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She let herself into Trey Banning’s house, where her friend Ember lived. A couple of months ago, Ember had lost her sister. She received her sister’s heart in a transplant and adopted her sister’s baby. After Trey put a ring on her finger, he had signed a lease on a studio apartment where he planned to live until the wedding since Ember stayed at his house. Clare got the impression he spent a lot of his off time at the house with Ember and the baby—and he’d even spent some nights on the couch after Trey’s mom went back to Last Chance County a couple of weeks ago.
“Hello,” Clare called out as she shut the door behind her. She didn’t say more, in case it would wake the baby. Laundry covered the living room couch, and a half-drunk cup of tea sat on the coffee table.
Cold.
Clare carried the cup to the sink, where she poured out the rest, discarded the tea bag, and put it in the dishwasher.
“Hey. I just put Cassie down for a nap, so we’re good for three minutes or three hours or any amount of time between before she wakes up again.” Ember leaned against the doorframe, dark circles under her eyes. It did practically nothing to detract from how gorgeous she was. Seriously, the woman looked like a movie star—something she’d used to her advantage as a CIA agent. Now she wore sweats and a Benson Fire Department sweater that probably belonged to Trey.
Clare smiled at her friend and the normalcy of this whole situation. “Wanna sit?”
“I’ll fall asleep.” Ember smiled. “Cassie was up half the night. She’s teething and crabby, which makes me crabby. Now we’re both tired. And super fun to hang around with. I’m pretty sure Trey is going to stay at work as long as possible, and he’ll show up later with takeout and flowers.”
“I’ll help you fold onesies and burp rags,” Clare said.
“I won’t turn down an offer like that.” Ember trailed to the living room.
“How are you doing?” She grabbed the top baby outfit in the pile. She wasn’t sure if it was holding baby clothes or talking about Ember’s transplant, but Clare’s chest ached then. She started a pile of folded laundry.
Ember held a blanket wide, then touched the corners together. “Tired. Apparently that’s to be expected and not just my body adjusting to a new heart.”
“This is where I crack a joke about you being normal.” Clare grinned.
“You and me? Since when.”
“We’ve come a long way since that op in Tangier, that’s for sure.”
“Eight years. You’d think we would’ve figured it out by now.”
Clare turned and sat on the arm of the couch. “You mean you haven’t?” She caught a look at the edge of Ember’s expression. “What is it?”
Ember shook her head. “Nope. If I start talking, Trey will hear somehow. Next thing I know he’ll drag a preacher over here and marry me in his living room. I want my summer wedding.”
Clare smirked. “Okay, bridezilla. You can have a reception in the summer.”
“No. It’s gonna be special, darn it. I’m not getting married when I’m so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open at six p.m. Getting married looking all sickly, with a baby on my hip.”
“I think probably someone else will hold the baby for you.”
“Like you?” Ember fired that shot with no remorse in her expression.
Clare made a face. Her issue with babies had never been noticeable. Now her best friend had a newborn, it was a little harder to steer clear of anything related to pregnancy or bringing a new life into the world.
“I heard about the bank robbery. What were they after?”
“Russ said the bank manager got a hold of the guy whose safety deposit box it was. They took a million in diamonds.”
Ember’s eyebrows rose. “Which explains why they didn’t just grab duffel bags full of cash.”
“Diamonds are a whole lot more portable.”
Ember nodded.
“And they had to have known that box had that specific item in it.” Clare wanted Vanguard to be the ones who figured out who’d told the crew about the diamonds.
“I heard Selena yelled at the SWAT lieutenant.”
“How?”
