Free A Reason to Believe by Diana Copland Page B

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    that read I Know Karate…and Like Two Other
    Japanese Words. He was very appealing, and Matt
    had to force himself not to stare.
    “Sometimes it’s an advantage to be compact,”
    he quipped.
    Matt fought a grin. Kiernan looked like a kid
    playing hide-and-seek.
    Matt slowed near the driveway, where two
    uniforms were blocking the gated entrance to the
    house. He didn’t want to identify himself in order
    to get through, but it was probably the only way.
    Sighing, he lifted his hips enough to reach into his
    back pocket for his wallet. As he was extracting
    his shield, a car approached from the other side of
    the gate, heading out, and the two cops standing in
    the driveway stepped aside deferentially.
    A Mercedes SLK Class, a roadster, brand
    spanking new with a liquid silver paint job and
    sleek lines screaming expensive, idled as the gates
    opened. He wasn’t much of a car guy, but he knew
    this particular model started out at 53k. Owned by
    a lawyer, no doubt, he thought with a twist of his
    lips. The gates swung open and the car inched past,
    the windows tinted so dark the identity of the
    driver was hidden. Matt hoped it was Marc
    Reynolds driving the expensive car. It might be
    easier to get in the door if the attorney wasn’t at
    home. His hopes were bolstered when the media
    suddenly stirred into a minor frenzy on either side
    of the drive, cameras raised, flashbulbs popping,
    reporters surging forward and shouting questions
    at the car.
    Matt saw his chance and pulled through the
    gates,
    He paused briefly, holding his badge to the
    window. The uniformed officer looked at it and
    nodded to his companion, who waved him through
    before closing the gates behind him. Both the cops
    and the media were too interested in the expensive
    sports car to pay any attention to his ten-year-old
    SUV. His badge was enough. The two uniforms
    didn’t get close enough to the Bronco to see
    Kiernan, and they didn’t spare a glance for his
    sister sitting in the back.
    He followed the curved drive to the house,
    which was ostentatious even for the neighborhood
    of million-dollar homes. With its river rock
    fireplaces, Tudor beams and turret windows, it
    was obviously supposed to reflect old money but
    not necessarily good taste.
    The entirety of the neighborhood had been built
    in the late nineties during the real estate boom, the
    houses all designed to look as if they’d been there
    for decades. He and Brad had driven through when
    the area was under construction, with its artfully
    laid out green belts and its old-growth trees, and
    Brad had made a sound of amusement.
    “Why look,” he said with a grin. “It’s either
    Stratford-on-Avon or Disneyland. Not sure
    which.”
    Matt chuckled. “Looks like Fantasyland to me.
    All they need is a fairy flying through the air.”
    “Perish the thought,” Brad teased, winking at
    him. “Too many Republicans in this neck of the
    woods for any self-respecting fairy.”
    Matt had laughed. It seemed another lifetime
    now.
    “Well, this is pretentious,” Aidan said dryly.
    “Who owns it? A lawyer?”
    “Right in one.” Matt parked the car. Kiernan
    pushed himself up from the floor, and Matt’s eyes
    fixed involuntarily on a strip of taut, tawny skin
    between the waistband of his jeans and his T-shirt.
    Before Kiernan adjusted his jacket, Matt saw a
    slender trail of dark hair leading down to
    disappear into his pants. Matt cleared his throat
    self-consciously, turning, his arm lifting to rest
    across the back of the seat.
    “Um, listen,” he said, tentative. “I was
    wondering if you’d mind waiting here for a minute,
    just until I have a chance to speak with the
    Reynolds first.”
    Aidan looked surprised. “You didn’t tell them
    you were bringing us?”
    “No,” Matt admitted. “Officially, I’m not even
    on the case anymore.”
    Her pale blue eyes widened. “You’re not?”
    Matt started to answer, but stopped when
    Kiernan’s hand curled around his