about him.”
“Don’t be. He’s a big boy, and he can look after himself. This isn’t the first night he’s spent in a jail cell, and it probably won’t be the last. But what I don’t understand is why he’s still in there? Dom said they had crystal clear footage of three assholes attacking him.”
I told her the whole sorry story about Billy, Billy’s father, and the mayor, and almost died of embarrassment. Having to admit how messed up my life was to somebody so impossibly perfect hurt.
But weirdly, Emmy didn’t get judgemental. “So Cooper wants to play the political game, huh?”
“It looks like it. I’m so sorry.”
“Well, he picked the wrong fucking person to play it with, didn’t he?”
“What do you…?” I started, but I was speaking to empty air.
Conrad had meandered in while I was speaking to Emmy, and now Dominic rose to join him.
“Was that Emmy?” Dominic asked.
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
I repeated the conversation, short though it was.
Dominic shrugged and turned to Conrad. “Fifty bucks says he’s out of there in less than an hour.”
“No way I’m taking that bet.”
What were they talking about?
Twenty-seven minutes later, I found out. The police chief looked nothing like he did on TV as he stormed past, face white and fists clenched. Mr. Cooper followed, and in contrast, he’d gone the colour of a cheap merlot.
Six minutes after that, Nick joined us at the door.
CHAPTER 38
WHEN I SAW Nick, I was so relieved I threw my arms around him before I realised what I was doing. He didn’t seem to share my sentiment as he looked down, tight-lipped.
“We’re leaving.”
He shifted me to his side, slung an arm around my waist, and half carried me outside. Missy trotted after us with Dominic and Conrad bringing up the rear.
When we reached the car, Nick stuck out his hand. “Keys.”
Where had I put them?
I fumbled through my purse until I found them lurking under a scarf and passed them over, hand shaking. Nick threw them to Conrad and told him to drive Missy home.
“You two need a ride?” Dominic asked Nick.
“To the airport.”
Oh heck, he was furious, and I had no idea what to say or do to make things better.
“I’m sor—”
“Not now, Lara, okay?”
Nick channelled Dominic as we drove to the airport, staring out the window in silence. His frown lines had turned into furrows. The plane was already on the tarmac, and Nick herded me up the steps.
“Strap yourself in.” He pointed at a seat in the middle.
“What about our things at the hotel?”
It probably seemed trivial to him, but I didn’t have many belongings, and I’d taken most of my toiletries with me.
“Someone’ll deliver it all.”
“Do we have long to wait for the pilot?”
“You’re looking at him.”
“Oh.”
The jet soon roared along the runway, and I gripped the edges of the seat, not so much from a fear of flying anymore, but because I was terrified of what would happen with Nick when we got back. The lights were dim and the sun hadn’t risen yet, but despite having been awake for almost twenty-four hours, I couldn’t sleep. Worse, I still felt quite sick. The only time I ventured from my seat was to fetch one of those paper bags from the galley, just in case.
Not only was my life a complete mess, now Nick had been dragged into it. I couldn’t blame him for acting cold towards me. In fact, if he never spoke to me again, I’d completely understand. Oh, how I longed to hurt Billy and Mr. Cooper. I spent most of the trip dreaming up awful things to do to them, from throwing Mr. Cooper’s golf clubs off a bridge to covering Billy’s beloved Dodge Charger in paint. Pink paint. Or maybe lime green.
But I knew I’d never be brave enough to actually go through with any of my plans, and I hated myself even more for that.
Once a coward, always a coward.
When we landed, a car was already waiting to pick us up. The driver opened my door while Nick climbed into the other side.
“Drop Lara at home, then take me to Emmy’s.”
Of course, he would turn to her. She’d stayed calm through the whole crisis, and if Dominic and Conrad were to be believed, she’d had a hand in getting him out of jail too. Although I couldn’t imagine how she’d done that, seeing as she wasn’t even there.
It was only natural that Nick should go back to Emmy, looking for what I couldn’t give him. He