Protective Custody

Emotions twisting inside her like a balloon in a windstorm, she bit her lip. She sighed. “Fine. Then I’ll be driving.”

He gave her a gentle smile. “I figured.”

Her heart stuttered in response, and she cleared her throat and debated whether or not to say what she was thinking.

His eyes narrowed. “What?”

A flush started at the base of her neck. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks then decided to be honest. “I’m…torn. On the one hand, it’s good to see you again, Nick. Then again, it’s not. Two years ago, I thought I’d made a friend in you. I respected you. Then when you let Hank’s killer off on a technicality… I have to admit, I’m struggling with that one.”

Nicholas sat back, stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles. He looked down at the table then back up to meet her eyes. “I wondered when you’d feel like talking about it.”

“I don’t really feel like it, but maybe we should.”

He reached over and grasped her hand in his. Almost absently, he twined his fingers through hers. Bolts of awareness shot through her, and she swallowed hard. Why was she so attracted to this man? She didn’t remember this feeling from two years ago. Of course, he had been married then… She would never let herself have any feelings toward a married man. Now, however, it seemed there was some kind of pull between them.

He was saying, “It wasn’t something I wanted to do, Carly. You have to know that. When Ritchie Hardin appeared in my court that first time for armed robbery, I was ready to put him away for a long time. But his lawyer had irrefutable evidence that the police had messed up the case. I didn’t want to let Hardin go, but my hands were tied.”

With a finger on her free hand, she tapped her forehead. “I think I know that here.” She moved her finger to touch the area above her heart. “It’s here that’s having the trouble. Hank taught me so much about being a good marshal, it just tears me up inside that he died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She shook her head. “If he just hadn’t walked into that store the day you released Hardin, Hardin wouldn’t have been able to follow him to his granddaughter’s ballet recital…” She blew out a breath. “It’s just wrong.” She palmed a tear, then looked away to compose herself.

He nodded then offered a small sad smile. “I know. I agree with you.” A moment of silence, then, “For the record, it’s good to see you again, too. I’ve often thought of our late-night chats from two years ago.”

“Really?” That surprised her. She would have thought he’d have been relieved to be rid of her. He hadn’t been keen on the idea of protection in the first place. His wife had practically disappeared into the bedroom while she and Mason had been in their house.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I’m sure you could tell my marriage wasn’t exactly…um…perfect.”

Uncomfortable, wondering where he was going with this line of conversation, Carly shifted. But didn’t pull her hand from his. And he didn’t let it go. “Yeah, I kind of got that feeling.”

“We’d been fighting for days. You see, Miriam desperately wanted a child. And we just couldn’t get pregnant in spite of doing everything medically possible. I told her I was done with doctors and treatments and wanted to talk about adoption. She was furious, wouldn’t listen to a word I had to say. She finally decided on the silent treatment a couple of hours before your arrival.”

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