“Alrighty, then,” Tabitha remarked with a giggle. “Make yourself at home. Belladonna should be down in a minute.”
“Thank you.” Niyah crossed the room and sat on the sofa.
Xander studied her a bit before moving toward the bar. Niyah sat, wringing her hands, and practicing in her head how to behave like someone who wasn’t breaking the law. Voices outside the parlor sparked her anxiety. She stiffened and prepared herself for Bella’s entry. A small sigh of relief escaped when Lincoln and Jaysen walked in.
With perfect timing, Andrew approached and handed her a crystal sifter with a good amount of chilled tequila. Niyah accepted the drink and thanked him. He turned, but he hadn’t made three feet from her before she knocked back the entire contents of the fancy glass.
Niyah glanced toward the bar and caught Xander surveying her with a questioning squint. She looked away just in time to catch Bella’s entrance. She smiled her way before whispering something in Dr. Creed’s ear. Whatever it was, it prompted the doctor to leave the room.
Bella walked over and sat next to Niyah. “Hey, girl,” she greeted enthusiastically.
It had been a while since she’d seen Bella. She looked much better. The swelling in her face had gone down. Her bruises had faded, and she appeared stronger.
“You’re looking good, girl,” Niyah remarked.
Bella grinned. “I feel good.”
Panic warmed Niyah’s cheeks. “Good enough to go back to work?”
“I go back tomorrow.”
FUCK!
Niyah raised a brow. “Are you sure you’re ready to return to work?”
“Positive. I need to clear a few cases.” Bella leaned closer. “Speaking of which, did the DNA results come back from the gangbanger killer?”
Niyah’s breathing hitched before she could stop it. Her heart felt like it was going to jump right out of her chest. For a second, she contemplated faking a heart attack. It was the only thing she could think of to save her from having this dreaded conversation.
Bella’s brow wrinkled with concern. “Are you okay?”
After patting her chest and clearing her throat, she nodded. “Yeah,” she rasped. “I’m good. It’s just heartburn.”
“Oh, damn. Do you take something for that?”
“I do, but I’m okay.”
Bella’s lips parted, but her words were cut by Donna’s entrance.
“Hey, hey, hey!” she greeted everyone in the room.
“Hey, Donna!” Niyah chirped, grateful for the interruption.
Unfortunately, whatever relief Donna had provided disappeared when Bella nudged her. “Did the DNA results come back?” she repeated.
Niyah sighed and shook her head. “It turns out the sample was too small to test.”
Bella glared at her with disbelief. “All the samples? From every scene?”
“Well, no… notallof them. Some were contaminated,” Niyah lied.
“Contaminated? How is that possible?” Bella questioned.
Niyah was getting irritated, more so at her own performance. Surely, the detective detected deception. It was obvious the way she was staring at her through narrowed lids.
“So, I have some info,” Donna announced.
Thankfully, Bella’s focus switched to her sister. “What you got?”
