Chapter 35

chapter

thirty-five

Gage didn’t ask Nia anything about Mario. Not yet.

Instead, he scanned the inside of Avenue 12 one more time. He didn’t see anything of note. With his hand still on Nia’s elbow, he directed her outside.

It was dark . . . well past midnight. People lingered on the sidewalk. Cried. Comforted each other.

That wasn’t to mention the numerous police cars and ambulances parked all along the street.

A couple of news vans had even shown up.

Gage quickly turned away so his and Nia’s images wouldn’t be caught on camera. As part of his job, he avoided having his image on TV or in the newspaper even. It was too risky.

Right now, it could be risky for Nia also.

He scanned everything around him, needing to make sure they were safe as they walked.

He hadn’t seen anyone following them from the hotel to the club. No one should know they were staying at the Royal Oasis. He’d covered all his bases going to and from the place.

But he still needed to operate on the side of caution.

Once they moved away from the crowds and toward Austin’s car, Gage turned to Nia. “You want to talk?”

“Not here.”

He couldn’t blame her. He’d much rather talk somewhere more private where he could give his full attention to the conversation.

They climbed into Austin’s rental car and headed back to the hotel, which wasn’t far away.

When they walked into the hotel room, he spotted Austin sitting on the couch. His colleague closed his computer and turned to them.

“I heard what happened at the club,” he murmured. “It’s on the news. You two okay?”

Gage nodded, instinctively reaching for Nia’s back as if to steady her. But maybe the truth was that he found comfort in that touch as well.

“We’re fine,” Gage told him. “Just shaken up.”

“I can imagine.” Austin rose. “I won’t keep you up too late. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Did you find out anything?” Gage stepped closer.

“I’m still looking, and it’s going to take a while. I spent a lot of my time just tracking down information on where the various cameras were located. Then I needed to figure out server information and . . . you know the rest of the drill. Anyway, I’m still working on things, but I was able to obtain one video feed. ”

“Which one?” Nia stepped closer, joining him on the edge of the living area.

The muscles on Austin’s face pulled tighter, almost as if he had bad news. “I was able to get one of you and Rob leaving the restaurant that night.”

She sucked in a breath. “And?”

He shook his head, a frown tugging at his lips. “The two of you were alone. And you looked happy and normal as you stepped outside.”

“What?” Nia’s words sounded breathless.

Austin frowned apologetically again. “I’m sorry. But no one else was with you two, Nia. It was just you and Rob.”

Nia felt her head spinning and dropped onto the couch. “How is that even possible?”

Gage slowly lowered himself onto the cushion beside her. “I don’t know.”

She squeezed the skin between her eyes, beginning to feel a headache pulse there. “So Rob and I left the restaurant alone and happy. Then you saw us walking into Rob’s apartment building, and we still looked happy. And we were alone—not under duress. No one else calling the shots.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t make any sense. No matter which angle I look at it from, I can’t make sense of it.”

“The situation is confusing.”

She glanced behind her and saw Austin disappearing into one of the bedrooms. He must have sensed she needed some privacy to talk to Gage.

“I’m sorry, Nia,” Gage murmured. “But we’ll keep trying to find answers. I promise you that.”

She glanced up, hoping to convey her gratitude in her gaze. “Thank you. I appreciate that. But part of me is afraid of what I might find out.”

“What do you mean?” Gage’s eyes narrowed as he studied her face.

“I mean, what if I had some type of mental break? What if I did hurt Rob? And what if I can’t remember any of that?”

“If that’s true then who’s sending you the threats? Who’s shooting at you?”

“Someone who needs something from me.” She glanced up at him, needing to reach him. “If you notice, these guys have never actually tried to kill me. They’ve followed me. Fired bullets that missed—maybe on purpose. But they’ve never tried to kill me. They had more than one chance, including when I was inside Rob’s apartment.” She shook her head. “Maybe that doesn’t make any sense.”

Gage squeezed her arm. “No, I know what you’re saying.”

He could see her dilemma, couldn’t he?

He could see where she might be guilty.

She and Gage had just started to bond. Would this change things?