“How long have they been following us?” I asked, my mouth dry, wondering what else they might have pictures of but just hadn’t shared.
Al shook his head. “No clue. And I’m not entirely sure which of you was the initial target of their surveillance. But until we sort this out and smooth things over, I need to ask you to stay away from Nicky Blue.”
My head snapped up. “Pardon me?”
“I can’t have one of my employees consorting with someone like Nicky,” he explained.
“That’s a load of horseshit,” I snapped. “Red was with Nicky on and off for years back in the day.”
“That was different.”
“Why?” I countered. “Because it was Tess?”
“I’m not playing favorites,” Al insisted, his voice getting louder. “I’ve never been able to control Red.”
“Oh, but you can control me?” I yelled, launching to my feet. “Fuck this.”
“Trish!” Al shouted, bringing me to an abrupt halt. “I am saying this for your own good. Nicky Blue is trouble. I don’t want you getting caught up in it.”
I turned back to face him, my heart aching. “Al, you have been my friend and mentor since I came over. When I was lost and afraid, you took me under your wing and showed me that I could have a purpose here, that I didn’t have to be a victim of my past and the darkness that haunted me, that I could use my experience to help others. I’ve looked up to you and loved you and have done everything I can for you. But I can’t give you this.”
Al came around his desk and took my face in his hands. “I’m not asking, Trish. I’m ordering.”
I met his gaze and held it, something I’d never done before. And, to my surprise, I saw something there I’d never seen. Had never even guessed. “Are you sure this is just about the Agency’s complaint?” I whispered. “Or is there something else behind your order?”
His thumb smoothed my cheek and his gaze dropped briefly to my mouth before he squeezed his eyes shut, forcing away the impulse that had apparently weighed heavily on his heart for a long time. “You work for me, Trish.”
I sighed as his hands fell away, hating that I had seen the secrets of his heart when he had worked so diligently to deny them, to remain professional and never hint at how he felt about me. Then I stood on my toes and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek, a parting gift before I said, “Not anymore, Al.”
His eyes snapped open. “What?”
“I quit.”
I trudged down the corridor to Mary “Contrary” Smith’s office, hoping to catch our prosecutor at her desk to plead with her to release Nicky to my custody before word spread that I’d quit. If I was lucky, Al had been too rattled to call her right away and I still had a little time before all my credentials were revoked.
I hated to have to do that to the guy, but it was clear that his lack of support for my burgeoning relationship with Nicky was partially motivated by his secret feelings for me. Granted, he was pissed about having to get into a power struggle with the Agency over what was going on with the vampires and Nicky’s vigilantism and was genuinely worried about me getting in the middle of all that, but he also was furious that I’d take up with someone the FMA had been watching very closely since the nineteen-twenties without being able to make any charges stick.
When I told him I quit, the look of pain and sorrow on his face was almost more than I could take, and I nearly retracted my resignation. But I held my ground in spite of Al’s attempts to persuade me to stay. Now I just had to get Nicky the hell out of there before he was beyond my reach.
To my relief, Mary was sitting at her desk, her manicured nails clacking away rapidly on her laptop, her lovely brow furrowed in a deep frown. “Well, you’ve certainly made a mess of things,” she snapped the moment I darkened her door.
I blinked at her, surprised she’d even noticed me. “Sorry?”
She glanced away from her screen and gave me a mildly reproachful look over the top of her naughty librarian glasses. “Al called me.”
Oh, shit.
I swallowed, trying to act nonchalant. “Oh? What did he say?”
“He said that under no circumstances was I to release Nicky Blue to you.” She pushed back from her keyboard and swiveled her chair so she could face me. “He said it was for your own protection.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, Mary—”
“I told him it was too late,” she interrupted. “I’d already released him.”
I gaped at her in dismay for a full five seconds before I was able to say, “What? When?”
“We hadn’t even processed him when I received a call from the head of the Tribunal, demanding I release Mr. Blue at once,” she explained. “He must have some friends in pretty high places to move that fast. I didn’t even file the paperwork until about an hour before Al sent the boys to pick Nicky up. Someone was already talking to the right people before we’d even brought him in.”
No wonder Nicky hadn’t been concerned.
“So . . . what did Al say to that news?” I asked.
Mary shrugged. “What could he say? We’ll still go through the motions of a hearing and all of that to appease the Agency, but it’s pretty clear how it’ll come out.”
I tried not to let my relief seep into my voice when I asked, “Where’s Nicky now?”
A rare smile tugged at the corner of Mary’s mouth. “Down in processing, I imagine.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Mary. I owe you one.”
Mary shook her head. “No, you don’t. Now, get the hell out of here before any other shit hits the proverbial fan. I’ll see what I can do where Al’s concerned.”
“Why?” I asked, not meaning it to come out so incredulously. I grimaced and quickly amended, “Sorry, no offense—but it’s just that you’re not exactly known for your altruism, Mary. Why help me—or Nicky for that matter?”
“You deserve to be happy, Trish,” she said, her words clipped. “Everyone does. Al’s been hung up on you for a hell of a long time—”
“How did you know that?”
“—and it’s time he moved on, don’t you think?”
I studied her for a moment, understanding dawning. “He’ll probably need someone to talk to, you know. Someone to assure him this is all for the best.”
She nodded. “Yes, I think you’re right.”
“Well, I hope he listens to what you have to say,” I told her, meaning it. “I do care about him, you know.”
“So do I.” She jerked her chin toward the door. “Now, get the hell out of here and go find Nicky. I have somewhere I need to be.”
I offered her a smile and hurried away from her office to the processing area, but the person at the desk told me that Nicky was already released to a tall gentleman with gray hair.
Eddie Fox.
I should’ve known that Nicky’s loyal second-in-command would’ve been the one handling things. No one knew exactly where Eddie had come from, but everyone knew him to be a friend to Nicky and a savvy businessman who had helped Nicky run his empire for decades. Even since taking up with Red’s Gran, he’d continued to be the face of Nicky’s business enterprises. And I had no doubt that if there were any strings being pulled, it was Eddie doing it.
Now I just had to figure out where the hell they’d gone. Would Nicky have headed back home or gone elsewhere? He knew I’d be following him to headquarters, so I found it hard to believe he’d leave without trying to track me down or give me a message. I grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and started to dial him but then realized I had no idea what his cell phone number was.
It was also at that point that I realized I had five missed calls—all from the same person. “Oh, shit,” I muttered, noticing the date. I quickly hit the Call Back button on the touchscreen and waited.