Page 59 of Shadow of Hope
“Keep me updated,” Reid said. “Especially if the detective decides to detain you. Make sure I’m your one call.”
“Of course.” Micha got up and looked at Colin. “We should get moving. Don’t want anyone to find Jamal and call it in before we can work this in our favor.”
Get moving.Meaning get ready to leave Ava alone with Devan as her protector. She trusted him, but she sure wished Micha weren’t leaving her. At least he wasn’t going into danger like before.
Colin looked up. “No way I’m leaving my computer behind, and I need to get my backpack to protect it.”
“Yeah,” Devan said. “He’s like married to that thing. No wait, maybe he’s married to the big one at his place and this one is his kid.” He laughed.
Colin rolled his eyes and turned his attention to Micha. “We should both pack anything we don’t want the police to take into evidence.”
Micha didn’t answer right away as if waffling on what he wanted to do.
“Leave clothing and toiletries behind,” Reid said. “You don’t want it to look like you moved out in advance of going to Jamal’s place.”
“Roger that,” Micha said.
“Be careful,” Reid warned. “Our killer could be watching for Ava to come home and could be staking the place out.”
Micha nodded and looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t speak for a moment. “We’ll check in with you after we finish with the police and let you know what happened.”
“Before I go, you should know I struck out on getting a copy of the police report for Holly’s investigation,” Reid said. “I might have stood a better chance if I could’ve given my source more info but had to leave Ava out of the details.”
Her heart fell. Another strike against them. How many was that? Surely they’d struck out by now.
Let it go.Let go of Jamal’s murder. Move on to any positive thing it might bring.
You’re in the right place for right now.
“Figured that could happen,” Micha said, surprisingly calm. “But thanks for trying.”
Reid nodded. “I had better luck with the feds and Buck’s weapon cache. He should expect a visit from ATF in the near future.”
Micha smiled. “Great news. If he’s involved in this, it’ll take him off the street or at least take away his weapons.”
“And even if he’s not involved,” Colin said, “they’ll hopefully find cause to confiscate his weapons.”
Devan nodded. “And worst case, if they can’t do that, he’s now on their radar.”
“Exactly,” Reid said. “My brothers and I’ll be waiting for your call and offering prayers on everyone’s behalf.” He signed off.
“Be right back.” Colin closed his laptop and marched across the room toward the bedroom he’d been occupying.
“I need to grab a few things too,” Micha said.
“Wait,” she said, feeling panic take over at the thought of them leaving.
Micha probably didn’t want to take the time to say a long goodbye, but Ava didn’t care. She couldn’t let him walk out that door without letting him know how she was feeling about him and giving him a hug.
She held his gaze. “Can I talk to you in private before you go?”
“I know when I’m not wanted.” Devan chuckled. “I’ll just go bug my older, less attractive brother.”
Ava forced a laugh and waited for him to go into the bedroom and close the door.
“If you’re going to talk about what you plan to do once I leave, don’t say a word.”
“Not that.” She stood and went over to him. “I want to tell you I have feelings for you. Stronger than I first imagined, and I’m worried about being separated from you when I can’t see that you are okay.”
