Huh. She wouldn’t have pegged her as the problem child. Not a good way to start an interrogation of a witness.Amateur. “She doesn’t like you,” she saidpleasantly.
“We’ll remove it if we have to,” shethreatened.
“You’re welcome totry.”
Chris and Phil walked in and sat across from her at the table. Phil nodded tightly and she responded with a small smile. From Chris she got nothing. Not even a good evening. And wasn’t that just the icing on tonight’scake.
“Ms. Reynolds—Denise. Please bring your dog to heel,” Philasked.
“Sprocket.”
The dog immediately sat and licked her chops but the hair on her nape was still raised with heragitation.
“It’s nice to see you again, even if it’s under these circumstances. We appreciate yourcooperation.”
Denise glanced between Chris and Phil and then at the agents who’d taken up positions around the room, effectively boxing her in, and raised an eyebrow. “Doyou?”
“We do,” Chris said. His voice was flat. Even. No stress to indicate he was anything more than an agent questioning awitness.
Denise pressed her lips together and cut her eyes to the side. “I’d appreciate it if there was no one standing behind me.” The third agent was beside the door so she could see him in her periphery, but the female agent had taken up residence behind her and she could feel her animosity looming overher.
Phil glanced over Denise’s shoulder and nodded his head to the side. She swore she felt her hair shift in the breeze created by the agent’s sigh, but shemoved.
“What do you need?” Denise asked. She’d cooperate as long as it was in her and K-Squared’s bestinterests.
“Run through what happened,” Chrissaid.
Another look gave her no indication of what he was feeling. Just another day at the office. The ache that throbbed in her chest made her realize it had gone away—for a while at least. Now it was back. She really needed to learn her lesson the first fewtimes.
Mentally shaking her head, Denise spread her hands flat on the table, fingers splayed, and closed her eyes. She needed to give them the details and take Kaden and Kimber home where they weresafe.
She went through S.A.L.U.T.E. – Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, and Equipment. Old habits died hard and reporting enemy actions had once been second nature. She froze the moment in her mind, examining it from every angle and running back over the details she’d filed away to recall later. She went through the timeline from the first time they were hit until they pulled into the policestation.
“The bike on my side had custom artwork on the gas tank. Yellow or gold flames. I couldn’t see any artwork on the one in front of me. They had on black helmets and the faces were covered by those half masks that look like skulls. Long sleeve black shirts and jeans on one of the guys, black pants on the other. They were both wearing leather vests with Southern Anarchist patches on theback.”
Sprocket whined and jumped up on her lap, licking herchin.
She opened her eyes and scratched her behind the ears. She glanced at Chris. His bright blue eyes were intense. They flicked to his right, toward the female agent and he dropped his gaze to the notepad in hishands.
Right. The job. That’s why he was here. How could sheforget?
“Why didn’t you pull your gun?” the agent by the doorasked.
She’d told the cops who’d been waiting for them that she’d had a handgun stashed on the side of her seat. “I didn’t feel it was prudent to draw my weapon with the kids in thecar.”
“You have five handguns registered in your name,” hesaid.
“Yes.”
“You don’t think that’s a bit many for awoman?”
Oh hell no. “How many do you have?” sheasked.
“I have two.” He crossed his arms defensively and leaned against the doorjamb.
“Don’t you think that’s too few for a man?” shesnarked.
Phil snorted and then coughed into his hand. “Sorry.Allergies.”
