Page 68 of Shadow Justice

Blue sneezed, seemingly disputing the claim.

Roni narrowed her eyes at both of them, clearly suspecting what had happened. “I have a van full of dogs and no time for whatever this is, but please know I’ll be unbearable about it when I return him.”

“You’re unbearable most of the time,” Reid said.

She picked up one of Blue’s half-destroyed toys and chucked it at him. Reid caught it easily and laughed.

Roni moved closer to Holly, her eyes telling Holly that if Reid had screwed up, she would personally take him down. “Are you okay?”

Holly nodded. “I’m good.”

Roni eyed her brother. “Call if that changes.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Reid asked.

“Because if you upset my best friend in any way, I will make you regret it.”

He gave her a mock salute. “Noted, counsel.”

Blue trotted toward the stairs with Roni, then looked back once at Holly, ears lifted. She blew him a kiss, and he accepted it before continuing toward daycare and the important work of supervising chaos.

Reid’s phone rang as soon as the door closed behind them.

He looked at the screen and exhaled. Holly saw him brace. “It’s Granddad.” Then he forced a lighter note into his voice and answered. “Morning.”

Lincoln Fleming’s voice came through loud enough for Reid to pull the phone away from his ear and for Holly to flinch. “Don’t you morning me, boy.”

Reid closed his eyes briefly. “CB arrived, then.”

“Some mountain-sized man is sitting in a truck across from my house pretending to read a newspaper that’s three days old.”

“He’s there for your safety.”

“He’s there because you lied to me in my own kitchen.”

Holly’s stomach dipped. Reid’s face didn’t change much, but his shoulders straightened. The accusation had found its mark. “I didn’t lie.”

“You withheld the part that mattered. That’s lying with a law degree.”

Holly moved closer without thinking, placing a supportive hand on Reid’s lower back. Guilt tightened around her ribs. Linc had welcomed her with gruff affection, and she’d sat in his kitchen while she and Reid gave him only a slice of the truth.

Reid’s voice stayed calm. “We didn’t have the full details yet.”

“You had enough to know I was involved.”

“You’re not involved. A case that was yours is adjacent to it.”

“I presided over it. I excluded evidence. I watched that jury acquit Calvin Dodge, and now people from that jury are dead. The FBI told me. Don’t insult me by pretending that doesn’t put me on the board.”

Reid rubbed his thumb along the edge of his phone. “That’s why CB is outside.”

“I didn’t say I objected to precautions. I object to being managed like an inconvenient old man who might break if someone tells him the truth.”

Holly looked down at the counter. She liked Linc too much not to feel the sting of that on his behalf.

“You’re not inconvenient,” Reid said. “And you won’t break.”

“Then act like you remember that.”