“Call me again, and I’ll arrest you.” She clicked off and shook her head. The last thing she needed was to deal with a wannabe psychic, and yet his words chilled her. Was there any truth to them?
She shook off her unease and walked back into Huck’s living room, where Nester and Kate were cleaning up after an impromptu lunch of chicken tenders and pizza. Her entire team had returned, and she finally felt settled again.
“We just had to come see how you were doing, boss.” Walter finished his beer with Ena at his side.
Ena nodded. “We’ve been worried about you two out here by yourselves for the last two weeks and had to get a visual. It’s lovely to see you healing nicely. Do you know when you’ll both be reinstated?”
“We were, yesterday,” Laurel said. “I imagine we’ll be back to work soon.” Her body still ached, and her soul felt tired, if that were possible. Now she was becoming maudlin. “Though it’s my understanding you’ve all been doing an admirable job.”
Monty Buckley walked in from the bathroom. “Everyone’s been doing a phenomenal job, but we would like you back soon. Even with Officers Tso and Jordan back at part-time desk work at Fish and Wildlife and bringing us cookies once in a while, it’s been a little quiet.”
“What’s going on with Abigail?” Kate threw paper plates in the garbage.
Laurel looked at Huck. “She was arrested. We have her for killing Zeke Caine, though she has a decent self-defense claim. We’re also still looking for evidence against her in the Jason Abbott killing.”
“And Teri Bearing’s death,” Huck said grimly. “Haylee Johnson saw Abigail that morning, so it’s possible somebody else did as well. I feel like there’s evidence out there.”
“We can’t underestimate her,” Laurel said, “but we’ll do what we can. She voluntarily chased Zeke Caine down that night, and it’s her word against, well, a dead man’s, that she killed him in self-defense. Had her terror been authentic, she would’ve called the authorities.”
Walter straightened his shoulders. “I am looking forward to pursuing the case.”
“As am I,” Huck said. “She’s out on bond right now, so we have somebody following her 24/7. She’d be smart enough to know that, however.”
Laurel smiled. “It was nice of you all to bring us food.”
Aeneas barked happily from the corner. Fred, the cat, looked at him and turned his back, going to sleep again. He slept near the fire often.
“Yes, it was very nice of all of you,” Huck said, pointedly standing.
Walter chuckled. “All right, buddy. We’ll leave you to your peace.” He stood, and everybody ambled out.
Huck frowned as he shut the door. “Was that rude?”
“No,” Laurel said. “All you did was stand.”
He grinned. “Yeah, that’s all I did. I like our teams, but that many people in my cabin . . .”
She nodded. “It’s too many people. We’re better off dealing with all of them at work.” She walked over and sat on the sofa.
He sank down next to her, put his arm over her shoulders and extended his feet, crossing his ankles on the coffee table. The fire crackled merrily in front of them. “So.”
“So,” she murmured, leaning into him and snuggling. It felt good to be warming themselves by the fire. Although it was nice to have everybody come to check on them, she liked the quiet, especially right now.
“I’m tired of the rain. I’m tired of the snow, Special Agent in Charge Laurel Snow,” he murmured.
The rain pattered outside. “As am I.”
“Good. I’ve taken a ten-day leave of absence, and I’m hoping you’ll do the same.”
She angled her head on his shoulder to look up at his face. “You have?”
“Yes. I booked us a stay at the Hacienda del Sol in Cabo for ten days. It’s all-inclusive. We can eat all we want, drink all we want, and get all the sun we want. We can heal in every possible way.”
Part of her still felt frozen inside, and the idea of stretching out on a warm beach held a lot of appeal. They did need to heal, and not just physically. “I miss the baby.”
“Me, too.” He held her closer. “We can say goodbye to her on the beach in the sun. Then maybe we can plan.”
She blinked. “Plan?”
