Micha reached for the lantern and turned it off, then drew his sidearm. Dev lifted his from the holster too. Headlights cut through the dusky afternoon.
“Likely just Colin,” Micha said. “But stay put. I’ll check it out.”
He jumped up and went to the kitchen window. Her heart pounded loudly, sounding like it wanted to thump right out of her chest. A helpless feeling settled over her, and she honestly wished she still had the gun Micha taught her to use.
He glanced out the window. “Yeah, yeah. It’s Colin.”
Ava let out a long breath, feeling lightheaded with relief. If Colin arriving terrified her this much, what would happen if a real foe came to their door?
Micha had seen Ava’s fear when Colin arrived. He felt bad about that, but he couldn’t have taken the time to offer comfort when he didn’t know who was coming to their door. He had to protect her first. Provide emotional support later.
Which he’d done, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. Before Colin had sat down behind his laptop, he tried to assure her that, with him and Micha in place, nothing bad would happen.
She nodded but didn’t seem to buy it. Now she sat in front of the fire, her arms wrapped around her body and staring straight ahead. He wanted to try again but decided to leave it alone. Maybe he could engage her in a game of chess to take her mind off it.
He knelt by the coffee table holding the chessboard. He lifted the white knight. Ironic really. He picked this piece when he thought of himself as a knight. But he needed to work on not needing to be a knight in shining armor all the time.
He held up the piece. “Want to play until Reid calls?”
She looked at him. “I guess, though I don’t know if I can concentrate.”
“Whoa,” Colin said.
Micha flashed his gaze to his buddy. “What is it?”
“Nicks isn’t filling in as guest conductor at the Portland Symphony. His last gig with them was a year or so ago. There was some sort of incident, and it seems as if they won’t have him back.”
Ava swiveled to look at him. “Incident involving Holly, maybe?”
“Not sure, but I’ll keep digging.”
“So where has he been these past weeks?” she asked.
“He could still have been in Portland,” Colin said. “Stalking you. Or maybe we were wrong about why Layne didn’t upload the DNA. What if Holly told him who his father is? You know, like she wanted to confess it before she died, and now he’s working with his dad to keep you from inheriting.”
She bit her lip. “So we could have them both after me.”
“It’s possible.” Micha’s phone chimed. “It’s Reid. He’s got Layne pinned down for the interview. Get him on your computer, Colin, so we have a better look at his body language.”
Colin connected to Micha’s phone while Micha and Ava went to sit close enough to him that they were all in the video frame.
“I’ll take lead on this interview,” Micha said. “But jump in if either of you have something to ask or say.”
“You ready for us?” Micha asked.
“As can be. He’s none too thrilled.” Reid turned the phone, catching a man sitting on a wide chair.
“Hello, Layne,” Ava said.
Layne glared at her. “Stop with the polite social stuff. Just spit out why you sent this bully here and ask whatever it is you want to ask.”
Micha didn’t like starting out with the guy having an attitude, but it was to be expected. “You have a friend. Jamal Thomason. He’s on your LARPing team.”
His pale blond eyebrows shot up. “So what?”
“So we found him murdered at his house,” Micha stated plainly to get a reaction.
“You what?” He lurched to the edge of his chair, and Reid placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him seated. “But how? Why?”
