“Yet Gunner was here.”
Yes, he had been. Why? It wasn’t as if she’d stopped to ask him when they were rushing out of the burning house.
“The chief says it looks like arson. The way the burn marks are sliding across the rooms...” Gunner drew closer as he spoke. “An arson investigator will be out tomorrow to start the investigation.”
“Arson?” Her hand was on her stomach. She dropped it. “Why would someone torch my house?”
“With you in it?” Gunner growled.
She flinched.
“You know the EOD has plenty of enemies.” This came from Logan.
Sydney nodded. Yes, she knew that.
“You’re thinking someone is targeting us again?” Gunner demanded as his stare turned to the other man.
Logan shrugged. “We never found out the identity of the man who sent out the hits before. Just that he was based in South America. We’ve got agents in the EOD who are digging for more intel on him even now.” He paused, glanced toward the charred structure that had been Sydney’s house. “This isn’t random chance, we all know that. I’m going to send out word that all of our agents need to be on alert until we can learn more.”
Sydney was sure that the EOD’s own investigators would be joining the arson crew tomorrow.
“In the meantime, Sydney, do you want to stay with me and Juliana?” Logan asked her.
“I—”
“She can stay with me,” Gunner said instantly.
That sounded like a very bad idea to her. Sydney shook her head. “Thanks, both of you, but I’m perfectly capable of getting a hotel room. Or maybe even going back to Baton Rouge—”
“No.” Gunner was adamant. “If you leave the area, you’ll be on your own.”
In the EOD, you were never supposed to be on your own. The other agents were there to always have your back.
The way Gunner had protected her tonight. He’d fought the flames to get her out.
Tell him. She had to tell him about the baby. Gunner had a right to know that he would be a father.
“I’ve got an extra room,” he told her, voice stilted. “You’ll have plenty of privacy.”
Logan just looked between them.
She thought of her baby. She thought of the night someone had tried to shoot her on the beach in Peru. She thought of the flames that she could still feel against her skin.
If someone was after her, and it sure was starting to look that way, she wanted protection.
Gunner was the best agent she knew. “I’ll stay with you,” she said softly.
In the moonlight, she could see the expression of relief flicker across his face.
Just what expression would he show when she told him about the baby?
When they were alone again, she’d find out.
* * *
HE WATCHED THEM from the woods. The firefighters were still running around the scene like ants, spraying everything down with their hoses.
But no one had started to search the area.