9. Tallus

It was the thirtieth before my cousin contacted me. His message said it all. Holy fucking shit, this is huge. Tell Krause I’ve got it all put together. Valor is going to have a freaking aneurysm when he gets back from his honeymoon.

We arranged a meeting at the same Starbucks, and despite it being Diem’s case, I went alone to collect what my cousin had found. Costa didn’t question it. Maybe he assumed Diem and I were together, or I was an unofficial partner with his PI business. Either way, I wanted an excuse to go by Diem’s office. Alone. I had a hunch he planned to take this information and run, never looking back. That was fine. It was expected.

I arrived at Diem’s in the late evening, figuring he’d be home. Considering I hadn’t called or texted, letting him know I had an update from Ruiz, he was surprised to see me. Or rather, he appeared about as surprised as an emotionless brick wall was able. Any vulnerability I’d witnessed the other night was gone.

“Come in,” he mumbled, stepping back and holding the door.

I entered but didn’t wander far. Diem didn’t either, so I got the sense we weren’t about to share a drink or banter our way back into bed. In fact, I got the sense he regretted doing it in the first place.

“You talk to Ruiz?” he asked.

I handed him a thumb drive. “He said he put together a file in an amateur fashion. Considering it’s meant to come from Becca, he thought it would be more believable. He said it’s thorough and will stand up to scrutiny. He figures the second the department has their hands on it, they will pass it off to him anyhow, and he’ll validate its authenticity. Those guys won’t even see the arrests coming, so Becca will be safe.”

“Did I tag everyone?”

“He said yes. Apparently, he was impressed with all you found.”

Diem grunted and turned the thumb drive around in his big fingers.

A second noise emerged from his throat, and it had a note of gratitude attached to it, but I wasn’t letting him off that easily.

“This time in English, Guns.”

“Thanks.”

“Was that so hard?”

Not once had Diem looked me in the eye.

“I gotta call Becca.”

“Sure.” I wanted to tag along when he brought her in, but I knew how that might look. My part in the whole ordeal was supposed to be nonexistent.

I got the sense Diem had no intention of using me as one of his contacts in the future. Whatever had transpired between us a few nights ago had dropped a bucket of ice water on those possibilities.

For the first time in my life, it seemed I’d found a guy with more issues than me. It was probably a good thing we went our separate ways. He needed extensive therapy for whatever he had going on, and I was in no way ready to take on someone else’s baggage. I had my own problems.

Nothing good could come from the two of us hooking up again. Besides, it wasn’t like the stars collided when we came together. If I wanted emotionless and mechanical sex, there were plenty of other men out there who would happily give it up. Diem was not special.

“I gotta run. Take care of yourself, D. You know where to find me.”

I waited a beat, but he didn’t lift his eyes from the thumb drive. Something told me a whirlwind of shit was blowing through his mind, and he wasn’t able to put it into words.

I retreated into the hallway, closed the door behind me, and didn’t look back.

***

Three days later, noise bled through the department about a missing woman who’d turned up out of the blue with damaging information on her husband and how he was involved in all sorts of criminal dealings. I listened to the rumors and smiled, knowing Diem had succeeded.

Two days after that, the hubbub died down. The men were arrested, and Becca was safe. Upon arriving home from work on a blustery winter night, I found a handwritten letter wedged inside the jam of my apartment door.

I took it inside, kicked off my loafers, and wandered into the kitchen to pour a glass of wine as I opened it. The writing was barely legible, but I made out what it said. Two words.

Thank you –D

***

Join Tallus and Diem in Shadowy Solutions Book One

Skeletons in the Closet