Free Winter's Fire (Welcome to Covendale #7) by Morgan Blaze Page B

going to warn me,” she said. “Do you think he was right? Is someone…out to get me?”
    His gut clenched. He remembered the urgency in Ben’s voice, the way he looked around to make sure no one was watching—and the chilling words he’d spoken.
    Let’s just say there are people who’ll do a hell of a lot to keep her away.
    “I believe him,” he finally said. “So I guess now the question is, what are we going to do about it?”
    Winter gestured at the papers she’d moved aside when the food came. “I know someone in the fire department is inflating claims and siphoning off funds,” she said. “There are no mistakes here, at least not accidental ones. The numbers match perfectly—but they shouldn’t, because they’re wrong. I need the original files, the missing ones, to prove it.”
    “Do you think it’s Ethan?”
    “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “He does seem the most likely suspect. But again, that’s a problem.”
    “Why?”
    “Usually, people who commit this kind of fraud aren’t obvious about it,” she said. “They don’t boast or brag, or get hostile with the reviewer. They can be resentful, especially at first, but then they fall back and cooperate, play the game. Sometimes they’re even more concerned and helpful than the innocent subjects. Because they really don’t want to get caught.”
    “You don’t know Ethan Goddard,” he said. “He’s the biggest blowhard on the planet. He’d brag about starting World War II, if he thought it’d make him look better than someone else.”
    “Maybe. But I’m not ready to say it’s definitely him yet.”
    “So we need those files.” Adam sighed sharply and leaned back in the booth. “We do have a computerized system at the station,” he said. “Chief doesn’t use it much, but everything would’ve been scanned in. Whoever took the paper files probably deleted those too, though.”
    Winter sat forward, suddenly animated. “It doesn’t matter if they’ve been deleted,” she said. “If they were in the system, I can probably access them.”
    “You can?”
    “Yes, I have to retrieve electronic files all the time,” she said. “Everyone tries to delete them. But unless you really know what you’re doing, they’re still there.”
    “I’ll be damned.”
    “So that’s what we’ll do. First thing tomorrow.” She gave a hesitant smile and started gathering papers, placing them neatly in her briefcase. “I’ll head back to my room now,” she said. “We can get an early start.”
    “Wait.” He really didn’t like the idea of a faceless someone out there stalking her, and the thought that it might be Ethan was even less appealing. “Maybe you shouldn’t be alone,” he said. “You could stay at my place.”
    She stared at him, horrified.
    “No, I don’t mean…” He sighed. “I’d sleep on the couch. I’m just saying, if there is someone after you, it might be safer.”
    “Really, Mr. Rho—Adam,” she said. “Do you think this person is going to be waiting for me in some dark alley with a crowbar? It’s quite the leap from insurance fraud to assault, you know.”
    “Maybe. But still, at least let me give you my number and address.” He couldn’t shake the feeling he’d had earlier at the accident scene, that it had something to do with Winter. “If anything happens, you can call. Or just come over. Okay?”
    “I suppose.” With a skeptical frown, she pulled a phone from her pocket, tapped the screen a few times and handed it to him. As he entered the information, she said, “You’re probably overreacting again.”
    “Yes. I’m good at that.” He tried to smile as he gave the phone back, but didn’t quite make it. “Thank you for talking to me,” he said. “And just…be careful. Please.”
    “I will. Promise.”
    Adam sat back with his coffee, watching her signal for Piper and ask for a box to take the rest of her food. Maybe he was overreacting. He was genuinely concerned, but she