Darkest Journey (Krewe of Hunters #20)(28)

“I’ll be there in five.”

“I’m not propositioning you, I swear. I mean, you’re not going to get here and find me... Well, it’s not like that. Nothing sexual. Really.”

“Got it. Nothing sexual.” Too bad.

He hung up and headed out on the run, barely remembering to log off his computer and lock up his own house.

Nothing sexual.

Hell.

It was always going to be sexual between them, whether they ever acted on it or not.





5

Charlie heard the sound of a car driving up and hurried to the door to look through the peephole.

She let out a sigh of relief when she saw it was Ethan. He was driving a small black SUV that fit her image of the Bureau.

She threw the door open as he came up the walk. He was in a light pullover and jeans. No glasses. He looked...

Like Ethan. The Ethan she had known, but with closely cropped hair. His expression was tense, his eyes filled with concern, and as soon as he was close enough he took her by the shoulders, searching her face.

“Are you all right?”

“I am. I shouldn’t have asked you to come over. It’s just... I don’t know. These murders...they’re unnerving me.”

“It’s all right. I’m going back outside to look around. Lock the door. I’ll just take a walk around the house and make sure no one’s around and nothing looks out of place.”

“Okay, thank you,” she murmured. He went out, and she immediately locked the door. A few minutes later, he was back.

“No one around now, anyway,” he told her as he entered.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry for making you come out here for nothing. You have to be tired as hell, what with traveling and everything you’ve been doing today. Here it is, nearly midnight, and you’re still on the clock, as they say.”

“I was awake.”

“Well, I’m glad. Did you eat?”

“I did.”

“Want a drink? Some tea—hot or iced—or I think—”

“Tea would be great. Hot. No milk or sugar.”

“Sure. Make yourself comfortable.”

She left him in the living room and fled to the kitchen. Everything seemed to be all right. Whatever had gone bump in the night—if she hadn’t just been imagining everything—was gone, and Ethan was here. Of course, he was only here because he was an FBI agent, and she had requested his presence for protection. And protection was all she wanted. Right?

She set water on to boil and looked through the cupboards. Her dad kept staples in the house, but not much else, and she hadn’t had time to do any shopping. In the freezer she found some frozen blueberry pastries and was happy to see that they were microwavable. She popped them in while she waited for the water to boil. A few seconds later she had a tray fixed with two cups of tea and the pastries.

Ethan was still standing when she returned to the parlor. He had one of her dad’s history books in his hands. It was a very specialized book, dealing with a group of Union generals who had risen and fallen—and sometimes risen again.

“You don’t think his choice of reading material makes my father a murderer, do you?” she asked, aware her tone was sharper than she’d intended it to be.

“I don’t think your father is a murderer at all—I’ve told you that.”

“But he is in the suspect pool.”

“Charlie, at this moment half the town and beyond is in the suspect pool.”

“Of course,” she murmured, lowering her head, not wanting him to see her flush. She quickly set the tray on the coffee table and sat in one of the old upholstered chairs nearby.

“So,” she said, once he, too, had taken a seat, “what’s going on? How’s life?”

He shrugged. “It’s good. I like being with the FBI. I wanted to join the Krewe. And now I’m a member of the Krewe.”

She reached for a pastry. “That’s great. I’m glad you like your work, but you always knew what you wanted to be.”

“So did you.”

“Alexi and Clara have both told me they’re alive because of the Krewe.”

“We do good work,” Ethan agreed. “How about you? I see your face on the television now and then.”

“Mostly commercials, I’m sure,” she said. “Not that I’m complaining. They pay well. Theater—not so much. But I still love it. And I’m doing the movie now. We’ve all invested our own money in it in exchange for a cut of the profits, so we’re hoping.... I think it’s going to be a good movie. It combines a lot of genres. The history in it is really solid. And it contains some social commentary, too. Plus, there’s the added benefit that I got to come home and spend some time with Dad.”

“You live in New Orleans these days, I gather.”

“That’s where the work is.” She took a sip of tea, but it was still too hot, so she quickly set her cup back down. “So how about you? What’s up? You’re living in DC now?”

“I’m living in Virginia. An old town house in Alexandria. I’ve been all over, though. Worked in New York for a few years, which was great, but I love the office I’m in now. I haven’t been there long, but long enough to know I enjoy it. It’s cool getting to work with Jude, of course, and Jackson Crow is an amazing guy. I’m really learning a lot from him. And our real boss, Adam Harrison, is like some kind of wizard or something. So, yeah, life is good.”