He said, “I agree, there’s a whole lot here that doesn’t add up. But just because it doesn’t fit the official narrative doesn’t mean the alternative you’re hinting at is accurate. This thing with Emilia doesn’t have to be one or the other. It could be something else entirely. And Angel might have held back on letting us know about an accomplice because she wanted more answers herself first.”

Kara shifted and eyeballed him.

She said, “Really, Nick? That’s what you’re going with?”

“Look, I’m just saying there are always alternative explanations—you know that better than anyone—so let me ask around, put out some feelers, see what comes back before you go all baby bulldog on it, okay?”

The baby bulldog forced a hint of a smile.

It was a shortcut back to the first time Nick had jumped on her for latching onto an issue and refusing to drop it. He’d been angry and she’d hated that, but she had been right and had refused to concede.

He’d turned away from her, face red and fists clenched. “You get your teeth into something and you just can’t stop until you shake the thing to fucking death,” he’d said. “How about you learn some fucking tact.”

Tact would never be her strong suit.

He knew it, she knew it, and this was his way of reminding her that there were ways to get questions like these answered, but they’d be better off if she wasn’t the one asking about them. “You do what you do,” he said. “Dig where you dig, and find what you find. That’s what you’re good at. But for now everything this side of the conversation stays between you and me. Clear?”

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

Friedenau
Berlin, Germany

JILL

A WARENESS KICKED IN WITH THE SOFT BELL OF AN ALARM, TELLING her the time to move had come. She dropped a foot to the floor and groaned upright. Her eyes burned. She had cotton for brains. Four hours was just enough to make her regret doing the responsible thing and wish she’d forgone sleep altogether.

She stretched chin toward toes and arms over her head.

Blood flowed where it mattered.

She dressed in the dark, finding her way into a black bodysuit that, with the right layers, could pass for real clothes when daylight came.

She had a few pieces to work with tonight.