Page 93 of Our Daughter's Bones

“He’s not wasting any time, is he?”

“You don’t trust him?”

She looked at Nick sharply. “You do?”

“I’ve made it clear that he’s not allowed to access any evidence alone. He’s always with an officer or with Jenna.”

“So, you don’t trust him either.”

“He’s too close. But cut him some slack. You heard the guy. He had good reason.”

“His intention doesn’t matter. He lied.”

Nick stiffened. The insinuation of her words sat heavy between them. She looked away, feeling almost jittery.

Hurtful words sat on the tip of her tongue. The urge to spew them was strong. Was that why he hid the truth from her? He had a “good reason” too? Was he trying to protect her?

Instead, she ground the back of her teeth and pressed her back against the leather seat.

They made a stop for Nick to get his coffee. It took him less than five minutes to consume the boiling liquid drug. Mackenzie always mocked how he had burned all his taste buds and only pretended to enjoy food. She spent the entire drive reading Abby’s diary or checking her phone for Sterling’s messages. Nick kept his lips pursed. He disapproved of her reading in the car—motion sickness. She knew he could tell Sterling was on her mind and wanted to prod.

But he knew that Mackenzie no longer allowed him the liberty. She remembered the hurt on his face when she said the words to him. It was the only time she had seen Nick fracture.

Mackenzie ran in the storm. Dirt and twigs clung to her wet skin. Her soaked clothes weighed heavy. The rain made her vision fuzzy. All she saw was swirling blackness ahead of her occasionally slashed open by lightning. Nick called after her, but she couldn’t hear anything beyond the pounding in her ears.

A hand wrapped around her elbow. She turned around to find Nick, still in his sweatpants and T-shirt. His black hair stuck to his forehead.

“At least listen to me.”

“No!”

“Mack, please. We need to talk.”

“Now you want to talk?” She twisted her hand out of his grasp. “After being quiet all this time? Where the hell were you before?”

“I made a mistake, but––”

“No!” She slapped his chest. “Don’t give me your bullshit. You didn’t say anything. You knew all this time that Sterling was cheating on me. You screwed up.”

He breathed hard. “I know. But please just listen to me––”

“No. Nothing you can ever say will fix this. This is over. You mean nothing to me now. I want you to stay away from me. Stay far, far away from me.”

She watched his face shift and crumble. Even in the heavy rain, she saw tears prickle his eyes. His mouth went slack. His hands dropped to his sides. She left him standing alone in the storm.

It was over.

Mackenzie wondered idly if Sterling would meet Samantha, now that he had Sunday to himself. She was still debating confronting her, but she was certain that she had to at least see her. Even if the thought made her insides squeeze, she knew she couldn’t stay away. She had to see the woman Sterling broke her trust for.

“Peck is retiring,” Mackenzie blurted.

“What? Where did you hear that?”

“Sterling told me. He told me not to tell anyone. Let’s keep this between us.”

“I wonder who they’ll bring in. Think Sully is in for a promotion?”

“I doubt it. He’ll hate the extra work.”