Free Hide'n Go Seek by Dale Mayer Page B

Kali realized just how weary she'd become. Grant and then bed. Her eyes widened. No, not together. She blinked as her hormones stood up and shook free of months - hell, years - of dormancy. No way. They had a hell of a nerve rearing their heads right now.

    Slamming a lid on her unruly libido, she met his gaze calmly. "We found several victims. I presume you're talking about the last one that Shiloh found separate from the disaster site."

    He raised one eyebrow. "Can you tell me about that, please?"

    Stan had probably told him. Then again, bad news always traveled fast, and anything linked to her name probably had been flagged. It took a few moments to explain. When she fell silent, he studied her for several long seconds. Kali stared back, refusing to let this man unnerve her. Still, he was an imposing figure, causing her belly to quiver uncertainly.

    "They've identified him."

    "Oh, good." Exasperation crept into her voice. "Does that mean I can go to bed now?"

    "He was one of the survivors from the apartment complex. And he'd been buried alive."

    "Oh no!" Kali's stomach heaved and she closed her eyes briefly. "That tank. Christ. I saw a tank tagged as evidence when they loaded it into the van, but I didn't understand the implication." Kali's shoulders sagged, defeated by such a horror. "Why? Why would somebody do that?"

    "I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out."

    "You?" She frowned. "Why you?"

    "Because I wanted in on this one." He shifted casually.

    "You work in California?" Kali was really confused now. Why would the FBI in Oregon be concerned about a local murder from California? "I don't understand."

    Leaning forward, he pinned her with a gimlet eye. "Can't you see a potential connection between the letters and this murder?"

    Kali grabbed the closest chair, sitting before she collapsed. As the realization set in, she slumped lower. Thoughts frantically rushed through her mind, only to circle around in endless loops of confusion. The letters... "No," she whispered. "I mean it's hard not to think of it. I didn't make the connection - it's a different state."

    "Understandable." He pulled out a small notebook and sat down opposite her. "So now...let's focus."

    For the next half hour, Grant questioned her. Kali felt more like she was being interrogated. By the time he was done, she felt like a wet dishcloth hung out to dry.

    Stefan never said a word. Quiet he might be - stoic he wasn't. His gaze locked onto her with unnerving intensity. She struggled to ignore him.

    "Good. I think that's it. Except I need a list from you of every person you recognized at Sacramento. Stan has given me a list of everyone who went from the center."

    Kali struggled as the world she thought she knew shifted again. "You think it's one of us? A rescuer?" Defeat tinged her voice.

    "I think it bears reviewing. The person has to be in the know somehow. I'm going to be at the center for a week or so, posing as a visiting SAR member from Maine." He stood up and stretched.

    The golf shirt pulled across his massive chest, showing every muscle. Then there were the tight-ass pants. Why was it Grant who made her throat constrict and the nerves in her stomach dance? The consultant, Stefan, was better looking, and had some indefinable charisma she'd never seen before.

    But it was Grant that interested her.

    It was Grant's energy that surged toward her whenever they were close together.

    It was Grant's energy that made hers brighten.

    Forcing her gaze back up to his face, she swallowed a couple of times before trusting her voice. "Are you experienced enough in this field to answer the types of questions that come up?"

    Grant dropped his arms to his side. "I volunteered with my brother for years. He works out of a center in Maine. Both training and rescue work."

    "Then maybe we could use you regardless of the real reason. We're always short staffed."

    "Good to know. I'll be around, if you get called out again, let me know where