Page 17 of Nora
Lucian let the conversation flow around him as he made a mental note that Nora was scoping out the grounds. And befriending the participants. After his texts with Violetta, he’d accepted that his family hadn’t sent her. But was she here for another reason? Was there a problem she’d been sent to investigate?
“Where is she?” Jean asked. “I had hoped to get her opinion on a dog I have back in France.”
Willa gestured upward. “She had some work to do so asked me to bring her a plate of food once we’re all done. I was planning to, but if you want to chat with her, you could take it up?”
Jean gave a Gallic shrug. “I’d be happy to take it up, but my question isn’t pressing. I can always speak to her tomorrow.”
“I’ll take it up,” Lucian said. Three sets of eyes turned to him. “I’m done, and her room is right across from mine.” His old instincts were beginning to bubble back to life. If there was something going on with this group, and she was investigating, then he wanted to know.
Willa frowned but nodded. “All right,” she said, drawing out the words. “She’s a vegetarian, you know that?”
Lucian nodded and rose. “Are you up for a game of pool later?” he asked Anne. She was a bit of a shark and always fun for a few games.
She smiled. “I would like that. Though just one or two. Still feeling the time change a bit.”
“Deal. I’ll go take Nora her plate and meet you back down here in thirty minutes.” Thirty minutes should give him enough time to figure out what Nora Amiri was really up to.
CHAPTEREIGHT
When the knockcame at her door, Nora concealed the document she’d been reviewing and called for Willa to come in. Only it wasn’t Willa who stepped into her room.
She blinked. “Lucian.”
“Nora,” he replied.
She stared at him. She hadn’t forgotten what an attractive man he was. In the past two days, his personality had somewhat overshadowed that fact, though. But as he stood there with her plate in hand, looking just a little disheveled, he struck her as…charming. Maybe even sweet. Which made no sense, because he’d been anything but.
Giving herself a little internal shake, she stepped forward and took the plate and napkin-wrapped utensils from him. “Thank you for bringing this. I hope it wasn’t a bother?”
“It wasn’t,” he said.
She shifted her computer to the side and set everything down on her desk. When he didn’t turn to leave, she arched a brow in question. “Is there something I can help you with?”
His attention drifted around her room, taking everything in. Her spidey-sense started to tingle, but she wasn’t going to jump to conclusions yet. Although it sure as hell appeared as though he was looking for something.
Finally, his gaze landed back on her. “I owe you an apology,” he said. She fought a smile at the way he said the words. As if he’d forced them over a bed of rusty nails before pushing them out.
“Apology accepted,” she replied. She hadn’t a clue what had brought on his initial suspicions and although she knew Six would tell her, she hadn’t asked. She had a job to focus on—two, actually—and getting to the bottom of Lucian’s issues wasn’t one of them.
“Whatever it is that has your family worried enough that you thought they’d send me here to watch over you, I hope you figure it out,” she added, unable to completely ignore his pain.
His eyes searched hers and in those fleeting seconds, she saw something she’d never seen in him before. Uncertainty.
Lucian had always been someone so sure and confident. Not that he always got things right, but he had the kind of confidence to know that if he got it wrong, he’d be able to fix it. That wasn’t what she saw now.
After a beat, he nodded. “Thank you.”
They stared at each other for another moment, then she pulled her gaze away. Hoping he’d sense it was time for him to leave, she picked up the utensils and began unwrapping them.
“What are you doing here, Nora?” he asked.
She closed her eyes. How were they back to this point?
“I know you’re here as the vet,” he added. “But there’s something else going on, isn’t there?”
With his background as an agent for AISE, and hers with the Directorate, it didn’t surprise her that he’d noticed certain things. That he’d done it so quickly did, though.
She hid her reaction with a shake of her head. “Just focus on your training, Lucian. I’m sorry for whatever is going on in your life. I really am. But you have a job to do here, and so do I. Can we concentrate on that?”
