Page 85 of Shadow Justice

“You shed on me, and I’ll hold you in contempt,” Linc told him.

Blue wagged.

“See?” Holly said from the passenger seat. “He respects the court.”

“He respects no institution,” Linc said, rubbing Blue’s ears. “That’s part of his charm.”

The house sat on a quiet street lined with maples and older homes that had seen families come and go through decades of summers. It was a Craftsman bungalow with a wide front porch, faded blue siding, white trim in need of fresh paint, and a little dormer window tucked beneath the roofline. The porch railing sagged slightly on one side. The front steps needed work. The flower beds were more ambition than garden.

Holly loved it before she opened the gate.

She tried not to, because falling in love with a house before the inspection was probably how people ended up with bad plumbing and regret. But the street was quiet, the shop was close enough to walk to, and the backyard fence rose high and solid behind the house.

Blue saw the fence and made a sound of deep spiritual recognition.

Roni led them up the walkway, beaming with pride at unlocking her first official showing. “Prepare yourselves. There is wallpaper.”

“How much wallpaper?” Reid asked.

“Depends on your definition of much.” She forced a bright smile. “But it’s vintage.”

Inside, the house smelled faintly of dust, old wood, and too many days without a good airing out. The living room had scuffed hardwood floors, built-in shelves on either side of a brick fireplace, and wallpaper that was floral, though less criminal than Reid’s face suggested.

The kitchen needed new cabinets, new counters, and probably new everything else, but it had space. Real space. A window over the sink looked out into the backyard, and Holly could already imagine herbs on the sill, Blue sprawled in a patch of sunlight, Reid leaning against the counter pretending not to steal muffins.

Roni walked them through the house with professional enthusiasm and only three moments of sisterly interference. Linc inspected doorframes, grunted at the bathroom tile, and declared the staircase to the small finished attic “not actively hostile.”

Reid checked outlets, windows, water pressure, and the basement with a flashlight he’d produced from his pocket. Former Navy JAG, current SPS security specialist, and apparently part-time house inspector. Holly made a mental note to be annoyed by how attractive she found that.

The place needed work. A lot of work. The porch railing would have to be repaired, the kitchen updated, the back gate reinforced, and one upstairs room had carpet that might have been installed during an era older than Linc.

Reid started a list that grew as they moved from room to room, but he didn’t look discouraged. He looked like a man measuring what he could build.

Not the fireplace or the kitchen window or even the yard. Reid stood in the doorway between the kitchen and back hall, talking to Roni about load-bearing walls and contractor timelines, and Holly saw the truth of the last month settle around him. He wasn’t visiting her life anymore. He wasn’t sleeping on a couch until the danger passed or filling in behind the counter because of an investigation. He was here, looking at a house that needed work, and he was already planning where to start.

Blue whined at the back door, done with human nonsense.

“I’m taking him out,” Holly said.

Reid glanced over. “I’ll come with you.”

She took Blue through the back door and onto a small deck that had definitely seen better decades. Two steps led down into the yard, and the second one wobbled under her foot. The backyard was larger than she’d expected, shaded by a maple near the back fence, and with enough open grass for Blue to run proper laps. The fence needed a new latch but stood solid on all sides. A neglected garden bed ran along the left edge, full of weeds and possibility.

Holly unclipped Blue’s leash. He launched across the yard like joy had been waiting there just for him.

He ran the fence line, circled the maple, doubled back to her, and spun in a tight, ridiculous circle before taking off again. Holly laughed, the sound catching her by surprise. It had been getting easier to laugh lately. Easier to wake up without dread pressing against her ribs and to stand in Sanctuary before opening and feel the shop as hers again.

Allen had turned her safe place into a hunting ground, but he’d failed to ruin it. Not because she’d been untouched by his actions, but because the people who loved her had helped her reclaim it piece by piece.

Blue barreled toward the back fence and skidded to a stop near the garden bed, nose down, tail high.

“Don’t eat anything suspicious,” she called.

“He’s evaluating the soil.”

Holly turned as Reid stepped onto the deck. He’d rolled up his sleeves, and there was dust on one shoulder from whatever basement exploration he’d undertaken. He looked at the yard, then at Blue, then at the wobbling step beneath his boot.

“This deck needs work.”