I explained Dirk’s interruption and made the mistake of mentioning my desire to find out his full name and ruin his life.
I left out lying about a date, and the brief look of disappointment that flickered across Nina’s eyes before she plastered a fake smile on her face and said she never thought it was real.
I’d noticed that customer-service smile more than once in the short time I’d known her. It usually appeared after she received upsetting news. She’d take a deep breath and close her eyes; when she opened them again, she’d have that smile on her face. The one that didn’t reach her eyes.
A small part of me almost wished the date could be real, so I could see her eyes light up when she smiled for real.
I bitch-slapped that part of me. There was no room for romance when lives were at stake.
And she’s twelve years younger than you.
G jumped on it. “Do I need to worry?”
I played dumb. “About what?” I’d already beaten myself up over my reaction to Nina and my overreaction to the situation. I didn’t need to hear it from him.
He raised an eyebrow.Yeah, I don’t believe me either.
“It’s not what you’re thinking. I just didn’t like how small she shrank around him.”
G’s eyebrow arched higher. “Since when do you give a shit?”
We didn’t talk often, but that didn’t mean Gibson didn’t know me well enough to call me on my bullshit.
Bryce’s words came back to haunt me.Can you not act like a robot?
The nickname he’d given me fit a little too well, and I hoped to un-earn it in the near future. But not here, not now. Not when it could put my case in jeopardy.
“Because it’s personal,” I answered, sounding pissed despite my attempts to stay emotionless.
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“Not like that,” I said, denying my attraction. “She works for my aunt, so I want to look out for her.”
“Dude, do you hear yourself right now?”
I did, and that was half the problem.
“Don’t worry about it.” I needed to change the subject. “You said you found something?”
His snicker grated on my nerves, but it was easier to ignore him than go another round with someone who saw through my bullshit.
Not many could, and I usually appreciated his ability.
I took the thick folder he handed me, opening it as he explained.
“I dug through the evidence box and found those.”
“You took these from the evidence box?”Fuck. Not only had he left a paper trail, he’d broken the chain of evidence.
“Relax, I fudged the sign-in log and everything’s still sealed in its original bag.”
“Christ.” I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Gibson was a great field officer, but didn’t always play by the rules.Probably why he has such an impressive track record. “Even if you used a fake name,” I choked on the words.
I don’t break the rules. I don’t even bend them. Even working off the record made my eye twitch and my skin crawl.
“The evidence locker has cameras.”
