“I was asking if you’re okay. After Roman stormed into the diner last night, Jarrid and I were worried about you, weren’t we, baby?”
Jarrid looked so uncomfortable—like he was guilt-ridden for being here after I ended things with Roman.
I tried not to pay him too much attention, answering Amber’s question. “I’m good. He was pissed I left town without telling him, and now, whatever we were is over.”
Amber let out a dissatisfied sigh. “Such a shame because I didn’t even know you were seeing him, and now it’s done, but we didn’t even get to double date.”
I side-eyed her, not sure whether her tone was annoyed or mocking. Whichever it was, it sounded strange coming from her, and it left an uncomfortable ball knotting in my chest. “Well, I’m sorry I’ve ruined your romcom plans, but it was never serious.” Amber’s face fell, and I felt awful for taking my mood out on her. “Sorry, I’m being a bitch. The last few weeks have been a lot. I’m knackered, that’s all.”
Amber reached for my hand, taking it in hers and squeezing. “Where did you even go? You didn’t mention you were going away.”
I shook my head. If I wasn’t telling Roman where I’d been, I sure as hell wasn’t telling someone as pure and innocent as Amber. I’d ruin her. “Just some family stuff.”
Her lips pursed. “You don’t have family. Isn’t that what you said?”
“Stepfather.” I shrugged, trying not to show how I really felt about the man who’d called me up out of the blue and tried to blackmail me with the past he forced me into. “We’re not close, but he needed a favour, and he’s a difficult man to say no to.”
She paused before replying, “But it’s all sorted now? All good?”
I faked a smile that I hoped was more natural than it felt as I stared down at my hands, trying not to think about the things they’d done. “All good.”
“And Roman?”
I rolled my shoulders, trying to pretend that ending it with him hadn’t bothered me, when it had broken my heart. “It’s over. You’ve met him. He’s so intense.”
Jarrid’s laugh was loud, pulling my gaze to him.
“What?” He widened his eyes innocently. “It’s the perfect way to describe him.”
Amber stood. “I’m worried about you, Hana. I know I’ve not been around much, but if you want to talk, if you need anything, give me a call. Promise.” She wrapped her arms around me from behind and leaned her head on my shoulder. “And if you need to escape for a while, have a proper break, I know the perfect place.” She said it so quietly, I didn’t even think Jarrid heard. His phone buzzed as he stood, his expression turning serious.
“Sorry, Amber, this is work, and it’s urgent. I have to go into the office for a couple of hours.”
She pouted. “But we had plans.” He stepped closer to her, pulling her to his chest.
“I know. And I’ll make it up to you in that way you like so much.” Amber buried her face in her hands, making me laugh. The two of them were so good together—his protective side, along with her innocence. My mind instantly flitted back to Roman and his growly, stalker-like protection, and how safe he’d made me feel, but he had to ruin it by telling me he loved me.
I couldn’t do it to him—I wasn’t made for love. I was broken, and the destruction I left in my wake as I moved through my life was testament to that. He deserved better, and even if we started something together, it wouldn’t take him too long to realise it, and it would break my heart when he left me like everyone else had.
“You’re welcome to stay here,” I offered, not really meaning it, because I just wanted to be on my own.
Amber lifted her head to look at me. “Na, you look like you need to eat ice cream in the bath.” Then her smile dropped. “Unless you want me to stay. Then I totally can.”
“I’m good. I think the bath and ice cream sound perfect.”
37
ROMAN
“Another one?That’s three murders in three weeks. And this one had one of those tarot cards on him? The same one as the others had?” Jarrid clarified as he sat across from me in the tech room that was fast becoming the place we all gathered.
“Let me presentthe murder board,”Lacy announced with far too much excitement. While Sean and Thomas wanted to keep the people who knew about this case small, things were escalating, and we had other work to focus on. So, while our bosses dealt with more pressing jobs, Jarrid had been called back into the office, and he and I had been left taking the lead, with Lacy brought in to help.
She stood next to a whiteboard where pictures of our three victims were stuck. Lacy smoothed her fingers over her perfect bun, which, topped with the green tight T-shirt and matching cargos and heavy black boots, gave her the look like she was still on deployment, which made sense as she’d seen more active duty around the world than I’d hacked security cameras. She only came to work for Thomas after she was medically discharged when she broke her back. The woman claimed to have made a full recovery, but every now and then, I’d notice herwith the tiniest limp that no one would ever mention because she was likely to shoot them in the balls.
Jarrid rolled his eyes playfully. “Right, Lacy, you have the attention of the room. Tell us what you’ve got.” Wren and Lev sat nearby, frantically typing away like normal, while Jarrid and I pinned our attention on Lacy.
“Cole Larson announces plans to run for mayor. The same day, he’s shot in the head, and we find a flash drive in his hand full of enough evidence to put him away for life for all manner of crimes that the rich arsehole thought he could pay to cover up.” She tapped her pen against the headshot, leaving blue blotches on his forehead. “Then we have Judge Preston. Murdered, but made to look like a heart attack. The tarot card with Larson’s fingerprint on it links them together, as does the encrypted banking information that suggests Larson was paying Preston to make sure his crimes went under the radar.
