Kathryn Springer - Tested by Fire

“Hi, Chief.”

“Finn!”

As Seamus rose from the chair, Finn winced at the stiffness in his movements. At seventy-five, her grandfather was finally beginning to show signs of his age.

“I see you brought that failure from the academy with you,” he teased.

“He may have failed at the academy but he’s succeeding as a pet.” She reached up and kissed her grandfather’s weathered cheek. “You’ll hurt his feelings if you keep talking like that.”

“Well, John, come and meet my granddaughter, Fiona, champion of the underdog.”

The man who had been sitting with his back to her suddenly rose to his feet. Seamus’s words dissolved in Finn’s ears as she looked at the stranger in front of her. She was caught and held captive by two jewel-green eyes.

“Finn, this is John Gabriel.”

The words pieced themselves together again, and Finn instinctively put out her hand, a gesture of politeness that the man ignored. Still trapped in his gaze, she frowned slightly.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Fiona,” he said formally.

Finn’s hand remained empty and she glanced down. John Gabriel’s arm was missing from the elbow down.

John watched the momentary confusion on her face but wasn’t inclined to help her out. Then she astounded him by smiling.

“John Gabriel. You saved Chief’s life, didn’t you? You’re practically family, then, and family members get hugs, not handshakes.”

Before John could react, she stepped forward and embraced him easily. Over the top of her head, he saw Seamus grin. He stiffened, but she had already let go of him, leaving a light, flowery fragrance behind.

“And call me Finn. Everyone does.”

“Finn, I thought I heard your voice. Snuck in through the patio, did you?” Anne Kelly appeared in the doorway. “Hi, Colin. Good dog.” Colin thumped his tail in appreciation and Seamus snorted. “Supper is ready.”

They filed into the dining room, the room that Anne Kelly saved for company, but there was nothing stuffy about the decor. The floors were hardwood that had mellowed over time and the curtains were a breezy muslin that welcomed the sunshine. The table was set for four.

John was still in shock from his introduction to Finn Kelly. The moonlight hadn’t done her justice. Medium height and slender, she had delicate features framed by the pale auburn hair that had been passed down from the original Kellys. This young woman was a police officer? She looked like she wasn’t old enough to hold a driver’s license!

“Will you say grace, Finn?” Anne asked.

Finn nodded and glanced at him. Her eyes were gray, ringed with indigo. The room suddenly felt very small. And he didn’t even hear her prayer.

The following hour was spent in pleasant, but meaningless, conversation. Finn noticed that both Chief and John Gabriel carefully avoided bringing up old memories. She had been only thirteen years old when the accident happened. She vividly recalled visiting her grandfather in the hospital and hearing her family whisper about the young police officer who had used his body to shield Chief from the explosion. Her grandpa was all right, that was all that mattered in her way of thinking, but she knew that John Gabriel was a hero. She had heard his name mentioned occasionally over the years and knew that he and Chief still kept in touch, but she hadn’t realized the extent of his sacrifice until now.

“What do you do, John?” Finn asked during a lull in the conversation. She felt the force of his gaze once again and it was unsettling. She had had a chance to covertly study him during dinner and decided he was an attractive man. A faint burn scar that ran from temple to chin didn’t detract from the strong, clean lines of his face. His hair, the color of coffee with a splash of cream, touched the collar of his black polo shirt.

“I work for a private agency that investigates crime,” he answered evenly.

Finn was silent for a moment, a nagging suspicion beginning to form. “What’s the name of the agency?”

“I doubt you are familiar with it, Finn.”

“Try me.” She smiled sweetly.

“The Madison Agency.”

Finn recognized the name immediately. “Another group of untouchables, right? The agency that solves crimes that are considered unsolvable. Wasn’t it Madison that found that little girl who was kidnapped and taken to Pakistan last year?”

Seamus laughed, although it sounded a trifle forced. “My goodness, lass. Not too many people know about the Madison Agency.”

“I read a lot,” Finn said, winking at him. “Here, Gran, let me help you clear the table.”

“Well,” Seamus said earnestly, leaning forward after the women had gone into the other room, “just hang around here a little while and keep an eye on her. Tell me if all this is the product of an old man’s imagination.”

John closed his eyes. What he saw in Finn Kelly was a woman who was too fragile for police work and didn’t want to admit it. Maybe there was some kind of discrimination going on among a few of the men who couldn’t stomach a female officer, but he doubted it was anything truly sinister.

“Chief.” The title slipped out easily. “Don’t you think that maybe—”

“Excuse me.” Anne poked her head around the corner. “Seamus, Cory is on the phone. Shall I tell him you’ll call him back?”

“Go ahead.” John sighed, not wanting to deny Seamus a call from his son. “I won’t run out the back door while you’re gone.”

“See that you don’t,” Seamus muttered.

John had been alone for all of one minute when Finn came back into the room. How many women actually wore dresses for no occasion at all? He turned away and stared out the window.

“Mr. Gabriel? John—I know why you’re here.”

Startled, he swung around and discovered she was inches away from him. “You do?”

Finn glanced at the door. “You found out about Chief’s heart problems, didn’t you.”

“His heart problems?” John repeated slowly.

“He’s had two minor attacks in the past six months,” Finn murmured. “He doesn’t like to complain, but I know he’s in pain. Your visit will do him good. How long are you going to stay?”

John couldn’t believe the words that came out of his mouth. “Probably just a week or so.”

Finn got up early the next morning to go for a run before her shift started. Colin lifted his head and whined.

“I know it’s early, but if I have to stay in shape, so do you.” She turned on her CD player and hummed along with her favorite praise-and-worship band as the music pulsed through the house while she got dressed.

Dew brightened the grass and already the sun was warm with the promise of a beautiful day. She did some quick warm-up exercises on the porch and then broke into an easy run, with Colin loping along beside her.

Her grandparents’ house was quiet, and she glanced up at the window of one of the rooms Anne reserved for company. The shade was still drawn. John Gabriel. Her heart gave a funny dip just at the thought of him and it surprised her so much that she stumbled. Grinning, she saw Colin looking up at her.

“Crack in the sidewalk.” She laughed.

The man was a mystery. He must have been close to her age when the explosion cost him his arm and his career as an officer. Now he worked with the Madison Agency. She had never met anyone affiliated with it before. Its headquarters were in Chicago, where part of the Kelly family had settled in the 1920s. The agency was low-key, the average person wouldn’t even be aware it existed, yet it had a reputation for excellence in cutting-edge investigative techniques. Some said it was a wild card—a maverick agency that walked on the edge of the law to solve crimes. Somehow she sensed that Madison and John Gabriel were a good fit.