I studied him for a moment more and then nodded.
“Alright,” I said, nodding to him again in thanks. “I appreciate your cooperation. I imagine you’ll get a witness protection gig after all is said and done, given the nature of the crime.”
“That’d be grand,” Joey said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Just stick me in some gas station in the Midwest to rot, why don’t you? I’d rather go to prison.”
I smiled as I walked away, relishing the idea that the goon might not be getting such a great deal after all, from his own point of view.
But within two steps, I’d already forgotten him. I had other, more interesting things to worry about. And I’d never been more determined to find the Dragon’s Rogue.
28
Ethan
By the time I made it back to the front of the house, Tessa was coming back up the stairs. Her shirt was covered in blood from when she’d fought off that last goon.
I had originally meant to go straight to work sifting through the contents of the Hawthorne house, chief among them that table, but concern for Tessa and gratitude that she was safe overwhelmed everything else at that moment.
I rushed out across the lawn to greet her, passing the helicopter and a forensics team as I went. She looked up and saw me, and her tired face brightened as she rushed into my arms.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, burying my face in her hair and soaking up every inch of her that I could.
“Are you okay?” I murmured, my voice muffled by the top of her head.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she breathed into my chest. “You?”
“I’m good, too,” I assured her, giving her one last, tight squeeze before letting her go, though not completely. I kept my arms around her waist, and she kept her face only a few inches from mine.
“That was a lot,” she said with a low, almost nervous laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. “But I’m glad it’s over. It is over, right?”
She gave me a sly look as if she half expected me to tell her that no, we had a whole other staple of goons to fight off and a whole other journal and ship to go find right this very moment.
“Yes,” I laughed, shaking my head and brushing a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. “Yes, it’s over. We can go home now. Or you can go home now, at least. I have a feeling that I’m going to be here for a few more days going over evidence.”
“Well then, I’ll be here for a few more days, too,” she assured me with a laugh and another squeeze. “This is our vacation together, after all.”
“Vacation?” I repeated, shaking my head again. “I’m going to need a vacation from this vacation!”
“So will I, so let’s pencil that in for somewhere down the line,” she laughed, the sound trickling above the sound of the waves below and blending in pleasantly with them. “But for now, let’s enjoy the one we’ve got and hope that it’s smooth sailing from here on out, so to speak.”
“I thought that it was never smooth sailing where we’re concerned,” I reminded her in a gently teasing tone.
This was proving itself to be more and more true by the day, I realized, and certainly by the mission. Holm and I had even gone on shore leave once, only to find ourselves in the middle of an international incident. Most of the time, I wouldn’t have it any other way, but right then, I just wished that I could be with Tessa without any of the theatrics for once. Maybe we’d get that now, at least for a few days.
“That is true,” Tessa admitted. “But I like that. It keeps me on my toes. And you know how much I love adventure.”
“I do,” I confirmed, a smile escaping across my lips.
“Anyway, can you think how awful it would be if things were just boring all the time?” she asked, meeting my eyes, and I could see that hers were dancing with excitement, though there were bags beneath them that indicated that she needed a good night’s sleep. Mine no doubt looked the same.
“Dreadfully awful,” I agreed, leaning in and pecking her on the cheek since we weren’t exactly alone, though the forensics team had gone back to whatever they had been doing before I arrived and weren’t paying us much attention. “So, how are the Carltons?”
“Oh, they’re alright,” Tessa sighed, her face suddenly darkening. “I think they’re going to be shaken up for a while. I mean, who wouldn’t be? But they’re glad to have their kid back and their bad neighbor situation taken care of. Though I doubt they’ll be any less protective after this experience, no matter who their neighbors are.”
“Can’t really blame them for that,” I mused. “Though it did bite them in the back with the boy. If they’d let the kid outside alone at all, he might not have pulled that stunt tonight.”
“That’s a good point,” Tessa agreed with a nod. “Either way, they’ll need counseling, all four of them. They agreed that’s probably a good idea.”
“And maybe a move,” I added. “I mean, I agree this place is amazing, and I would’ve loved to grow up here, but come on. Staying might not be the best idea going forward.”
“I said the same thing to them, but they didn’t want to hear it,” Tessa said with another, bigger sigh this time. “They’re determined to stick it out, saying they worked hard for this place, and they’re not going to give it up. I guess they bought the land and built the house themselves. That’s how they could afford it.”
“Wow,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “I didn’t realize
