Weekend Warriors (Sisterhood #1)(27)
He answered the question with a question. “Are you seeing Mike Deverone?”
“I asked you first, Jack.”
He shrugged.
“Fine. You keep your secrets and I’ll keep mine. How’s that?” She smiled.
“He’s a nerd.”
“Everything and everyone is in the eye of the beholder,” Nik said sweetly. Actually, Mike is quite charming.” You aren’t going to break my heart. I won’t allow it.
Jack huffed and puffed his way across the street. He held the door open. Music blasted outward. Cigarette smoke filled the bar area. Jack headed for the back and a quiet booth.
“Two Buds,” he said to the waitress. “I’ve missed you,” he said reaching for Nikki’s hand. The combination of his good looks, his devastating smile, and his resonant voice were almost too much for her.
“Speaking of eyes, Nik, you looked frazzled. Is it the Lewellen case? C’mon, this is me. You can talk to me. Whatever we talk about here is personal, not case-related. Let’s start over. How are you, Nik? I really missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” That was honest. She had missed him. A lot. “Where does this leave us, Jack? With Marie gone, if she’s really gone, the case will stay open. Possibly forever. I guess we might as well say goodbye now.”
“No, no, no, we’ll find her. In a couple of hours her picture will be on the desk of every law officer across the country. Someone, someplace, will recognize her and call the police. That’s a given. Possibly a month. Maybe even less.”
“We aren’t supposed to discuss the case, Jack. The probable cause bit, yes, but that’s it.” Nikki swigged from the bottle and set it down on the little square napkin.
“Are you going to file charges, Nik? Tell me now.”
“You really pissed me off back there in the judge’s office, Jack. But, to answer your question, no, probably not. I know a thing or two about gut instinct. I’m sorry to say I never suspected she would do this. You’re right about her having help. Are you going to check out her relatives?”
“We’re on it. I guess Myra is going to be upset losing all that money.”
“Yes, she’s very upset. She’s still grieving over Barbara. All she could see was that that man killed a mother’s child. We’re discussing the case, Jack.”
“It’s hard not to. Let’s talk about us.”
“There is no us, Jack. There’s just you and me. Separate people. We aren’t a couple any longer.”
“That’s your fault, Nik. You never should have taken the case. If you hadn’t been so damn bull-headed, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now at each other’s throats.”
“It’s not like the guy was innocent. He confessed and his DNA proved it. If it hadn’t been for your boss blowing it, the guy would have gotten the death penalty. I asked you to pass on it, Jack, and you said no. If you hadn’t been so power hungry to get your name in the papers and your face on the televison news, we wouldn’t be sitting here. You’re right about that.” She drained her beer bottle and plopped it on the table. “Thanks for the beer. See you around.”
Jack reached for her hand. “Listen, Nik. I’m hurting here. Can’t we make peace? We had a good thing going before this damn case came up. We were the golden couple around town. Now there are days when I can’t remember what you look like. Let’s just say the hell with everything for the moment and go over to my apartment.”
“Like a quick roll in the sack is going to change things. No thanks, Jack.” Her stomach rolled itself into a tight knot when she saw an ugly look transform his features.
Nikki reached over to retrieve her purse and briefcase. She was so close to Jack’s face she could see his five o’clock shadow. “You put a tail on me and I’ll have your ass swinging from the flagpole outside the courthouse, so don’t even think about it. I also reserve the right to file those charges we discussed earlier. Fuck up and you’ll be begging me to defend you. Of course I’ll say no. I don’t need another loser of a case in my career. You know Jack, we could have cut a deal. Ten years, five off with good behavior. Your way, it was life and she pays the price for the guy killing her daughter. That’s going to stick in my throat forever.
“By the way, the redhead was your sister. She dyed her hair last month. We met in the beauty shop.” She smiled. “See ya, sweet cheeks,” she said, tweaking his chin.
Jack waved his empty beer bottle at the waitress. While he waited, he whipped out his cell phone to call his assistant. “Listen to me, Harry, and don’t say anything. I want you to put a tail on Nikki Quinn. I want a bug in her car and one in her apartment. I have the key. I know it’s illegal, you asshole. Do it anyway. I want one in her office, too. As soon as possible. Don’t screw it up, Harry.”
Nikki walked into her law offices on G Street. She’d worked hard to build her firm and she was proud of it. She liked the idea of an all-woman law firm and she’d recruited the best of the best. They were winding down now for the day. Time to go home to their families, who would welcome them with open arms. All of them, she knew, would be taking home work.
The office manager paused and said, “Tough break, Nik. You couldn’t have known, so don’t go blaming yourself. If you need any of us, just call. By the way, the university called. I left the message and a bunch of others on your desk. The mail’s there, too, along with a letter that came earlier by special messenger.”