Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,57

doesn’t seem to be Rain’s thing.”

I sighed. “Here we go.”

“Well, it’s true.” His matter-of-fact tone started to grate on my nerves as he went on. “Unless I imagined the badge in your bag.”

“You’re acting like me going back to the FBI is a foregone conclusion, and it’s not,” I said, trying to keep a handle on my rising temper. “I already told you that I’m not taking the job.”

“Then why did you take the badge?”

“I told you before that I don’t know. That hasn’t changed.”

Mid glare, I realized the rest of the room had gone completely silent. Four sets of big eyes stared at us, forks frozen above various plates. We’d put up a spotlight and pulled the curtain on our relationship, and our audience was riveted.

Kari spoke first, her voice a whisper. “Are you guys getting a divorce?”

“No,” every adult at the table said simultaneously.

Danny cleared his throat. “We're not married, Kare bear. But even if we were, we wouldn't be getting a divorce.”

“We're just arguing,” I added. “Everyone argues.”

“Our parents don’t,” she said suspiciously.

I glanced at my sister and her paragon of a spouse, who merely offered me matching shrugs. Well, our job means we can't be half baked most of the time. Murder and mayhem tend to harsh our mellow. I opened my mouth and closed it before a word escaped. Then, I congratulated myself on my filter.

“Well, we happen to argue. But we always work it out.” I smiled at Kari. She looked so relieved my heart hurt a little.

“You're such a baby,” Kassi chimed in, clearly pretending she hadn't been equally as worried.

“I am not.”

“You are too!”

“Rick,” my sister said.

“Girls,” he said.

Danny bumped my leg with his, and a little of my tension melted away. I knew we had some talking to do, but as long as we were both still in, I could handle uncomfortable conversations. Just maybe not as the evening’s entertainment at the dinner table.

Skylar reached for the platter of molded goo in the middle of the table. “Anyone want more Tofurkey?”

“No,” we all said quickly. I dared any choir to be as in unison as we were at that moment.

She glared. “The whole lot of you are doing dishes.”

Fine by me, if it meant no more Tofurkey, I wasn’t afraid to roll up my sleeves.

Chapter 15

I lingered long after Danny left, helping Kari with her math homework. Then, I helped Rick fix his crossword puzzle. When I offered to help Sky with the laundry, she gave me a knowing look. Stop stalling. She might as well have said the words aloud.

I sent her one right back. You don’t know everything.

She bulged her eyes at me in warning. Don’t I? Since when do you volunteer to help fold clothes?

After a few minutes of us having a conversation through eyes alone, Rick sighed and demanded that we stop doing our “freaky twin thing.” Sky gave me one more meaningful look before she disappeared in the laundry room.

I headed home not long after.

I could hear water running in the bathroom when I walked through the front door. The sound of the shower brought to mind all sorts of delicious images, all involving a naked Danny, his toned body all soapy and wet. My physical response was almost Pavlovian in nature. I toed off my loafers by the shoe cubby we kept in the entryway, debating whether I should join him or not.

I winced as I remembered the anger on his face when he tossed me the FBI badge. Not. Definitely not. Besides, I thought we could both use a little break before we continued our discussion—mostly so it would remain a discussion and not segue into an argument.

I went around the house, quiet as a whisper in my dress socks, doing the nighttime ritual of shutting off lights and checking door locks. Then, I headed into my office.

I sat at my desk and woke my computer. If only relationships could be as straightforward as work. No matter how complicated a case got, the end goal was simple—we had to catch the bad guy. The methodology and victimology changed, as did the names and dates. But collar the crook was it in a nutshell.

It was refreshingly simple.

I logged into my email and spent a few minutes deleting junk before I came across an email from Tab. The name “Sara Jamison” was in the reason line. I clicked on it quickly.

I decided to do a little research on Alex’s ex-wife. Her sister admitted that Sara has