Page 130 of Liar's Point

“Well? How did it happen?”

Nicole put the phone on speaker and carefully balanced it in her hand as she took small steps toward the kitchen. She needed caffeine for this.

“We got in a fight,” Nicole said.

“What?”

“We had this whole argument about—I don’t know—work, I guess.”

My heart fucking stopped.

Heat rippled through her as she remembered the look on his face when he told her that.

“Well, how was it?”

Nicole’s throat felt tight. “Good,” she said softly. “Really, really good. But then he left, so... I honestly don’t know.”

Silence on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Well. That’s to be expected,” Kate said. “It’s a workday. I mean, you’re not saying he sprinted out of there right after?”

“No, he stayed for a while.”

Actually, Nicole had no idea. It could have been right after. But she was embarrassed to tell even her own sister that the man she’d been fixated on for an entire decade had had sex with her and fled.

Nicole wouldn’t be able to look at him again. And yet she’d have to work with him every day. Side by side in cars. In meetings. In stuffy conference rooms surrounded by co-workers. Detectives, no less—people trained to pick up on cues and body language.

Who was she kidding? Even if Emmet kept his promise and stayed quiet, it was only a matter of time before everyone knew.

“Anyway, it was a one-off,” she told Kate.

“What? Why?”

“Because we work together. This can’t go anywhere.”

“It already is going somewhere.”

“No, it’s not.”

Kate sighed. “Nicole...”

“What?”

“Have you ever noticed that when bad things happen to you, Emmet is the first one to show up? Like when you were assaulted at that crime scene, or when you got rear-ended, or when you landed in the emergency room with a broken ankle?”

Nicole crutched across the kitchen, careful not to trip over Lucy, who was circling and making pitiful mewing noises. “That’s because we work together and he’s in the loop on my day-to-day.”

“Yes. That’s my point. He’s in the loop and he’s always looking out for you.”

“We’re cops. That’s part of the job.”

Another sigh. “Okay, whatever. Anyway, let’s talk soon. I really want to catch up. Are you free tonight? We could get together for drinks. Or are you seeing Emmet?”

“I’m not seeing anybody. I’m in the middle of a big case.” Her phone dinged with an incoming call. “Just a sec. That’s the crime lab. I need to call you back.”

“Don’t forget,” Kate said.

---