Page 19 of Ace of Spades

Sometimes it was scary how well he knew her. She managed a smile. “It wasn’t an easy interview.”

“Tell me about it.”

That was one of the many things she loved about him. He was a good listener. “It was hard, you know? They don’t want to believe their mother’s never coming back.”

“Something we can both understand.”

“Yeah. I didn’t learn anything useful, unfortunately. When Linda would leave for the night, they were under orders to stay on the mattress. Because they were afraid of some of the people who called the building home, they obeyed. Mellie said she’d had to twice threaten to use the knife she kept under their pillow.”

She stared out the window, thinking of how fierce Mellie had looked when she’d said that. “At least they’re safe now.”

“And you’ll keep tabs on them.”

“You know I will.” She pulled the key out of the ignition. “Rothmire and I are going to try to track Hector Ramirez down in the morning. See if he’ll admit to knowing Alana Gilmore.”

“His club usually comes into Aces and Eights on Thursday nights. Will be interesting to see if he shows up with them.”

“You’ve met him. Do you see him as our bad guy?”

“Not really, but we certainly can’t rule him out. I’ll be curious as to your impression after you talk to him.”

“Want to grab some dinner tonight?” She really didn’t want to sit in her tiny apartment alone with her thoughts. She could go over to Rosie’s, but she wouldn’t be good company for the girls tonight. At his hesitation, she said, “Please. I promise not to make you kiss me again.”

“Swear?”

At least she’d gotten a slight lip twitch from him. She held out her finger. “Pinky swear.”

“Seriously, Taylor? What are we? Twelve?”

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud.” She wiggled her finger. One way or another, she was going to teach him to play. He curled his pinky around hers, but the gesture came with an eye roll. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“Next you’ll be wanting to play hopscotch.”

“It could happen. So where do you want to go for dinner?”

“How about pizza and beer on my balcony?”

“That sounds perfect.” And it did. Much better than going out and having to talk to people.

“We need to make it early. I have to head over to Aces and Eights no later than nine when the bikers start rolling in. Alex will be there by himself until then. Why don’t you go home, change into something more comfortable? I’ll meet you at my place around five or so.”

“I think I will.” When Nate opened the door, Taylor put her hand on his arm. “Thanks.”

He paused, one foot already on the ground, his eyes searching her face. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah.” And she was. Talking things out with him always made her feel better. “See you in a few.”

He nodded, then exited her car. She watched him walk into the building, appreciating how his black T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. Her gaze roamed down to his very fine butt. The man definitely wore jeans well. She sighed, then put the key back in the ignition. As she drove home to change, she wondered if she’d ever be able to tear down that wall. Unrequited love sucked.