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“Thanks, Mr. Elliott. I’m not sure if Josie will appreciate it, but the Seattle PD does.”
Nico put his hand on Julia’s back and steered her out of the conference room. She looked back and saw Gorowski watching her. So was Carole. Julia wasn’t sure, but she thought it might be genuine remorse in Carole’s expression.
Julia held Carole’s gaze for a moment, then turned her back and walked toward the door. She was glad Carole wasn’t dead, but she didn’t want anything to do with the woman. And since Dawson had paid Carole’s bail, she’d be released and reunited with Harper.
* * *
As Nico started the car, he glanced at Julia. “Back to the hotel?” he asked. He had no idea of what she wanted. He hadn’t been able to read her since her brother had dropped to the floor, knocked out by a heavy Old-fashioned glass.
She shrugged. “Can’t go back to my place yet, so, yeah. Where else we gonna go?”
She was still hiding from him. Clenching his teeth, he said, “Hotel it is.”
Just as he pulled into traffic, Julia’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen. “Damn it! It’s Zoe. I never called to tell her what happened last night.”
He took his hand off the steering wheel long enough to brush his fingers over hers. “She’s your friend. She won’t be upset. You can tell her now.”
Julia stared at him for a long moment, swallowed and looked away. She touched the icon to answer the call, then put it on speaker. “Hey, Zoe,” she began, but Zoe interrupted her.
“I got him,” Zoe crowed. “Dawson. I finally traced that IP address, and it’s Dawson’s office at TechInnovate. That’s where he was collecting the feed from your computer.”
“Thank God you were able to pin that down,” Julia said. Her fingers whitened on the phone. “We’re going to need that evidence.” She drew a deep breath. “I should have called you this afternoon, but we’ve been really busy.”
Julia told her friend what had happened with Dawson last night. How he’d threatened her with a knife, and how Julia had cut him with her own knife. “Nico threw a heavy glass at him and knocked him out.”
“Oh. My. God,” Zoe finally said. “I need to hear all the details. Spill.”
Julia stared at the phone in her lap, and a single tear splashed onto the screen. “I’ll give you the Cliff’s Notes version,” she said, her voice shaky. “Kent Dawson is really my brother. Jeff Stewart. He’s the one who set off the explosion that killed my parents. He killed a homeless guy so it would look like Jeff died in the fire, as well.”
Zoe’s gasp was loud in the silence of the car. “Oh, Jules,” she finally said. “You need a hug. And a shoulder to cry on. I’m here. When you’re ready, you can tell me all the details.”
“I’ll do that, Zo. But not today. Okay? Maybe in a week or two.”
“Whatever you need, Jules. Just call me, and I’ll be there.” Nico heard Zoe take a shuddering breath. “I’m so sorry, Jules,” she said quietly. “So, so sorry.”
“Thanks, Zoe. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Take as much time as you need. And call me anytime. Day or night.” The phone went dead, and Julia tossed it into a cup holder.
Nico reached across the console and took Julia’s hand in his. Held it tightly and didn’t say anything. She clung to him as she stared out the side window.
After he’d parked the car in the hotel lot, he helped Julia out of the car and into the elevator. Neither of them spoke as they rode to their floor.
They’d removed the ‘Do Not Disturb’ hanger, and the room had been cleaned. He locked the door behind them, then followed Julia into the room. She stood at the window, looking at the choppy waters of Puget Sound.
Standing behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders. “Tell me what you want, Jules,” he said quietly. “Tell me what you need.”
She leaned back against him for a moment, exhaling. He stroked his hands down her arms, waiting. He wanted to help her. Wanted to ease her pain. But he had no idea how to do that.
Finally, Julia turned to him. Put her hands on his face. “Make love with me, Nico.”
