Page 60 of Shadow Justice

Reid’s attention swung to her, and the guarded intensity in his face softened enough to make her remember the dog park, the fence beneath her hands, and the admission she’d made.

You’re under my skin.

She wished she could take it and put it somewhere safe until the world stopped burning. Instead, it hovered right there between jury lists and protection details, refusing to become less true because the timing was terrible.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“We wait,” Reid said. “Do you have anything in the shop you still need to do?”

There were always more things to do. She hadn’t even done the week’s baking or planned out the lunch menu. The stack of bills to be paid was high enough it might topple over. But she shook her head. She couldn’t do any of that with the thoughts of Linc being in danger and Hopper being questioned. “Nothing important.”

He went back to his laptop, frowning as he typed. She took a notepad from one of the kitchen drawers and started a list. That would at least organize her thoughts about what she still needed for the shop.

Reid’s phone rang again with Claire’s ID lighting up the screen. Holly straightened and hurried to stand beside him.

He answered on speaker. “Talk to me.”

“We have Hopper,” Claire said. “He’s coming voluntarily, though I wouldn’t call him happy about it.”

Holly let out a breath.

“Any trouble?” Reid asked.

“Not from him.” Claire’s tone cooled. “Allen Davies was there when we arrived.”

Holly straightened. “Allen?”

Claire must have heard her. “Yes. Davies said he was checking on Hopper because today is the anniversary of Emma Shaw’s death. Emma was Hopper’s younger sister.”

The floor under her feet tipped. Emma Shaw had been a line in an archive packet ten minutes ago, a victim in a case that had gone wrong years before. Now she had a death anniversary. A date. A brother who might have woken that morning already carrying the worst day of his life before federal agents came to his door.

Holly pressed a hand to her mouth.

Reid’s voice stayed level. “What did Davies do?”

“Went into advocate mode. Asked if Hopper was under arrest, whether he needed counsel, whether we understood the trauma attached to the date. He also made it clear he thought we were turning grief into probable cause.” Claire’s irritation rang in her tone, controlled but unmistakable. “I informed him this is an active murder investigation, he isn’t Hopper’s attorney, and he needs to stay out of it.”

“Bet he took that well,” Reid said.

“Not remotely.”

Holly could picture Allen’s calm dignity under pressure, the way he could sound gentle and unyielding at the same time. She pictured him standing beside Hopper, defending him from what looked like another arm of the same system that had failed Emma. She could also hear Linc’s warning in the back of her mind.

Some people heal around wounds. Some make a religion out of them.

“Hopper called him?” Reid asked.

“That’s what Davies said,” Claire replied. “Hopper wouldn’t confirm much, but he didn’t object to Davies being there. We separated them and brought Hopper in. Davies was not invited.”

“But he saw enough to know why you were there.”

“I’d say so.”

Holly’s phone rang. The name on the screen made her heart dip.

Allen Davies.

Reid didn’t tell her not to answer, but he ended the call with Claire. “Davies has your private phone number?”