Page 41 of Hostile Witness

“What flavor are they?”

“Assorted, and they’re delicious.”

“You’re tempting me, Detective. And I was thinking about making eggs and bacon.”

Now we’re talking. “You’re kidding me. You shopped?”

She laughed richly. “Sort of. Got a late delivery. I was out of fresh meat for Flynn and added a few things for me into the order. You’ll be here in a few minutes?”

He sat up straight. “Um, no. More like an hour.”

“An hour?”

“I’m sure of it.” He still had a forty-minute chopper ride back to the Eastern Shore.

“All right. I’ll trade you one of your special doughnuts for some eggs and bacon. I’ll start the bacon in a few minutes.”

“I’ll be there, T.” He could hardly wait to see her.

Ethan took a fast shower,and by the time he got to her house, only the main-floor lights were on. They looked kind of pretty against the pastel palette of the upcoming sunrise. She swung the door open wearing pajama bottoms, a blue turtleneck, curly hair, and a spatula. He hadn’t known she had curly hair. She must use one of those things to straighten it.

Tia clasped a hand across her mouth. “Oh my goodness, you shaved?”

Oh yeah.He’d forgotten all about it. “I clean up once in a while. It’ll grow back soon enough.” He’d shaved many times for missions and was used to the abrupt change. But judging by the appraising look on her face, he’d taken her completely off guard. He handed her the box of doughnuts.

She waved him in and hurriedly placed the sweets on an end table. Scrutinizing his face, she pointed her spatula. “I like it.”

Her words warmed him on the inside. “Thanks, but I’ll grow it back. It helps to have facial hair when I work undercover.”

“Suit yourself, but I’m not a fan of the scruff trend. You look good without it.” She set the spatula down near the stove and waved her hands around apologetically. “But I understand you’d need it for work. And really, it’s none of my business, so just ignore me. Too much coffee, I guess.”

Okay.She’d noticed more than his muscles and liked a smooth face. Filing that information away for a later date, he kicked his shoes off by the door.“Everything quiet around here last night?”

A troubled expression flitted across her face. “Yes. It was fine. Missed having Flynn for company, but I’ll pick him up later. How’d work go?”

“Great.” It wasn’t every night he fake assassinated a federal operative and rescued a truckful of young people in the process of being trafficked. “I really like my second job.”

She glanced at him while pulling out a frying pan. “I don’t know how you do it. Are you saving to buy a boat or something?”

Hardly.“No. My police job is my bread and butter, and pension. My second job is more like my calling, if that makes sense.”

“You mean your job with the kids?”

“Yeah.” Information about his second job was on a need-to-know basis. Carson and Earl were the only contacts in the department who knew about his work with Sanctuary. But maybe he should add her to the list.

Tia pulled a few things out of the fridge. “That’s nice. Working with kids really does it for me, too.”

Ethan tapped a finger on the countertop. “Hey, um, I was wondering, why do you refer to Chief Carson by his last name? He’s your uncle.”

A flash of humor darted across her face. “Yeah, it is unusual. My father and Carson were brothers with the same mother. But they each kept their father’s surname. As long as I can remember, they addressed one another as O’Rourke and Carson, and I grew up calling him Uncle Carson. I think it started as some kind of inside joke between brothers.” She sighed deeply. “They were best friends until my dad passed away. Carson lost his wife and my dad all in the same year. It was really hard on him, which also explains why he’s so fiercely protective of me. He and my aunt never had any children. I’m the kid he never had.”

Yeah, that explained a lot of things. “I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked, but it struck me as odd.”

She waved his apology aside with a quick smile. “No biggie. You had an honest question.”

Honest or not, it was time to change the subject. “Looks like you’re ready to cook up a storm. How can I help?”

“You can let me taste one of those doughnuts you were bragging on. Is a western omelet okay?”