CHAPTER 43
It was already dark outside.
A security car was parked by the gate. Two men inside; another checked the perimeter.
Nina was home again. Her home. Where everything was painfully familiar—and everything was hers.
She slipped off her coat and went straight to the security panel. The cameras were live. Front entrance, porch, backyard—everything monitored.
She let out a breath. It didn’t erase the anxiety, but iteased it.
The day kept replaying in her head. The postponed hearing infuriated her. She wanted freedom, and he still kept winning.
She dropped her purse onto a chair and walked into the kitchen. Poured herself a glass of water, took a sip—and at that moment her phone lit up on the counter. Unknown number.
Nina froze.
For a few seconds she didn’t dare answer. Her first thought was Frank.
But what if it wasn’t him?
She answered anyway.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” a hoarse, slightly rough voice said.
A jolt ran from her neck to her fingertips. Her heart skipped.
It was Jasper.
How the hell did he get her number?
“Come outside,” he said after a pause.“Let’s take a walk.”
Nina tensed instantly.
“Outside… where?” she asked, frowning.“Jasper, what are you talking about?”
“I’m standing in front of your house,” he replied calmly. As if that were perfectly normal.
“You have to be kidding me,” she said, walking to the window and pulling the curtain aside. Of course she couldn’t see him beyond the tall fence.“Couldn’t we just talk on the phone?” she snapped.
“I had to walk the dog anyway,” he said—and she could hear the smile in his voice.
“Is there nowhere else you could walk it besides my street?”
He laughed. Low. And for some reason, it sounded… too intimate.
“I’m waiting,” he said shortly, and hung up.
Damn it.
Nina rushed to the mirror. Her reflection looked startled. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her hair loose, no jewelry.
She opened the jewelry box, discarding heavy, flashy earrings. She settled on pearls. Small. Neat. Classic.
She went to the closet, slipped out of the strict black pants she’d worn earlier, and pulled on beige ones—thick fabric, high-waisted. They fit beautifully. Then a black turtleneck, tucked in. A cream-colored coat on top. Brown boots with a low heel.
