Page 98 of Sheltered By Love

“This is Jax, leave a message or call the restaurant,” he says.

Beep.

“Felicity? Are you there? It’s Nicki. Call me if you get this. Riley Jones has been trying to reach you about the necklace.”

Click.

I sink onto the closest chair and try not to assume the worst. Riley might just be calling to organize the delivery of her diamond.

She may not have seen the video. She might not want to cancel her order.

“And you haven’t just lost the biggest client you’ve ever had,” I mutter.

I’m so lost in my misery the next knock at the door gives me whiplash.

Now in no mood to deal with nosy parkers, I stomp to the door and peer through the peephole.

When I see Garrett Reid talking on his phone, while simultaneously scribbling something on his pad, I yank the door open immediately.

He looks up, gives me a distracted smile, and walks inside as he carries on talking. “Uh-huh. Yep. Sure. I can hold them until then. But if someone isn’t here by noon I’ll have to drive them to Portland myself. I can’t hold them here. My cells are overflowing as it is,” he says.

Whoever it is on the other end is obviously not happy, but Garrett ends the call and sighs.

“Apologies. I knocked then the Feds finally lowered themselves to call me back.”

That at least gives me something else to think about.

“About the thieves from last night?”

He nods and casts a longing look at the coffee pot. “That fresh?”

I skirt the kitchen island and pour him a cup as he perches on a stool.

I slide a cup towards him and pour myself one too. “Zane’s not here,” I say.

He takes a sip and sighs in pleasure before he replies. “I know. I just left him at the station. I came to see you.”

My eyebrows lift. “Zane’s at the police station?”

The corner of his lip lifts as if he’s suppressing a smile. “Ayuh. So, how are you?”

I frown at him and nestle my cup between my hands letting my warmth soothe away the worry Nicki’s phone call brought.

“I’m okay. I’ll be better when I can go home again,” I say.

He nods, takes another sip, and spies the bagels on the counter. I slide them toward him.

“You can go home in a few hours. I needed to collect all the evidence and Levi wanted to make sure it was cleaned up first.”

A shudder runs down my spine as I think of the blood trails in the kitchen. I managed to avert my eyes and only see a bloodied handprint on the wall when I ducked inside my bedroom to collect a few things.

I can only imagine what state the rest of the upstairs was in.

“I’ll have to thank him,” I say.

Garrett smiles as he takes a bite and chases it with a gulp of coffee. “It’s us who should be thanking you. Without you, we wouldn’t have caught them, and Zane would probably be lying in the cemetery next to Mom and Dad.”

A lump is forming in my throat, joining the knot my stomach is already in. One morning with Zane may have been an incredibly sexy distraction, but it doesn’t change the fact my life in Blueskin Bay will never be the same again.

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