“What?” he says, his body stiff in a way that shows he’s in charge.
The question is direct. Stripped clean of anything but need. I drag a hand through my hair and force myself to answer like a firefighter first, not a man who has started measuring his own pulse against whether one woman is safe.
“Possible trespass at the Carrington House,” I say. “Fresh footprints, open gate, scene disturbance near the carriage house.”
Mac’s gaze narrows. “Law enforcement called?”
“Not sure.”
“Then that’s first.” His voice stays level. “You going in uniform or personal?”
I glance toward the turnout rack, then down at the shirt I’m wearing. Duty black. Department patch on the sleeve. Nothing about this is technically a call, but none of it feels personal either. Not anymore.
“Personal,” I say. “If this is related to the fire, I don’t want somebody spooking before we know what we’re looking at.”
Mac nods once. “Good.”
He doesn’t ask why I’m the one going. He already knows. Maybe because he’s seen enough to understand the difference between professional vigilance and the kind of protective instinct that burns hotter because it’s trying not to call itself what it is.
“I’ll notify the deputy on duty,” he says. “You do not go off by yourself if you find more than tracks.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Wright.”
I look at him.
His eyes hold mine a second longer. “Use your head.”
That should be obvious. It shouldn’t need saying.
“Yes, sir,” I repeat.
Beckett is beside me by the time I reach for my keys. “I’m coming.”
“No.”
“That wasn’t a request.”
I cut him a look. “You don’t even know what we’re walking into.”
“Exactly,” he says. “Which is why you’re not walking into it alone with that face.”
“What face?”
“The one that says you’re five bad seconds from punching the nearest tree and then apologizing to nobody.”
That would almost be funny if I weren’t suddenly very aware of how hard my heart is beating.
Ray steps in before I can answer. “I’ll go.”
I turn. “You’re on shift.”
“So are you.”
He says it plainly. No weight. No accusation. Just fact. The problem is I have no comeback for that one that doesn’t expose too much.
Mac handles it for me. “Ray stays,” he says. “Deputy meets Wright there. Beckett, you ride along if you can keep your mouth shut for at least the first ten minutes.”
