Page 75 of Hunting Justice

Noelle closed the door and reset the alarm.

“You scored when you found Raven. If I could, I’d steal her from the Elite Guardians.” He nudged Noelle. “But I think she’d protest.”

She gave him a playful glare. “Don’t you dare. That woman keeps the office running smoothly. I couldn’t do it without her.”

“What do you say about fixing lunch, or should I say a midafternoon snack, before our call?”

“Sounds great.”

For the next hour, they avoided conversation about the cases. The downtime gave them the break they needed.

With the kitchen clean, Jonah joined Noelle on the loveseat in her office.

He scanned the images on the wall. Since she’d announced that the set of faceless pictures were of her, his stomach churned whenever he looked at them. The woman had survived a brutal few days. Her ability to still stand with confidence about life amazed him. Her words about God wanting people to reach out—wanting a friendship—had struck something deep inside. Maybe he should try harder to talk with God again. Because she definitely hadn’t made it through those dark moments alone.

The laptop balanced on Noelle’s thighs came to life.

“Ready for this?” she asked.

“More than. I want this over. I think I’ll pray for resolution in both sets of cases.”

Without lifting her gaze to him, she smiled at his comment. “That would be nice.”

He knew she wasn’t only referring to closing the cases but to his willingness to pray.

Squares of their friends’ faces filled the screen.

“Hey, everyone.” Noelle waved.

“How are you? I’m glad you’re okay. What were you thinking? Are you feeling okay?” Questions and comments came at them rapid-fire.

Jonah held up a hand. “We’re fine. Minor cuts and bruises.”

“I guess we can trust Doc. He is the professional,” Matt grumbled. “But I talked with Officer Adams…” He let the statement hang.

Might as well stop the conversation before it crumpled around them. Jonah inhaled. “You all know the basics. But what I can tell you is that Noelle’s quick thinking and skills saved our lives.”

She shook her head, but he stopped her.

“Seriously. It was a close call, but her instincts made the difference between us sitting here now and us taking up tables in the morgue.”

“Can we move this meeting along?” Pink filled Noelle’s cheeks.

He clutched her hand and squeezed.

She gave him a shy smile.

“Juliette, what happened at the congressman’s office?” Apparently, they had convinced Decia that he and Noelle were in one piece, and she was ready to move on.

Juliette brought her tablet in front of her. “I did a little digging before chatting with Congressman Sanford. Did you know he has a thing for younger females?”

“Oh, ick.” Matt grimaced. “How young?”

“Not like that.” Juliette shook her head “Think the male version of a cougar. His tastes are women in their early twenties.”

“And he’s what? Sixty?” Decia asked.

“Not quite, but getting close,” Juliette said. “I’m not dissing all couples with a large age difference, but when an older man targets women half or less than half his age…nothing good can come from it.”

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