Chapter 5
1048 Words
5
Detective Nick Foster stole a precious moment to himself at his desk. Files and paperwork lay strewn across its worn surface in haphazard piles. He took a sip of stale, lukewarm coffee with a grimace without bothering to sit down. The stuff was barely drinkable. But there hadn’t exactly been time for a coffee run with the night he’d had. So he found himself stuck with whatever had been left brewing in the precinct break room, for God only knew for how long.
Nick scratched at the dark stubble on his jaw and winced as he hit a bruise. He hadn’t shaved or showered since the morning before. His strong fingers traveled upward to rub at his short, dark hair. He felt itchy and grimy all over. There were dried patches of blood on his black V-neck and dark jeans—only some of it his—and he had a faint whiff of dried sweat about him.
Not surprising, since he had been in an all-out fight with a small army of the Pale Lady’s men only a few hours ago.
It had taken time for his backup to arrive and help him round up those who had fallen in battle. Kira and Trevor were long gone by then, of course. Nick had avoided mentioning either of them to his colleagues, who were surely wondering how he had managed to take down so many men on his own. He hadn’t decided what he was going to write in his report yet.
That was Future Nick’s problem.
None of the men they had arrested had talked. At all. No names were given, but a few of them had priors, which had been discovered once they had been booked. Nothing major—mostly misdemeanors.
Nick had escorted Simon Reid back to the precinct himself under the guise of a concerned police officer for the apparent victim of the whole disaster. He had settled Reid in an interrogation room with assurances that it was for his own protection while the men who had abducted him were processed and questioned.
Reid had accepted Nick’s maneuvering at face value.
Nick felt a pang of guilt. Was Reid really the Procurer?
Kira insisted he was. Nick wanted to believe her. She seemed so convinced, and he hated to make her think he didn’t trust her judgment—especially when it came to something like this.
But Reid seemed so… normal. And his abduction by the Pale Lady’s men seemed perfectly rational, assuming he was who he claimed to be. Not only that, but Nick couldn’t help but stubbornly believe that if Reid really was the sociopath, serial abductor for hire, he would have known it. After all, this was his third time dealing with the man, and it wasn’t as if he had no experience dealing with criminals.
Kira had been the one to make the jump that the Procurer was posing as Reid. Little did she know that the Pale Lady had bugged her and overheard Kira’s speculation. Meanwhile, the Pale Lady had used Kira’s own plan to get the jump on Reid herself. It was perfectly possible Simon Reid was exactly who he said he was, and the whole thing was just a big mistake.
Which was why Nick had to tread carefully.
If Reid was the Procurer, like Kira said, Nick couldn’t afford to let the man know any of them suspected. If he wasn’t… Well. Nick didn’t want to deal with the captain if he bungled things by holding an innocent man by mistake.
He had done everything he could to put off dealing with Reid while keeping him comfortable. After all, some of the Pale Lady’s men had escaped and might still be looking for him. One way or the other, the police station was the safest place for the man claiming to be Reid to be.
Nick hadn’t heard from Kira since she and Trevor had left the abandoned estate where they had found Reid and the Pale Lady’s men. Nick desperately wanted to contact her, but the entire precinct was buzzing with the influx of arrests. The last thing he wanted was to be overheard.
He had considered sending her a text, but he didn’t want to rush her either. He knew Kira would contact him the moment she found something useful that might tie Reid to the Procurer.
Assuming she found anything at all.
He sighed.
I really hope I don’t end up regretting this…
If anyone else had tried to convince him Reid was the Procurer, he probably wouldn’t have bothered listening. Was it because Kira’s claim made a warped kind of sense, or was he letting his feelings for her get in the way?
He pushed the uncomfortable thought aside.
An image of her with blood matted in her dark ponytail made his stomach clench. She had been a wreck when she had left the estate. Part of him had wanted nothing more than to take her back to the station with him and get her patched up. At least then, he might be able to keep an eye on her. If she was wrong about Reid being the Procurer…
Nick shook himself. If Kira was wrong, she wasn’t the only person who wouldn’t be safe. She had moved against the Procurer, knowing he had threatened both Nick’s life and her roommate Rob’s sisters if she tried anything. At this point, all their lives might be forfeit. And Nick had let her walk away with only Trevor Wright for backup…
Nick’s fingers tightened around the ceramic coffee mug.
If he lets anything happen to Kira, I’ll kill him.
Nick knew that it would probably be Kira who would end up protecting Trevor if it came down to it. Kira was more than capable of taking care of herself. But Nick had never been a fan of the arrogant playboy who had somehow managed to become Kira’s current sidekick. And Trevor and Kira had grown… close since Nick had argued with Kira almost two weeks ago.
Nick knew he had no one to blame but himself. He had pushed Kira away—not that she hadn’t done anything to put him in that position at the time. Still, as much as Nick hated to admit it, Trevor had been there for Kira when literally no one else was—even him.
What did that mean?
Nick didn’t know.
He shook his head to himself. This was hardly the time for trying to untangle his complicated relationship with Kira.
Besides, he knew he couldn’t put off talking to Reid for much longer.
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