“I’ll see you later, Sienna.”
Sienna nodded and Lana headed to her car, relieved that Bryant had been too distracted by sneering at her.
She still had her dry cleaning to pick up before she could go back to Sean’s and snuggle with him.
Lana got into her car swinging her purse onto the seat. She dislodged the folder that Tim the photographer had given her at Bryant’s office. The pictures inside scattered in a fanning array across the floorboard of her car.
The mysterious firefighter was in each picture.
CHAPTER11
Lana felt in her bones that this was a breakthrough. Something concrete that she could show her captain and Bryant. They would have to acknowledge it.
But what if she did give the information to Bryant and he botched it or worse yet, still wouldn’t believe her? He could damage the case. That was something she couldn’t allow. It was up to her to find out who this guy was.
She stuffed the photos back in the manila folder, deciding that she was going to keep quiet about it until she had a name and some more evidence.
She put the car in gear and drove over to Sean’s apartment. When she walked through the door, he was sitting at his breakfast bar reading the paper.
“Hi, babe,” he said, returning the kiss she gave him as she approached. “Where have you been?”
“Out on errands,” she hedged, deliberately keeping the information about the test registration to herself along with the photos.
Sean would tell her to turn them into Bryant and leave the investigation alone. He would caution her that if she was really serious about becoming captain, a dark mark on her record could jeopardize her dream. So, maybe she wasn’t as committed as she thought she was.
Well, he would be wrong, she thought as she stole a piece of toast off his plate. She was committed. It was that the investigation was so important. Yeah, that’s it. The thrill she got from pitting her mind against a criminal fire starter had nothing to do with her decision to pursue the case alone and in secret.
She grabbed a cup of coffee and said, “Let’s go out on the balcony and relax.”
“No.”
His sharp answer made her remember how he’d hesitated going up the ladder at the warehouse fire. “Sean, I’ve never seen you on your balcony. Why?”
“It’s too windy.”
“There’s no wind today.”
“I don’t like the bugs.”
“I don’t think you get many bugs this high up.”
“I don’t have comfortable chairs out there.”
“Sean, are you afraid of heights?”
His face colored and he looked away. “No.” He put the paper up to his face.
“You are,” she said, grabbing the paper away from him and meeting his darting eyes. “You were afraid to go up the ladder, but I’ve seen you walk across a steel girder to fight a fire.”
“Okay, so I’m afraid of heights. It’s something that I do because the job requires it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it or succumb to my fear.”
“Jeez, I can’t believe this. I had no idea.”
“Sometimes it gets the best of me.”
“Sean, you live on the twenty-third floor. Why is that?”
“Defiance.”