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Julia ended the call and slid her phone into her pocket. She dropped into her chair and pressed her fingers to her eyes. No way was she going to cry at work.
Someone rapped on the door, and she looked up to see Nico, concern in his expression. She motioned him in. “Close the door,” she managed to say.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
She frowned. “Why did you come back here?”
One side of Nico’s mouth curled up. “Delia sent me back. As soon as I walked into the kitchen, she told me you ran into your office like your jeans were on fire. Told me to check on you.”
Julia would thank her head chef later. “The PA just called me,” she said. She hesitated to reach for Nico, knowing anyone could walk past her office. The hell with it. He wouldn’t be here much longer. She motioned him closer.
“What did he have to say?” Nico asked, crouching next to her chair.
Gripping his hand, she filled him in on the conversation.
“Thirty years?” Nico scowled. “Then he’s out on parole?”
“He told me I could testify at his parole hearings. Encouraged me to do it.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “But who knows what they’ll do?”
“I’ll come back to testify at his parole hearing,” Nico said, tightening his fingers on her hand. “If he gets out, I’ll be here. I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
If you’re not on a job, protecting someone.
Swallowing, she said, “I need to get back to work. And so do you. Why don’t you head out there? I’ll follow in a few minutes.”
He stared at her for a long moment. “You okay?”
“No,” she said. “But I will be.”
She had no choice. She’d handle everything that came along. Just like she always did.
She’d done it before she’d met Nico, and she’d do it after he left.
A long, lonely road stretched out in front of her.
Eight days later, while they were at work, she noticed Nico getting a lot of texts. He’d pull out his phone and check it, then slip it back into his pocket. Once or twice he’d retreated into the rest room, probably to make a call.
He was leaving. His phone had been silent for most of the time he’d been her shadow. This sudden flurry of activity was a sign that things had changed. Something had happened, and he needed to go back to Montana.
He didn’t say anything for the rest of the evening. When they locked their hotel room door behind them that night, they fell into bed and made love for the rest of the night. When they finally fell into an exhausted sleep, Nico wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
When Julia woke up the next morning, sunlight beat against her eyelids. She nestled closer to Nico, inhaling his scent. Memorizing the sensation of his skin against hers. Feeling the weight of him, wrapped around her.
But she didn’t open her eyes. If she didn’t look, didn’t wake up, Nico couldn’t leave.
After a long time of lying close to him, he said quietly, “I know you’re awake, Jules.”
She still didn’t open her eyes. “You need to leave, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” he said, and she heard pain in his voice. Regret. “There’s a new case, and Mel needs me on it.”
“When?” she asked softly.
“Thirty minutes.”
Julia sucked in a ragged breath. A half-hour. They wouldn’t even be able to make love one last time.
She swallowed the tears that clogged her throat. That wouldn’t help either of them. “Okay,” she managed to say. “Do you want me to drive you to the airport?”’
