I smooth my palms over the dark green sweater for the tenth time in as many minutes. After Emi left, the exhaustion tried to pull me under again. Two cups of Cafe Vienna were enough for me to feel moderately human, but the caffeine also left me with a stomach full of angry hornets. God, I hope I don’t throw up all over the microphones.
The doorbell sends my heart rate into the stratosphere, though Belle’s tail is wagging as she trots in from the kitchen.
“Parker,” AJ says, his voice subdued as he lets her in. The look she gives him could freeze Hell itself until he adds, “I told her. Everything.”
Well, I’m definitely filing that away for the group chat. If I survive the next couple of hours.
“Good.” She crouches down to greet Belle, scratching her behind the ears and cooing, “Hey, pretty girl. Got something for you and your mama. Let’s go show her what it is, okay?”
Belle barks, running over to me with her tongue hanging half out of her mouth.
Parker sets a box in my lap before dropping into the chair next to me. “Go ahead. Open it.”
“Please tell me you didn’t stop at the beauty counter again. Emi came over earlier with a whole bag of makeup, and I’m still trying to figure out when to use all the stuff you bought me last week!”
She grins. “I’ll write up a cheat sheet. I really should have done that for you on Friday, but…then I went and decked the chief, got myself suspended, all hell broke loose…” With a soft shake of her head, she meets my gaze. “What’s in there should make tonight a little easier on you.”
“Is it tequila? A ‘get out of this press conference free’ card? Or a whole boatload of Xanax?” I lift the lid, and pull out a sleek, black leather dog harness with a long, sturdy handle. “Oh, my God.”
“It’s a mobility support harness,” Parker explains, scooting to the edge of the chair. “It distributes weight across Belle’s body, so you can lean on the handle without hurting her. I figured…it might let you ditch the walker.”
I curl my fingers around the soft leather, testing the weight of it. Belle sniffs the straps with an inquisitive little ruff, like she knows it’s for her.
All those angry hornets settle a bit. Not gone, but muted. Like Parker’s gift soothed them.
“You—” My voice breaks, and I swallow hard before trying again. “How did you even know something like this existed?”
She shrugs, the movement casual, but there’s something in her eyes I can’t read. “You don’t go anywhere without Belle, and this way, you won’t have to try to manage her and the walker. I started the paperwork to get her registered as a proper service dog, but until we jump through all those hoops, places that don’t usually allow dogs should understand she’s not with you just for shits and giggles.”
“Will you…um…help me with the buckles?”
“I gotcha, babe.” She drops to her knees, adjusting and fastening the various straps until they lie flat against Belle’s sleek fur. “Try it out.”
Parker helps me to my feet, and Belle moves immediately to my right side. As if she knows my left hand is the weak one. As soon as I grip the handle, I feel steadier. The world doesn’t tilt quite so much under me.
We try a few hesitant steps. When my knee buckles, Belle is there to support me. I let the handle take part of my weight, and after a moment, when I haven’t crumpled to the ground, I try again until I’ve completed a whole circuit of the living room.
I wrap my arms around Parker. “Thank you.”
“That’s what friends do,” she says softly.
Chapter Forty-Six
Grace
AJ keeps his arm locked around my waist as we move down the Ranger station’s wide hallway, Belle steady at my side and Jasper right behind us.
I only had a single bout of vertigo on the way over here, and being able to navigate the world without the walker is freeing in a way I couldn’t have imagined even two hours ago.
The clothes Emi picked for me, the hint of makeup, and Parker’s hug as she told me she’d be in my eyeline as soon as I step up to the podium all remind me I’m not walking into this as a ghost of the woman I used to be, but as someone who survived.
Still, my pulse hasn’t gotten the memo. It hammers harder with every step. And AJ, at my side, is strung tighter than a fiddle.
Chief Harris waits at the end of the hall, arms crossed, chest puffed out. Nate leans against the wall behind him. His posture screams boredom, but even though I only met him a few days ago, I can tell it’s all an act.
“Stone,” Harris says, his tone clipped, but not unkind. “Before we walk out there, you should know—this case is stayin’ here. APD’s sorry excuse for a missin’ person’s unit ain’t gettin’ their hands on it. Marvin’s right. They fucked it up when Grace was taken. I’m not lettin’ them do it again.”
AJ stiffens, and he pulls me even closer. “Marvin’s idea, huh?” He keeps his voice steady, but anger simmers just under the surface of his skin.
