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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

T he man shook his head, his shaggy, unwashed hair swinging around his face. The photograph hadn’t jogged his memory. Hell, it was a miracle the man even remembered his name given he was absolutely stoned and slurring his words and it wasn’t even 10 a.m.

Robert huffed out a breath. ‘This is getting us nowhere. We can ask the other employees, but time is not on our side. Besides, I don’t understand why someone would want Anne’s passport and such. What are they going to do with it?’

Nina really didn’t want to tell him. Despite what he might’ve seen as a police constable, the man had faith in humanity. And she really didn’t want to burst his bubble.

Still, he stared at her, expecting an answer. Maybe if she did it quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid, it wouldn’t hurt that much after the initial sting. ‘They’ll reuse the passport to create a fake identity. After a death, most people don’t think about personal documents that don’t start with a W and end with an L.’

‘A will,’ Robert muttered with a faraway look in his eyes. ‘So someone else takes over as Anne Muller?’

Nina shrugged. That sort of thing was just another day at the office for some people. ‘They just need a valid passport that belongs to a dead person. After that, it’s relatively easy to create a false identity that passes the basic checks.’

‘That’s fucked up.’ Robert shook his head, his shoulders slumping. ‘How are you surprised you’ve been dragged into this mess? You provoked someone high up, Nina.’

And probably got Anne and Jonas killed. The other question bugging her now was: why not murder her? Why spare her life then spend time and resources hunting her down?

She fixed her tote bag on her shoulder and said, ‘We should head back. Maybe?—’

‘Shush.’ Robert cut her off, his hand landing on her shoulder. ‘Stop talking.’

Was he for real? ‘I’m the only one with any good ideas here. Don’t you dare shush me. I?—’

Robert adjusted his position so his torso faced her. As she stood diagonally on the pavement, her back to the road that curved down from the Glasgow Cathedral at the top towards Glasgow’s famous mural of St Mungo holding a robin, Nina could see nothing but Robert and the storefront behind him.

She turned her head to try to figure out what Robert was up to when she spotted a family taking pictures of the mural. Nina pivoted to prevent her face from appearing in a stranger’s photograph. The last thing either of them needed was some news junkie following her around.

Robert’s grip on her shoulder tightened. ‘When I was here last, that same SUV was parked there. It’s got tinted windows, and it’s still here.’

‘Maybe it belongs to a resident?’ Nina gestured to the residential flats lining either side of the street. ‘Plus, there’s a community garden behind us, by the mural. It might be a resident gardening or something.’

‘With a window cracked open a smidge? There’s someone sitting inside it. I can feel their eyes on us,’ Robert muttered. He looked around them, as if looking for a way out.

‘I think— Oh!’ Nina froze when Robert dipped his head and kissed her.

His lips pressed down on hers, demanding she let him taste, let him nibble at her lower lip. Nina sighed. Oh, this man… What the hell was he doing?

She rested her palms on his chest and shoved. ‘What the fu?—’

Robert slanted his face and pulled her closer for round two. ‘There’s someone in the car.’

And what were they? In a fucking romcom? Nina pulled her lips away. ‘So you kiss me? Why?’

‘’Cause I wanted to lay one on you.’ He smirked. If that sneaky kiss hadn’t stirred her, she’d have smacked that smirk off his face right there. Robert reached for her hand. ‘Plus I was wondering if the people in that car would react to it… in some way.’

Nina melted into his side. If they were watching, let them think Robert and her were just another dramatic, lovesick couple. ‘Were we followed?’

‘Don’t think so. A black SUV with tinted windows isn’t exactly a flashy red Lamborghini that turns heads. But it’s a high-end model. That’s why I noticed it the last time I was here. Those windows look customised as well.’ Robert pulled Nina closer. ‘Can you write the license plate down?’

Nina pulled out her phone and wrote the number Robert recited. ‘Are we going to ask your pals to track it?’

Robert’s sigh and slight eye roll was all the answer she needed. Outside of work, she didn’t pry into people’s lives. Most of their stories were boring enough to put her to sleep, and she didn’t care for most people.

Nina didn’t know where to put her hands, so she stuffed them into her jacket pockets, and the silence between them mushroomed, tickling at her heart. Awkward, awkward, awkward!

Finally, she blurted, ‘Did you argue because of me?’

‘Something like that. When I prove your innocence, Cheryl will come round. Eventually.’

Cheryl. Nina hadn’t spent a lot of time with the woman, but from what Robert had said and what Nina had witnessed in the flat that morning, the detective inspector was a force to be wary about hurting. ‘Is she sort of a mother hen? And Joshua the joker?’

Robert’s laugh rang out. He was holding her so close, she felt the laughter vibrate through him. ‘Something like?—’

She heard it then, the sound of a machine – an electric bike. And it wasn’t coming up the hill. Nina twisted, gripped Robert’s chest and pushed with all her weight behind it. Robert was so caught up in his storytelling, he lost his footing and fell backward. However, his arm was still around her, and given Nina’s own forward momentum, she had no chance of staying upright.

She screamed, reaching up to cup Robert’s head. He let out a loud oomph when he collided with the ground, and Nina’s hand smacked against the edge of a step leading up to a shop.

Robert’s head bounced off her palm. ‘Wh?—’

Nina rolled off him, peering over her shoulder to see an electric scooter ploughing past the exact spot where they’d been standing.

Nina’s chest was heaving, her left hand bleeding. She opened her mouth, her eyes trying to track the scooter. Instead, she saw the black SUV roar to life and pull out into the traffic. It moved so suddenly the cars going down the road honked at it.

To her right, the biker disappeared down the bend.

Robert sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

‘Are – are you hurt?’ Nina said then winced when pain shot through her hand.

Noticing her discomfort, Robert lifted it and muttered a curse. ‘You cut yourself on that step. And I think you’ve smacked your knees against that tile.’

Before she could so much as attempt to sit up, Robert’s cool fingers gripped her neck. His face loomed over her, concern evident in his eyes. ‘Careful.’

He bent towards her, then cradled her in his arms and picked her up, bridal style. Nina groaned, her hand now throbbing. An angry gash sliced from her knuckles to her wrist. Blood dripped down the side and onto the pavement. She tried moving her fingers, but pain smarted through them. ‘Urgh.’

Robert still clutched her to his chest. ‘We might need to get that stitched up. There was glass on the ground.’

Nina blinked. His touch held a caring warmth to it, his torso and chest so close, she could burrow in and linger, listening to his heartbeat. The nearness gave her an opportunity to study those eyes – those ever-so-expressive eyes. She’d studied them under the glow of lamplight, but now, in daylight, they had the most fascinating patterns.

Hell, the man was gorgeous in every way possible.

On a sigh, she reached forward and nipped at his lips. Robert opened his mouth, trying to object, but hell no?—

Nina pushed up and captured his lips again. This time, their kiss wasn’t a ruse. She wasn’t just kissing him because she found him attractive. No, against her better judgement, Nina was kissing him because she felt something for him. Something a lot like… love.

His lips were soft, just like the palm caressing her back. He dipped his tongue into her mouth, seeking her, tasting her, and they both groaned as knowledge settled inside her. She didn’t trust him; maybe never would. But she needed him. Right that instant.

Nina pulled away despite his groan of protest and licked his taste from her lips. If she didn’t find a room for the two of them quickly, she would simply combust. ‘Home – please take me home.’

He got the message, perhaps even felt the same. The haze in his eyes cleared up, consumed by a singular goal. Then he set her back on the ground – she hated losing his touch – draped his arm over her shoulder and guided her home.