Page 22 of Everything We Found

“Nadia—”

She terminated the call just as Thomas’s voice came through the door. “Everything all right in there?”

She wiped her face. “It’s fine.”

“Can I come in?”

She stood and smoothed her hair. Unlocked the door. “Yes.”

Thomas poked his head in, his gaze landing on the phone in her hand.

She lifted her chin. “I had to call Aimee. Between the news and you cutting off our call, I needed to let her know I was okay.”

“That’s fine, but best you don’t call her again or anyone else.”

She balked. “For how long? We have no idea when or if Ruiz will be back in custody.”

“Exactly.”

“I have work. People are counting on me. I can’t just disappear.” She was repeating herself from earlier, on the verge of losing her composure.

“You aren’t the only one with obligations.”

“You say it like this whole thing is an inconvenience.” She flapped her arms. “Well excuse me. Maybe you shouldn’t have damned my life all those years ago.”

Thomas flinched. His expression turned to stone. Nadia wished she felt smug for insulting him. She only felt worse. This wasn’t his fault. None of it had been his fault.

Nadia’s shoulders bowed. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair. I shouldn’t blame you.”

“But I am to blame.” His gaze met hers and for a beat he let her see the regret and loss he’d suffered before his eyes blanked. His face became unreadable.

“Are you okay?” he asked, going back to why she’d called Aimee in the first place.

“Fine,” she said in a clipped tone, wishing this would be over soon.

His eyes narrowed skeptically and she lifted her chin a fraction more.

“We need to stay fueled and alert. Come eat something when you’re ready,” he said.

She started tidying up the counter, grateful he didn’t push her to admit that she really wasn’t fine. She was far from okay. “I’ll be out in a moment.”

Thomas hesitated. “Let’s wait until we hear more from Mitchell, then we can decide next steps. It’ll turn out okay.”

“You don’t know that. You can’t promise me that.”

“No, you’re right. Come eat,” he said again and closed the door.

Alone again, Nadia stood there, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She should have had Aimee come to get her or used the phone Thomas had given her and called for a taxi. She could stay with Aimee and Ian until this blew over. But she didn’t want to put their family in danger, or have Aimee prod her with questions, which she would. Questions Nadia would struggle answering on the off-chance she revealed she’d known about James all this time.

But Nadia also couldn’t leave Thomas to face this crisis alone. Just as she hadn’t been able to leave him at the funeral home all those years ago.

Aimee was her oldest friend. They had always been one another’s ride or die. But Aimee had had James, and Kristen and Nick had been inseparable since before the Donatos moved to California. It only seemed natural for her to gravitate to Thomas as their friend group had coupled off. They’d often been left with only each other to confide in about their troubles at home. He understood her on a level nobody else did, as she did him.

And she owed him her life.

The question was, would she let him do so again? Or would she be the one doing the saving next time?

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