Page 41 of Built of Illusions

Nico’s chuckle was bleak. “I think they’re as close as anyone can get without having been there. You’re a much better profiler than anyone I’ve ever met.”

A shaky laugh burst from her. “That high school diploma serves me well.”

Nico squeezed her. “It’s not about education, although that’s never a waste. It’s about seeing people for who they are. What motivates them, what makes them selfish and angry enough to hurt someone else.”

“He’s broken.”

Nico nodded. “He is. Probably irreparably, but we’ll offer him services once he’s in a cell to see if we can help him.”

“But he’ll never be free.”

“Not once we have him.”

Josie nodded then drew in a deep breath and sat back. Nico let her go but kept his hands on hers. “How are you?”

“Shaky as hell.”

His smile was soft. “No kidding. I’m shaky from watching you. You ready to get away from here, away from all of this for a while?”

More than anything. “I’ll call a ride share.”

His eyebrow shot up. “Not a chance in hell. You’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”

She found her first real smile. “Works for me.”

He brought her hand up to kiss. “You’ve been drawing for hours. Your hands must be sore and you must be starving.”

As soon as he said it, her stomach grumbled, making her smile. “Apparently.”

“Give me a second to pack up and we’ll head out. I’ll do some more digging once we’re home.”

Home.

Home with Nico. She liked the sound of that. Not his place in particular, but him. She was falling fast for this steady, protective man. Spiffy suits and all.

Roman flipped the sketchpad closed and stood. “After drawing that asshole, I think you need some happy to fill your well. Make sure he feeds you and shows you a good time.”

They laughed and Roman squeezed her into a hug. “Thanks for helping.”

Nico tucked her under his arm as he led them into the hallways and to the elevator. He waved and chatted with various colleagues and his body language never shifted from confidence and ease.

He wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with her. He wasn’t ashamed of her, even though his current spiffy suit probably cost as much as her monthly mortgage plus the entire contents of her closet. Maybe her entire home.

Even though their relationship was new—very new—he wasn’t hiding it, not from his colleagues and not even from himself.

Josie hadn’t been in any serious relationship that compared to this. Which made her smile. They’d spent exactly one night together and she was calling it a serious relationship. It would probably be wise to keep that to herself for a bit.

When they reached the parking garage, he took his arm off his shoulders and stepped in front of her, pausing to take in their surroundings.

It wasn’t far from the elevator to Nico’s parking spot, but Josie felt like eyes were watching them from everywhere. She needed to put the fear away and focus on helping herself and the other women.

Nico walked close to her, trying to shield her with his body. She didn’t want him to get hurt because of her, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it.

Nico had backed into his slot. She wondered if it was habit or precaution. Probably both. FBI agents probably thought about escape patterns all the time. Every single car on this level was backed in.

She moved toward the passenger side with Nico covering her back. A glimpse of something sitting on the windshield wiper had her stopping in shock even as Nico pulled her to squat between his car and the next. He dropped his laptop bag and pulled out both his gun and his phone.

He handed her the latter. “Call Roman. Put it on speaker.”

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