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  She suddenly shook her head and marched across the room. Okay. She would comply, but she clearly didn’t like it. She flicked on the switch for a gas fireplace, and bright flames flared to life before she dropped onto the hearth and crossed her legs. “Before I start, don’t waste your time telling me I have no proof of my mom’s murder. Gathering evidence on the job has been my life for years, and I understand that I have no proof. But I also know my mother. She wouldn’t take too many pills on purpose or accidentally. She just wouldn’t.”

  “Her death involved an overdose?” he asked.

  Kennedy nodded. “She was otherwise pretty healthy, so they did an autopsy to determine cause of death. The tox screen revealed a very high level of blood pressure meds in her system that caused a heart attack.”

  “So she OD’d on blood pressure meds,” he said, more to think about it than to state new information. Her mother had a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical science, so it was either a coincidence or ironic that she’d died from a drug overdose. “As a scientist, she would know what taking an excess of these meds would do.”

  “Yeah. And that’s why they’re not ruling out suicide.” Kennedy clutched her arms around her waist, and tears wet her eyes.

  He stepped closer, wanting to comfort her, but settled for perching on the arm of a nearby velvet sofa. “Finley said your mom was stressed.”

  “Stressed or not, she wouldn’t make a big mistake like that. She’s just like me. We’re methodical. Organized. You know that, right? Could you see me making such a mistake?”

  “Not the woman I once knew, but she’s older now.”

  Kennedy dropped her foot to the floor with a solid thud that reverberated around the room. “She worked tough research problems every day without a hitch. She wasn’t mentally diminished. I know. I reviewed her work after I came back to Portland to finish her project. Everything was perfect. And before you say she had an assistant to do it for her, she’d worked alone in the lab ever since I went back to school for forensic science. She did have a part-time administrative assistant. Nora Rayburn. I laid her off after my mom died because I like to handle everything myself.”

  He wouldn’t argue about her mother’s mental abilities. Just as important to him was that Kennedy had said she was here to finish the project.

  “Did you leave the FBI?” he asked.

  “They’ve given me leave for as long as I need.”

  Surprising. “That’s very generous. Especially for a federal agency.”

  “Qualified underwater crime scene investigators with my years of experience are hard to find.”

  Erik understood the special skills she brought to a forensic unit. She’d paired her love of diving with her work. He’d never seen her do a forensic dive, but they’d dived together many times, and he knew she would be good at the job and enjoy it. But for now, she was living here, not in Quantico, Virginia, where the FBI’s main lab was located.

  Here. Portland. His town. Where he’d thought they’d both live to a ripe old age together. But even if he could trust her not to hurt him again and they rekindled their relationship, she would finish this project and go back to her life in Virginia. No point in even thinking about it.

  “So who do you think would want to kill your mother?” he asked.

  “Someone who wanted to stop her research,” Kennedy said. “She also taught chemistry part-time at PSU, but I honestly can’t see anyone she worked with wanting to kill her. Or the students. And her fellow professors loved her. At least that’s what they said when I attended a small memorial luncheon they had for her. It was really touching.”

  “What project was she working on when she died?” he asked.

  “She was developing a first-of-its-kind technique to quickly yet accurately characterize illegal pharmaceuticals. And she was also pioneering a way to give law enforcement officers real-time access to this information.”

  In Erik’s patrol days, he’d seen the harmful and even fatal effects of illegal or counterfeit medicines. These fake pills contained the right active ingredient, but it was often at the wrong dosage.

  “Sounds like she was doing some important work,” he said.

  Kennedy nodded. “Illegally dispensed meds need immediate testing when they’re discovered. And, if there’s a serious threat to public health, there needs to be a method for rapid early warnings. She was also improving the process of collecting information about the product’s manufacturing and supply chain. That’s vital not only for law enforcement investigations but for criminal prosecutions too.”

  “Okay, so that’s got to tick off a lot of lowlifes who manufacture and sell counterfeit drugs,” he said. “Have you been looking into that?”

  “As much as I can with my limited resources. I’ve called in a few favors in D.C., but I still don’t know who the key players are in the area.”

  “This guy tonight. You think he’s trying to stop you too?”

  She shrugged as if the intruder didn’t much matter, but the fear lingered in those expressive eyes. “He was opening a drawer when I first saw him, so maybe he was looking for something.”

  Erik had to fight the anger still smoldering in his gut to keep his tone even. “Would you normally be here at this time of night?”

  She shook her head. “I always work at the lab until at least nine and most days later. But Finley wanted to meet with me, so I came home early. I planned to go back to the lab, but my conversation didn’t go well with Finley and I ended up falling asleep on my mom’s bed.”

  Pain flooded Kennedy’s eyes, another thing to ignore or he might do or say something far too personal. “We have to imagine the worst case scenario, which is that this creep wanted to kill you. Do you know if the marina has security cameras?”

  “Not that I’ve seen.”

  “If not, security here isn’t top priority.” He stood and paced a few steps, then locked gazes with her. “And in that case, because of the break-in, I want to offer our agency’s protection services. We’ll also help you investigate your mother’s death.”

  She didn’t speak for the longest moment. “That…us together. It’s not a good—”

  “Idea? Yeah, I get that.” He didn’t like hearing her echoing his feelings, but he agreed. “We shouldn’t spend time together. Not with our history. But I’m not going to let you fend for yourself when there could be a killer out there turning his sights on you. So either hire a bodyguard or let us do this for you.”

  She watched him, her gaze mining for something, as she twisted her hands on her lap. “I’m on unpaid leave. I can’t afford a bodyguard or your services.”

  “Then we’ll do it for free.”

  “I can’t let—”

  “You owe me, Kennedy. For the way you dumped me. So make it up to me by letting me make sure no one hurts you.” He knew that was a low blow, but if it was the only way to get her on board with protective services, he wasn’t beyond striking.

  “I…I just don’t know.”

  “If you won’t do it for yourself, how about doing it so you can keep working on the project? And if your mom really was murdered, then you can find who did it.”

  “Okay.” She got up. “But we have to agree to keep this professional.”

  “Trust me,” he said, not letting his gaze waver from the bottomless brown eyes that always made his heart flip-flop. “I’ll be the perfect example of professionalism.”

  She held out her hand. “Then we have a deal.”

  He clasped her hand, and despite the lingering coldness, his heart fired with a million little sparks.

  Right. Professional. Could he do it? Time would tell.

  He let go, almost hurling her hand away. “I’ll get Malone on the phone.”

  He dug out his cell and took a few steps back, as if moving away from Kennedy would change the unexpected feelings.

  Thankfully, Malone answered, and Erik explained the situation.

  “And you said the police don’t want to send anyone out for the
break-in?” Malone asked.

  “If Sierra finds something, they’ll take an interest. If not, we’re on our own. Either way, if we wait to dive for any evidence, we risk it washing downstream. So the dive needs to happen tonight.”

  “Then exigent circumstances would prevail, and it should be fine. If you could have someone record the dive, that would be great.”

  “I’ll ask Kennedy about that.”

  Hearing her name, Kennedy eyed him.

  “Let me know if I can help in any other way.” Malone ended the call.

  Erik shoved his phone into his pocket and joined Kennedy to share the conversation. “So what do you think? Could I dive with you and record it?”

  “Not necessary,” she said quickly. “Not if we can find another forensic diver to be my backup.”

  “Backup?” He studied her. “But you said no one was good enough to do this dive.”

  “Not as the lead diver, but as a backup, it’ll be fine. We just need to get someone out here in a hurry.”

  “Why do you need a backup?”

  “Forensic dives are just like your foot grid searches. A lead diver holds onto a rope and searches in a straight line to a designated point. Then the backup diver will do a secondary search to see if I missed anything. Which I never have, but this is too important to risk not doing a secondary search.”

  Erik nodded his understanding. “Brendan used to be a deputy for Clackamas County. He might know someone on their team who’ll volunteer to work with you.”

  “Great. I’ve got gear in my mom’s storage closet outside. So get Brendan on the phone, but you should know.” She fisted her hands on her waist. “Backup diver or not, I’m going in tonight.”

  3

  Thankfully, Brendan’s buddy Charlie was on the way to dive with Kennedy. She hated to admit it, but Finley’s call to Erik was fortunate in so many ways. They now had forensics on site and soon would have that second diver. And she was safe under Erik’s protective oversight.

  She glanced out the window and spotted him striding toward the Veritas Center forensic van in the parking lot, where he’d gone to help Sierra carry in her supplies, the wind battering his shirt. Normally, Kennedy would be fired up to take a look inside the van, but she needed a moment alone to gather her thoughts before the dive.

  Not only to get over connecting with Erik after so many years, but now Sierra too. In the two years Kennedy had dated Erik, she’d spent a lot of time with his family, and she’d come to love all of them. Sure, the five guys could be a lot to take in at once, but they each had generous hearts underneath their harder exteriors. His dad, Russ, was super supportive, and his mom, Peggy, was the kind of mom every kid dreamed of—except for when she interfered a little too much. She would’ve had Erik and Kennedy married after only a few months of them being together. Kennedy couldn’t even imagine how Peggy would go mother bear on Kennedy if they ever ran into each other.

  She shuddered at the thought. Or maybe at the thought of an intruder. Something she was trying hard to pack away and not think about. She was almost thankful for the turmoil over being here with Erik and Sierra as it gave her something else to think about. Almost.

  Erik started toward the house carrying Klieg lights under his arm, Sierra behind him with toolkits in each hand. If truth be told, Kennedy’s heart was overly happy to see him again. Beyond what she could’ve predicted. She wasn’t over him. She should’ve realized that in all those years when her relationships went nowhere. She’d compared the men to Erik, and they never measured up. She’d figured it was because they lacked many of his character traits. She hadn’t realized they didn’t measure up because they weren’t him.

  He reached her gangway, and she stepped back from the window before he caught her watching him. She twisted her hands together and took several deep breaths.

  “Where do you want the lights?” Erik looked back at Sierra, who hadn’t changed much over the years.

  “I’ll want to start with the front door, so just outside.” Sierra was a female version of Erik with dishwater blond hair. Where Erik kept his hair in a buzz cut, she had bangs, and her hair fell straight below her shoulders. She was nearly six feet tall and still slender, though she’d filled out some and was more curvaceous. Kennedy noted a wedding ring on Sierra’s finger as she dug her disposable gloves from her pocket and stepped into the room.

  Sierra’s gaze went to Kennedy, and Kennedy waited for a look of disdain, but Sierra cocked her head and studied her. “Long time no see. How many years has it been?”

  “Six.” Kennedy tried not to gawk at Sierra for not sounding mad over the way Kennedy had dumped Erik.

  Sierra tipped her head at her brother. “This bozo never told us what happened with the two of you. I won’t pry, but it’s good to see you again.”

  She shot Erik a look and found him carefully watching her. Color her surprised. It almost sounded as if Sierra blamed Erik for the breakup. Had he not said anything because he was protecting her reputation with his family? Or was it just too painful to talk about?

  “Let’s just get the forensics going,” he said.

  Sierra wrinkled her nose at him then looked back at Kennedy. “I hear you’re a hotshot FBI tech.”

  Kennedy chuckled at the face Sierra was making. “Not sure about hotshot, but I am a fed. At least a fed on leave.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about your mom.” Sierra rested a hand on Kennedy’s arm and met her gaze.

  A pang of guilt tightened Kennedy’s stomach. This wonderful woman didn’t know the truth of what Kennedy had done to her brother. If she did, she wouldn’t be so kind. Not that she would be rude. None of the Byrds would do that. Their parents taught them impeccable manners, but Sierra would likely give Kennedy the cold shoulder.

  “And you think this break-in is related to her death?” Sierra asked, leaving her hand on Kennedy’s arm.

  “I’m not sure, but I don’t see why else someone would break in here.”

  Sierra squeezed Kennedy’s arm. “Then you have the complete services of the Veritas Center at your disposal. No charge.” She snapped on the gloves. “Feel free to watch, but you know you can’t help, right?”

  Kennedy nodded. “And I promise not to backseat quarterback.”

  Sierra smiled and stepped into the beams of light from the portable units Erik had turned on.

  “How did Reed feel about you coming out tonight?” Erik asked.

  “He’s fine with it. As long as I’m home for the next feeding.” Sierra looked at Kennedy. “Reed’s my husband, and we have a two-month-old son, Asher. The new love of my life.”

  “Poor Reed’s been replaced already.” Erik grinned.

  Sierra laughed, and Erik joined her. His face, with its wide jaw sporting a thick close-cut beard, lost the tension and lit up. Kennedy’s heart catapulted, and she couldn’t look away from him.

  He caught her watching, and his cheerful expression evaporated. He turned to Sierra. “What do you need me to do?”

  She got out her camera. “Move out of my camera range.”

  Of course, Sierra would start with scene photos. Kennedy should’ve thought of that and gotten out of the way, but she’d been too flustered by the armed intruder to think logically. Was still flustered and needed some air. She turned and nearly fled onto the back deck, sucking in air and holding onto the railing.

  The river lapped against the floats, the sound soothing. The cloud cover had evaporated, letting the temperature drop, and the sky sparkled with a million little stars around the half moon.

  If life had been easy right now, she would stay here for hours, admiring the night. The wind whipped across the deck, and the smell of rain freshened the air, but stars had broken through the clouds. The rhythmic sound of flowing water and the starry night could be so romantic with Erik, whose heavy footfalls sounded behind her.

  “You can’t be out here.” His deep voice thundered through her. “It’s not safe.”

  All thoughts of roman
ce vanished, and she spun. “You don’t think he’s here, do you?”

  “We can never be too safe.” He gestured for her to precede him back inside.

  She didn’t argue but strode into the living room, staying just inside the door to keep out of Sierra’s photos.

  He slid the door closed and stood next to her, and she caught his distinct scent. She knew it so well. “I never thought your mom would choose to live on a boat.”

  Kennedy looked out the window. “After Dad died, she needed a change.”

  “I’m so sorry, hon—” He curled his fingers to his palms. “I can’t imagine losing one parent, let alone both of them.”

  Tears burned for release, but she controlled them. She wouldn’t add crying in front of Erik and Sierra to her night. “It’s been tough—harder for thinking my mom was murdered.”

  “About that.” He sounded reluctant. “Just in case you’re right and she was murdered, I need you to leave your phone here so you can’t be tracked when you leave. We’ll give you a virtually untraceable phone to use. So if you need to export information, we should do that now.”

  She picked up her phone, but paused. If she gave it to him, she would be handing over a lifeline, and it put a hitch in her heart. When had she become so dependent on this device?

  “Trust me,” Erik said. “I get your hesitancy. My whole life is on my phone. But if you end up needing a new one, we can restore your information.”

  Would it be the same? No fun blue cover with periodic elements on it. Maybe not personalized with her ringtones. Might not include her mother’s last few messages.

  No. No. Kennedy couldn’t lose those. “My mom’s messages. Will they transfer too?”

  He nodded. “Since you have an iPhone, I’ll just back it up to the cloud, and we can download everything to a new device.”

  “I’m not losing this.” She took off the cover. “I also left my backpack at the lab and need to pick it up.”

  “I don’t want you going over there right now. Give me the keys, and I’ll have one of my brothers get it.”