looking over his shoulder down the hall. They were alone. Lara switched her gaze towards Cass’s office.
But were they really?
“Are you okay?” he prodded.
Lara snapped back to attention. “Me? Oh, yeah, just hungry,” she hedged. “Hey, want to go grab something to eat?”
“Um, sure.” His brow rose. Nick was too good. He knew she wasn’t telling him something. “Let me grab my jacket and see if Ty and Xander want to come with. They don’t seem to be getting along too well.” Nick turned and began to walk back to the cubicles, but Lara grabbed his arm, stopping him. He looked down at her hand and its too-tight grip. She met his questioning stare as he inclined his head back up.
“I was thinking it could be just a me-and-you thing,” she said with a shrug. “Maybe grab something and go back to your place?”
If he hadn’t already looked as if he was questioning her actions, she was sure this request would have been a glaring red flag for him. Though her voice hadn’t suggested anything beyond eating, she thought she saw the notion of them repeating their earlier romp cross his expression. But, as he waited to respond, she watched as his eyes took her in. She prided herself on the walls she’d built to protect her innermost thoughts and the drama that came with them, but at that moment Lara believed Nick saw exactly what she needed him to see.
Lara needed to trust someone.
And she was choosing him to be that person.
“Nick,” Lara started, “as you know, trust isn’t easy for me. I could give you excuse after excuse as to why I’m like this but, well...” She paused, not wanting, while simultaneously needing, to continue. The smell of their fresh coffee filled her senses, as if it was trying to egg her on with a jolt of caffeine. Though, as she fought to figure out her next words, it didn’t seem to be helping. Nick picked up on her hesitation.
“Lara, what’s this about?”
“You and I. We’re partners,” she stated.
“Yes, we are, but what does that have to do with this?” He motioned to her obvious discomfort. Lara shuffled her weight from one foot to the other. She was taking a huge risk, but she didn’t know who else to trust. Nick’s eyes roamed across her face. His concern egging her on.
Bite the bullet, Lara.
“Cass,” she said, hesitating at the relief that pooled at the simple fact of saying the name aloud. “She’s been going into my father’s house. Twice now that I know of.”
“Okay...”
“Without my knowledge or permission,” she added. “And without any reason why she should.” That changed his tone.
“Wait, our Cass? As in Cassandra McDonner?” Lara nodded. “Why?”
“I don’t know, but I’d really like to,” she admitted.
“You haven’t asked her about it?”
“No,” she replied, firm. Nick’s eyebrow rose in one perfect movement. It made her think about the night they’d shared a passionate moment. Right before she’d fled. It led to the idea of other memories they could make together. Ones with no clothes and certainly more contact. Lara rolled her shoulders back, trying to refocus. Nick unknowingly had a way of distracting her when she least expected it.
“Why wouldn’t you ask her? Is that why you wanted us to leave the office?” Lara heard the sigh before she felt it leave her lips. “Lara, what’s going on? You have to give me more to go on here.”
“I didn’t want to talk about it there because I didn’t know who I could trust. I think Cass is involved, in some part, in this case.”
“Connected? Again, you’re going to have to give me more to go on than that.” Nick was starting to get frustrated. Join the party, she thought.
“A few days ago I saw Cass at Battery Park. She was talking to a woman, definitely intently. There was no doubt that they more than knew each other. Before they left, they even hugged. The entire exchange seemed intimate, familiar. A friend for sure.”
“Okay.”
“I recognized the woman but couldn’t remember where from until later. Her name is Katya Auerman.” She paused, seeing if the name carried any weight for the man. His expression didn’t change. Lara hadn’t expected him to know all of the faces surrounding the Moretti crime syndicate and its lengthy run. “Katya was held by the Moretti organization for six years as a trafficking victim, brought in when she was seventeen.” Nick’s face hardened. “I had read up on her—her dossier—and she seems to have adjusted well to life post-syndicate. No criminal record, works as a hostess at an upscale restaurant. Seems as okay as you can be, given all that she’s been through. I assumed Cass sought out a former victim for information or some kind of closure for what happened to her sister Allie.”
“But now you don’t think so,” Nick guessed.
“The security footage we saw today, the woman that Mason Moretti was all over...” She didn’t finish. His eyes widened a fraction.
“That was Katya.”
Lara nodded.
“I think Cass has been playing some dangerous games with me as some kind of payback over Allie’s death and the Moretti case.”
“Why?” he asked, clearly confused. “You brought down her sister’s murderer. Something no one else was close to doing any time soon. Isn’t that one of the reasons she transferred over to the task force? You’re her hero. Why would she want to fuck with you?”
Because she might know everything.
Lara didn’t respond aloud. If she answered him in any way she’d be betraying a secret she’d wanted to keep buried.
She needed to keep buried.
Nick picked up on the pregnant silence. “Ah, this is the ‘more’ you haven’t been willing to tell me.”
Lara hated the way his tone had gone cold. It truly bothered him she wouldn’t wholly confide in him. I can’t, Nick. Not yet, she thought, hoping he’d understand without her having to explain.
Then again, wouldn’t she be upset if he wouldn’t have enough courage to trust in her? Hadn’t she already felt that when she’d found out that he and Mei had briefly been together?
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, barely able to keep eye contact as Nick stood and walked close.
“When you’re ready to trust me—really trust me—with what’s in there, Lara—” he placed his hand against her chest, over her heart “—I’ll be here for you.” The gesture both surprised and touched her, but she couldn’t find the words to apologize again. For a moment all she could do was feel the warmth of his hand seeping through her shirt. She was almost sad when he took a step back. “But, until then, I’m just your
