looked over and almost choked on her mouthful of coffee.
Jack Carter was smiling at her and it was a smile she had never seen. He was looking straight into her eyes and his smile was wicked, triumphant. He held that smile till her face was burning, till she had forced herself to swallow the coffee she held in her mouth, till she remembered again to breathe, because for a moment there she had felt as if she were lying under him, felt as she’d just found out what it was like to be made love to by him.
‘That’s my I told you so look,’ Jack said, and then his face changed. His expression became serious, his jaw tense, his eyes the same they had been the night Baby Tanner had been brought in.
‘What you saw was my I hate this job sometimes, why do people have children if they don’t want them, what the hell is wrong with the world that someone can do this to an eight-week-old look …’
‘Oh.’
‘They’re two very different things and not for a minute was I blaming you for what had happened to Baby Tanner.’
‘Okay.’
‘And it was the same look I gave you yesterday when you walked in and saw Tommy covered in bruises. Why would you think I blamed you?’
‘People often do,’ Nina answered tartly.
‘Well, I don’t,’ Jack said. ‘And I want to make that clear. There’s no simple answer in a lot of these cases …’ He would have spoken on but at that moment there was the sound of a commotion outside. The office door opened and Nina heard the receptionist shouting that Nina had someone in with her and that she simply couldn’t go in—not that is made the slightest difference.
‘Janey!’ Nina stood. ‘You can’t just barge in here …’
‘You said I could come by any time.’
Jack looked at the angry teenager who had just burst into the office, heard the challenge in her words, saw the anger in her stance, and decided the social work department really was the hidden front line of Angel’s.
‘I need some money,’ Janey said. ‘I haven’t got any to ride the subway, and I’m hungry.’
‘Wait outside and I will speak with you when I’m finished here.’
‘I’m not waiting! Are you going to give me money or not?’
Jack frowned as Nina reached for her bag. ‘Hold on a moment.’ What on earth was she doing, giving this young woman money?
‘Leave it, Jack.’
For a moment he did.
He watched as Nina handed over a few dollars, heard her tell Janey to be careful and that she would ring her later tonight. Then Nina asked her who she was with, where she was going, but all Janey had been interested in had been getting some money and, almost as soon as she had arrived, she left.
‘I know I have absolutely no idea about the inner workings of the social work department,’ Jack started, ‘but I do not like the idea of angry, clearly troubled teenagers feeling they can just storm in here and demand—’
‘She isn’t a client,’ Nina interrupted him. She sat back down at her desk and tried to keep her voice matter-of-fact as she explained to Jack what had just happened. ‘Janey is my sister.’
‘Your sister? So why is she …?’ He never finished the question, realising even as he started to speak that it was none of his business anyway. Though that wasn’t the reason that Jack stopped talking. It was because Nina had put her head in her hands and promptly burst into tears.
It wasn’t a little weep either.
In that moment everything Nina was struggling with chose to finally catch up with her and she sobbed for more than a minute before attempting to pull herself together. When she did she was mortified that it was Jack who was there to witness her meltdown.
For weeks things had been building up. Janey’s behaviour was getting worse and, given her job, Nina knew more than most that Janey was heading rapidly in the wrong direction, yet felt powerless to do anything.
‘Please.’ There were always tissues on her desk, usually for the clients, but Nina peeled off a generous handful and blew her nose. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Jack. ‘Can you leave?’
He just sat there.
‘I don’t want to discuss this.’
‘Sorry, but you’re going to.’ Jack stood. ‘But first I suggest—in fact, I insist—that you go home and get some sleep.’
‘I can’t go home.’ Nina shook her head. ‘It’s impossible, I’ve got appointments, I need to—’
‘You need to go home.’
And she gave in then as she truly was beyond exhausted. She had spent the weekend moving into her apartment, as well as arguing with Janey, as well as working at the pro bono centre in Harlem till late on Sunday, and yesterday had been impossibly long …
‘Fine.’
‘I’ll drive you.’
‘I can take the subway.’
‘No.’
‘I’ll take a taxi.’
‘I’m not going through this again,’ Jack said. ‘I’m not on call so I’m giving you a lift and this time you’re not going to argue.’ He rang down to Switchboard, told them he was out of range for the next forty minutes or so and then walked her out to his parking spot.
She could have taken a taxi, Jack knew that. He really didn’t know why he was so insistent on driving her home himself. Rarely did tears move him and exhaustion was frequent in this place.
It was the complexity of her that had him unusually intrigued.
The traffic was busy but Jack negotiated it easily and Nina was actually relieved for the lift, for the silence and warm comfort of his car, and grateful too that he didn’t ask any questions.
‘Just here,’ she told him as they neared her apartment.
‘I’ll just park.’
‘Just drop me here.’ Nina was irritated. ‘I really don’t need to be seen to the door.’
‘I’m a gentleman.’
Not from what she’d heard!
A delivery van moved off and Jack dived into the vacant space. Then he walked around the car and as she opened her door he held it for her, before locking the vehicle and walking beside her along the cold pavement.
‘You’re right,’ Nina said as they climbed the stairs. ‘I need to be home.’
‘Go to bed,’ Jack said. ‘And I’ll pick you up at eight, take you out for dinner.’
‘I
