She walked up next to him to peer over his shoulder. For a moment, he was distracted by her scent, by her closeness. In fact, his body had an instantly appreciative reaction to her hips as they came into contact with his.
"It looks like you've expanded beyond community centers," she said.
"What?" he asked, his brain taking a second to refocus on the computer screen.
"What is Delores Hall?"
"That's a senior citizen center," he said, clearing his throat and moving far enough away from her that they weren't touching. "Raymond Street Rec is an after-school program at Raymond Park. It's mostly outdoor activities, but there is a small one-room building on the property where the smaller kids do art projects. Payton Community Center runs a complete program of activities for toddlers to seniors. Bayside Neighborhood Club is a teen program run out of a Victorian house."
"That sounds like it fits two criteria-community center and possibly a historic building."
"It's not on the register, but that could be just because no one tried to put it on there," he said.
She turned her head, giving him a smile. "I should have figured you already checked."
"I did. I like it as a possible target, though. I didn't put these in order but that's at the top of my list." He turned his attention back to the screen. "Bric-A-Brac offers art classes for kids. It's run out of a studio in the back of the owner's house." He moved on to the next one. "Keystone is another senior center. It's part of an assisted living program at Keystone Residences. It's a little out of the target range, but close enough to be included. Basically, I put anything on the list that had an outreach to the community-some type of classes for kids, seniors, at-risk teens, whatever."
"Oh, my God," Kate said suddenly, her body stiffening.
"What?"
"Ashbury Studios? Why would you put a music studio on the list?"
"They offer music and dance classes for kids after school. It's a free program for at-risk teens. That's what I just said. I included any business that reached out to the community and was within a five-mile radius of St. Bernadette's." He paused, feeling the tension rolling off her body. "What's wrong?"
"My cousin Sean owns the music studio, and his wife Jessica runs the dance program." She gave him a concerned look. "If they're a target, I need to warn them."
"Then you should warn them," he said evenly. It was actually refreshing to have Kate take his assessment at face value and to give his theory some respect. "But I wouldn't say that studio is at the top of the list."
"It doesn't matter. It's on the list. The least I can do is tell them to be extra vigilant on doors and windows, since the arsonist often seems to have an easy entry point. They probably have some kind of security system. They need to make sure that's working properly. Maybe I'll go by there after lunch."
He nodded. "Is your cousin Sean related to Emma?"
"Yes. He's her younger brother by a year or two."
"Then maybe we should show her this list."
Kate met his gaze. "Print it out. But don't be surprised if she questions whether the studio made the list because you wanted to get her attention."
"Since I didn't know there was a connection until thirty seconds ago, hopefully you can set her straight." He hit Print on his computer.
"Have you spoken to any of the other targets?" she asked.
"No. I have to be careful in my approach."
She raised an eyebrow. "You? Careful? Those two words don't seem to go together, especially in this situation."
He tipped his head. "They didn't always go together, but the police paid me a visit after I tried to warn the principal of a school that they might be a target. They told me to stop inciting fear and panic and said that I could be charged for harassment if I didn't cease and desist."
"You pissed someone off."
"More than one person I'm sure."
"Was St. Bernadette's on your target list for schools?" she asked curiously.
He leaned over, tapped a few keys and opened a new file on his computer. "Take a look for yourself."
"It's there," she said. "But you never went there?"
"No. Besides the fact that I didn't feel like getting thrown into jail for a few hours, I've found that warning people is usually a waste of breath, time and energy. What I need to do is figure out the target, stake it out, and catch the arsonist."
"Well, that sounds simple," she said with an edge of sarcasm. "I'm surprised you haven't done it already."
"I had to wait for the arsonist to show up again. Obviously, he went underground after Sam's death. But he wasn't going to stay buried forever. The thrill, the release, the excitement-whatever emotion he needs to fill by setting a fire is always simmering beneath the surface." He took a breath and let it out. "I was wrong eight months ago, but my gut tells me I'm right this time. That's why I went out on a limb and contacted Hal. I knew he would probably laugh and hang up on me, but I had to take the chance. Not for me-for Sam. This has never been about me; it's always been about her."
Kate's blue gaze clung to his, and she looked at him in such a way that he felt like she could see right into his soul. For a split second he wanted to turn away; he'd always had a strong guard in place, but somehow Kate was getting past it.
"I believe you," she said slowly.
His heart flipped over in his chest. "That I'm not doing this out of ego? A desire to prove I'm the smartest; I'm the best?"
"Yes. Although, I don't doubt your ego is involved, because you are a man, after all. But mostly I believe that you're right about these fires, about the arsonist, about more blazes coming and the possibility of more people getting hurt. So let's stop him."
She might be green as grass, but he liked her fire, her determination, and the fact that she'd been so quickly able to understand what so many other people had not. Maybe that was because she was naïve, optimistic, idealistic, but whatever it was, he'd take it. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at him without disbelief, anger or disgust.
"Okay," he said with a nod.
"That's okay, partner." She emphasized the word partner with a smile. "And don't tell me I'm still on probation, because you need me."
He did need her; he hadn't realized how much until this second. Unfortunately, his need had to do with a little more than just work. Standing this close to her, he had to fight the almost irresistible impulse to lean over and kiss her smart mouth.
Luckily for him, Kate's phone buzzed, and she walked around the table to pull it out of her bag.
"It's a text from Emma. She got to the restaurant a little early. I'll tell her we're on our way."
He nodded, happy to get out of the apartment and away from at least a few bad ideas.
* * *
As they walked down union Street in San Francisco's Marina District Thursday afternoon, Kate felt on edge-not a dangerous kind of on edge, but a tingly kind of on edge. The way Devin had looked at her in his apartment had gotten her pulse pounding. She'd thought for a second there he was going to kiss her, an idea that seemed both ridiculous and appealing at the same time.
They were coworkers, colleagues, partners, and that was it. They were not friends and definitely not kissing friends.
But she couldn't deny there was an attraction.
She'd always been drawn to bad boys, especially those with sharp minds, and passionate drive. Unfortunately, those bad boys usually ended up to be really bad boyfriends. They might have had passion for her, but love, respect, tenderness … they'd always come up short in those areas. While a fling would no doubt be really enjoyable, she was done flinging … she was a serious FBI agent now. She had to focus on her career and prove how good she was, because just saying it wasn't enough to make it true.
While Agent Roman probably didn't care all that much about her performance on this case, because he didn't believe there was a case, he would care if she screwed up, if she missed something, if she didn't perform to the highest level of her ability. And she would care even more. Not just because it was a case, but because it was a case that involved the death of an agent.
She understood how important it was to Devin to get justice for his partner, because she would feel exactly the same way. She might not have gone about it in the same manner, but she would have wanted to keep fighting.
At least … she thought she would have. She did wonder if she would have been able to stand as strong as Devin had in the face of so many doubters. Would all those disbelievers have shaken her faith in herself, in her instincts?
But this wasn't about her. And as Devin had said, it wasn't even about him. It was about an arsonist and the people who had died and the destruction still to come. That's all she needed to think about.