.