the respect of the people here.”
“I’m sorry,” Jared said, kissing my hair.
“Nina?” a voice called from across the room. I winced at the horrid sound, and then turned to see Sasha barreling toward me with someone in tow.
“Practice what you preach,” Jared said with a contrived smile.
Sasha's annoying smirk twisted her face in a way that made her already sharp features seem cartoon-like. She gestured to the brawny, dark-headed man behind her.
“I’d like for you to meet my date, Ryan Scott. Ryan, this is a fellow intern of mine, Nina Grey.”
I couldn’t hide the instant shock and dismay that came over me.
Ryan held out his hand. “Intern? Doesn’t she run the company?” he winked.
Sasha laughed once, caught. “Er…not yet.”
I took Ryan’s hand. “I believe we’ve met.”
“Oh?” Sasha said, genuinely intrigued.
Ryan glanced at Jared, and then back at me. “Could I…steal you for a minute?”
“No,” Jared said without pause.
I chuckled nervously, and then peered up at Jared from under my lashes. “Sweetheart, I’ll just be a minute.”
Jared frowned, but he didn’t argue.
“Well,” Sasha said to Jared in her high-pitched, irritating voice, “I guess it’s just you and me, then.”
“I’ll be
Ryan held me by the arm, quickly stopping in a quiet corner. “I thought we had a deal.”
“A deal?” I hissed. “I agreed that I owed you for helping me fool Jared. I didn’t say I would help you talk to Claire. Ambushing her is not a good idea.”
He sighed. “Well, I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. My partner was murdered, and I think it has something to do with the other police deaths over the last year. I think they’re all connected. I need to talk to her before I can get my head on straight enough to investigate this. It’s big, Nina. Really big, and I can’t focus on it if my mind is always on Claire.”
“You’re investigating the police murders?”
Ryan’s features were so stern I was suddenly nervous. “Not officially. Anderson and I were both on the case before he was killed. I wasn’t sure before that they were connected, but now that Kit’s dead…I know. Even the one’s that appeared to be accidents.”
“Listen—,” I began, but Ryan cut me off.
“No, you listen. I’m in a lot of trouble. No one else at the station knows what we were up to, and if they did, they’re not going to let a rookie take the case. They killed my partner, Nina. It’s personal. But, if I don’t figure this out soon, you can kiss my ass goodbye. This is serious, and I need to be focused, and Claire’s eyes above me in that hell hole is all I can think about.”
“Are you finished?” I said, irritated.
“No,” he said, frowning. “And, just so you know: I’m really, really sorry.”
“For what?” I said, returning his expression.
Ryan grabbed each side of my face, and kissed me. Not just any kiss; his tongue was inside my mouth, and he kissed me so passionately, it was beyond obscene in front of everyone I worked with, not to mention my fiance.
Before the embarrassment soaked in, Ryan was thrown across the room, and slid on his side along the dance floor, stopping just before he crashed into the DJ station.
The music abruptly cut off, clearing the air for the screams and audible panic.
“Jared, stop!” I shouted, watching him charge.
I ran across the wooden floor, hoping to stop any bloodshed, but before I reached Ryan, Claire appeared in front of him, in a protective stance, facing her brother.
Jared stood motionless, breathing heavily from the angry adrenaline running through his veins. “He did it…on purpose,” Jared huffed.
“And you played right into his plan,” Claire said, livid. She turned to Ryan. “Kissing my sister? That’s how you planned to get my attention?” she said, pulling him up by his tie.
Ryan choked a bit before loosening up the knot around his neck, and then smiled. “I did what I had to,” he said to Claire, and then looked to Jared, “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care what you’re reasons are, don’t ever touch Nina like that again. I can’t kill you, but I’ll make you wish you were dead.” Jared grabbed my hand, and then led me from the party, down two flights of stairs, and out to the parking lot.
When we reached the Escalade, I covered my mouth with one hand. Jared was still angry, but when he looked at me, I couldn’t help but smile.
“He so got you,” I said, trying not to laugh out loud.
Jared smiled. “He did, didn’t he?”
We both laughed aloud, uncontrollably, more than we had ever done before. By the time we were finished, I was breathless, and the muscles in my stomach were sore and tight.
We drove home, hand in hand, smiling at one another at each stoplight. Ryan finally getting face time with Claire should have been a disaster, but a sense of relief surrounded us, as if our group was finally complete. I had no idea what Claire would tell Ryan — how much truth she would really share — but Ryan being Claire’s Taleh, and the fact that he was now in love with her, was proof that we were supposed to be in each others lives. Jared’s prediction was wide of the mark, but he had never looked so happy to be wrong since we’d met.
The next day, I awoke to large flakes of snow falling gracefully from the sky. Each fluffy white piece drifted downward as if it were orchestrating its own symphony. Looking out the window, the ground was already covered in at least two feet of snow, and the gray clouds above didn’t foretell anything but more of the same.
“It’s been like that since four A.M.,” Bex said from the hallway.
I tightened my robe around me, and opened the door.
Bex stood before me, bored and holding a half-eaten apple. He took another bite, crunching loudly. “He’s bringing coffee.”
“Good,” I said, leaving him to head for the bathroom.
Steam from the shower quickly surrounded me, but before I rinsed the shampoo from my hair, I heard the door open.
“Jared?”
“It’s me,” Claire said, shutting the door behind her.
I peered through the fuzzy glass, barely able to make out her tiny frame. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been up all night with Ryan. We talked a lot. We fought more.”
“Oh? About what?”
“About what he saw in the desert, and if I was there or not. He knows the men that stabbed him last year were cops. He knows a lot more than we thought. Finally…,” she sighed, “finally I just told him.”
“Everything? You confessed about the other cops, and the commissioner? About Anderson, and…and about what you are?”
“Not yet.”
“How did you explain without telling him everything?”
“I promised I would explain later.” She frowned. “It doesn’t feel right to tell him, Nina. We were raised on the belief that this secret kept our family safe.”
“Then don’t tell him until it feels right.”
“What if it never feels right?”
“I don’t know,” I said, turning off the water. A towel flew up and over the shower door, landing on my head. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Claire said, shutting the door behind her.
By the time I was dressed and ready, Claire, Jared and Bex were downstairs in the kitchen, discussing Ryan. Just by entering the room, it was obvious it was not a constructive conversation.
“You’re such a hypocrite!” Claire growled.
