Page 65 of No More Lies

“Yeah,” Sam said. “We think we found Myers.”

“Think?”

“Cameras picked him up at a gas station on I-15 South, thirty minutes ago,” Kelly explained. “He’s driving a blue pickup. We got the plates. He rejoined the highway headed south.”

“Raven are enroute now,” Sam said. “As soon as they have eyes, we will isolate a section of the highway and intercept. Hopefully the sarin is on board.”

“And Volkov? Anything?” Steve asked hopefully.

“No. Nothing yet,” Sam said.

Steve hissed in frustration.

“How’s Diane? Feeling better?” Sam asked.

“A little.” He was not about to share just how bad things were between them. “What about the lawyer, Natasha and Anya? Did Dale get the warrant?”

“Yes. House was empty. No sign of a struggle, but Natasha’s car is in the garage, no phone. No hits on credit cards or ATMs.”

“It looks like he took all three of them.”

“It does,” Sam agreed. “We’re looking at traffic cameras to see if we can pick them up anywhere. But at this point, it’s a needle in a haystack.”

“He could have killed the lawyer and mother,” Steve said.

“Possibly, yes. Maybe he draws a line at killing the mother of his child, or he knows Natasha turning up dead would raise suspicion when there are already lawyers involved, suspected assault, and he’s moving back to Russia.”

“He might be forcing Natasha to go with him,” Steve said.

“That’s possible, too,” Sam said.

“The man appears to know how to stay hidden. He’s smart.”

“Everyone slips up. You know that. Dex or I will let you know what happens with Myers. I got another call. We’ll be in touch.”

Steve heard the hairdryer going in the bathroom, so he went downstairs to make some dinner. Diane needed to eat. He placed a pot of water on the stove to boil. He found pasta sauce in the fridge, veggies, and sausages. Even he could make a simple pasta dish.

He had no idea Diane had felt so isolated. Was this what had been causing the distance between them even before the shit hit the fan with Volkov? Kelly and Mira being intel meant they could discuss everything with Dex and Tyler. While Sophie wasn't Onyx, her position at Westside meant she dealt with sailors and SEALs every day, so had a fairly good idea of what they did. He wondered how much Ryan shared with her and thought about calling him to ask, then he decided against it. That would put his brother in an awkward position. If Ryan was sharing with Sophie, it was because he trusted her enough not to tell anyone. What did that say about him? He trusted Diane.

He put the pasta in the pot and tossed the other ingredients into a shallow pan with the sauce to simmer. The hairdryer stopped and a few minutes later, Diane appeared in yoga pants and a sweatshirt, hair dried and piled on top of her head with a clip.

“Something smells good,” she said quietly as if testing the waters.

“Thought you might be hungry. It’s nothing special.” He smiled.

“Any woman will tell you that a meal she doesn't have to cook is always special.” She gave him a tired smile. At least they were still talking.

“Maybe you should have told me that sooner. I might have made more of an effort in the kitchen.” He winked.

“I guess there are a lot of things we should have said sooner.” She walked to the stove and stirred the pasta. “Is there anything I can do?”

“It’s almost done. You can grab the bowls. Do you want wine?”

“No, thanks. My head’s not there yet.”

He dished up the food and they sat at the island to eat. He had a beer while Diane had water. While they ate, they talked about Megan, a safe topic. He wanted to continue the earlier conversation about secrets, but it was nice to just talk about their daughter and not think about all the other shit going on. He would tackle that conversation a little later.

With dinner done and the dishes cleared away, they settled on the couch. An uncomfortable silence and distance between them.

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