Page 69 of Shadow Justice

Reid was silent long enough that Holly started pacing. “I’m sorry.”

“Accepted, but not forgotten.” Linc’s voice softened by a hard inch. “Is Holly there?”

“She is.”

“Tell her I’m not angry with her.”

Holly’s throat tightened. “Tell him I’m sorry anyway.”

Reid repeated it, and Linc huffed. “She always did apologize for things that weren’t hers. Tell her to stop.”

A reluctant smile tugged at Holly’s mouth.

Linc went on. “Now tell that bodyguard of mine if he’s going to be here all day, he can come in and drink coffee like a civilized human being. But if he rearranges my furniture or asks me how I’m feeling, I’ll put him on the porch.”

“I’ll pass that along,” Reid said, already texting the man.

“You do that. And Reid?”

“Yes.”

“Find the person who did this before they decide old judges make good symbols.”

The call ended.

Reid stood with the phone in his hand, jaw tight, eyes on nothing Holly could see. She took his hand and tugged him after her. “Come here,” she said.

He blinked. “What?”

“You’re learning the espresso machine before we open.”

“Now?”

“Yes. You need something to do with your hands, and I need you to not stare at the wall like you’re trying to convict it.”

His mouth curved in a faint smile. “The wall has questionable character.”

“The wall has been very supportive—pun intended.”

She led him downstairs and behind the counter, where the shop smelled like coffee and sugar and the clean sharpness of sanitizer. Outside, Monday was beginning to gather itself on Main Street. Cars moved past the front windows. A delivery truck idled two doors down. Sanctuary would open in less than thirty minutes, and Holly refused to let the killer take anything else from her.

Reid stood beside her at the espresso machine, too tall and wide in the narrow space.

She still liked it. She handed him the portafilter. “Grounds in here. Tamp evenly. Firm, not violent.”

“I can manage firm.”

“I’ve seen the way you close a dishwasher. We’ll see.”

His shoulder brushed hers as she showed him how to level the grounds, and the contact traveled through her with the same quiet electricity that had been humming between them all morning. He watched her hands, not her mouth, which was wise of him and still somehow maddening.

She placed her hand over his to adjust the angle of the tamper. “Not like you’re arguing a motion. Like you’re persuading the coffee to cooperate.”

He huffed a low laugh, and some of the tension from Linc’s call eased out of his shoulders. Holly let herself enjoy that small victory. She was teaching him something simple and he was letting her. In the middle of murder and healing old wounds, the espresso machine hissed to life, and Reid Fleming stood in her world learning how not to break it.

The morning rush was smaller than usual but still steady enough to keep them moving. Maya arrived tired from a weekend with her friends and threw herself into making lattes and plating muffins.

At eight-thirty, Holly was wiping down the counter when Reid drew her into the small office. “Go ahead, Claire,” he said into his phone. “Holly’s here. You’re on speaker.”