Minutes to Kill (Scarlet Falls #2)(31)

“Yes.” Brody got up and walked over to her. He smelled like cedar and spices. His navy-blue sport coat and gray slacks looked good on his rangy body. The jacket bulged around the weapon in his shoulder holster. Her tongue found her teeth again. Not cool. Neither was the way his quiet masculinity affected her.

Smiling, he took the leash from her hand and gently shouldered her away from the door. “Go get your shower. I’ll walk the dog.”

“Thank you.” Hannah kicked off her brother’s boots and took her coffee upstairs. Her short hair stood straight up on the top of her head like a rooster’s comb. Ugh. After a two-minute shower, she brushed her teeth and gave her short locks a quick finger comb. Not that any of this mattered. Brody had already seen the real her. But at least now she didn’t look—or smell—like she’d been on a three-day wilderness survival trek.

Back downstairs, she settled at the island and concentrated on caffeine consumption. The door opened, and a wave of cold air swept into the kitchen with Brody and the dog. Hannah double-handed and drained her mug.

Brody shed his jacket and took the stool next to her. He peered into her cup. “Is it safe to talk now?”

“Almost.” Hannah suppressed a grin and refilled her mug. She lifted the pot in his direction. “Coffee?”

“Please.”

“Cream or sugar?”

He shook his head, settled back, and waited for her to sit down. Then he opened the box of donuts and nudged it toward her. His eyes were full of questions, but she couldn’t be bribed. He was behaving for now, but she knew from past experience, the cop had a subtle way of nosing for information. He was a natural at getting people to talk without thinking. He’d make a clever lawyer. But as a cop, he probably didn’t like attorneys.

She’d thought he didn’t like her. But it seemed she’d been wrong.

Hannah bit into a donut. The explosion of vanilla cream and chocolate icing set off a major foodgasm. Maybe she could be bribed.

“You look troubled this morning.” He studied her face. “You worried about the upcoming trial or the e-mail?”

“Both.” She licked a bit of chocolate icing from her lips and caught him watching. “There’s nothing I can do about the change-of-venue request, but the thought of Carson having to testify breaks my heart, and the assault case against Grant worries me.”

“The assault case doesn’t have much heft,” Brody said. “But you should talk to the prosecutor.”

Hannah smiled. “It’s so hard to get a straight answer out of a lawyer.”

Brody laughed. “It certainly can be.”

Grant had beaten the hell out of the man who’d killed their brother. Over the past eight months, Hannah had used her lawyerly powers to keep the charge against her brother at bay.

“The circumstances were extraordinary. Regardless of the letter of the law, your brother is a soldier with post-traumatic stress. Considering his exemplary military service, I have trouble believing any jury would hold his actions against him. The scumbag he beat up murdered his brother and sister-in-law and tried to kill the rest of his family. Grant was protecting them, and he lost control. If the assault wasn’t tied to a high-profile murder case, it wouldn’t be an issue.”

The criminal defense attorney she’d consulted agreed, but she’d put him on retainer in the event the case against Grant went to trial.

Hannah nodded. “Opposing counsel is simply doing his job. He’s pulling every thread he can find in hopes that he can unravel the case. That’s how the system is supposed to work.” Even though, at the moment, she hated every legal right given to Lee and Kate’s killer.

“Isn’t that what you would do if it was your case?” Disapproval hardened his eyes.

“I don’t think I could be a defense attorney, not after Lee’s murder,” she said.

“I guess not. But none of this tells me why you’re sleeping with your gun handy.” And there it was. Patient as always, he’d cleverly circled around to the question he’d undoubtedly wanted to ask since he’d seen her weapon on the table.

Hannah bristled. The cop hadn’t liked her handgun back in March. Obviously his opinion hadn’t changed since then. “I have a permit, and if I’d had my gun in Vegas, the situation would have had an entirely different outcome.”

“I wasn’t commenting on the legality of your weapon.” Brody’s gaze bore into hers. “I want to know why you think you need it in Scarlet Falls.”

Hannah flushed and blinked away. “The dog wouldn’t stop barking last night. Turned out to be a deer in the yard.”

Brody’s head tilted, as if her statement didn’t compute. “It’s not like you to be easily spooked.”

“I wasn’t spooked. I was being careful. There’s a difference.”

“So the dog barked, and you armed yourself and went out to investigate?” His voice rose.

Irritation warmed her. “What are you talking about? Why on earth would I go outside if I thought there was a possible threat out there? I would never leave a secure location to chase an unknown danger in the dark. That would be stupid. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“Um. No.” He leaned back, confusion creasing his features. “I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”