Page 5 of Nothing Watching

“Did you sort things out last night?” she asked him, hoping that his hard work had brought a good conclusion.

Lucien sighed, his expression momentarily troubled. “Not exactly. It’s an ongoing investigation into a new drugs gang, and there are a lot of loose ends. But we’re making progress.”

Juliette nodded, understanding the ups and downs of police work all too well.

They walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, and as Juliette squeezed Lucien’s hand, she felt surprised all over again that a relationship that had started off so stormy had ended up in mutual attraction. Lucien had been angry at what he perceived to be unfair interference in the murder case that Juliette and the two other US task force members had been called in to help with.

That was behind them now, but as Lucien spoke again, she realized there were troubles ahead. The tone of his voice told her even before she took in his words.

“I got an offer yesterday and don’t know what to do about it,” he said.

“An offer?” Feeling worried, she turned to look at him.

“It’s to head up the investigation department in Marseilles, in the south of the country,” he said. “It was tabled a year or so ago, and I heard rumors that it’s going to be back on the table and they’re going to approach me directly. I don’t know if I’m ready to take it.”

Juliette’s heart sank. She had grown to love what she had here. She didn’t want Lucien to move to the south of France, but at the same time, she understood that there were often factors beyond a person’s control influencing these decisions. To refuse could be politically disastrous.

“That is a worry. What would happen with your mother?” His recently bereaved mother, who’d then had a bad fall and been injured, had been the reason Lucien had turned down an earlier opportunity for career advancement in Paris. But he couldn’t keep turning offers down, that she understood, or his career would stall.

“If I were to take the job, she would move, too. She has friends down there. She is quite keen to make the move. My cat would come with me, of course, and I am sure Mona Lisa would enjoy the warmer weather.” His face softened. “It is a challenging role, very different from what we have here in Paris. But it is you, Juliette. I don’t want to move, having just met you.”

“I know. Me either. But I guess we need to wait and see what happens. Let’s not worry before the time,” she said.

But already, even though she was trying to sound strong and unconcerned, she was worrying, and she saw he was, too. Why did life have to be so damned complicated?

They reached the Metro station and she kissed him goodbye before turning to the trains.

But, as she headed to the platform, her phone rang.

It was Ebury, her boss at the FBI office in Manhattan, who was coordinating the activities of their unit.

“Good morning, Juliette. We’ve just had a case called in. Suspected serial, involving US citizens, in Berlin, Germany. They want the team there now. How soon can you get to the airport?”

CHAPTER THREE

“How far away are you?” Juliette asked, her blood pressure spiking as she hustled through Charles de Gaulle Airport, while on the phone to her team member Sierra Lowry.

As Juliette rushed to the boarding gate of the flight to Berlin, which had been held for ten minutes to allow the task force team to board, Sierra had called to say her taxicab was caught in traffic.

“I hope I’ll get there soon. This traffic’s really bad. I might save time if I got out and ran!” Sierra complained.

“Let me know if you’ll be longer than ten minutes, so I can tell the flight crew,” Juliette said, running up the airplane’s back stairs to the row of seats at the rear of the aircraft that had been assigned to them at the last minute.

Used to traveling light, Juliette had a change of clothes and a few basic toiletries permanently packed in her laptop bag. Now, arriving first in the row of seats, she stowed her bag in the hold and then scooted into the window seat. Not a minute later, she was joined by the tall, rangy Wyatt Thompson.

All-American, with military and FBI experience, the muscular, strong-jawed, clean-cut Wyatt had struggled to adapt to European life and culture, but Juliette was deeply impressed by the efforts he’d been making.

Her phone beeped again as Wyatt stowed his bag. It was Sierra.

“In the airport,”she’d messaged, and Juliette let out a relieved breath before turning to Wyatt.

“Bonjour, ca va? Comment allez vous?” he greeted her with a grin, his pronunciation of the French for “how are you” spot on.

“Ca va bien, merci,” she replied. “I am fine, and well done. Your accent is perfect.”

“I’m working on the vocab, too, but it’s hard. Suzy’s doing better than I am, but I think that’s also because she’s gotten that assistant instructor’s job at the Pilates studio and has picked up a lot that way.” His voice softened as he spoke about his wife.

“And the food?” Juliette asked. She knew Wyatt had struggled badly to come to grips with foreign cuisine.

---