Page 49 of Built of Illusions

Her smile was soft. “I can’t lose you either, Nico. Not when we’re just starting.”

He liked the sound of that. Maybe it was time to tell her how he felt.

Graham came out again, ruining the moment. He held out the keys. “Put it in long-term and use it when you come back. Sam’s heading here to pick us up.”

Nico took the keys gratefully. It was only twenty minutes to Midnight Lake, but it was twenty minutes in the wrong direction.

His phone buzzed with flight information from Roman. He had to leave. “Gotta go.”

He kissed Josie again and whispered. “Be safe. I’ll text you when I can.”

She nodded and stepped back. “You be safe too.”

His heart felt like it was ripping in half, but the best way to keep her safe was to catch this asshole before the next three weeks were up.

Josie had been on edge for days and this morning was no different. All logic told her she was safe. There had always been a three-week window between kills. She was surrounded by the best of security and people.

But Nico wasn’t near her. Which was ridiculous. She’d gone thirty years without anyone in her bubble. She didn’t need anyone. But she wanted Nico in her bubble with her. She wanted him safe.

The best way to ensure they had a future together was to let Nico do his job. Then they could figure out if what they had was real.

That made her smile. It was definitely real on her end. Her feelings weren’t a result of the fear and adrenaline. She was in love with Spiffy Suit Guy.

And she wanted him back.

The teams had found another woman who fit the profile in November in Albuquerque. The Navajo bracelet Josie had found in N20 matched the one on this woman’s wrist. Doncia Chen, a jewelry maker who specialized in working with ethically sourced local gems.

The fact that her name started with D proved their theory. She hoped they could find the killer before they had to find out Zenaida’s last name.

Did it start with J?

Jurado. Jacobo. Jones. Juarez. Jiminez. Johnson. And so many more. While the women all shared Latina heritage, the surnames had varied so far.

Zenaida’s middle name might be Mari, not Maria or Marie, but Josie doubted it. Her gut was screaming that the last name started with J and that Josie was the target. In less than six weeks.

Another shudder ran through her at the thought. She wanted to help. Do something other than sketch the women and the man who’d killed them.

She’d spent the nights in the room that Nico had chosen when he’d first arrived at Midnight Lake, long before he and Josie were a couple.

The nights had been long and lonely. When she did manage to drift away, she woke sporadically with nightmares.

Josie decided it was early enough that she could get up without disturbing people. The crew at Midnight Lake were eclectic. Tansy often worked through the night and slept when her projects weren’t consuming her. The rest were mostly early risers.

As Josie reached the ground floor, she smelled bread, lemon, and ginger. While she’d always been a coffee drinker, Tansy’s tea flavors were delicious. There was a coffee machine over at the Midnight Security cabin, but in the lodge, everyone had switched to tea.

Following her nose to the kitchen, Josie found Flynn taking loaves out of the oven while one of Tansy’s CleanySaur robots—Pennyworth—worked at the sink. “Good morning.”

The man wore cowboy boots and his cowboy hat rested on the counter, showing his Texas roots. He was another former FBI agent turned Midnight Security expert.

He glanced at her with a smile. “Morning. Still not sleeping much?”

How bad did she look? Instead of answering, she shrugged and inhaled. “That smells amazing.”

“Blueberry lemon. Figured everyone’s been working their butts off and needed something different.”

Working so hard on her case. “I’m sorry.”

Flynn’s eyebrows shot up. “Don’t piss me off.”

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