Read When the Smoke Clears (Deadly Reunions) for Free Online

doing?” he asked.
    “I don’t know. I haven’t gone over there yet. I had to stop here first.” The reason why she had to stop at the house first now eluded her.
    His eyes hadn’t changed in color or intensity, but he’d matured from the twenty-one-year-old junior in college into a thirty-two-year-old with a few lines around his eyes and a touch of gray at his temples. Probably due to the job.
    She had to admit, he looked great. Really, really great.
    Ignoring the sudden charge flowing through her veins, she raised a hand to rub at her aching forehead.
    He asked, “Can you give me a description of the intruder?”
    She closed her eyes, pulling the image of the person to the forefront of her mind. “I . . . he was tall. Taller than I am, but shorter than you.”
    Hunter wrote in his little book. “Eye color?”
    “Um . . . no. I didn’t let him get that close.”
    “Any odors? Smells?”
    “No, I didn’t pay any attention. I was running and calling 9-1-1 at the same time. I was just making sure he couldn’t get at me.”
    Hunter nodded and quirked a sideways smile at her. “Good idea.”
    “Wait! He did have something in his left hand.”
    He cocked his head. “What was it?”
    She rubbed her forehead. “I’m not sure. Maybe some kind of box? I couldn’t make it out. I wasn’t looking that hard at the left hand. The knife in his right hand pretty much had my full attention.”
    Another nod. “Understandable. How long did you and Devin date back in high school?”
    She blinked at the change in topic. “About six months. Most of my freshman year.”
    “Any contact since then?”
    “Not really. Well, yes. Sort of.”
    He lifted a brow. “Could you clear that up a little?”
    “Can I wash this blood off first?” She lifted her hands and inspected them.
    “Alexia.”
    “I’m serious, Hunter. Please. Then I’ll answer all the questions you want to ask.”
    Hunter sighed and led her outside to the ambulance. They climbed in, and he opened a compartment to pull out a roll of paper towels, a bottle of saline, and some liquid soap. “Hold your hands out.”
    “I could have used the sink in the kitchen.”
    “Not until CSU is finished processing the house.”
    “Right.”
    Once she was rid of the blood, she felt better. Her mind began to work again. The fog that seemed to cloud her since finding Devin’s body faded.
    “Hey, Hunter? What’s going on? Where are we?”
    The thick voice came from the car on the curb. The tall man who stumbled out of the vehicle tickled the recognition sensors in her brain.
    She thought she heard Hunter groan. “Get back in the car and finish sleeping it off, Chad.”
    Alexia finally put it together. Chad Graham, Hunter’s younger brother and twin to Christine. Tall and athletic, they’d been part of the “pretty people.” The popular crowd. Alexia had known them mostly by reputation. She remembered Christine had been on the girls’ basketball team and won a scholarship for her skills. Christine had always been kind, even just in passing.
    Chad had been the wrestler and star of the soccer team. She couldn’t remember if he went on to college or not. Probably.
    Only right now, he wasn’t very star-like. He ignored his brother and managed to put one foot in front of the other. As he came closer, she could smell the alcohol on him.
    With a muttered “Excuse me a minute,” Hunter reached for Chad’s arm. “Come here.”
    Chad yanked away from the light hold and turned toward Alexia. “Well, hello, pretty lady.”
    Alexia lifted a brow. “Hello, Chad.”
    “Wanna go on a date?”
    She’d dealt with drunks before. Car wrecks mostly. It was the drunks who usually survived. “Not—”
    “Come on, Chad,” Hunter interrupted. “Back to the car.”
    Chad frowned. “Don’t wanna.”
    Again, Hunter intervened. “Look, you understand how it is, I’m in the middle of an investigation—”
    “Who cares about your stupid investigation? I’m talking to