Nari took a healthy sip of the drink. Ah, Cabernet. So good. “This is delicious.”
Pippa hustled around the table and sat next to Brigid. “Oh, you’re telling all. Right now. The chicken is still cooking.”
Nari told them the entire story while enjoying her wine. “So, there you go.”
Stunned silence met her tale.
Brigid spoke first. “Your da is the deputy administrator of the HDD?” Her Irish brogue came out full force, while her emerald-colored eyes sparkled.
Nari blinked. Oops. “Didn’t I tell you that before?”
Pippa chuckled. “You know you didn’t.”
Nari winced, her neck heating. “Well, he’s just my sperm donor, to be honest. My mom remarried when I was around twelve and I love my stepdad. I call him Dad. He lives in California with my mom and he’s the one I love.”
“Does Angus know you’re related to our boss?” Brigid asked.
Pippa laughed full-out this time. “Oh, that’s going to be a fun discussion.” She sobered. “I mean, if we see him again. I can’t believe he actually said goodbye last night.”
Well, for Nari it had been that morning, but she wasn’t ready to share that much. Not yet anyway. “I was surprised he left with a serial killer on the loose. Even if we know the killer isn’t Lassiter, when Angus gets his teeth in a case, he doesn’t let go,” Nari murmured. Maybe he’d just had enough. It wasn’t like one night with her would change his mind.
She crossed her legs, and a bite mark on her thigh twinged.
A soft knock sounded and then Millie Frost bounced in. “I come bearing rolls.” She held up a basket. “I bought them.” The tech wore jeans with a little bit of dirt around the hems and a sweater. Her hair was all blond this time. “Serena called me on the way—she got stuck in some faculty meeting at the college. Says to start dinner without her, but she’ll still try to make it.”
Nari sighed. Serena was a creative genius and always made the evening fun. Hopefully she’d come at least for dessert.
Pippa stood and took the basket. “You took out your streaks.”
Millie grinned. “Yeah. I’ll put some back in eventually, but I was tired of the colors. We’ll see.” She looked around. “I turn twenty-eight next week and I’m no longer undercover as a computer tech, so maybe it’s time to forget the streaks. I kept them partly to tick off HDD, but nobody really seems to care.”
The woman did not look twenty-eight. Nari sipped her wine more slowly, her mind spinning.
The door opened and Dana swept in, a small, white kitten in her hands. “Kat wanted to come. I hope that’s okay.”
Wolfe hovered right behind her, his body braced, as if to catch her. The man was huge compared to the blond journalist, who wasn’t exactly short.
Dana’s angled face flushed. “I made it here safely, Wolfe. Go back to playing poker with your friends.Now.”
Nari coughed to cover her laugh.
Wolfe gently, oh so gently, took Dana’s elbow and tried to help her sit.
Dana’s eyes sparked and she jerked her hand free. “I’m only three months pregnant, buddy. I’m fine. I can walk, I can talk, and I can even spar. Go. Please, Wolfe.”
Wolfe’s powerful chest filled. “All right, but call me before you walk home.”
Brigid pressed her lips together. “Yeah. The several feet between houses can be treacherous.”
Wolfe nodded, approval lifting his lips. “Exactly, Bridge. You get it.” He leaned down and kissed Dana before turning to the door. “Dana thinks I’m obsessed, but I’m not. I’m just doing what needs to be done.”
What needs to be done. Like Angus always did. Wait a minute. Nari’s head jerked. Realization struck her. “There is no way Angus Force just left town with a serial killer on the loose. Especially when one victim had a Roscoe tattoo and the other looked Irish.”
Wolfe frowned. “He said he was done, and he looked like it. In fact, he acted like it.”
Well, that was true. He wouldn’t have propositioned Nari if he hadn’t intended to leave. Nari sighed. Maybe she just wanted him to still be in town. “Yeah, he really did,” she said softly.
“It is what it is. For now, I’m going to go win all the money I can because we’re currently unemployed.” Wolfe shrugged.
