Page 33 of Chain Reaction

“Of course, I remember.” His voice dipped low.

Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she turned away before he saw it.

“I also had him bring by some muffins,” Jake continued. “I figured you might want something to eat.”

Carbs . . . they’d always been her weakness. And not the healthy kind of muffins either. No, she preferred the kind made with bleached flour and filled with sugar and other tasty—but highly processed—ingredients.

“Sounds good,” she finally said. “Now that you mention it, Iama little hungry.”

She hurried into the kitchen, grateful for the chance to be away from Jake.

But as she started pouring her coffee, she felt his presence in the room.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw him leaning against the door, watching her.

Her breath hitched.

Would the two of them be forced to make small talk? Could there be anything worse?

Then he said, “I have an update for you.”

Suddenly, everything else was forgotten.

Jake waited for Raven to get her coffee and then to grab a blueberry muffin—he’d known that was the one she’d pick.

Then he sat across from her at the kitchen table.

“Cassidy called this morning,” he started.

Her eyes widened. “And? Did they find out who did this?”

He shook his head, hating to disappoint her with the news. “No, unfortunately they didn’t catch the guy. However, another ordnance washed ashore on Emerald Isle—another coastal community south of here in North Carolina.”

“What?” Raven sat up straighter, her coffee and food seemingly forgotten.

Jake offered a curt nod. “Thankfully, this time someone didn’t take the ordnance home with them. They simply reported it to the local authorities.”

“And?”

“The local police chief asked me to come down and check it out.”

“I’m going also.”

Raven’s statement didn’t surprise him. In fact, if she hadn’t insisted Jake would have been shocked. “That’s fine. I’ll need to make sure it’s safe first, of course.”

A spark returned to her gaze. “Do they think it looks like a World War II relic?”

“From everything I’ve been told, it looks very similar to the one found yesterday.”

Raven nodded quickly. “So it could be a modern-day replica.”

“That’s a distinct possibility.” He nodded toward her muffin. “As soon as you finish your breakfast then we can head out.”

She grabbed it. “I can take it with me. We don’t have any time to waste.”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s about a three-and-a-half-hour drive—it’ll be a little longer because of the ferry, of course. So go ahead and finish. Since you’re already dressed, we can leave afterward. I’ll need to swing by Blackout headquarters first to clean myself up and grab some equipment anyway.”

“You want me to wait here while you do that?” Raven asked. “It might save some time.”