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He nods. “I’ll hold off on the search party. You two can go.”

Relief floods me. I can’t believe the chief’s letting us go this easily. “Thanks for understanding, Chief.”

He smiles, and it’s all kinds of wrong. “But I’m coming along.”

Chapter40

Avalon

Well,that’s unexpected, and yet I’m not surprised. Chief Malone can be charming and scary as all hell. But I don’t scare easily. Never did. On the other hand, Jake doesn't look happy at all with the chief tagging along. “Okay. Let’s go then. We should drive separately, though.” I look from the chief to Jake. “I can follow you there, and once I locate her, I’ll leave it to the two of you.”

Jake nods, but his frown tells me he doesn't like my suggestion.

Chief Malone walks to the door and stops with his hand on the handle. “We’ll all drive separately. Jake, you can lead. Miss Ava will follow you, and I’ll be behind her. Meet you two outside in five.”

Then he’s gone, and it’s just Jake and me, alone.

He puts the evidence bag away and locks the cabinet. “I’m sorry. I never imagined that something like this could happen.”

“I think my secret is safe with him. I doubt he’ll say anything about it to anyone.”

“Still. I hate that he just walked in here.”

“Did you know he had the access code?”

He shakes his head. “Yeah, but I change the code every week. I changed it just this morning and hadn’t given him the new code yet.”

Wow. “Really? Why?”

He shrugs. “Safety? To make sure no one comes in when I’m not here.”

That bothers me. “You think someone would do that?”

He runs a hand through his hair, leaving it in disarray. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to take the chance. There are no security cameras in this hall. Call me paranoid. It’s just that I have trust issues.”

I hold in a huff. Don’t I know it? But I keep that thought to myself. I get closer to him and comb his hair with my fingertips. His gaze locks on my face. “There. Better. It doesn’t look like a bird is trying to make a nest on your head anymore.”

He leans in, kisses me with a soft brush of lips, and pulls back. Then Jake grazes the back of his hand on my cheek. “Let’s go before he comes back and drags us out.”

A prickle at the back of my neck follows me all the way down the hall, through the personnel door, and across the reception area. I don’t look back. Something tells me I shouldn’t make eye contact, and it lingers until we leave the place and are outside.

Chief Malone is already in his SUV. I get to my car and wait until Jake exits the parking lot, then follow behind him with the chief on my tail. Unease builds in my chest, the pressure mounting like a weight slowly growing. I need a distraction.

“Hey, Siri? Call Lynn.”

The phone rings twice before she answers. “Hey, there. What’s up?”

“Talk to me. Tell me what you’re up to.”

There’s a moment of silence, but she doesn’t ask me why I’m calling her with my odd request. “I got my nails done. And I’m getting a pedicure right now. Afterward, I’m going for a massage. Did I tell you that the Kayak instructor is also a masseuse?”

I laugh. “No, you didn’t. For real?”

She sighs dreamily. “Ah, yes. And he’s also a yoga instructor. Imagine how flexible he must be.”

I can picture her waggling her eyebrows. “You kidding me? That’s a lot of jobs.”

“That’s what I said. But apparently, being a kayak instructor is something he only does during the summer. The yoga and massage thing are his year-long jobs.”