Page 98 of Lost Hours
El gave a reluctant nod and pulled her phone from a cargo pocket. “I’ll call Abe.”
Nolan took Mina’s arm and led her to the far side of the room. Not good. She expected his kindness as he tried to comfort her in this unusual discovery. He was very intuitive—especially for a guy—and willing to support her. He’d proven that when they were together before and now.
Could she ask for anything better in a man? She didn’t think so, and she really needed to resolve her issues with him as soon as possible.
He let go of her arm and made eye contact, that compassion in his expression where she expected to find it. “How are you feeling about this?”
She took a breath before speaking. “I can’t pretend I like it, but part of me hopes that Dr. Osborneisour guy because we’ll have solved the murder and perhaps found Becca too.”
“You said you don’t expect him to be holding her at his house, though.”
“No, but I do think we could find something that might help tie him to the murder. Like the murder weapon and ammo. Maybe even bloody clothes or a rug.”
Nolan continued to look at her. “Is there anything I can do to help until we depart?”
“Do?” She glanced around the room as she considered his question. “Just keep Hayden searching for information that might help either clear or convict Dr. Osborne.”
“I can do that. But also know that I’m praying for a resolution and, for whatever we find, that you can accept it.”
She clasped his hand and squeezed it, all the while looking into his eyes. “You really are as great of a guy as I remembered, aren’t you?”
His eyes darkened, and he leaned closer. “And if you’ll let me, I’d like to show you how great we could be together again.”
She’d opened her mouth to reply when El called her name. Mina released his hand. “To be continued.”
“Promise?” he asked.
“Promise,” she said and hoped she wasn’t letting the day’s emotions get to her and wasn’t leading him on.
25
Before departing to surveil Osborne’s cabin, Nolan escorted Mina to the team’s equipment room. She carried the tension of the day on her shoulders like a heavy weight pushing them down. He wanted to help alleviate it, but he didn’t know how or if he could.
Her jaw dropped when she walked into the room and turned full circle. “Man, oh man, this is something. You must have a ton of money tied up in the inventory.”
More than she realized. “You can’t put a price on rescuing someone. We don’t want to be caught without the right equipment when someone is missing and needs our help.”
She waved her hand toward the floor-to-ceiling shelf holding their camera gear. “Seven different gadget bags?”
“One for each person and a spare in case one is malfunctioning.” He tried to keep any pride of ownership from his voice as this wasn’t about the items they’d accumulated. It was about how they used them. “We each chose a camera and various lenses. Some are interchangeable with different bodies, but for the most part we stick with our own gadgets.”
She tilted her head. “Why different cameras?”
“It was just preference starting out, but then we discovered along the way which brands were the best.” He blew on his fingernails and polished them on his chest. “Mine seems to produce the best quality photos and has the least amount of mechanical issues.”
“I would expect you to choose the best one. You said you were a photo buff. You took so many pictures when we were together.” She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t suppose you kept any of them.”
He had. All of them, every picture, but didn’t want to answer and seem like a fool for hanging on to them when he’d thought she’d dumped him. But he wouldn’t lie. “I don’t know why, but I have them all. In a box in storage.”
“Would you show them to me sometime?” She smiled softly up at him.
His heart somersaulted in his chest. “I’d be glad to get the box for you, if you want.”
She broke eye contact. “Maybe we can look at them together.”
“Maybe,” he said, but was he ready for that? Not if she hadn’t learned to trust him again. Better to move on now and do their job.
He grabbed his gadget bag. “I can handle taking any photos we need. Help yourself to whichever binoculars you’d like to use.”
