“It’s okay,” I say quickly, hoping that means he isn’t upset with me. “Is it… Can you… I don’t know what I’m allowed to ask or if you even want to talk to me.” I take a step closer to him in an effort to do something.
“I absolutely want to talk to you.” Boone gives me a censuring look then motions me over to him with a flick of his fingers. I walk over slowly, giving him time to change his mind, but he just lifts his arm and lets me wrap mine around his waist.
I feel the buildup of his heavy sigh before he exhales and lowers his chin to the top of my head. “Mickey was pissed.”
“Mickey?”
“My boss.” He starts rubbing his hands across my back.
“Because of me?” Something in me shifts. I thought I was guilty before for looking through his messages, but this is heavier.
“No, she was pissed at me for not giving her the full truth.”
“About?” My voice is muffled because I don’t have the courage to look up at him.
“What happened in Michigan.”
That’s confirmation he’s in trouble because of me. I lean back, trying weakly to pull away from his embrace. “I’m sorry. Tell him it was my fault.”
Boone tugs me back against his chest, refusing to release me. “Her, and no, because it’s not.”
“Her. Mickey is a woman’s name?”
“Yeah,” he confirms. “After she finished tearing me a new one, she reached out to the state police who are overseeing John’s case and hit a brick wall.”
“A brick wall?” I look up at his face.
“Yeah. He won’t give us anything, and we have no way to force him because I didn’t give Mickey the full picture when I was there, which means if we want to know anything, we either have to rely on Wexford or make a move to take the case on the grounds it could be connected to Hayzel’s, and that won’t be easy considering I have nothing linking them.”
“I’m sorry,” I say because I have nothing else to offer.
“Youhave nothing to be sorry for. I’m only pissed that he’s going to try to make us jump through hoops, and I don’t even truly know if the cases are related.”
“I’m still sorry,” I confess, wishing there was more I could do because I feel responsible.
“Don’t be. I was just hoping to catch an easy lead since the scene was… chaotic.” He struggles to find the right word, then he swiftly changes the subject. “Since you took care of the bank, how about that pizza I promised?”
I reel for a moment then promptly agree. He’s not the only one who wants to put the day behind them.
CHAPTER 24
Harlyn
The walk from the small parking lot to the pizza shop only takes us about five minutes. The mix of green spaces and high-rise hotels and offices lined with storefronts makes the area seem less inner city than I was expecting, but no less appealing. The wide sidewalks are teeming with people, yet the hustle of a city like New York is absent.
Boone hauls the door open to the rather small pizza restaurant done up in white, black, and red, giving it the ambiance of a diner. There’s a short line of people at the counter, but I can still make out prepared pizzas sold by the slice held aloft on a round silver platter. We join the back of the line and shuffle forward as permitted.
“Are you okay eating outside?” he asks, peering back through the window.
“I think it’s our only option at this point.” I chuckle while looking at the bar lining one wall and the few tables that are all occupied.
“They are about to leave.” He nods toward a bistro table on the sidewalk out front. Sure enough, one of the people at the table closest to the door pushes back their chair and rises.
“I can grab it,” I offer, already moving toward the exit.
“You want the spinach one, right?”
“Yes,” I confirm, giving him a questioning look on how he would know.
