Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
“Who are your suspects?” Ace asked.
“We’ve got a huge list,” Ophelia said. “Unfortunately.”
Brock kept moving. “We’re just going to hang out and watch people.”
Ace exhaled. He was too tired to argue, and he knew it. His bones felt hollow, and his brain felt scraped raw from replaying the same hours over and over. “All right. Just be careful.”
“We’re pretty well-trained,” Brock said dryly.
“So am I,” Ace shot back automatically. He’d been trained by the best in the service before he’d ever touched a cockpit. He knew how to track, how to wait, how to read a room.
“I know. Dude, go get some sleep,” Brock said quietly.
They headed down the hallway and out the front door. The bell jangled once before settling back into silence. Ace leaned against the wall for a second and looked at May. “I’m sorry about Ivy.”
“Me too.” Her professional mask was in place.
He hated that for her. A lot. She’d been holding this place together all day while he sat in a cell. “Are you on call?”
“Actually, no. Dr. Patterson’s back. He said he’d take the whole night.” Relief flickered across her face, brief but real. She looked small in her pink scrubs and white lab coat. Smaller than usual. Fragile wasn’t the right word, but she’d been carrying too much.
“Did you eat?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I’m just not hungry.”
“All right.” He took her hand. Her fingers were cool. “Let’s get out of here.” He walked her down the hallway. Outside the front windows, the town lay washed in late evening light, the sky still pale and stretched wide.
He waited while she locked up, double-checking the door out of habit. Then he guided her toward his truck.
The air outside was crisp, carrying the scent of pine and wildflowers. He lifted her easily into the passenger seat of his truck before walking around and climbing in himself. The leather felt warm from the lingering sun. He started the engine, the familiar rumble grounding him as he pulled out of the parking lot. His phone buzzed in the cup holder.
He glanced down to see Daisy calling. He hit the button on the steering wheel. “Hi Daisy. I just left you. How are things going?”
“Not great.” There was a pause, papers rustling faintly on her end. “I talked to a friend who works in the district attorney’s office in Fairbanks.”
Ace knocked his head back against the seat and closed his eyes for a second. May shifted toward him, tucking one leg under herself and angling her body closer to the phone.
“Yeah?” he asked
“They’re getting a lot of pressure from somewhere high up to prosecute you,” Daisy said.
May straightened. “From whom?”
“Don’t know,” Daisy said. “My friend wasn’t supposed to say anything, so this stays between us. But the pressure’s intense.”
“Kyle,” May muttered. “He’s such a jerk.”
“That’s my guess too,” Daisy admitted.
Ace exhaled slowly through his nose. The inside of the truck suddenly felt smaller. “Don’t worry about it, Daisy. We’re going to figure out who killed Ivy and Laura.”
“I hope so. We’ll take this to trial if we have to, but it doesn’t look good right now, Ace. We need the real killer,” she said.
Brock and Ophelia were out walking the town tonight. Christian was back. Damian was probably already working angles Ace didn’t even know existed. He had to believe that.
“Let’s worry about it tomorrow,” Ace said. “You did a great job today, Daisy. Thanks for getting me out on bail.”
“That’s my job.” Daisy sounded as tired as Ace felt.
Ace turned away from town and toward May’s place. “Have you heard if the forensic team got anything?”
“No,” Daisy said. “Not a thing. My guess is May might have a better chance talking to the medical examiner.”
“I could try tomorrow.” May brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “But they’re usually tight-lipped.”
Ace didn’t have the energy to chase ghosts tonight. “We’ll keep pushing. Call me if you hear anything.”
“I will,” Daisy replied. “Get some rest. Both of you.”
The line clicked off. It figured Kyle would be putting pressure to land Ace in jail. Asshole. Now he had a U.S. senator who wanted to take him down.
May reached across the console and laced her fingers with his. “We’ll figure it out.”
He glanced at her. “I don’t suppose I could stay with you tonight.”
Her fingers felt good threaded with his. “I figured you were going to sleep over,” she said.
“Good.” He kept his hand firm on the wheel. “They haven’t released my place yet. They’re searching it again.” He refused to let his irritation show.
They drove the rest of the way in silence. The light outside was thin and endless, the kind that never fully turned to night. When they pulled into her driveway, Ace didn’t get out right away. He scanned the tree line, the edge of the property, the dark underbrush near the shed. The place seemed clear.