Page 103 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

Sabre glanced at JP again.

“And here’s the best part,” Beverly went on, her excitement returning full force. “Harley has a friend who’s the captain of the ship. He’s going to marry us, right there at sea.”

JP raised his eyebrows, impressed.

Sabre let out a breath, half laugh, half disbelief. “You’re getting married by the captain on an Alaskan cruise.”

“Yes!” Beverly said. “Isn’t it perfect?”

Sabre looked down at the files she couldn’t escape, at the weight of everything they were handling, “It is perfect, Mom.”

“You’ll come, right?” Beverly asked.

Sabre hesitated, just for a second, thinking about her cases, Bay, the threats, and the past clawing its way forward. Then she remembered her promise to herself. She wasn’t going to miss any more family stuff because of work. “Absolutely, we’ll come.”

“Good,” Beverly said, satisfied. “Because this is happening, whether you’re ready or not.”

After a few more details and promises to talk again soon, Sabre hung up and set the phone on the table.

“An Alaskan cruise,” JP said.

“With my entire family, and Harley’s.”

JP crossed his arms. “That won’t be complicated at all.”

She gave him a look. “Don’t.”

He grinned. “I didn’t say anything.”

Sabre shifted gears. “We’ve got too much going on for this.”

JP’s expression sobered. “Yeah. We do, but we’re going anyway.”

“You’ve already decided that?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

JP shrugged. “Because if someone’s pulling strings to get you involved, they’re not going to stop just because you stay home.”

Sabre held his gaze.

“And if things are about to come together,” JP said, “they won’t care where you are when they do. Besides, technically, you’re not even on this case, remember?”

Chapter 39

Tuesday

JP pulled into the 7-11 parking lot just before noon, the sun flattening everything into hard light and faded colors. The place looked like it hadn’t changed in a decade. It had cracked asphalt, a buzzing sign, and a steady trickle of people going in and out.

Inside, the air smelled like burnt coffee and sugar. Behind the counter stood a kid, barely out of high school, scrolling on his phone.

“Hey,” JP said, easy. “Is the owner here?”

The kid shook his head. “Nah. Just me right now.”

“How long have you worked here?”