Chapter 58

chapter

fifty-eight

Gage woke up the next morning with a surprising spring in his step.

He hadn’t been able to get that kiss out of his mind.

He knew it was foolish, yet he couldn’t stop himself from dwelling on it.

With that one act, he was suddenly starting to imagine himself with a real life. One that didn’t revolve around work and covert assignments. Instead, he pictured one where he actually felt happy.

No, not just happy. But full of joy and peace.

In every scenario that ran through his head, Nia was a part of it. Could the two of them possibly have a future together?

Maybe that was something they could figure out before he left this area.

And he wasn’t leaving here until he had answers about Rob .

This morning, Gage hoped to review some of the items they’d taken from Rob’s apartment last night.

Maybe the answers were there.

They had to figure out exactly what to do about Sophia before eleven.

He’d had Austin check, and the woman truly was missing. These guys must have grabbed Sophia. Thankfully, it appeared they were keeping her alive.

But he and Nia would need to plan their next steps carefully.

Gage showered and wandered back into the kitchen, searching for something to eat.

At seven, Nia emerged from her room, already dressed and appearing as if she’d been awake for a while. If Gage had to guess, she hadn’t been able to sleep.

Gage’s smile faltered as soon as he saw her tense expression.

Something had changed. But what?

Nia glanced at him before averting her gaze. Then she paused beside the breakfast bar. “Hey.”

Gage moved, shifting to stand in front of her. More than anything, he wanted to take her into his arms again.

But he knew better.

Instead, he waited for her to say more, to explain her distant attitude.

After a moment, she looked up and drew in a deep breath before asking, “Anything new?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “No. I’m hoping we can work on some things this morning. ”

“We don’t have much time.” Her voice sounded strained.

“I know. If you bring me the information we took from Rob’s, we can study it together. Two heads are better than one, right?”

Nia nodded, that far-off look still in her eyes. “That sounds like a plan.”

She started to step away, to go to her room to retrieve it when he touched her arm.

She stiffened, and Gage dropped his hand, shoving it back into his pocket.

Something was definitely going on—though he had no idea what.

He studied her pinched expression before asking, “Is this about your sister? I know this has to be unnerving.”

Nia’s gaze wavered a moment before she nodded. “I’m worried about her.”

But Gage knew Nia wasn’t telling the whole truth. There was more to her frosty reception.

He wanted to ask questions. He wanted answers.

But she was right. They didn’t have much time.

If they wanted to rescue Sophia, then they needed to spend the next several hours just focusing on that.

Gage shoved aside his emotions, just as he’d been trained to do.

But if he were honest, he would admit that the tension pulling across his chest wasn’t just because of this case and Rob’s death.

It was also because of Nia’s sudden change of heart.

Nia hated to act so distant toward Gage.

But she couldn’t get that photo out of her mind. She knew she should just ask him about it.

But memories of Mario and everything she’d been through with him filled her mind.

Mario hadn’t been the person she’d thought he was. In the end, the man had broken her heart, and he’d nearly ruined her reputation. She didn’t want to go through that again.

No, she’d be better off focusing on her investigation into Rob’s death and finding her sister. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to Sophia, especially if she could have prevented it if not distracted with her own emotions.

Yet every time she looked at Gage, her throat tightened, and she had to remind herself of everything at hand.

She sat on the couch, papers in front of her, and studied the design for the app.

While she did that, Gage talked on the phone to his boss, and Austin continued trying to find the security footage he needed. It was a bigger task than Nia had realized to track down all the cameras and hack into the servers. But if he was able to do that, they might have more answers.

Answers were exactly what they needed.

As she sat there, a memory of last night hit her. A memory of Brittany talking to them in the booth one moment and slouched over dead the next.

Nia’s lungs tightened at the recollection.

Poor Brittany . . . and right as she’d been about to tell them something about who might be behind this.

Her mind continued to race. She had no doubt the authorities would track her and Gage down. Most likely, there were images of them at the diner with Brittany. As soon as Mario saw them, he’d recognize her.

The last thing Nia wanted was to have to explain herself to him.

Then there were her own memories that had surfaced last night. Memories about what had happened after she left that restaurant with Rob.

Her jaw tightened at the thought.

If she could just remember a little bit more . . .

But the only suspect who made sense to her right now, the only person she could see being guilty, was . . . Sigmund O’Neill, another tech broker who wanted the deal.

He had the most reason to want those plans from Rob.

But Nia hadn’t seen the man recently. Had Sigmund simply hired people to do his dirty work while he himself sat in his office and watched?

Or was she totally off-base? Maybe Sigmund wasn’t guilty.

What about Jeff? He had been poking around Melissa’s desk.

The questions made her head pound.

Austin suddenly sat up straighter in the chair across from her. “I think I found something.”

Gage and Nia crowded closer. He showed them on his computer some video footage of Rob’s apartment building. The time stamp showed it was just after midnight.

Nia gasped in a breath.

Someone familiar strode inside the building.

Someone she’d just been considering.

Sigmund O’Neill.

Nia’s heart beat harder. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

Was Sigmund behind this?

It was looking more and more as if that was the case.