Page 82 of Liam
“Bigger,” Nylah finished when the other woman couldn’t.
“Yeah.” Emerson cocked her head. “How’s that?”
Nylah nodded slowly. “Yep. Those are his eyes.”
“Good.” Next, she started on the nose.
Nylah shifted forward. “A bit thinner.”
Emerson quickly thinned out the nose.
“Actually, maybe a couple more lines around the eyes, too. He didn’t look old, but not young either. Late thirties.”
Emerson’s hand shifted, adding age to the man on paper. “How’s everything going with you and Liam?” she asked as she added more shadowing to the face.
“I don’t even know how to explain what we have. It’s unlike any other relationship I’ve been in.” She pulled at a loose thread on her top. “It’s so strange that I came here wanting to live on my own, without anyone watching over me…and I found Liam.”
Emerson smiled. “The world has a funny way of giving us what we need rather than what we ask for. I came here wanting the team to find and detain my stepbrother. I wasn’t expecting love or a happy ever after. And certainly not with any of the Blue Halo guys. But once you fall, you can’t un-fall.”
“That’s so true.” Nylah’s mouth stretched into a smile. “You and Tyler seem happy together.”
“This is the happiest I’ve ever been.” Emerson smudged the outline of the man’s jaw. “How’s that?”
“I think his face was a bit thinner.” She frowned, the pressure of getting this right sitting so heavy on her chest that she could barely breathe. She needed this sketch to be perfect. It was her only contribution. The only way she could help end this.
“Hey.”
Nylah’s gaze swung back to Emerson at the sound of her voice. She hadn’t even realized the other woman had stopped drawing and was looking at her.
Emerson touched her arm. “It’s okay. Whether this sketch leads to an identification or not, the guys will find him and end this.”
“I know, I just…I really hate that this could have led to an arrest sooner.”
Again, Emerson shook her head. “Like I said before, not your fault. You were told what you were told.”
Nylah exhaled a long breath. Emerson sounded so sure, and that dulled some of the guilt niggling at her mind. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now…hair?”
Nylah studied the image, racking her brain to remember all the fine details. “It was short and dark. Not quite long enough to fall into his eyes, but a bit over his forehead. It had some grays in it, but I’m not sure if you can capture that in a sketch.”
Emerson got to work. Every so often, Nylah stopped her and asked for a change or addition, and Emerson implemented everything. When they were finally finished, Nylah nodded, feeling the first whispers of confidence. “That’s him. That’s the man who attacked me. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense that he was the leader. He told his guys to get out of there when things went to shit.”
“Good. Let’s get this asshole, then.”
Nylah grinned, tugging out her phone. “I’ll text Liam that we’re done.”
Nylah: We just finished. We’ll wait for you in the office.
Liam: Come in. We’re just wrapping up. You can show us the sketch.
“He wants us to go to the conference room.”
Emerson stood. “Great. Let’s go.”
* * *
“He wasn’thappy when he was brought in for questioning.”
