Page 32 of Fire Peak

“That’s a lot of trouble to go to for a conversation.”

“You’re telling me.” He glanced at the phone that peeked from his pocket. “I need to get back to Hailey. You’re welcome to join us later, or whenever you can. I promise I mean you no harm.”

She nodded numbly as he slipped out of the door and strode across the grassy expanse toward the lodge.

To trust Nick or not to trust him? No, that wasn’t the question. The question was, what was there to gain by spending time with him?

She could think of a few things—not including the obvious benefit that she liked spending time with him. Meeting his daughter might tell her more about him. Maybe he knew more than he was saying.

Or maybe this was all part of an elaborate plot to gain her trust and lure her in before he sprung a trap.

If Nick was really playing a long game here, then spending time with him would be playing with fire.

Just her speed.

15

Nick was convinced that Charlie was going to ignore his invitation. He wasn’t even sure why he’d offered it. He didn’t generally socialize with his former targets. But there was just something about Charlie. Beyond that, there was something fishy about the job.

Why had they refused to tell him anything about why they wanted Charlie in the first place? Why hadn’t they mentioned that her father had worked for a subsidiary of Hobbs? And that the man who had testified in his embezzlement trial was now the CEO of Hobbs Financial, a much larger subsidiary?

He’d found much more information once he started delving, but he was keeping it to himself for now.

As Charlie had pointed out, they still didn’t trust each other.

Nick watched from the corner of his eye as Charlie sailed back into the restaurant as if she hadn’t previously crawled out of it on her hands and knees. Her hair was back in its lovely knot, the olive gunk cleaned from her face, her dress clinging to her body in an unfairly sexy way. She spoke a few words to the bartender, who nodded and looked over at their table.

“Why are you being so weird?” Hailey asked. “Is your stomach still hurting?”

He’d blamed his sudden disappearance on an urgent need to visit the bathroom.

“I’m just distracted. I saw someone I know.”

“Someone cool?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty cool.” No lie there. He’d thought so from the start. “She’s the one who helped me rescue Hector.”

“And now she’s here? That’s really weird. Oh.” Her eyes widened as she put two and two together. “You know her from a case. You were following her.”

“You know I can’t talk about that kind of thing. I offer my clients complete confidentiality.”

She pretended to turn a key in front of her mouth. “I won’t say a thing. I can’t tell anyone anyway because I’m on a social media fast.”

He probably shouldn’t tell her that Fire Peak Lodge had Wi-Fi and that a number of texts had popped into his phone as soon as they’d stepped onto the property.

“I’m really proud of you for sticking to it,” he told her.

“I can already feel my self-esteem recovering.” Her dry tone made him laugh.

Hailey was so smart, so sarcastic, so fierce, and yet also so vulnerable. Before she’d come into his life, he hadn’t thought much about changing the world for the better. Now it was something at the forefront of his mind. He’d meant what he said to Charlie about changing his focus. There had to be a way to use his skills to make a better future for Hailey and the next generations.

“Is that her?” Hailey whispered as Charlie swung around the hostess stand and headed their way. Nick appreciated the way Charlie moved, as if the world was hers for the claiming. Maybe some people would find her cocky, but he didn’t. He liked her bravado. “She’s really pretty.”

Was pretty the right word? He wouldn’t have chosen it. Maybe “breathtaking” or “riveting” would fit better. Charlie had style and flair, the kind of charisma that made it hard to look away. For him, anyway. And apparently for Hailey too. She watched, fascinated, as Charlie approached them.

“Hello,” Charlie said in her jaunty way. “I’m Charlie. I was supposed to be your hostess, but that ship has sailed.”

“This is Hailey,” Nick told her. “I was just telling her that you helped me rescue Hector. Will you join us?”

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