He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

the garage.
    F rustrated with his lack of success in locating the mechanic who’d been arguing with Riley, Logan sped up his gravel driveway less than an hour later, and had to slam his brakes and swerve to the right to avoid the unexpected car parked in his usual spot.
    A cherry red Mercedes convertible.
    There was only one person Logan knew who would drive a flashy car like that.
    Madison.
    Damn it. He’d told her not to come. He should have known she wouldn’t listen.
    Normally, he’d welcome his baby sister with open arms. Not today. Her timing couldn’t be worse.
    The entire day had been hell. At the hospital he’d been relieved to find that Redding had come out of his coma and his prognosis was good. But Clayton had made up for that joy by spending the better part of an hour complaining about his aches and pains. He’d followed that up by threatening a lawsuit against both the city and Logan for putting him into a dangerous situation. Right. Like being a cop didn’t automatically mean you were in danger every single day.
    Logan’s attempt to locate the mechanic Riley had argued with had been just as futile as his conversation with Clayton. There was only one mechanic in the garage when Logan went inside and he wasn’t the man Riley had been talking to. Apparently that other mechanic had headed out the back door for his dinner break while Riley was driving away.
    There were no clues about where Frank Branson was, no new leads about the killer’s identity. And now Logan’s sister had put herself in danger by coming into town.
    The one bright spot in Logan’s day—the anticipation of coming home to Amanda and letting her beautiful spirit wash away all the dirt and filth of a horrible day—was now gone. Instead, he’d have to put up with his fireball of a sister and somehow convince her to get the hell out of town.
    Convincing Madison to do anything she didn’t want to do was next to impossible.
    He took a deep breath and got out of his car. He slammed the door and trudged up the steps to the back deck. Karen was waiting at the door when he came inside, her purse already on her shoulder. She didn’t normally meet him so quickly. Alarmed, he looked past her into the house. “Is something wrong?”
    “Not at all. I saw you drive up and it took you a while to come in. I’m in a hurry to meet Mike, dinner plans. What about you? I heard it was quite the mad house today back at the station and the hospital.”
    “Not the best day in SFPD’s history. Frank Branson is still unaccounted for, and we don’t have any suspects in his disappearance.” He spoke in a low voice so his sister and Amanda wouldn’t hear him. Their laughter trilled in from the living room.
    “I heard you think he was abducted, that he didn’t escape on his own. You think the killer has him?” Karen asked in the same hushed tone.
    “I can’t afford not to think it. We’re doing everything we can to locate Branson, and we’re also operating on the assumption he could be armed and has an accomplice.” He stood back so she could step outside. “I appreciate you keeping an eye on Amanda all this time. I can get someone else to trade off if you want to get back in the office for a few days.”
    “I’m fine with the way things are right now. My commute here is shorter than the office. Besides, I enjoy hanging with her. She’s a great lady. And I’ll enjoy talking to your sister tomorrow. I didn’t get to catch up with her today because she and Amanda were having such fun together.”
    “Fun?” Knowing his sister, that didn’t bode well for him.
    “They’ve been going through photo albums and laughing like they’ve known each other for years. Today is the first day I’ve seen Amanda so lighthearted. Even before Madison got here.” She grinned at Logan. He felt his face flush like a horny teenager caught necking with his girlfriend in the backseat of his car.
    Except he’d been doing a hell of a lot more than necking.
    He met her grin with his best scowl, but she only laughed and headed to her car. Logan waited until she was speeding down the driveway before locking the door and resetting the alarm.
    Another burst of laughter from the living room had him swallowing his disappointment. Any remaining hopes that he could kick his sister out and have some time alone with Amanda dissolved. If Madison was bringing some much needed laughter to Amanda, he wasn’t about to interfere.
    She deserved, needed, to get away