“Hello, Scarlett. I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances. Sledge has talked a lot about you. I’m Leo. I run Serenity Securities. To your left, in order, you have Shadow, once he finishes your tea, Saint, Knight, Patch, Taco, Bear, and Ivan.”
The men murmured hellos.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “Saint, I’m sorry to hear about your wife’s bakery. How are Edie and Barb?”
“They’re still in shock. Kassie has contacted my wife, and they have a plan. You did a brave thing, Scarlett. Everyone here appreciates what you did. I’m especially grateful to you for alerting my Mama. She said the fire alarm never went off, but she didn’t have her hearing aid in.”
“I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done,” Scarlett replied as Shadow placed a plate of food before her and Ty.
Leo stared at the woman who sat beside Ty, imagining how tired she must’ve felt since she stayed at the accident scene long after they left to coordinate their efforts on catching the person responsible for killing one of their own.
“Sledge said you and he met while he served. He never said what you did,” Leo said, watching her.
“I’m not in the Navy, sir.”
The men glanced around the table and back to Leo. “What branch of the military did you serve?” he asked.
“Air Force, sir.”
“Oh, we got ourselves a zoomie. What did you do?” Leo sipped his coffee.
Scarlett paused and pursed her lips. “I worked as a J Tac-Air Force attached to a SEAL team.”
He glanced at his men. A couple of them arched theirbrows in surprise, Patch’s mouth hung open, and Shadow crossed his arms, shook his head, and frowned. Leo didn’t like getting lied to, especially when the woman saved his nieces and nephews and two women he considered family.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Scarlett. I’ve never met a woman J Tac before in my career,” he said tactfully.
“With all due respect, sir, that you know of. Surely, a Navy man doesn’t listen to a bunch of scuttlebutt and believe a woman can’t do as good a job as a man,” Scarlett shot back, her jaw tensed.
“Not at all, Scarlett. You’re not on trial here. I’m a bit surprised, is all,” Leo reassured her.
“Respectfully, most men don’t believe it. Sledge can vouch for my position as long as I give my permission. I don’t go around bragging about my title. I’m more concerned with getting the job done.”
“I agree with you. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about last night?” Leo asked, still regarding her. Her shoulders remained straight back, and she blinked, most likely from fatigue, yet she didn’t show it.
“No, sir.”
“You can dispense with the formality. We’re all here to get to the bottom of this,” Leo said, watching her relax slightly. “Can you give us a rundown of what you did before and after you discovered the community center on fire. You’re the best lead we have.”
“I went to the Pizza Palace for a late-night snack. I felt restless and wanted some fresh air. The teens grew louder as they played video games and I went outside to eat at one of the picnic tables,” she informed the group.
“By yourself?” Patch asked, his protective nature showing in his tone.
“No. With my dog, Ice,” she shot back.
Leo frowned. “Whatdid you do after?”
“My friend Rayne plans to visit me. I wanted to show her how well Ice and I worked together. Since Serenity seemed deserted, it seemed like a great time to practice crossing the street.”
“Alone?” Patch asked.
Scarlett put her elbows on the table. “Do you need someone to hold your hand? Let me know, and Ice and I will help you out.”
Ty chuckled beside her as she shot blind daggers at the person who seemed to believe women couldn’t do anything without a man. A soft, feminine giggle came from behind her. “Hello, Scarlett,” Claire said. “You’ve pegged my fiancé to a T. Please don’t take it personally. He’s overprotective of me since I got kidnapped by a colleague, and now one of his friends has died.”
Patch rose, moving his chair over to allow room for Claire. “Please accept my apologies, Scarlett. I don’t mean to offend you. We’re SEALs, and it’s in our blood to protect. I’m still on edge over Debbie,” Patch admitted while Claire intertwined her fingers with his.
“I’m sorry, too. You lost a family member, and I shouldn’t be so sensitive,” Scarlett said, sending him a tired smile.
