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Morgan lifted her daughter’s chin “Back to school tomorrow”
Ava nodded “Grandpa got me a milkshake at McDonald’s”
“That sounds yuan said “I have to run to ht back”
After her aze landed on Lance “What happened to your arm?”
He glanced down He’d lost a Band-Aid “Just a scratch”
“Does it hurt?” Ava asked
“Just a little,” Lance said
“You need a Band-Aid”
Lance pretended not to ed him into the kitchen
She pointed at an upper cabinet “The box is up there”
He opened the cabinet and took dohite box with a red cross on the top He handed it to her
“You sit here” She steered him to a chair, set the box on the table, and opened it Then she carefully selected a pink princess bandage and applied it to his are “All better”
Lance felt his heart crack wide open Souy he was
“I have to go play with Gianna” She jumped off the chair
“Thanks, Ava,” Lance called as the child skipped out of the kitchen, nearly colliding with Morgan as she walked in
“I have to go Love you, baby,” Morgan called after her daughter
Morgan led the way out of the house, stopping to say good-bye to her grandfather on the way out
As she reached for the Jeep’s door handle, Lance spotted a suspicious bulge just below her right kidney “Is that your gun?”
“Yes” She’d added a belt to her slacks, no doubt to accommodate her holster “You can see it?”
“Just when your jacket tightened” He’d known she had a weapon but had never seen her armed
She adjusted the holster “I haven’t carried in a very long tiun out for the occasional trip to the range”
“Do you practice regularly?”
She laughed “As if Grandpa would allow me not to” They settled into the front seats of the vehicle “Felicity doesn’t live far froave hihborhood
The Webers lived in a Cape Cod-style house The blue-gray clapboards, white trim, and black shutters were freshly painted A white picket fence enclosed a front yard full of lush grass Lance parked at the curb, and they went to the door Felicity opened the door before they knocked Her long blonde hair fell in a long braid down the center of her back
“Come on in” Felicity stepped back
The front door opened directly into the living rooh to a small, tidy kitchen Behind it, a screened porch looked onto a tiny yard of well-kept grass They went through the French doors onto the porch Felicity sat in an Adirondack chair and hugged her knees Morgan and Lance took a wicker love seat facing her
Morgan started “Thanks for talking to us”
Tears filled Felicity’s eyes “I can’t believe Tessa’s dead”
“I know” Morgan reached out and touched her knee “I’m sorry”
Felicity sniffed “You don’t think Nick did it?”
“No” Morgan said in a firm voice
“Me either,” Felicity agreed