Page 15 of Looking Grimm

Longing. That was the emotion I couldn’t suss out before. It went deep into his eyes, a hole I would fall into ifI wasn’t careful.

“You know the thing I said about me not being your problem?” I asked.

He nodded.

“You were right. I didn’t mean it like that.” Pushing onto tiptoes, I placed a kiss on his cheek. It came as a relief to see him smile in response.

“Now, I’m going out for lunch,” I said. “I’ll be back in two hours, give or take. Good enough?” I arched a brow meant to imply it better be.

Nash’s hand slid down to catch mine, and he gave it a squeeze. “Thank you.”

Holland’s acceptance of my invitation convinced me she might have been as much of a masochist as I was. She was there when I arrived at the French patisserie we’d visited after my trial, even occupying the same windowside table. I’d told her once that I took good notes. Maybe she did, too.

She stood as I approached, first offering her hand, then seeming to think better of it and pocketing it instead.

“You look nice.” I nodded to her outfit, gray tweed slacks and a starched white button down. With her platinum hair pulled back and her sunglasses firmly in place, she was in full business mode today. I’d forfeited the right to casual chats.

She raised a thin brow. “Wish I could say the same about you.”

Frowning, I glanced down at my new clothes, but I hada feeling she meant my shaggy blond hair and the gaunt features I’d seen in my car’s rearview before I came inside.

I gestured to the open chairs. “Can we sit?”

Holland’s expression was impossible to read as she lowered herself into the bentwood chair. I followed suit, dropping heavily enough to drive out a sigh.

She’d already ordered a drink, not her usual judging by the foam top decorated with a latte leaf. She dragged a stir stick through the design, watching it swirl and marble as she spoke.

“By rights, I should be arresting you.”

“I don’t see any handcuffs,” I replied.

She shook her head. “No.”

I wondered if the news had broken yet about last night’s revenge killing. Signing off on my work was a new idea, but not my best one. Wanting Grimm to know who to blame opened the door for everyone else to know it, too. Like I told Ripley, I had one of those names you couldn’t shout out in a hotel lobby and probably shouldn’t write on a dead man’s face.

Holland kept staring into her coffee, talking more to herself than me. “Putting you in jail would be a waste. Executing you even more so.”

At another time, the vague threats would have slid under my skin and stuck there like barbs. Now, I found myself unfazed.

“Any other options?” I folded my arms across my chest.

She tipped her head toward her shoulder in a half-shrug. “Live and let live. And hope you don’t give me cause to regret it.”

Neither of us spoke for a long moment. When Hollandlooked up, her reflective shades showed a haggard visage I was reluctant to believe was my own.

“Briggs told me what you’re planning,” she said.

Of course, he did.

I suppressed a scowl long enough to ask, “What am I planning?”

“Going after the Hex. Alone. It’s not a good idea.”

I snorted. “Well, it’s the only one I’ve got.”

“We were supposed to work together on that,” she said, as if everything hadn’t changed.

My jaw clenched, but a shake of my head cleared the tension. “What’s your angle, Investigator?” I snapped. “Do you want the credit? You can have it. The last thing I need is more tally marks on my kill count. You can add them to yours.”

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