Page 75 of Built of Flames

Her wording threw him off for a stride but he leaned down to hug her. “Thanks, Tansy.” His voice was rougher than usual, but it couldn’t be helped.

His home.

The ranch would always be his family home, but he’d never felt like any other place would be a good fit. Maybe this would be his place.

It was filled with great people and even greater purpose.

The sun had started to set while they’d hiked in and the scene was gorgeous. Something inside Flynn settled and yearned at the same time.

This might be exactly the right place.

The others headed in while Sam stood beside him looking at the lake. Sam slapped him on the shoulder. “It’s getting to you. I can tell. This place sucks you in. You may be moving in full-time before you know it.”

“Not until I can wrap up the Pavic case.”

“Still working that one?”

Flynn nodded. “Always will. I’m not convinced Martin Blanco is dead. I think he killed his daughter in a cover up to go into hiding with the Pavic crew, but I can’t prove it.”

“What’s holding up the investigation?”

Flynn snorted out a laugh. “Almost everything. The Pavic family is slick but small. There are always bigger priorities. They’ve hidden money in more places than any crime family I know. It’s incredibly complex with shell corporations and money laundering every corner we turn. It’s impossible to dig through the data to the core. There’s so much with so many twists. We’ve had teams on the financials but they can’t find the proof.”

Sam nodded. “It’s hard to get through the layers. I wonder if Tess might be able to help.”

“Who’s Tess?”

“A friend of Tansy’s. She moved in a few weeks back. She’s a zoologist but a whiz with numbers and patterns. She helped Bella and Mitch figure out a serial arsonist and she’s contracted out with the FBI before.”

“She’s here at Midnight Lake?”

Sam nodded. “She is.”

“I’ll talk with her. See if she’s interested in working through some of it with me.”

“Leave it for tomorrow. It’s getting late and Tansy likes to have everyone gather for bit in the evening when possible. She’ll want you to meet the others so she’s probably making sure everyone’s there.”

Flynn nodded. He’d been waiting for over a decade to find Pavic, another night wasn’t going to make any difference.

A canoe appeared in the dusk and Flynn flinched. There was snow on the ground. Not canoeing weather. Was it another intrusion onto the property? Although there were approximately a million more effective ways to approach. Especially with him and Sam clearly visible on the shore.

When Flynn jerked his chin toward the approaching canoe, Sam chuckled. “Speaking of Tess, here she comes now.”

“Does she know it’s almost December? And that she’s in Vermont, not Texas?”

Sam laughed. “She’s studying turtles.”

As if that made any sense. Flynn didn’t have a clue what turtles did in the winter, but he was pretty sure they weren’t freezing their asses off paddling around the lake. This was the woman who was supposed to help him take down a major crime family?

Sam waved and headed down the dock where Flynn assumed she would tie up her canoe. Curious, he followed Sam.

The light was dim but he could tell she was at least bundled up against the cold. Her long dark hair flowed out of the knitted cap, complete with a pompom, on her head. She wore a thick jacket and mittens.

She kept her head down while she maneuvered the canoe close to the dock and then smiled up at Sam.

Flynn’s heart stuttered in his chest.

That smile.