Page 67 of Rescued Duty

The distance should keep her heart from racing and leaving her breathless. Too bad the closer she was to Zack, the harder it was to focus.

This is about work, remember?

Zack clicked a few buttons and rewound to the beginning of the day. His mouse hovered over orange-marked areas, which indicated when the cameras had picked up on activity.

The first timeframe had the crew coming in and out of the garage, getting ready for the festival.

Zack sped up the playback, and several minutes passed by until someone came into the frame.

“There.” Naya pointed at the screen.

Zack slowed the recording while the mailman walked up to the mailbox, grabbed letters from his satchel, and put down the flag.

Two minutes later, another person walked into view of the camera. Their ball cap rested low over their face. After a quick glance to check the surroundings, they pulled the folded letter from inside a jacket and shoved it in the mailbox before hurrying out of view.

Naya touched his shoulder and leaned down. “Can you zoom in?”

“Definitely a guy. His stature and gait give it away.”

Naya stared at the grainy image. Something else familiar tickled her brain. “The hat.” She gasped.

“What about it?”

“It has the same logo on it as the person who attacked me on the mountain.” The crisscross pinstripes etched into the circular emblem mocked her. “It has to be the same person.”

Her heart sank. The image on the screen was too blurry, and the man’s face was averted. There was no telling who hid under the disguise.

No way to identify the man who’d nearly killed her.

After a few clicks, Zack had an email pulled up. “I’ll see if Detective Wilcox can run this for any facial recognition.”

Naya wouldn’t hold her breath. The chances of an ID coming back were slim on such a grainy photo, but she appreciated him for trying. Maybe Savannah would recognize the man and they’d be able to ID him some other way.

She needed to do something, though.

Naya said, “I’ll see what I can find on the hat. Figure out what stores sell that specific logo.” Sometimes the minor details held the greatest significance.

Zack clicked out of the replay, then stood up. “Good thinking.”

“You’re okay with me investigating this thread?” Naya held her breath.

Just the other day Zack had wanted her to stay out of danger. Thanks to Ingram, she understood why he’d view it that way. Trauma impacted each person differently. And after his parents’ deaths, of course he wouldn’t want to live through other people being hurt.

She would be careful, for his sake. But it wasn’t going to change her mind on getting to the bottom of this story.

“I’m not going to let you do this alone.” He took her hands in his. “I trust you to know what you’re doing. And someone’s got to have your back.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“Thanks.” Naya relaxed in his embrace. His strong arms brought comfort. Safety.

Zack leaned back and settled his hand against her cheek. His eyes searched hers, and she didn’t want to look away. There was no need to hide or cower.

She wouldn’t have to pick sides—Zack or the story. Which was a good thing because she wanted both.

Zack lowered his head and brushed his lips against hers.

He hovered there.

Waiting.

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