Page 1 of Kane

1

SAVANNAH

My back ached, and my hair smelled like espresso, but at least I drank more than my fair share of coffee during my shift. Even better, the tips were actually decent today. A double win, as far as I was concerned.

“You probably should’ve skipped that last triple-shot latte,” Dory murmured as she flipped the Closed sign on the front door of Bean There Brewed That.

Our shift ended forty minutes ago, but we’d stayed late scrubbing the milk steamer because the new hire left a trail of destruction in her wake.

I shook my head. “Nah, I need the caffeine if I’m going to get any studying done tonight.”

“I don’t know how you manage to get anything done after a day like today.” Dory patted me on the back. “But I have no doubt you’ll ace that exam. You’re too determined for anything else.”

“I hope you’re right,” I mumbled as she locked the door behind us.

Summer was already halfway over, and I still didn’t feel even remotely prepared for my paralegal certification exam. Workingfull-time at the café ate up too much of my time, but bills didn’t pay themselves. And my parents were firm believers that their job was done once their children graduated from high school, so I was on my own. Just like my older brother had been when he joined the police academy more than a decade ago.

Except Devon had been lucky enough to live in our childhood home until he could afford a small house. Unfortunately for me, our parents were antsy to get away once I turned eighteen. With the twelve-year gap between my brother and me, they could barely wait to be empty nesters. So they sold the house a few months after my high school graduation and used that money to purchase a cabin on a fifteen-year, residential cruise to just about every port in the world. Which meant that I needed to earn enough to pay for somewhere to live while studying as much as I could.

I waved goodbye to Dory, trudged across the lot to my beat-up sedan, and slumped into the driver’s seat. I’d parked under a tree and left the windows cracked, but it still felt like an oven. Cranking the AC, I pulled my hair into a messy bun and drove home.

My apartment was only five minutes away, a tiny upstairs unit above a florist shop on the main road in downtown Wedgewood, my hometown. The walk up the narrow outdoor staircase wasn’t fun after a long shift, but the second I got inside, I kicked off my shoes, chugged a glass of water, and collapsed onto the couch. All I wanted to do was stretch out and take a nap, but I couldn’t afford to skip my studying.

Snagging my study guide, I flipped to the civil procedures section and grabbed a highlighter. Quickly getting lost in the intricacies of the service of pleadings, motions, and discovery, it was almost midnight before I got up again.

I decided to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I couldn’t help but think about my brother as I took the first bitebecause he used to make them for me as an afternoon snack when I was in middle school.

I swallowed hard, my throat tight. We hadn’t talked much lately, and I hated how that gnawed at me. Devon used to be the first person I called when things got tough. But he’d been distant lately, and I had no idea why.

A knock on the door made me jump, peanut butter smearing across my cheek as I fumbled with the sandwich.

It was almost midnight. Nobody ever visited this late…unless something was wrong. My pulse leaped as I considered all the things that could’ve happened to Devon as a patrol officer. Dropping my plate on the counter, I raced over to the front window, trying to peer through the blinds. Relief flooded me when I saw the figure standing under the porch light.

I yanked the door open. “What the heck, Dev? You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry, Sis.” My brother raked his fingers through his hair. “Can I come in?”

“Of course.” I stepped aside to let him in, noticing how bad he looked. His eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot, as if he’d gotten even less sleep than me. His uniform was wrinkled instead of perfectly pressed like usual. And his shoes looked as though they hadn’t been polished in weeks.

“You look like hell,” I muttered.

His mouth curved into a tired smile. “Gee, thanks.”

He perched on the arm of the couch.

“Okay.” I shut the door and leaned against it. “You wanna tell me what’s going on, or should I start guessing?”

“I’m fine. Just realized it’s been a while and wanted to check in.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Try again.”

Devon dragged a hand down his face and let out a rough sigh. “I’m under internal review.”

My eyes widened, my brows drawing together over them. “For what?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “Procedural misstep.”

“That doesn’t tell me anything at all.”