Tessa shrugged. “I mean, I agree with you – you are a reckless moron. Most of me thinks you’ve lost your mind. But there is a tiny part of me – and I mean miniscule – that also thinks that this whole convoluted mess you’ve gotten yourself into is sort of a little bit romantic.

Micah glanced her way, surprised. “Really?”

“I mean, it’s definitely a romantic comedy, but yes.”

Micah huffed.

“Like I said, it’s a tiny part, and I’m probably wrong. I’m an eight-month-pregnant, hormonal mess, for fuck’s sake. Regardless, all of me loves you, so if you’re set on doing this no matter what I do or say, who am I to stand in your way?”

Micah let that sink in. “Thanks, Tessa,” he said quietly after a moment.

“And besides, if he hurts you, I’ll just kill him. I mean, I’m a police detective. It’s not like I don’t have the resources.”

Micah snorted. “You know, I think you’d get along very well with Joelle – that’s Damon’s middle sister. She’s a fan of death threats, too.”

Tessa pursed her lips. “To be clear, I don’t give a rat’s ass about Damon or his family. I care about you. So, you’re going to be smart about this from now on, and at least text me when you’re going to meet up with Damon, telling me where you’re going, and letting me know when you get home.”

Micah was tempted to tease the woman about practicing her parenting skills on him, but he restrained himself. It was an easy compromise to make, after all. Tessa was one of the most important people in his life, right up there with his dad, and he didn’t want to lose her. “That sounds reasonable.”

“Of course, it is. I’m not the one who’s lost his damn mind.” Tessa reached across the middle console and flicked him on the side of the head.

All in all, for what had been one of the toughest days of work he’d ever had, it ended on a pretty contented note.

The rest of Micah’s week progressed in a similar pattern.

The majority of his days were spent reinterviewing the important people in Nico’s life and performing a much more thorough search of his dorm while he waited for the tracking information from Nico’s cell service provider to arrive.

The official autopsy report on Nico’s body had come back mid-week, prompting another mini-row between Micah and Jensen when minute levels of chloroform were detected in his system – something he had in common with some, but not all, of the Hooker Hunter’s victims.