“You could have answered one of my damn calls.”
“You know I can’t do that. There’s protocol for a reason.”
“Screw protocol. Somebody broke into Jessy’s house, trashed her place, and scared her shitless,” I hiss softly. “Now, tell me, Rivera. Would you be fine with being in the dark if the tables were turned and somebody you care about was the one in question?”
“Matthew…” Nico presses his lips into a tight line, anger simmering in his eyes. Although he’s dressed in a crisp uniform, his cheeks are scruffy and there are dark bags under his eyes.
“Would you?” I repeat, jabbing my finger into his chest. “Would you just sit by if it were Maisie we were talking about?”
Nico grinds his teeth, his nostrils flaring. He curses under his breath and looks over my shoulder to check if anybody’s paying attention to us before pulling me into an empty room.
“There isn’t much to say. We didn’t find anything that would lead us to the person who did this. The place was completely trashed, as you saw, and it took us the whole night just to comb through everything and collect evidence. Now it’s a waiting game to see if we can find any leads. He didn’t break in, though.”
My eyes narrow at that tidbit. “They dated for a while. Maybe he had a key or, hell, he’s one paranoid son of a bitch, maybe he made a copy when they were together without her knowing.”
“Maybe. But maybes won’t help us make an arrest. You know that, and I know that. I understand that you’re angry, and I get it, I truly do, but if we want to find our guy and put him away, we have to do this by the book, and you have to let us do our job.”
“It’s Damien, we both know that.”
“Wethinkthat,” Nico corrects, giving me a pointed look. “That being said, I have enough of a reason to pay him a visit and see what he has to say.”
My hand falls to my side. “You’re going to talk to him.”
It’s not a question.
Nico crosses his arms over his chest and gives me his meanest look. “No.”
“You’re not here, you get that?” Nico glares at me from the driver’s side before his attention shifts to the road ahead of us. “You don’t exist. You don’t speak. You arenothere.”
It’s the same mantra he’s been chanting since we left the station a little while ago. He tried to convince me not to come, but there was no way in hell that was happening.
“Yes, yes, I heard you the first ten times you said that.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt it for a second,” he grumbles, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so tightly, his knuckles have turned white. “What I doubt is your ability to stick to what I’ve told you.”
“I’ll stick to it,” I mutter.
As long as Damien answers Nico’s questions, we’re not going to have any problems. Anything else, and I’m not going to be responsible for what happens.
“I mean it, Williams.” Nico’s brows pull together, a deep crease etched on his forehead. “If you don’t follow the rules, you could fuck this whole thing up. One wrong move, and whoever is behind what happened the other night will walk free. You get that, right?”
I grind my teeth. He’s right. I know he’s right, and yet I can’t help myself. I can’t forget the look of absolute horror as Jessica walked into her bedroom and saw what that asshole did to it. I can’t forget the way all the color drained from her face. Can’t forget her tears. Her fear. She’s been trying to put up a strong front, but I can see her jump at every sudden move and sound. I can see her glancing into the darkness. I can feel her arms wrapping tightly around me as she drifted off to sleep.
He did that to her, and I won’t let him get away with it.
“Just keep your mouth shut and let me talk to him, okay?”
I take a calming breath, trying to make myself relax. “Fine.”
He’s right. I can’t mess this up. This guy is going behind bars where he won’t be able to get to Jessica or hurt her ever again.
Nico’s expression darkens just as the big farmhouse comes into view. My muscles go taut in anticipation as we drive around it and to the back.
A few ranch hands are mingling around the barn, their gazes lifting at the sound of crunching pebbles as we come to a stop. Nico kills the engine and unbuckles his seat belt.
“Keep your?—”
“—mouth shut.” I finish as I do the same. “Yes, I know.”
