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that building?
    Rattled as they had been, it was possible that she, Gordon, and Laura had missed something during the first several viewings. She enlarged the video file she’d transferred to her laptop but didn’t start it, looking in her desk for her glasses.
    The no-nonsense black plastic frames stood out against the white drawer. She slipped them on and looked down at the vibrating smartphone she’d set aside. The screen glowed with a name. Deke Bannon.
    Already? Had he been waiting for her call?
    Don’t flatter yourself , she warned silently. He didn’t have to help her more than he had.
    She picked up the phone and tapped the screen to answer. “Kelly Johns.”
    “This is Deke Bannon. I just got your call.”
    The deep voice and its hint of roughness made her draw in her breath, unsure of what to say first. It had been a while since a masculine voice made her feel so unsettled. She kept it simple. “Hello. Thanks for getting back to me. I owe you a big favor.”
    “No. You don’t.”
    The brusque response didn’t leave her much of an opening. Kelly realized that she might be at less of a disadvantage if this conversation wasn’t taking place over the phone. “I was wondering,” she ventured, “if you—well, I’d like to meet with you in person.”
    There was a second’s pause.
    “Where are you?” he asked.
    “At the station.”
    “You didn’t call from a WBRX line.”
    He’d checked. Kelly smiled faintly.
    “That’s correct. For a good reason. Deke, before we get started, I have to ask if we could keep what happened at that building just between us.” There was a pause. “For now.”
    She could almost see him shrug.
    “Let’s talk,” he said at last.
    That wasn’t a yes and that wasn’t a no. “Do you know where WBRX is?” she asked him.
    “I can find out.”
    “Okay. Call me when you’re on the street alongside the building’s parking lot. I’ll go out the side entrance and find you. You won’t have to sign in at the reception desk.”
    “Good. Don’t introduce me. To anyone.”
    “I won’t. Promise.”
     
    A half hour later her smartphone rang again. Kelly grabbed it.
    “I’m here,” he said.
    Kelly tensed. She couldn’t help it. Deke’s low voice just got to her. “Where?”
    “In the parking lot. Row C. I’m looking at the station entrance.”
    “I’ll be right out.” She wondered how he’d managed that. Security was tight these days what with all the wackos out there.
    Kelly minimized the video file so it couldn’t be seen and put the laptop on standby. She set it on her desk in front of her WBRX monitor, placing Gordon’s laptop and camera into a deep drawer that locked. She put her shoes back on and went quickly down the corridor that led to the side exit, noting with relief that the evening receptionist had stepped away from the desk and phone console.
    She paused on the other side of the heavy glass doors, catching a glimpse of Deke when he got out of a sleek black car. Her hero. But he looked a little beat up, wearing the same leather jacket and jeans. He spotted her and walked her way.
    Kelly glanced backward to make sure the receptionist was still gone and pressed the electronic release to open the outer doors for him. Deke Bannon seemed even taller in the confined space of the side entryway, his shoulders broader under the jacket. Close up, she noted traces of cement dust in the leather’s heavy folds. She half wanted to slip her hand inside and see if the gun was still in the holster. “Well, hello. I wasn’t expecting you quite so soon.”
    “Hello.” His voice, rawer than she remembered, echoed in the corridor.
    He stared down at her as if he were memorizing her face, and she got her first good look at his eyes. They were a deep brown with flecks of dark gold, alive and questioning. The steadiness of his gaze held her where she was for a moment, a sensation that was almost physical.
    She walked back with him to her office until the chatter