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I retrieved the food bag from the truck and jogged back to the porch, where Lio met me with a hard kiss. “Don’t you do that again,” I said.
His lips trembled as if he was on the verge of smiling, but he crossed his heart instead.
I hooked my arm around his neck and guided him toward the cabin. “You’re a real smartass.”
“No lies detected.”
I insisted on looking after the cuts on his face and neck before we tried to salvage our food. The first aid kit was in the bathroom, so Lio followed me down the hallway. The space was cramped, barely big enough for one person, but I didn’t mind the close proximity.
“The fries will be out of the question, but the sandwiches will be wrapped tight enough to be safe,” Lio said as I gently dabbed his face with peroxide. He sucked in a sharp breath when I cleaned up one of the deeper cuts on his cheek.
“That hurt?” I asked.
Lio snorted. “Hell yes, it hurts. Those fries were seasoned to perfection.”
I stepped back and glared at him. I knew damn well his comedy routine was for my benefit. There was no way in hell he was handling the shooting so glibly. “All right, Fallon. I get the point.”
“I’m more of a Kimmel guy,” Lio said. “And you’re taking the situation seriously enough for five people, so I’m going to take the night off.” When I continued to glare, he added, “In your mind, you’ve already identified my body in the morgue and picked out my pallbearers.”
“Have not.” Only because he’d interrupted me before my mind could wander that far.
“Listen to me very carefully, Abraham Beecham. Don’t waste another moment on what might’ve happened. I promised I wouldn’t let you fuck this up, and I meant it. I didn’t leave you. I’m right here.”
I set the first aid supplies on the bathroom counter, placed my hands on Lio’s waist, and rested my forehead against his. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
We stayed that way for a few moments before I continued rendering first aid. None of the cuts were deep enough to warrant further treatment. Once I finished, we headed back into the kitchen. Lio had been right about the food. The fries had to go, but the sandwiches were tightly wrapped and taped shut. I gave Lio half of my Italian sub, and he shared half his Reuben with me.
“I’m not sure how well these sandwiches will mix in the digestive tract,” Lio teased.
I chewed and swallowed my last bite. “I saw antacid tablets in the first aid kit.”
Lio’s phone rang, and he dropped what was left of his Reuben to retrieve it. I looked longingly at the last few bites, and he wisely shifted his food out of my reach as he answered it. I could tell by his formal tone that he was speaking to his boss.
“Yes, ma’am. We’ll head there now.” He disconnected the call and quickly finished his sandwich.
Lio looked at his keys and grimaced. “It’s going to be a chilly ride back to Savannah.” But it was our only option if we wanted to get there as fast as possible, and we did. Lio could swap it out for a city-issued vehicle until his truck was repaired. It was a minor inconvenience compared to some of the situations we’d found ourselves in during skirmishes overseas.
“Let’s lock up and get out on the road,” I replied. “What did Rigby say?” I asked once we backed out of the driveway.
“She contacted Eads’s attorney, Juliette Remington, and filled her in on the situation. The attorney said she’d contact her client and arrange an interview. Remington just called her back and said she, Eads, and his alibi witnesses would meet Rigby at the precinct for an interview tonight.”
“Alibi witnesses?” I asked. “How many?”
“Per Remington, more than a dozen. The fact that Eads is facing the allegations head on is a point in his favor.”
“Or he carefully orchestrated this bullshit.”
Lio shook his head. “He had no possible way of knowing I would stop at Terry’s for sandwiches. It was either a crime of opportunity because he caught me out alone in the country and his buddies are lying to cover for him, or I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when a poacher took a shot at that buck.”
It was my turn to shake my head. “I don’t believe a poacher shot across the road to hit the deer.”
“So you’re convinced it was a deliberate attack?” Lio asked.
“Yes.”
“Well,” Lio said, “let’s see what Eads and his witnesses say.”
