Page 5 of Final Approach (Lake City Heroes #4)

“Okay.” Weird, but okay. Corey had always been the troubled kid in the family. Drugs, gambling, alcohol. If there was trouble, Corey found it. He managed to shorten his prison sentence by agreeing to rehab. Then and now, he always needed money. “Are you considering it?”

“Well, yes, of course. He’s my sister’s son. What if it were you? I’d hope she’d take you in.”

“I’m not sure that’s wise, Mom.” It definitely wasn’t wise, but she’d held her ground.

Now, he took his angst about the situation to God.

I’m going to need your help with this , Lord.

Like seriously. You know Corey and you know this isn’t a good idea.

He grimaced. He probably shouldn’t be telling God what was and wasn’t a good idea.

I ’m sorry , Lord , I’m just worried about this whole thing and need you to give me wisdom in how to deal with it.

His phone buzzed with a text from Nathan.

Meet at the Cornerstone Café. We’ll grab some food while the officers pick up Erik Leary. Dude from 29C. Then we ask him questions on a full stomach.

Andrew voice-texted back.

Throwing my stuff in the Airbnb. Be on the way in about five minutes.

He glanced at his phone. Still no word from Hank.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked into the restaurant and made his way to the table in the left corner. Nathan looked up from his menu. “All settled?”

“I think so. It’s a nice place. I’ll be fine.”

“You can always stay with me.”

“Not gonna happen. You’re planning a big move. What does Jesslyn think about y’all leaving Lake City? You haven’t really said.”

A soft smile curved his partner’s lips at his wife’s name.

“She said she can be a fire marshal anywhere. And if there aren’t any positions available when we find out where I’ll be, then she’ll volunteer until something opens up.

” He rubbed his chin and shrugged. “She said now that she’d put her family’s killer behind bars, she could finally focus on something else and doesn’t mind taking the time to figure out what that is. In addition to me, of course.”

Andrew chuckled. “Of course.” He met his friend’s gaze. “She’s a keeper.” He opened his menu, then shut it. He knew what he wanted.

“She is. Kristine should be here in a bit. She had to run home for something but said to order for her.”

“Let me guess, cheesecake.”

“Yup.”

Kristine lived about five minutes from the restaurant when she was in town. She had a townhome she rented from her father and always frowned when the subject of who she rented from came up.

“How’s it going collecting all the phone footage of the hijacking?” Andrew asked. “You get an update yet?”

All the phones from the passengers had been taken as evidence. The footage would be downloaded and the phones returned, but it took time.

Nathan shook his head. “Haven’t heard a thing.”

Kristine finally entered and slid in the booth next to Andrew. He watched her from the corner of his eye. She liked salads. And chocolate. And cheesecake. Especially chocolate cheesecake. “Emily okay?” he asked.

“Yes. She wanted a scoop on the hijacking, but when she realized I wasn’t talking, she agreed to drop it.

For now. I told her when the press conference would be and she plans to go to that.

Then she wanted to borrow my big suitcase.

She’s going on a cruise tomorrow with some of her friends from college.

They all agreed not to lose touch after graduation and to take a week out of each year to reconnect and have fun. ”

“Nice,” Andrew said.

“Isn’t it? Imagine that. Being able to go on vacation as planned.”

Nathan snorted. “Yeah, imagine that.”

“We’ll get there soon,” Andrew said.

Kristine pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “But we’re not there, we’re here , and I’m starving .” She took a big bite out of the mountain-sized piece of chocolate cheesecake the waitress had set in front of her, closing her eyes as she relished the bite.

A bit of cheesecake clung to her bottom lip and Andrew cleared his throat, forcing himself not to imagine what it might be like to have the right to kiss that away.

All righty then. He snagged a napkin and passed it to her. “You’ve got ... right here.” He pointed to his lip.

She met his gaze and took the napkin, then swiped her lips. He looked away. What was it about her that wanted to smash through every romantic defense mechanism he’d built over the last couple of years?

Nathan laughed. “So, let me guess, the salad cancels out the calories in the cheesecake?”

“Exactly,” she said and took another bite.

“Are you going to eat that whole thing?” Andrew asked.

“Why? You want a bite?”

“More than just about anything.”

Nathan laughed and Kristine snickered while she pushed the plate in front of him. He swiped a large bite, and the sugary cocoa explosion was definitely something to be savored. “Wow. That never gets old.”

“Right?”

Nathan’s phone buzzed and then Andrew’s.

They both got the same message. Erik Leary was at the jail awaiting interrogation. He passed the word to Kristine.

All joking aside, they finished their meals in record time, paid, and headed out the door.