Page 68 of Nora
Her gaze flittered to Nora. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”
The distress she saw in Six’s eyes almost made Nora lie and tell her everything was fine. Then Lucian squeezed her hand, reminding her that her thoughts and feelings mattered. Not that her friends ever treated her as if they didn’t, but he knew her well enough to know that she was more likely than not to try to smooth over any disputes.
“A little, yes,” she answered.
Six’s expression crumpled, and Gavin’s arm slipped around her waist. “I don’t want him to hurt you. That’s all,” she said. “I love him, he’s family, but so are you, and I don’t want him to hurt you.”
Six was telling the unvarnished truth, as she usually did. Nora owed her the same. “I can tell you, Six, that there is no doubt in my mind that Lucian would never hurt me. Our situation might not be the best and thesituationmight hurt me, but that’s hardly his fault, is it?”
Six’s eyes searched hers. “You are happy?”
Nora half nodded. “I wish I could catch the killer I was sent to catch, but if your question is whether I am happy with Lucian, I am.” She hesitated, then added, “I know he leaves in a week, Six. That’s always been the case, and there hasn’t been any false talk or hollow promises. He cares about me just as I care about him. Whatever the future holds or doesn’t, I’ll deal with it.” And she would.
Six’s eyes drifted to Lucian. His hand tightened on hers. “I care, Violetta. So does she. Nora isn’t one to make decisions lightly. You may not trust me, and I won’t deny you have reason to doubt, butshetrusts me. And you need to trust her.”
Six didn’t look convinced, but she had a choice to make. She glanced first at Devil, then at Cyn, both of whom nodded. Then she turned back to Lucian. “You’re still an asshole. You’re also still my favorite cousin when you’re not being an asshole.”
Lucian grinned. “You’re my favorite cousin, too, when I’m not being an asshole.” Then he dropped Nora’s hand and opened his arms. Nora let out a sigh of relief when Six didn’t hesitate to step into them. She did chuckle, though, when she heard Six issue a quiet threat as she hugged him. Lucian responded by telling her to mind her own business, and then they parted.
Six turned to her. “I’m sorry,” she said.
Nora lifted a shoulder. “Like Lucian said, you have reason to doubt him, but don’t doubt me—”
“Never,” Six interjected.
“Good,” Nora smiled. “Now, can we start the birthday celebrations? I could really use a drink right about now.”
And celebrate they did. Dan, Cyn’s chef, had prepared a Mexican-inspired feast that went so far beyond tacos and fajitas, half the time Nora had no idea what she was eating, only that it tasted amazing. And of course, dinner was accompanied by Six’s favorite tequila. Over the course of the night, they finished more than one bottle, but Nora was careful not to drink too much. Being tipsy was fun, but they had to drive back to Western Massachusetts the next dayandcatch a killer. She had no desire to be hungover while doing either of those things.
When it came time for gifts, the friends had complied with the dollar limits, but their families had not. They did, however, stick with the Mexico theme. Nora’s father sent them each a piece of rare fire opal jewelry. A chunky ring for Cyn, a delicate bracelet for Devil, a pair of earrings for Six, and a full set, including a necklace, bracelet, and earrings, for his daughter. Cyn’s parents had gone more quirky, which was not a surprise. Each of the women received an antique of some sort, ranging from a ceremonial mask to an ancient bowl. Six’s parents were perhaps the most subdued. They’d sent gorgeous works of art from up-and-coming Mexican artists. While Devil’s parents had gone the most overboard—they’d rented out an entire luxury resort in Tulum for two weeks in early March. No one knew if they’d all be able to get away during that time, but Nora hoped they could make something work. Having the resort to themselves was overkill, but March was always a tough month when it came to the weather, and some time away would do them all good.
It was late at night—or more precisely the very early hours of the morning—when they retired. Cyn must have spoken to Dan, because when she went upstairs to the room she tended to stay in, both her and Lucian’s things were at the foot of the bed. Exhausted from the preceding weeks, and full of food and drink and the company of her friends, they both rushed through the bedtime routine, then sank into the not-too-soft mattress. Then, wrapped in each other’s arms, they fell into a deep and comfortable sleep.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Lucian wasn’t happy.
“I’ll stay here or in the lounge,” Nora said. “And you’ll find me here when you get back,” she added, referring to her room. Where he’d spent every night since they’d found the second victim. It was Tuesday night now, and there were only three days remaining for the killer to strike for the third time. And Nora was insisting they split up for the evening. She might have good reason, but he still didn’t like it.
They’d removed Jurgen from the suspect list after Devil spoke with the abbot. The men had stayed in touch over the years, and Jurgen visited often. The abbot was convinced that his friend had forgiven his parents—and himself—for the events in his childhood. The conversation tipped the balance in Jurgen’s favor, and now they were down to two. Angelo and Jean.
And it was the two men who were now at the center of what was maybe his and Nora’s first disagreement. Angelo was staying in for the night, but Jean was headed out with the group to visit a winter market. Nora wanted to stay with Angelo and send him out with Jean, but he wasn’t keen on the plan. He didn’t have a better one, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one.
“It’s the only way to keep an eye on both of them. I’ll spend some time in the lounge, but will come up to bed early and watch the camera feeds,” she said. Once they realized a window was being used as egress, she’d had cameras installed under the upper eaves.
“What if you see him leave? You can’t go rushing off again,” he said, voicing his biggest fear. It wasn’t so much splitting up that had him worried, it was what might happen if the killer decided tonight was the night to strike. “I wish we had more intel from Violetta,” he added. His cousin had been trying to reach the home where Angelo had been placed after his parents’ death. It had closed five years earlier, and she was in the process of tracking down the group that ran it, but she hadn’t been able to reach anyone yet.
“She does, too. She was about ready to fly over there today. She didn’t care for the runaround she was getting,” Nora said.
Lucian smiled. He almost wished his cousin would fly to Italy and give someone the what for.
Nora was curled up on her bed, leaning against the headboard, watching him. He wanted nothing more than to stay in this room—with the fire going and with Nora—for the rest of the night.
Something must have shifted in his expression, because Nora gave him an amused look as she spoke. “Thatcan happen later. Now we need to keep an eye on our two suspects and try to stop him from killing his last victim.”
He let out a deep sigh. He didn’t like it, but she was right. “You won’t leave the building?”
“Not unless I have to,” she replied. Making him even less happy.
