As soon as I said the words, I recalled Don saying the same line to me.
Corey shot me a look from across the table, and I wondered if that was a phrase Don often used. Did my brother think I’d gotten it from him?
“I was out,” he said.
Exhaling, I recognized how damn paranoid I was acting. It was a simple phrase that millions of people said all the time. Why would Corey automatically suspect I got it from Don?
“That’s obvious, but since you want to hold onto your secrets, I’ll let you. If it’s a woman, just let her know you have a sister who regularly carries a gun.”
“And who’s a damn brat.”
I grinned widely. “That too.”
He waved me off with his fork and continued eating.
As I chewed, I thought about the case and the information I’d learned from Don so far. The articles he’d given me I’d read over multiple times. I knew the details of them all and had asked Hallease to dig up whatever else she could find on those fires.
Naturally, I kept going back to the article that spoke about the fire that injured Corey.
It said that the fire had started because of faulty electrical wiring in the house, but I’d concluded that was likely a lie.
“Do you remember what happened the night you were injured?” I asked, without thinking.
Corey stilled, the fork stopping halfway to his mouth.
My mother gasped. “Jocelyn.”
I glanced over at her and turned my attention back to Corey.
He drilled me with a glare.
“I mean, do you remember seeing anyone there who shouldn’t have been?” I added. “Or maybe someone wasn’t there who should’ve been?”
“Like who?” he asked, his face set in stone.
“I don’t know.” I paused before snapping my finger and pointed. “Maybe another firefighter who called out sick that day? Or a neighbor out on the street paying a little too much attention to the fire?”
“There are always neighbors out when there’s a house fire.” He dropped his fork to his now empty plate. “Why are you asking me this now?”
I started to answer but he cut me off.
“Leave it alone. Stick to finding dudes who can’t keep their pants zipped and leave fire investigation to someone else.” He stood and left with his plate.
“Corey—”
“Jocelyn, leave your brother alone.”
I didn’t miss the sternness in my mother’s voice, but I couldn’t drop it.
“Mama, I’m only trying to ask a few questions. If I—”
“And I said drop it,” she snapped, stunning me.
My mother barely ever raised her voice. She’d left the harshest discipline up to my father when Corey and I were younger.
I clamped my lips shut, seething. I hated the way she coddled my brother. All the men in our life, really.
“Do you think he wants to remember that awful night?” she asked.
