stilled. “I know him. He believes me.”
“But what about his father? He seems to be the really dangerous one.”
“Bert will fix it with Cesar.”
Was he lying to make her feel safe again? She twisted so she could look into his face, and he smiled down at her. The warmth shining in his brown eyes made her feel more secure than any assurances about the Espositos backing off.
She wanted more, so much more from him—but not enough to ignore this moment, safe and in his arms after the fear of the morning, when she’d thought they might both be killed. These seconds wrapped in his arms felt like a gift.
At the station, Bobby and Ted guided Ames and Nick into separate interrogation rooms. Actually, one was the interrogation room; the other was a break room for the staff. Ames watched the coffeemaker dripping in the corner, and answered Ted’s questions to the best of her ability. She’d never meant to expose Elliot, but here she was anyway, and all she could do was tell the truth about her brother.
“So, all you know is what this guy Nick told you? This story about Elliot stealing money and records? How do you know Nick isn’t part of it?”
Ames shook her head. “I just do, but, uh, I don’t think I should really be talking to you without a lawyer.”
Ted snorted. “Come on, Ames. This is me here. Just tell me the truth, and everything will be fine.”
“Nevertheless.” Ames folded her arms and sat back in the metal chair. Time to clam up. She hoped Nick was doing the same. She’d watched enough TV shows to know that even if a person didn’t have anything to hide, whatever they said during questioning could come back to bite them in the ass later in court.
“Fine. Whatever,” Ted said. “Want some coffee?”
“No, thanks. My stomach’s too jumpy.” Again, Ames felt as if she was in a dream, switching from talk of criminal activities to mundane chitchat. “Honestly, Ted, I’m exhausted and kind of overwhelmed. Can I go home now? You guys can question me later. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” Besides, I don’t even have a lawyer.
“Sure, Ames.”
“And Nick. You’ll let him go too.”
“I don’t know. Bobby might want to hang on to him awhile longer.”
She sat up straight. “What? Why?”
“Because Sam Allen or Nick Ross or whatever his name is seems to have a lot to do with why these guys were in town. We can’t just turn him loose without a lot more questioning.”
“He’s not going to skip town. Nick’s not like that.” Even as she said it, Ames could hear how naïve she sounded. She didn’t really know Nick, despite everything they’d done together and the fact that he could make her body glow. The old Ames would be appalled by her words.
She had been cautious all of her life, dreaming about her house and never taking the steps to move into it. She’d worried about Elliot but hadn’t gone east to look for him.
Trusting Nick, believing him, went against her prudent nature. What was more, the time to act on her usual, reasonable doubts had come and gone, and she’d ignored it. And she realized that once she’d informed him that she’d uncovered his real name, he’d stopped lying.
She knew his name and knew him in all the ways that counted.
“Let me talk to Bobby,” she said. “I’ll vouch for Nick—at least what he’s been doing for the last day or two.” She ignored the interested twitch of Ted’s eyebrows. Something else for the Arnesdale gossip mill—although after the moment she’d seen all those people coming down that driveway, she couldn’t despise her hometown. “If you’re not going to bring charges—and I don’t see how you can, because he hasn’t done anything—then let him go home with me.”
Ted looked at her sharply. “To your house, Ames? Jeez, he’s only been in town a few weeks.”
“So?” She felt like a petulant teen being asked to explain her behavior to her parents. She squared her shoulders and remembered her age. “It’s not really your business,” she said less belligerently.
“Just don’t want to see you get hurt. You don’t know anything about this guy, and he seems to be in bed with some really bad guys.”
“Just like my brother,” Ames responded dryly, then remembered that anything she said might be used against Elliot, and she zipped her lips again.
Ted shook his head. “All right. I’ll go talk to Bobby and see where he’s at.