Page 159 of Unseen Danger

“Yes, that was—”

“Well, hey.” A friendly voice cut Cora’s reply short. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Sof?”

The raven-haired superspy seemed to pop out of nowhere, but she must’ve been standing behind the pine tree along the path.

Raksa panted at her side, probably in on the joke, too.

Nevaeh planted her feet and leveled a stare at her teammates. “Okay, what is going on?”

“Well, hello to you, too.” Sof grinned.

Nevaeh landed her eyes on Sof. “You can’t tell me you all just happened to be here.”

“Of course not. You said you’re not a fan of surprises, so we’re making this as obvious as we possibly can. Something is going to happen at the waterfall ahead.”

“And the person who set this up wanted all of us here to share the moment.” Cora smiled.

“The person who…” Nevaeh pieced together Cora’s words, trying to see what they added up to. The moment?

Her pulse skipped, then danced.

She didn’t have a birthday coming up soon. And she hadn’t won any awards or done anything special.

She could think of only one other possibility for a setup that might involve a beautiful vista and the PK-9 team being there to share the moment.

A smile split her face as she hurried up the slope that leveled off in a small clearing.

Phoenix and Dag stood in the shade of a large tree.

Disappointment sank to her stomach. “Hey, Boss. Good to see you. Though I hope this wasn’t all buildup for you to tell me bad news about Walter or something.”

“No.” Phoenix’s tone and expression were even and steady, just like always. Totally unhelpful under the circumstances, but she’d be the last one to ever give anything away. “He began his thirty-year sentence yesterday. I witnessed his arrival at the prison myself.”

“That’s a relief.” Nevaeh still had a hard time believing Walter had risked everything to try to get even with D-Chop and her. D-Chop had only been guilty of getting away when he and Walter had broken into a pawn shop as teens. Walter believed his arrest then and the many after were the only reasons he hadn’t achieved the fame and riches D-Chop had. In his twisted mind, D-Chop owed him because he ran off and let Walter take the fall alone.

But Nevaeh didn’t have to think about Walter anymore. And thanks to Phoenix’s verification, she could be confident he really was behind bars, and the danger was over. “Thanks, Boss.” The simple word didn’t say nearly enough for everything Phoenix had done for her and continued to do.

Nevaeh had learned through all this that Phoenix wasn’t always right. She’d been wrong about fear. It wasn’t helpful. And it wasn’t a tool to be used. It was a danger—a sin, Nevaeh understood now—that wanted to control her.

She hadn’t always been fearless since that night when God took her fear away completely as she faced Walter. The PTSD still showed up sometimes, and grim memories occasionally visited her as nightmares. But she knew how to fight the fear now. She knew how to beat it—through unshakable trust in God’s power. And she tasted small victories over her fear every day.

But even though Phoenix wasn’t quite as perfect as Nevaeh had thought, she always had the best at heart for the PK-9 family. And she stopped at nothing to help them.

“Someone’s waiting for you around that bend.” Phoenix directed her gaze to the bushes and trees where a path left the clearing.

“Really?” Nevaeh’s feet moved before waiting for an answer, her heart pumping into overdrive.

Alvarez trotted alongside her with his ears perked like he was excited, too.

As she rounded the bushes, a man stood before her.

But not the one she’d expected. “Pops?”

He extended his free hand as the other leaned on his cane. “Bet you’re surprised to see me up here.”

She blinked at him. Surprised didn’t even touch it.

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