Maybe the dark was an empty, meaningless existence, but it was the light that could burn you. I needed something from Lina that she didn’t seem willing to give. Something that was as essential to me as oxygen. Honesty.
Sure, she’d shared bits and pieces. But what she did share was shaded and spun to tell the kind of story she wanted. She’d made it seem like she’d run into Lucian and had a benign conversation with him. She hadn’t told me that my oldest friend had hunted her down and threatened her over the time she’d been spending with me.
I was almost as pissed off about the fact that she’d decided to handle it on her own as I was over Lucian’s overprotective, asinine actions.
But despite the fact that I knew for sure that Lina wasn’t telling me the whole truth, I felt something I couldn’t identify, something a hell of a lot like need. And the scales wouldn’t be balanced unless she needed me back.
Something Lina Solavita wasn’t programmed to do.
Something I wasn’t prepared to deliver on. Who would need me in this state? I was a fucking mess.
Hell, I’d just spelled my name wrong signing a PTO request.
“Fuck,” I muttered and shoved away from my desk.
I was too restless to hide from the world. I needed to do something that felt productive.
I grabbed my jacket and belt off the hook and headed out into the bullpen.
“Headed out,” I said to the room in general. “I’ll bring back lunch from Dino’s if y’all text me your orders. My treat.”
There was a flutter of excitement that all cops got at the thought of free food.
I paused at Nolan’s desk. “Feel like takin’ a ride?”
“Depends. You gonna take me out to the woods and leave me for the banjos?”
“Probably not today. Thinkin’ about paying an inmate a visit.”
“I’ll get my coat.”
“What’s with the change of heart?” Nolan asked as I hit the highway.
“Maybe I just want to save the environment by carpooling.”
“Or maybe you’re in the mood to have a chat with Tina Witt and you don’t want to get any of your officers in trouble with the feds.”
“You’re not as dumb as that mustache makes you look,” I said.
“My wife—ex-wife—was really into Top Gun,” he said, running his finger and thumb over the ’stache.
“The things we do for women.”
“Speaking of—”
“You mention Lina’s name and I will leave you for the banjos,” I warned.
“Noted. What about her friend? The blond librarian?”
“Sloane?” I asked.
“She single?”
I thought about Lucian this morning at breakfast. A slow, vengeful smile spread over my face. “You should ask her out.”
We rode in silence until I took the exit for the prison.
“Those kids yesterday,” Nolan said. “You talked the manager out of pressing charges.”
“I did.”
“Then you kicked the ass of Officer Fuckhead.”
“You got a point rattlin’ around in there somewhere, Graham?”
He shrugged. “Just saying you don’t suck at your job. Some local lawmen would have thrown the book at the kids and let that officer slide.”
“My town saw enough of the good ol’ boy style of leadership. They deserve better.”
“Guess you’re smarter than those bullet holes make you look.”
The Bannion Women’s Correctional Facility was typical for a medium-security prison. Out in the middle of nowhere, the perimeter was protected by tall fences, miles of barbed wire, and guard towers.
“You gonna run and tattle to the feds about this?” I asked, swinging into a parking space near the entrance.
“Guess that depends on how it goes down.” Nolan released his seat belt. “I’m comin’ in.”
“Less problematic for you if you don’t know what I’m doin’ in there.”
“I got nothing to do but wonder how many assholes are lined up to make a move on my ex since she moved to DC and wait for some low-level criminal to ask you to dance again. I’m comin’ in.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Get anything useful out of her yet?” he asked.
“Dunno. This is my first visit.”
He shot me a look. “Guess Studly Do-Right takes orders seriously.”
“Was really hopin’ that nickname would die.”
“Not likely. But seriously, Idler tells you let the big girls and boys handle it and you just sit on your hands? If I were in your shoes, I’d sure as hell be running my own investigation. Hell, these are local players. They’d be more likely to talk to you than to a bunch of feds.”
“Speaking of,” I said, looking pointedly at his department-issue suit. “Lose the jacket and tie.”
Nolan had just thrown his jacket between the seats and was rolling up his sleeves when a leggy brunette strolled out of the prison and into the parking lot.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“Well, well, well. Looks like Investigator Solavita is up to something after all,” my passenger mused. “What are the odds—”
“Zero in a million,” I said as I glared at her reflection in my rearview mirror. I watched her hang up her phone and get into her car.
I called up Lina’s last text on my phone.
“Aren’t you gonna bust her?” Nolan asked.
“Nope,” I said as my thumbs moved across the screen.
Me: Lunch sounds good. Meet at Dino’s in ten?
My phone rang a few seconds later. Lina.
“Hey,” I said, fighting to keep my tone neutral.
“Hi,” Lina said.
“Is Dino’s in ten good?” I asked, knowing full well it wasn’t. Nolan snickered from the passenger seat.
“Actually, I’m out running errands. Can I meet you in an hour?”
She was lying to my face…well, my ear. My blood pressure spiked. “I don’t think I’m gonna be free then,” I lied. “What kind of errands are you running?”
“Oh, you know, just typical errand stuff. Groceries. Pharmacy.”
A visit to a women’s correctional facility.
“How did breakfast go this morning?” she asked, changing the subject.
“Breakfast was fine,” I lied. “Piper with Mrs. Tweedy?”
“Yeah. She’s sleeping off her puppyccino on Mrs. Tweedy’s couch.”
The woman had taken my dog for a treat and now she was lying to me. Lina Solavita was maddening.
“Hey, listen. If you haven’t hit the pharmacy yet, mind grabbing me a bottle of ibuprofen?” I asked.
We were both going to need it later.
“Sure! I can do that. No problem. Is everything okay?” She sounded nervous. Good.
“Yep. Fine. Gotta go do cop stuff. See you later.” I hung up.
Thirty seconds later, the cherry-red Charger zipped past us before flying out of the parking lot with a chirp of tires.
I got out and slammed my door harder than necessary.
Nolan got out and jogged to keep up.
“That was cold, my friend,” he said with just a hint of glee.
I grunted and stabbed the intercom button outside the main entrance.