Tested by Fire

“What do you do, John?” Finn asked during a lull in the conversation. She felt the force of his gaze once again and it was unsettling. She had had a chance to covertly study him during dinner and decided he was an attractive man. A faint burn scar that ran from temple to chin didn’t detract from the strong, clean lines of his face. His hair, the color of coffee with a splash of cream, touched the collar of his black polo shirt.

“I work for a private agency that investigates crime,” he answered evenly.

Finn was silent for a moment, a nagging suspicion beginning to form. “What’s the name of the agency?”

“I doubt you are familiar with it, Finn.”

“Try me.” She smiled sweetly.

“The Madison Agency.”

Finn recognized the name immediately. “Another group of untouchables, right? The agency that solves crimes that are considered unsolvable. Wasn’t it Madison that found that little girl who was kidnapped and taken to Pakistan last year?”

Seamus laughed, although it sounded a trifle forced. “My goodness, lass. Not too many people know about the Madison Agency.”

“I read a lot,” Finn said, winking at him. “Here, Gran, let me help you clear the table.”

“Well,” Seamus said earnestly, leaning forward after the women had gone into the other room, “just hang around here a little while and keep an eye on her. Tell me if all this is the product of an old man’s imagination.”

John closed his eyes. What he saw in Finn Kelly was a woman who was too fragile for police work and didn’t want to admit it. Maybe there was some kind of discrimination going on among a few of the men who couldn’t stomach a female officer, but he doubted it was anything truly sinister.

“Chief.” The title slipped out easily. “Don’t you think that maybe—”

“Excuse me.” Anne poked her head around the corner. “Seamus, Cory is on the phone. Shall I tell him you’ll call him back?”

“Go ahead.” John sighed, not wanting to deny Seamus a call from his son. “I won’t run out the back door while you’re gone.”

“See that you don’t,” Seamus muttered.

John had been alone for all of one minute when Finn came back into the room. How many women actually wore dresses for no occasion at all? He turned away and stared out the window.

“Mr. Gabriel? John—I know why you’re here.”

Startled, he swung around and discovered she was inches away from him. “You do?”

Finn glanced at the door. “You found out about Chief’s heart problems, didn’t you.”

“His heart problems?” John repeated slowly.

“He’s had two minor attacks in the past six months,” Finn murmured. “He doesn’t like to complain, but I know he’s in pain. Your visit will do him good. How long are you going to stay?”

John couldn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth. “Probably just a week or so.”

Chapter Two

Finn got up early the next morning to go for a run before her shift started. Colin lifted his head and whined.

“I know it’s early, but if I have to stay in shape, so do you.” She turned on her CD player and hummed along with her favorite praise-and-worship band as the music pulsed through the house while she got dressed.

Dew brightened the grass and already the sun was warm with the promise of a beautiful day. She did some quick warm-up exercises on the porch and then broke into an easy run, with Colin loping along beside her.

Her grandparents’ house was quiet, and she glanced up at the window of one of the rooms Anne reserved for company. The shade was still drawn. John Gabriel. Her heart gave a funny dip just at the thought of him and it surprised her so much that she stumbled. Grinning, she saw Colin looking up at her.

“Crack in the sidewalk.” She laughed.

The man was a mystery. He must have been close to her age when the explosion cost him his arm and his career as an officer. Now he worked with the Madison Agency. She had never met anyone affiliated with it before. Its headquarters were in Chicago, where part of the Kelly family had settled in the 1920s. The agency was low-key, the average person wouldn’t even be aware it existed, yet it had a reputation for excellence in cutting-edge investigative techniques. Some said it was a wild card—a maverick agency that walked on the edge of the law to solve crimes. Somehow she sensed that Madison and John Gabriel were a good fit.

As she jogged around the side of the house, Finn saw the man she had just been thinking about, standing on her porch.

“Good morning, John.” She slowed down and walked the few yards that separated them, hooking an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She tried to ignore the strange fluttering in her stomach at the sight of him.

“Finn.” He leaned down and scratched a spot behind Colin’s ear. “Anne sent me over to tell you she baked cinnamon rolls this morning.”

“I have to be at work in an hour but I suppose I can make time for that,” Finn said. Her heart was still pounding, but now she wasn’t sure if it was from her run.

“I’ll tell her,” said John.

Finn disappeared into the house, and John watched Colin rolling in the grass.

“Sit!”

Colin leaped to his feet, then sat down and looked at him questioningly.

John smiled. “So, you haven’t forgotten all of your training, have you, boy.” He knelt beside the dog and glanced toward the house to make sure Finn wasn’t in view. “Well, we’re going to start working together.” He pulled a piece of cinnamon roll out of his pocket and fed it to the shepherd. “Just don’t tell your commanding officer, okay?”

Anne had been bustling around the kitchen, and as soon as John told her that Finn was coming over, she poured another cup of coffee and brought it to the patio.

“Good morning.”

At the sound of the smoky voice, John looked up and almost groaned. Finn was wearing a light-blue uniform, but instead of looking like a figure of authority, she resembled a high school kid dressed up for career day. Her hair was neatly braided and pinned up in the back. She probably thought it looked more professional, but all it did was enhance the delicate planes of her face—the luminous gray eyes and smattering of freckles across her nose. No wonder some of the officers might be having a difficult time accepting her as an equal.

“Good morning.” Seamus smiled at her affectionately. “You got your run in this morning?”

“Most of it.” Finn took a sip of coffee and closed her eyes briefly in appreciation. “Mmm. This hits the spot. I’ve got to watch for Carl. He’s picking me up in about twenty minutes.”

John didn’t think she sounded like someone who dreaded going to work. She seemed relaxed. Maybe the change in mood that Seamus detected was her concern about his health, and nothing related to her job at all.

“Are you free for supper tonight, Finn?” Anne asked.

John felt Finn’s eyes on him. “No, I think I’ll go to the range after work this afternoon. Do you want to come along?” She directed the question at him.

“Finn.” Anne frowned at her, but Finn didn’t acknowledge the warning.

“Were you right-or left-handed before the accident?”

“Right.” He knew his voice sounded tight. What did she think she was doing?

“I’m assuming as a Madison agent that you still shoot.”