Page 31 of Zero Tolerance

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Page 31 of Zero Tolerance

I watch the twinkle in her eyes, relieved that she’s now in a better state. The food poisoning wreaked havoc on her during the whole weekend, but she fought through it like a champ, insisting on joining last night’s campfire while still pale.

She’s still a bit pale now, too, but her enthusiasm is contagious and I can’t help but grin.

“It’s not. You just wasted your money on those asses.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s fun to be part of the bet and I don’t regret it one bit. If nothing happens at your Christmas party, then we’re holding out for the next bootcamp. It’s impossible that nothing happens between Jack and Stacy, especially after how they got comfortable with each other last night.”

My heart jumps, oddly loving the idea of Raven attending both events. But my mind buzzes through the excitement, reminding me that she probably won’t be my client anymore when that time comes. That’s another odd punch to the stomach, turning it hollow whenever I’m faced with the reality that our setup is temporary.

But I don’t want to dwell on it, so I chuckle at her words.

“The next time you see Michael and Kyle, they’ll just up the bet and squeeze more money out of you.”

“Care to bet on that?”

I groan and complain that my agents are a bad influence on her, but I am secretly pleased that everything went smoothly—minus her being sick—and they all got along well. I miss them already, some of whom I spent some assignments with in the military before I hired them, but it’s just one of those things I have to get used to, considering I’ll probably be more present in Nashville while I deal with my expansion.

When we arrive in Sweet Haven, Raven sighs in relief and stretches her arms in the air. I give her an amused look.

“Home sweet home?”

“Yeah. Surprisingly. I didn’t realize I missed this place until we got to Nashville. This town creeps up on you.”

“A lot of people say that.”

“And I miss Honey Lee. And Aaron. And this is crazy, but I also miss Mary Anne and Betty.”

“Not crazy at all. You guys spent a lot of time together, so I’m glad that Aimee didn’t taint that friendship.”

“They’re nice. And Aimee isn’t so bad. She just went about it the wrong way.”

“Hmm.” I clear my throat. “We can stay at Clara’s and Nick’s place for a while if you want. It’s also secure and…”

“No.” Her voice is firm. “I had my time to recuperate, and I don’t want to run away from him this time.”

I want to hug her hard, proud of the steel that’s coming out of her. But I stay quiet. When we arrive at my house, I brace myself for Raven to change her mind, but she doesn’t.

“What’s the plan now?”

Before I can answer, my phone rings. “Maybe we can go out for dinner. But hold that thought.”

When I read the name, I excuse myself and take it to my bedroom. Jason Wallis, one of my close friends and a former Navy SEAL like me, greets me and asks me how I’m doing. He talks about his business for a bit, one of the reasons why I wasn’t able to recruit him into my agency.

Then he gets to the point.

“I got word from one of the local cops last night about the name you mentioned. Sam Thornton, right?”

My muscles tense up. “What about Sam?”

“He got arrested in Nashville.”

“Nashville? Aren’t you in Atlanta?”

“Yeah, but word gets around. The cop’s my friend and his brother’s also a cop in Nashville. His brother talked about this guy they arrested there, who was caught stealing and harassing a woman. I heard there’s more involved in the story, but I haven’t checked yet. I wanted to tell you first the moment I found out the name.”

“Thanks, Jason.”

“Do you want me to check?”


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