Page 42 of Ride or Die

She’d avoided her phone all yesterday. What was she supposed to say? Sorry I bailed even though I told myself I wouldn’t?

“Could you repeat that? The line must have broken up.” The woman’s tone was cool. Focus.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ricci is unavailable. Can I take a message?” Riley said and twirled a pen around her fingers.

“No, we’ll try back another time. Have a good day.” The line went dead, and she stared at the phone before putting it back. Another detective?

Coffee could wait.

Riley ran a quick search on “Detective Nia Sanchez.” One news article about a local cop working at a youth centre on the crappy side of downtown, but nothing else. She closed the tab. The anxiety that she’d woken up with hadn’t relented; ants had been crawling up her spine all morning. Maybe the feeling had always been there and she just hadn’t noticed.

Riley slid her feet into her heels, got up, and walked down the hall. She smoothed her grey dress in the reflective window of an empty office.

Candida and some of the finance guys stood in the middle of the hallway, just outside the break room. As one, they glanced up and stopped their conversation as Riley walked past. Candida gave her a stilted smile, hair bright against her tailored white blazer. Riley gave her an awkward wave.

Nico had returned from Italy and had been in back to back meetings all morning. Riley’d put off welcoming him back long enough. He either knew about Gio or he didn’t.

She pushed the chrome handle of Nico’s office down and stepped in. The grey cold of the downtown core opened and pulled Riley right to the edge of the floor-to-ceiling window. Past the harbour, the ocean stretched for hundreds of kilometres under a layer of cloud.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it?”

Riley jumped.

Nico stood beside her, hands in his pockets, and looked at the horizon. Sweet cigarillo smoke settled over her as he glanced at her. “You look nice.”

The compliment didn’t land like it usually did.

“Thank you,” she said. Her heels sank into the expensive rug. “How was Italy?”

“Beautiful as ever.” The dark circles under his eyes made him look older and the hollows under his cheekbones more severe. Work stress? Something else? The police calls? He sauntered back to his desk and leaned against it. Ink peeked out at his unbuttoned collar, and his tie hung over the back of his chair.

Riley watched him, and he held her gaze, a hint of a smile on his face. She couldn’t tell if it was good or not.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she said, surprised that it was the truth. Gio was always better when Nico was around.

“Hmm,” Nico murmured, a purr under his accent.

Her back prickled, and her dress felt too tight. Too fitted.

Nico sighed, and his posture softened. “I heard about what happened with Gio. I’m sorry, bella, I’d planned to be back sooner. Something came up.”

She swallowed. Why did she feel like Candida had betrayed her all over again by telling him? Riley had suggested calling Nico in the first place.

“I’ll talk to him, and it won’t happen again.” Black ice flashed in his gaze, and Riley believed him. Rooms quieted when he walked in, and even the most egotistical of the finance guys were respectful.

Nico had certain expectations, and Gio was the only one who ever considered not meeting them.

“I hear the police department keeps calling,” he said. “You didn’t mention it over the phone.”

Riley gripped her hands in front of her and then tipped her head to the side like Kristi did. “They did call. A few times now. I think they’re working up to asking you out, actually.”

After a second of silence, he exhaled a short laugh. “Charming.”

She let out a silent breath. She didn’t usually feel this nervous around him, but there was something about the set of his shoulders that was just off.

Or maybe she was off.

Probably that.