Chapter 42

Two weeks later

Laurel changed into heavier socks in Huck's bedroom as the sounds of voices hummed through the wall. She had not been able to get her feet warm after her near drowning. One would think her lungs would feel cold, or even her face, but it was her feet, always chilled.

It had been two weeks since Zeke Caine's death and Abigail's arrest.

Laurel quickly read a text from her mom and then looked at the beautiful pictures of the herbal gardens Deidre had sent. After receiving the bad news, her mom had offered to fly home immediately.

It had taken Laurel awhile to convince her to continue her journey and actually enjoy it. Finally, her mother had decided to extend her visit for two weeks, and Laurel had heartily agreed. The adventure would do her some good, and there was no reason to return home quickly.

Laurel's phone buzzed, and she lifted it to her ear. "Agent Snow."

"Hello, Agent Snow. It's Tim Kohnex."

She sat on Huck's bed. "Mr. Kohnex, I've asked you not to use this phone number, and yet you persist. This is your last chance. If you call me again on my private number, I will have you arrested for harassment."

"I do apologize," he said formally. "I am sorry. I just wanted to call. I've been watching Rachel Raprenzi's reports as well as the news, and I feel as if I could have warned you about your loss."

She took the hit and felt it deep in her body, but nobody knew about the baby. "Excuse me?"

"Your father. I know he was not a good man from what I'm learning, but his death still represents a loss. I knew you would face that, but . . ."

"But what?" Laurel asked.

"I just felt your loss would be more personal, you know, something innocent about it, but I must have been wrong. Anyway, I was hoping that perhaps I could sit down with you for an interview."

She paused and looked at the thinner socks she'd discarded on the bed. "An interview? For what?"

"I would very much like to consult with your team. I think I could be a valuable asset. In addition, I'm writing a book on my experiences. An interview with you would make that really sing."

She swallowed. "Mr. Kohnex, I have no interest in speaking with you, either for your book or for my cases."

His sigh was heavy across the line. "All right, but I can tell you already, I know there are forces coming for you. You may think you're out of the woods, but Agent Snow, the evil has just gotten started. I see another threat, from an area you can't even imagine."

"Call me again, and I'll arrest you." She clicked off and shook her head. The last thing she needed was to deal with a wannabe psychic, and yet his words chilled her. Was there any truth to them?

She shook off her unease and walked back into Huck's living room, where Nester and Kate were cleaning up after an impromptu lunch of chicken tenders and pizza. Her entire team had returned, and she finally felt settled again.

"We just had to come see how you were doing, boss." Walter finished his beer with Ena at his side.

Ena nodded. "We've been worried about you two out here by yourselves for the last two weeks and had to get a visual. It's lovely to see you healing nicely. Do you know when you'll both be reinstated?"

"We were, yesterday," Laurel said. "I imagine we'll be back to work soon." Her body still ached, and her soul felt tired, if that were possible. Now she was becoming maudlin. "Though it's my understanding you've all been doing an admirable job."

Monty Buckley walked in from the bathroom. "Everyone's been doing a phenomenal job, but we would like you back soon. Even with Officers Tso and Jordan back at part-time desk work at Fish and Wildlife and bringing us cookies once in a while, it's been a little quiet."

"What's going on with Abigail?" Kate threw paper plates in the garbage.

Laurel looked at Huck. "She was arrested. We have her for killing Zeke Caine, though she has a decent self-defense claim. We're also still looking for evidence against her in the Jason Abbott killing."

"And Teri Bearing's death," Huck said grimly. "Haylee Johnson saw Abigail that morning, so it's possible somebody else did as well. I feel like there's evidence out there."

"We can't underestimate her," Laurel said, "but we'll do what we can. She voluntarily chased Zeke Caine down that night, and it's her word against, well, a dead man's, that she killed him in self-defense. Had her terror been authentic, she would've called the authorities."

Walter straightened his shoulders. "I am looking forward to pursuing the case."

"As am I," Huck said. "She's out on bond right now, so we have somebody following her 24/7. She'd be smart enough to know that, however."

Laurel smiled. "It was nice of you all to bring us food."

Aeneas barked happily from the corner. Fred, the cat, looked at him and turned his back, going to sleep again. He slept near the fire often.

"Yes, it was very nice of all of you," Huck said, pointedly standing.

Walter chuckled. "All right, buddy. We'll leave you to your peace." He stood, and everybody ambled out.

Huck frowned as he shut the door. "Was that rude?"

"No," Laurel said. "All you did was stand."

He grinned. "Yeah, that's all I did. I like our teams, but that many people in my cabin . . ."

She nodded. "It's too many people. We're better off dealing with all of them at work." She walked over and sat on the sofa.

He sank down next to her, put his arm over her shoulders and extended his feet, crossing his ankles on the coffee table. The fire crackled merrily in front of them. "So."

"So," she murmured, leaning into him and snuggling. It felt good to be warming themselves by the fire. Although it was nice to have everybody come to check on them, she liked the quiet, especially right now.

"I'm tired of the rain. I'm tired of the snow, Special Agent in Charge Laurel Snow," he murmured.

The rain pattered outside. "As am I."

"Good. I've taken a ten-day leave of absence, and I'm hoping you'll do the same."

She angled her head on his shoulder to look up at his face. "You have?"

"Yes. I booked us a stay at the Hacienda del Sol in Cabo for ten days. It's all-inclusive. We can eat all we want, drink all we want, and get all the sun we want. We can heal in every possible way."

Part of her still felt frozen inside, and the idea of stretching out on a warm beach held a lot of appeal. They did need to heal, and not just physically. "I miss the baby."

"Me, too." He held her closer. "We can say goodbye to her on the beach in the sun. Then maybe we can plan."

She blinked. "Plan?"

"Yeah. We're alive, we're almost healthy again, and we're together. The two of us will get through this and find something good and new." He turned his head and kissed her temple. "Both of us understand that life is never easy. But we can make it good, Laurel. I promise."

She believed him, even though nobody could control life. "The two of us planning, huh? I could get on board with that."

He chuckled. "Listen to you using colloquiums."

"Listen to you making actual plans that involve more than you and your dog." She snuggled closer to his hard body. "Let me at least help with the plane tickets."

He shrugged. "I haven't bought them yet because they're nonrefundable and I wanted to make sure you could go."

"I have enough points that we could fly first class," she said, perking up.

He looked down at her and grinned, his eyes mellow in the afternoon light. "First class? That sounds great. All you can drink. What do you say?"

She snuggled into him. "I say yes. Let's go chase the sun for a while, Huck. We deserve it."