Page 86 of Between the Lies

‘That’s why we look at Anne.’ Robert’s hands paused their exploration. ‘I have no idea where to look, though. She had friends, but I’m not sure they were that close. She had no family. And, well, her work colleagues are missing.’

Nina straightened, the loss of contact with Robert immediately making her miss him. ‘Jonas too. I mean, we were work colleagues, never spoke about our personal lives. I know nothing about him. And he knew about the lockers.’

And never once in the months they’d worked together had Jonas given her the impression he had any interest in their case.

Nina shuffled up the bed, resting her back against the headboard. ‘Why don’t we divide and conquer? I’ll look into Anne?—’

‘None of that. We do it together.’ Robert wove their hands together. ‘I’m not letting you go off alone. Please.’

That sentence should have blared her alarm; it should have sent her running to the door and as far away from Robert as possible. Nina loved her independence. She loved being by herself… And he wasn’t saying he’d stick by her after this was over.

Calm down!

But mere team members or even casual lovers didn’t usually just snuggle up in bed like this. Or have jealousies or fierce urges to protect the other.

If she were in her right mind, she’d run.

Nina tightened her grip on Robert’s hand and dropped her head to his shoulder. What the hell was this man doing to her?

She looked up at him and found his eyes on her. Then his hand cupped her face. ‘I have one more confession to make. A bad one.’

Nina kissed his shoulder, still holding on. A small part of her itched to flee still. It had been her de facto response for more than a decade. This man though… Nina sighed. ‘I can keep a secret.’

Robert’s Adam’s apple bobbed when he nodded. She saw his resolve waver, then he whispered, ‘When I met Anne, I was naive. I mean, I didn’t know much about love. And I loved her, in a way. Wanted the happy family with her. But I wasn’t prepared, not by a long shot. I never understood what people meant when they said love wasn’t enough.’

Once again, he swallowed. ‘I’m not… shit… I… What I feel for you, whatever it is, has been deep, primal, all-consuming from the first moment I met you. You make me burn. While the emotions behind those feelings have shifted over the time I’ve known you… if I lost you, like I lost Anne, I don’t think I’d survive. I mean, I don’t think I’d make it without you driving me on.’

Nina didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t said the L word; hadn’t made a grand confession, or…

Robert’s lips found hers. ‘When times were tough, finding you was what got me going. And now I want to keep you safe. Nina…’

This time, she straddled him, held him. And somewhere between their kisses and the loss of her clothing, she found the courage not to parrot the sentiment back to him but to show him how his gentleness buoyed her from the flood of loneliness she’d been drowning in.

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

Nina strapped herself into her seat. Her body ached with soreness from yesterday. Shah had got her good, but she wasn’t going to back out. And after a day spent in bed, ordering food in and watching a movie with Robert… or forgetting about said movie and making love to Robert, she felt better than she’d felt since this entire debacle had begun.

While Robert hadn’t started an argument about how she should have considered sleeping in that day, he had cast her several worried glances. ‘Are you sure we should do this?’

Nina nodded. ‘Get a move on.’

They could have walked the short distance to Buchanan Street. It wasn’t a weekend, so Glasgow’s main shopping street wasn’t yet a sea of heads. Still, Robert had insisted, and Nina didn’t mind conserving her energy.

As luck would have it, the shop didn’t have a single customer in it. Instead, it was just the two of them and more than two dozen cameras.

The shopkeeper smiled from behind one of the counters. ‘Hello. Can I help you?’

After a night to ponder their next actions, the only place Nina could think of to ask about Jonas was the camera shop he’d purchased the device from – at least according to the card they had found in the camera bag.

She reached into her backpack and retrieved Jonas’s camera. ‘I found this camera and was wondering if you had any information about its owner. So I could return it to them. I believe he might have bought it here…’

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes. He had glasses slung around his neck. The cardigan he wore alongside his beige trousers and salt-and-pepper hair gave him a professor-like appearance. He held his hands up, and Nina handed the device over, ensuring she never took her eye off the thing.

After a quick glance at it, and the model number, the man’s eyes shone. ‘Aye, we have these in stock. Mind though, we don’t sell many of these. Thanks to cameras on phones, our customer base has niched down. We get the occasional millennial looking for ring lights and such or enquiring about Polaroid cameras. But these… it’s only professionals that get ones like these.’

Robert stepped up beside Nina. He’d been frowning at a couple of cameras on the next counter. ‘If it’s a niche market, and you sell that model to professionals, would you personally know the people you’ve sold your products to?’

The shopkeeper set the camera down. ‘I’ve been in this shop for forty years. I’ve seen things change, and I’ve made it through the lows. I’m a member of many photographers groups, and I enjoy tinkering with a good camera every now and then. So aye, I know most of the people who come in here to buy something top grade, and I also know that they do their research. They often come in more than once to think over the purchase. So I know most faces.’

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