Page 16 of Forged By Fire (Danger in Destiny #9)

Clint’s chair groaned as he pushed it away from the table and stood. When she turned, he was standing nearby, his eyes filled with compassion and concern.

“You don’t have to go back to the warehouse.” He reached out and gently took her hands in his. “Trust me. No one will think any less of you.”

She knew he was right. Her colleagues would understand.

Strangely enough, and for reasons she couldn’t quite pinpoint, she was more worried about what Clint would think of her.

“I appreciate that. I’m not going to lie—it’s tempting to take you up on that and stay as far away from that place as possible.

” She looked down at their joined hands.

A spark of awareness flared between them and pulsed straight to her heart.

“If I don’t do this, though, I’m afraid the nightmares are never going to end.

Besides, I owe it to Danny. If going in there helps lead us to the man who shot him, then it’ll be worth it. ”

Clint gently tugged her hands to bring her gaze back to his face. “Hey. I’m going to be right there with you the whole time.”

“I’m glad, because I’m not sure I could do it without you.”

He lifted one hand and softly brushed her chin with his thumb. “I like you, Leslie Granger. A lot.” There was no missing the way admiration and heat tangled in his gaze.

His focus dropped to her lips, and it sent her heart racing.

“I like you, too, Clint Baker.”

In one motion, he took a small step forward, leaned in, and gently covered her mouth with his in a kiss that was somehow the perfect combination of sweetness and intensity.

When she reached out to press her palm against his chest to steady herself, his arm went around her waist, and he pulled her closer to deepen the kiss.

Leslie had no idea how long they stood there until a chime in the background slowly forced its way into her conscious thought. Clint must have heard it, too, because he broke the kiss, even though he didn’t drop his arm.

“It’s a notification on my phone. To remind me that it’s time to leave for the warehouse.”

She sounded breathless—a detail Clint must’ve liked because the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile.

“Then we’d better get going.” He took his time pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth before releasing her.

That amazing kiss she’d shared with Clint thoroughly occupied her mind until they drove through the gate and into the warehouse parking lot. As they approached the large building, her stomach cramped up, and she tried to ignore the wave of nausea that made her regret eating breakfast at all.

Her nightmare from last night pushed its way into her thoughts, and she had to remind herself that it wasn’t real. They’d gotten Danny out of there in time, and he was at the hospital healing.

Even though they were ten minutes early, they certainly weren’t the first to arrive. Detective Paris was speaking with four other officers near the grouping of police cars.

Another vehicle approached and parked beside Clint’s, and Chief Menendez got out. Clint and Leslie joined him.

The chief took a minute to look over the warehouse.

One end of the building had collapsed on itself, with pieces of debris littering the ground around it.

The metal supports and sheeting were bent and twisted at odd angles and covered with soot.

They wouldn’t be able to go near that area once they got inside.

The rest of the building looked sound, though. They wouldn’t have been given the green light to go back inside if that weren’t the case. But she doubted the damage was repairable.

“They’re going to need to tear the warehouse down and put up a new one,” Chief Menendez observed. “I wonder how much of the stored paper was salvageable.”

“Probably not much.”

Even if the fire didn’t touch the whole building, smoke would’ve done significant damage, not to mention water from the sprinklers overhead.

The chief opened the door and retrieved a pair of flashlights and handed one to Leslie.

The electricity had been cut off as soon as the fire was discovered.

It would be dangerous to restore it now.

Much of the warehouse would be dark. The chief lifted a box of hard hats, which Clint took from him, and then closed the door.

They walked over to where Paris and the other officers were waiting. Once pleasantries were exchanged and the protective headgear handed out, the group approached an open door.

“The manager gave us access to the warehouse,” Detective Paris explained.

“He’s nearby and said he’d check in with us again before we left.

You all know what areas you’re supposed to cover.

We’re looking for anything that the shooter might have left behind.

Bullet casings, firefighter gear, or anything else that seems out of place. ”

Chief Menendez spoke up. “I got a call from the fire marshal last night. The investigators confirmed that kerosene was used to start the fire, and we all know this place is filled with enough paper to keep the fire going. The point of origin was at the southwest corner, which means our arsonist has likely been all over this building.”

Paris nodded. “He was either killed in the fire, or he likely slipped out long before we had a police presence on the property. That said, we’ve learned to assume nothing.

Keep your head on a swivel and stick with your partners.

We don’t need any lone wolves here today.

Report anything and everything you find. ”

They entered the building together. Once inside, Paris and Menendez discussed more aspects of the fire investigation as they moved off in one direction. The other four officers proceeded in pairs, leaving Clint and Leslie working as a team.

Clint took a flashlight from his belt and flicked it on.

Leslie did the same with the one the chief had given her.

Light from outside the door illuminated the entrance, but what filtered in was quickly swallowed by the darkness ahead.

Memories of going into the warehouse with Danny collided with those from the nightmare last night, and the combination made Leslie hesitate.

Clint reached over and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “You’ve got this.”

“Thank you.” She squeezed back before they dropped their physical connection and focused on the job ahead of them.

“Do you remember what direction you and Danny went? If we can, we need to find the room where the shooting took place.”

Everything looked different without the smoke or the fire glowing in the distance.

“We were searching for potentially missing employees. We took the area over there.” She shined her flashlight in the general direction. “We followed the hallways around to that far side of the building.”

“Okay, let’s start there.”