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He drummed his fingers on his desk, warring with himself in the moment before he relented and opened his computer.
He typed the name into the search engine: Alexa Nash, Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General.
The page populated with articles, rulings, and more than a few pictures.
He hesitated, scanning the page. Then he leaned forward and started reading.
1
Nick stepped into the bar and looked around, fighting a wave of nostalgia. Back when he’d been a detective with BPD, Billy’s Bar and Grill had been the spot to hang out after a tough stakeout or a shitty end to a hard-fought case. From the look of things, not much had changed, and he lifted a hand in greeting to a few familiar faces at the bar as he made his way deeper into the room.
The reception wasn’t as friendly as it might have been a few months earlier. The looks he got weren’t hostile, but they weren’t friendly either. He wondered how many of his former colleagues believed the story that MIS was a front, how many of them thought wistfully about the opportunity to exact justice outside the confines of the law, how many of them instead thought he was a traitor to the pledge they’d taken when they graduated from the academy.
He couldn’t begrudge anyone the sentiment. Boston was his town. He loved everything about it, from the bay to the grittiest parts of the city. He’d sworn an oath to protect and serve its citizens, and while he’d had his reasons for leaving the force, before he’d started MIS he would have been pissed at the possibility that one of his brothers in blue had turned traitor to that oath.
He made his way toward a man in the back with two beers sitting in front of him. He watched Nick’s approach with blank eyes and an expression that gave nothing away. His red hair had thinned since Nick saw him last, but his brown eyes were just as sharp, his meaty frame stuffed into a leather jacket Nick recognized all too well.
“Took the good spot,” Nick said, sliding into the seat across from the man.
“Got here first,” the man said, taking a drink of his beer.
None of them liked having their backs to the door; they were trained to observe. Nick glanced around. His eyes latched onto a mirror emblazoned with a beer logo on the wall. In its reflection he could see the front door and most of the bar.
He waited in the silence that followed, wondering if the meeting had been a mistake. The circumstances weren’t exactly optimal for a meet-up with his law enforcement buddies, even if the buddy sitting across from him used to be his partner.
He pushed one of the beers toward Nick and held out a hand, his face breaking into a smile. “Jesus christ, Murphy. When did you get so serious?”
Nick laughed. Kyle Duhamel had been his partner for two years back when Nick had been on the force. Kyle had been abrasive and politically incorrect and the biggest hard-ass Nick had ever met, but he’d also been astute and loyal and was probably the only thing Nick really missed about being a cop.
Nick shook Kyle’s hand and took a drink of the beer. “Had second thoughts there for a minute.”
“Don’t blame you.” Kyle’s gaze strayed to the men at the bar. “I think it’s safe to say you’re still a person of interest.”
Kyle was using the term loosely, but Nick knew what he meant. It had been two months since Alexa Nash’s visit to MIS. So far nothing had changed, but the stain of the accusations against him and the firm would last longest with the city’s cops and lawyers even after they were cleared — and he wasn’t dumb enough to think they’d been cleared just because some time had passed.
“Probably not the smartest place to meet,” Nick conceded.
“You losing your edge, Murphy?” Kyle’s words were lighthearted but Nick knew him well enough to know he was one shrewd motherfucker. He would catalog every word Nick said, every gesture, every facial tic.
“Been off the job too long, I guess.”
“If you say so,” Kyle said. “How’s it hanging?”
Nick shrugged. “It’s hanging. Work, rugby…” He searched his mind and realized there was nothing else about his life he could share. “My brother got married.”
Surprise lit Kyle’s eyes. “Ronan?”
Nick nodded. “Last month. Small ceremony. Has a baby on the way.”
“Wow. What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You got someone?” Kyle asked.
“No.” Nick hurried to change the subject. “How’s Ash?”
“She’s good. Busy with the kids.” He shook his head and took another drink of his beer. “Swimming, ballet, little league… they’re busier than I am.”
