November Falls

Chapter 13

"I'm so glad you finally decided to grace us with your presence, Detective Hardy," Yates called, his sharp gaze watching Evelyn sneak into the squad room twenty-five minutes late.

Evelyn shot her boss a look that said she really wasn't in the mood to get reamed out for this, sinking into her desk chair with a forlorn glance at the inviting sludge that their precinct called coffee.

Yates either failed to pick up on her hints or just didn't care (more likely the latter), pinning her with a cool glare. "I trust you have an explanation?"

"I'm aware that I'm late, Lieutenant," Evelyn replied, keeping her voice as level as possible. "But my brother is a moron and I ran into traffic. Accept it or not, Boss, I'm beyond caring."

"That piece of junk coffee machine finally pack up?" Nick teased into the awkward silence. Evelyn wasn't exactly known for snapping at people other than Joe (who deserved it ninety percent of the time).

She glanced over at him, finding herself battling to keep the grumpy frown on her face. It wasn't easy, especially looking at Nick. He was sans jacket, with the sleeves of his crisp white shirt rolled up to his elbows, baring his muscular, sun-bronzed forearms to her stare.

Clearly she had missed a brainstorming session...

Or Nick wanted to slowly drive her crazy.

"Packed up, picked up and moved to sunny California," Evelyn sighed, seeing the lightly veiled concern in Nick's warm brown eyes. "Marty broke it," she clarified, sending an apologetic look at their Lieutenant.

Yates' eyebrow climbed up into his receding hairline, nodding his acceptance. "Get her up to speed, then follow your orders. I'm meeting up with Director Smith at City Hall."

Evelyn dropped her head into her hands, feeling that today was going to be another of those days.

"Rough night?" Nick asked quietly, wrapping her hands around a fresh cup of coffee. He perched on the edge of her desk, not planning on letting it drop.

"No," Evelyn shook her head, blowing gently on the too-hot coffee. "The night was wonderful." Nick's eyes sparkled. "The morning was rough." She shook her head, staring into the depths of her mug like it held the secrets of the universe. "This case is going nowhere fast, we all favour someone else as our prime suspect. And, to top it off, the FBI are hovering around, trying to find a weapon's cache (which Marty let slip this morning are goddamn explosives). My brother Steve is a mess, Marty has been lying to us for years, and did I mention the bombs? So I think I'm perfectly within my rights to be having a moment here. Okay? Great."

Evelyn clapped her hands together, staring up at Nick with as much professionalism as possible with his warmth next to her and his aftershave fresh in her senses.

"What do I need to know?"

"Querida," Nick breathed, filling her with calm and strength in the way only he ever could. "Your brother and his team are going to find that cache and deal with it before anything can happen." He ducked his eyes, catching her own. "And we are going to solve this case before Thursday."

"I wish I had your faith, Nick," Evelyn sighed, brushing her fingers against the hand that lay on his thigh.

Nick's eyes sparkled. "You have faith in me, partner?"

Evelyn levelled him a look that eloquently said how stupid she thought that question was.

Nick laughed, white teeth flashing. "Then trust me, Querida, and everything will be fine."