Page 57 of Deadline for Love

I agreed and sighed, “I’ll send this to Mr. Morgan and tell him about Janette. If that guy shows up at night, they should send a patrol there; they could catch him!”

“You’re absolutely right. They could easily have caught him. But maybe it’s harder than we think. Talking and putting forward theories is always easier said than done.”

She was right again.

“Just a moment, I’ll be done in a minute. Then I’ll drive you home, Nia; we should call it a day.”

I felt terrible that we were leaving Janette like this and not finding anything helpful. But there was nothing we could do. We were powerless.

Sighing, I put my plan into action and emailed Mr. Morgan, asking him to patrol my neighborhood at night. I attached the letter and closed my computer, then I collected my stuff and left the building with Nia.

After a long day, I was finally back at Nathan’s apartment and looking forward to going to bed. I just wanted to lie down and relax.

I took a quick shower and threw something simple together for dinner. Even when dinner was ready, he still wasn’t home, so I ate alone and then kept looking over at the clock. It was already eight pm. He usually showed up earlier, but maybe he had a lot to do...

I prepared his plate and went to bed. I couldn’t sleep and had no urge to call Amara to talk. I just wanted to rest without thinking, so I grabbed the book Aicha had lent me and started reading.

It was an office romance and very spicy; some parts left me breathless.

The desire to experience such a passionate relationship myself felt intense. I had never experienced the same feeling after sex as described in the book; maybe it was because it wasn’t with the right man? I was almost jealous of the characters with such a beautiful relationship with a partner who would do anything to make the woman feel good.

Time flew by, and I finished it in one sitting. It was short but really good. Aicha was right; I loved it.

I was ready to read the other two books, but when I looked at the clock, I saw it was already midnight. Nathan was still not here, and now I was getting worried.

With a queasy feeling, I grabbed my phone, ready to call him, and went to the living room but I stopped the call as I saw him. My body’s tension disappeared, and relief washed over me.

He was sitting on the sofa, leaning forward, his hands supporting his head. Looking at him like that, he seemed infinitely exhausted and dejected—Today, I saw the picture for the second time, first Janette and now Nathan. Two different people in a completely different scene, but both are so similar.

I slowly approached him and placed my hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” I whispered. “I was starting to worry about you.”

Nathan lifted his head, and our gazes met. His eyes looked so tired, and the corners of his mouth were pulled down.

I touched his cheek gently and examined him.

A few seconds later, he nestled in the palm of my hand as if it were the most natural thing he’d ever done, closing his eyes and sighing softly.

“Is everything okay?”

He nodded and looked at me again. “It is now...”

His eyes lit up, and his features relaxed, making me breathe a little sigh of relief, but his words once again made my heart race. His gaze was filled with love and affection; those eyes warmed my heart and body.

I couldn’t help but accept that my heart was taking control of my thoughts as I brushed my other hand through his silky soft hair and moved closer.

“If you want to talk about it, I just hope you know that I’m here for you.” My voice was low, and my gaze lingered on his full lips.

“I appreciate that, but I usually work out whenever I can’t clear my mind. I’m not so good at talking about stuff like this.” His voice sounded gloomy.

“You want to go work out now?”

He nodded and gave my palm a gentle kiss. I got used to this gesture, but it still made my heart skip a beat.

“Then I’ll come with you.”

He gently pushed my hand away from his face but kept them intertwined. “No, it’s okay. It’s late and you’re already ready for bed.”

“It’s no big deal, I can change. Besides, I don’t think you should be alone,” I objected, causing him to disagree.

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