Talk about uncomfortable. Both men were eyeing her up like the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. Colin’s gaze was especially sharp and assessing. Devan a little more relaxed as he tossed nuts into the air and caught them with his mouth.
“Russ won’t be joining us unless absolutely necessary. As the sheriff, he would have to report you, Ava.” Reid pointed at a chair. “I have made him aware of a security issue and that it’s not in his best interest to join us.”
“And he was good with that?” Micha asked.
“Considering I didn’t share any details, he was surprisingly okay.” Reid went to the head of the table. “Thanks to the softer, gentler version of Russ we now see since he married Sydney.”
“The change in him is big.” Devan held his arms wide out. “I mean monumental big.”
“A good woman can do that.” Reid got a dreamy smile on his face, erasing all the hard lines and angles and replacing them with a softness that Ava could see any woman would find attractive.
“Guess you’re thinking about Megan.” Micha glanced at Ava. “His wife of a few months.”
“I am.” Reid’s smile widened. “Maybe you guys should try finding someone.”
Devan feigned a shudder. “Not a good time for that for me, but more power to you all.”
“I’m with Dev,” Micha said. “But I’m glad you’re both happy.”
Ava had gotten a vibe that said he wasn’t looking for a romantic involvement. Not that he’d said anything, but she sensed his reluctance, and he just confirmed it. Oddly, it stung. Not a little but a lot. Not that she was looking for anything right now either, but if her issue was resolved she would be glad to date again, wouldn’t she?
“Help yourself to the snacks and water, Ava,” Reid said. “And let’s get down to it.”
She was too anxious to eat, but she took a bottle of water. Now that she was back in civilization with running water instead of a latrine, she wouldn’t mind hydrating to the max to make up for sweating on the hike.
She took a seat in one of the comfy chairs with a reclining back and thickly padded arms and looked at the room again. The far wall held a dorm-sized refrigerator. Another wall, two whiteboards. The third, a door and a map of the compound. The last wall, a large screen TV. All of which Micha had used on their orientation and welcome night.
“So about those safety ideas.” Micha dropped into a chair across from Ava and kept his attention on Reid.
Reid picked cashews out of the nut bowl. “I’d like to think this place is secure, but nothing is a hundred percent secure, and we have to act as if Ava’s stalker knows where she is.”
“Agreed,” Micha said.
Reid had dropped the nuts in his mouth and finished chewing them. “So we discussed you delivering the evidence to the Veritas Center in Portland.”
Micha’s eyebrow went up. “We did, but you mentioned getting a helo to help us out.”
“I got ahold of Gage Blackwell. He’s good with it, and I still think it’s a solid idea.” Reid snagged a few more cashews and leaned against the wall. “But I also think the two of you should be on that flight with the evidence and don’t come back here right away.”
Ava picked up her water bottle. “Because our suspect won’t know where I am then?”
He shook the cashews in his closed hand. “That, and while you’re in Portland, you could run down some leads.”
“It wouldbe good to get a copy of the original video from the hospice center,” Micha said.
“Or what you think is the original file,” Colin said. “It could’ve been altered, and I’ll need to confirm that it hasn’t been.”
Micha picked up a cracker and loaded it with two slices of cheese with pepperoni between them and topped if off with another cracker. “Tell me what you need so I know what to ask for, and I’ll meet with the facility manager.”
“Will do.”
“I’d like to go with you to the center.” Ava raised her hand before anyone could argue. “I know I can’t. Not without being arrested, but I just wanted to put it out there.”
Micha swallowed the bite of his little snack sandwich and peered at Colin. “Maybe you should come to Portland too. You can get a look at the actual server files, and that frees me up to stay with Ava at the apartment.”
Colin faced Reid. “You able to make the schedule work?”
“It’ll be tight, but I’ll manage it.” Reid turned to the whiteboard and noted security video and Colin’s name as the responsible party for retrieving it. Then he added the catapult and boot prints and assigned Micha’s name.
