Page 13 of Blind Trust
It was the way his heart clung to those last three words that pushed the apology he practiced back to mind. This was why he’d asked her to talk—to set everything straight so there’d be no misunderstandings before he left.
“I want to tell you I’m sorry for the way I reacted after the Castillo assignment. I had no right to speak to you the way I did, and it was unprofessional to question your decision when I wasn’t in your position.”
Lyla’s shoulders relaxed, the planes of her face softening as she met his eyes. “I wasn’t professional either. It was your mission, and I shouldn’t have assumed you weren’t looking out for the safety of all involved. I’m sorry for not heeding your authority.”
“Heeding my authority?” Nic’s brows rose. “Those are big words. You sure you know what they mean?”
“Har. Har.” She gave him a playful side-eye. “I’m just saying that I will try, to the best of my ability, to be more open to your guidance.” She lifted a brow. “And not be so stubborn.”
Nic forced his lips into a smile. “I doubt that.”
“See? This is what I miss. Us.” She moved toward him, and before he was ready, she wrapped her arms around his waist, letting her head fall against his chest.
At just a few inches over five feet, she was at the perfect position to hear his pounding heart. He breathed in the crisp, clean scent of her shampoo, letting it form a memory of this moment that he could look back on one day.
Us. One word that meant something different to each of them. Nic took a steadying breath. He needed to tell her about the mission.He opened his eyes, not realizing he’d allowed them to close. “Lyla.”
She leaned back, not fully releasing him from the hug, and looked up beneath those dark lashes. “Yeah?”
What was I going to tell her again?
The heavy pounding of footsteps yanked them apart as Kekoa hurried into the office. “Lyla, there’s been an incident.”
5
I warned you.
I know how to get to you.
You can’t hide.
You die next.
—JMM
Lyla’s hands shook as she read the words again. A war of emotions twisted her stomach into a nauseating knot of fury.
“You okay?”
Lyla jerked at Nicolás’s voice and hated that it revealed only half of what she was feeling. She assessed the damage to her car, and her anger pulsed louder than her fear. “I’m ticked.”
“I can see that.” The corner of his lip hitched, but there was no humor in the grave expression that had darkened his hazel eyes the second they walked off the elevator and into the Acacia Building’s subterrane parking garage. There they found her Audi, the front windshield smashed in with a brick.
Lyla had stared at her car for a full minute before she understood. She wasn’t sure if the delay was due to the shock of the vandalism or what took place up in the office with Nicolás.
Jack walked over from the security booth. “Kekoa’s checking our security footage, says he’s got video of someone wearing a hooded sweatshirt, but there’s no good shot of his face. He’s working on every angle to identify who did this.”
“We know who did it,” Lyla growled.
Jack exchanged a look with Nicolás. “I spoke with Walsh and let him know what’s happened. He’s certain Jerome Miller is still in prison but was going to reach out to the warden to be sure.”
“What about his family?” Nicolás hadn’t moved from her side, his steady presence calming the anger pulsing through her. “Friends? Associates?”
“Metro Police are going to look into it.” Jack looked at Lyla. “They asked for a list of names to give them a place to start.”
“It’s nice of them to pretend they care.”
Nicolás put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Lyla.”
