by Susan Hayes
“Want a lap dance, Detective Sweetheart?”
“Oh, hell no. Not on your best day, Nayer. Now, would someone like to explain why my desk is covered in half-naked pictures of my boyfriend? I know what he looks like without clothes on already, thank you.” She pushed past Nayer and started taking down the offending images, mentally cursing Nick with every one she added to the stack. The asshole might have mentioned that he used to be a stripper, for fuck’s sake. She was going to kill him for this.
Then I’m going to ask for a private performance.
“Damn it, Nayer, no one wants to see that this early in the morning. Actually, no one wants to see that, ever. Show’s over, people, get back to your desks and put all that impressive investigative skill to work finding bad guys instead of digging up old pictures of my brother.”
Lia’s head snapped up and she found herself standing toe-to-toe with her boss. “You knew about this?” She demanded, waving to the pictures of Nick wearing nothing but a g-string and a smile.
“Well, yeah. He never kept it a secret.”
“He kept it a secret from me,” she snapped and David’s eyes widened.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I figured it wasn’t my place to say anything about it. It’s not like he was doing anything illegal. Stupid, maybe, but not illegal.”
Lia saw red. “You’re right, it wasn’t your place to say anything, but no one here should have said anything either. I don’t like having my personal business plastered all over my desk, and I sure as hell don’t need a lap dance from Nayer before I’ve had my second cup of coffee!”
She drew in a sharp breath and took another step toward David. “You were the one who told me to keep my personal life out of the office, sir. I did that. But since you and I are now talking personal shit at work, I don’t like hearing you call Nick stupid. He’s not. He’s a damned good man and smart, too. Did you know he’s going to finish his degree this coming semester? Of course you didn’t, because he didn’t tell anyone. He’s taking night classes while running his own business, and he never mentioned it to any of you. Why do you think that is? I’ve got a few theories, and let me tell you, none of them make you look good.”
There wasn’t a single person within ten feet of the by the time she was finished speaking, but she didn’t care. She might have just shot her career in the foot by yelling at her boss, but it didn’t seem that important at the moment.
“You done?” David asked.
“I think so.”
“Good.” He raised his voice so that it carried the length of the room. “Then we can all get back to work before Human Resources gets wind of what happened here. Seriously, people, do you want to go to another mandatory session on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace? Archer, walk with me.” Everyone groaned and scrambled to get back to the desks. Within seconds keyboards were clicking, phone calls were being made, and the office was a flurry of activity.
Lia fell in beside David as he headed back toward his office. “I wouldn’t have filed a sexual harassment complaint, sir.”
David glance down at her and actually smiled for a second, and Lia was struck by how much he looked like Nick when he did so. “Who said you would have? Frankly, I was considering it myself. After witnessing Nayer’s bump and grind routine, I’m feeling more than a little violated.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but David interrupted her, speaking much softer this time. “You were right, by the way. Nick’s not stupid. I don’t like knowing he didn’t tell any of us about school either. You’ve given me something to think about.”
“So, we’re good?”
“We’re good. Promise me one thing, though.”
“What’s that?” she asked as her anger slowly cooled.
“If you’re sticking with Nick, swear to me you’ll kick his ass as hard as you just kicked mine when he needs it.”
“I promise.”
David chuckled. “Excellent. Then I’ll leave you to your work.”
Lia nodded and headed back to her desk. She had things to do, and plans to make.
****
By early afternoon Lia had everything arranged. David had given her the time off she had asked for, and Janie had happily agreed to watch the shop so that Nick didn’t have to come in. Lia was just hanging up the phone after talking with Jolena when a shadow crossed her desk, and she glanced up to find Bill Nayer standing there.
“You got a minute?” he asked. Lia nodded, expecting the older man to start in on another of his countless jokes. Instead, Bill pursed his lips together and frowned.
“Is something wrong?”
“I’m not great at apologies, is all. Look, I’m sorry if I crossed a line this morning. I didn’t know that you didn’t know…you know?” he said.
“It’s okay. Just, don’t quit your day job, Bill. Dancing is not going to pay your alimony.”
“Don’t I know it.” He went quiet again, his fingers plucking at the worn edge of his sleeve.
“Something else I can do for you?”
“No. I think there’s something I can do for you though. We’ve met before, long time ago. I don’t think you’d remember…I had more hair back then.”
Lia frowned and tried to think if she’d ever worked with Bill before coming to Robbery, but she couldn’t come up with anything. “I don’t remember.”
“I’m not surprised. You were still a kid at the time, and it wasn’t exactly the best day of your life.”
Lia’s stomach twisted. “What are you talking about?”
“The night your brother got shot. I was there.”
“You’re name isn’t on the report.” She should know. She’d memorized every word that had been written about the investigation. Bill’s name wasn’t listed.
“Back then I was still a beat cop, I was knocking on doors, looking for witnesses, you know the drill. Anyway, I never made the connection until last night. When you showed up at Leo’s dressed in civvies, it hit me that you looked familiar, It took me a bit to remember from where, though. You don’t look the same when you’re at work, you know?” He grinned. “Hell, none of us knew you were that hot.”
“Behave yourself, you’re too old for me, anyway.”
“Says you. Look, there’s something I couldn’t tell your parents at the time, but I think you should know. The guy who killed your brother…I think I know who it was.”
“But no one was ever arrested! There isn’t even a suspect on file.”
“Yeah, I know. I knew that neighborhood pretty well, and I had a good idea who might have done it, but there wasn’t any proof. The investigators were trying to connect the dots, but then the kid got himself killed a few days later in a car wreck. Poof, no more suspect, no leads. Anyway, I thought you’d like to know. If I was you, I’d want to know the guy wasn’t around anymore.”
Lia couldn’t make her lungs work. She needed to breathe, but she couldn’t because of the bands of iron that seemed to be wrapped around her chest, squeezing hard.
“You okay, Archer?”
She managed a shallow breath, then another one. “Yeah. Just…processing.”
“I bet.”
“You’re sure it was him? Do you have a name?”
“As sure as I can be. Right after the accident, the robberies stopped. Hell, the whole damned neighborhood quieted down for a while. Joey and his crew were troublemakers, and no one missed their sorry asses when they got themselves killed. That was his name, by the way. Joey Carson.”
And there it was, the name she’d been looking for her whole career. The bands around her chest vanished, and a weight she hadn’t even known she carried lifted from her soul. “Why didn’t you tell my parents this at the time?”
“Tell them what? That I had a hunch? You know that’s not how things work. I’m only telling you now because you’re one of us, and I thought you deserved to know. It’s been a long time, so if you think your parents need to know, then tell ‘em. Justice was served, it just wasn’t by the Chicago PD.�
�
Lia was on her feet before she really knew what she intended, and then she was hugging Bill tight. “Thank you.”
“Whoa, jeez. Don’t go getting emotional on me now, Archer. You’ll ruin my rep…and yours. I’m just sorry it took me so long to twig to who were. Anyway, you’re welcome.”
She hugged him again, ignoring the strong scent of his cologne despite the fact it was making her nose itch. “You’re a good man.”
“Tell me ex-wives that, will you? They don’t share your opinion.”
“Next time we’re at Leo’s, I’m buying you a drink,” she told him as she let him go.
“Considering you’re banging the owner’s son, I think that’s the least you can do, sweetheart.”
He wandered off, grinning like a school boy and Lia dropped back into her chair, still trying to wrap her brain around what had just happened. Her promise to Alex had been fulfilled at last. She’d gotten the name of his killer. All her promises and secrets hadn’t helped find Alex’s murderer. Bill would never have recognized her if she hadn’t let go a little bit and finally let the world see the person she really was, the one she’d been hiding since the day they’d buried her brother.
The time for secrets was over.
****
Nick couldn’t stop pacing. He was driving himself and everyone at work to distraction, but he couldn’t help it. Everything had been fine until just before lunch, when he’d received a brief but disconcerting text from his brother, Dave.
Heads up. She knows about Nick Raven.
After that, the day had gone to hell. Who the fuck had told her about his time as a stripper? Was she mad? Would she ever speak to him again? Nick had called Lia’s cell right after that, but she had sent the call straight to voice mail instead of answering. It was another hour before a text came in, and by then he was prowling the office like a caged bear.
We need to talk. Will call you later. L.
Well, at least she was still talking to him. Sort of.
When Janie’s client arrived he’d gone upstairs to avoid disturbing them during their session. Nothing good was going to come from having him stomping around the office, making the client edgy and disrupting Janie’s focus. He tried to work, but every time pencil touched paper, whatever he drew morphed into a sketch of Lia’s face. He should have come clean about his past sooner. It’s not that he was ashamed of what he did to pay for college, far from it. There simply wasn’t an easy way to break the news that he used to take off his clothes for a living. Not when Lia was looking for reasons to run. He sighed and stared at the sketches in front of him. That wasn’t really true though. He could have found a way to tell her, but he didn’t because it was easier not to rock the boat when things were finally going smoothly. He’d been having too much fun spending time with Lia to say anything. Now, that decision was going to cost him. Whatever the price, he’d pay it. Lia meant too much to him.
Somewhere along the way, he’d fallen in love with her.
“Hey boss man, you’re needed down here,” Janie bellowed loud enough Nick swore he felt the floor tremble from the noise.
“Why did I bother installing an intercom system? She never uses the fucking thing,” he muttered to himself as he stood and stretched before heading downstairs. He was near the bottom of the steps and about to ask what was so important Janie had felt the need to shake the rafters, but he never got the chance. There were people filling his waiting room. A lot of people. And he knew every single one of them.
What the fuck was his entire family doing here?
“Is everything okay?” he asked, mildly panicked.
“No, boy. It’s not. We’re here to have a word with you.” His father stepped up to the counter, his gray brows furrowed into an expression that Nick had come to dread. It meant Brian Wilde was on the warpath.
“All of you?”
His mother moved into view, her usual smile replaced with a sad expression that hit Nick far harder than his father’s anger. “All of us, Nicky. Your family.”
“I’m here under duress, actually,” Tag piped up from the back, then yelped as Jo elbowed him sharply.
They were all here. Ben and Kelly, Jo and Tag, even Jared and Dave were lurking near the back. “What did I do this time?”
“Oh, Nicky,” his mom sighed and then came around the counter, arms open. “She was right, and I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
Nick found himself being hugged, and he still had no clue what the fuck was going on. “So, I’m not in trouble? Then why are you all here? I’m very fucking confused right now.”
Meg frowned and tsked. “Language.”
“Sorry, mom.”
“You would think I raised you five in a barn the way you all talk. As for why we’re here, it’s been brought to our attention that we’ve not been very fair to you.” She turned her head and looked at her husband. “Some of us, more than others.”
Holy shit. His family was here to apologize?
His dad cleared his throat. “You could have told us about you going back to school, Nicky. Getting your degree, that’s something special. Did you really think we wouldn’t want to share that moment?”
Well, that answered the question of who had told them. Only Lia knew about his upcoming graduation. Apparently, she’d decided his family needed to know. That was a good sign, right? Fuck, he hoped so. As his mom let go of him he decided to take the bull by the horns and be honest. “None of you expressed much interest in my life up until now, so no, I didn’t think you’d want to know. The only time you or Dave ever seemed to care about what’s going on with me is when you think I’ve screwed up. You’ve all got your lives, and I’ve got mine. None of you have ever even been in my shop before now.”
“What am I? Chopped fucking liver?” Tag grumbled from his place at the door.
Nick grinned. “Sorry, bro. None of you, except Tag. I get it. I do. I’ve been the black sheep of this family for as long as I can remember. I love you guys, and I know you love me, but we just don’t mix. Never have.”
“Bullshit.”
Nick blinked and glanced down at his mother, who had just uttered the first curse word he’d ever heard her use.
“What?”
“You heard me. This family doesn’t have a black sheep. What it does have are a bunch of bullheaded men who keep thinking they have to do everything on their own.”
Every man present started to shake his head and argue, but Meg raised her hand, cutting them off. “I wasn’t done. Tag, when you got hurt, you vanished from our lives. We were ready to help you with all the changes in your life, but you never gave us the chance. And you, Ben, working all the time to renovate that house of yours. Did it ever occur to you we’d help with that too?”
“But mom—” Ben started, only to have their mother keep talking right over him.
“But mom, nothing. You’re all the same. Jared is so focused on keeping the bar running that your father and I had to drag him out the door tonight just to get him here. As if the place wouldn’t run itself for a few hours. We tried to teach you all to be independent, and sometimes I think we did too good a job. And you, David Emmerson Wilde, I see you smirking back there. You’re the worst of the lot! Working long hours, keeping yourself locked away and pretending that nothing affects you anymore, that you live for the job and don’t need anything else, or anyone.”
The room was silent now, and Nick felt like they’d all been caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. He had a strong urge to hang his head and shove his hands in his pockets, and he bet he wasn’t alone.
“Now that you’ve scolded our boys to silence, sweetheart, do you think we can get back on track? Nick, we came here to tell you that we’d like to be there for your graduation. All of us.”
Meg cleared her throat and gave her husband a pointed look. “And?”
“Dammit, woman, I’m getting to it. Nicky, I’m proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you, and if I screwed up so badly that you didn�
�t know that, well then, I’m sorry. Now come over here and hug your old man before your mother yells at us all again.”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d hugged his father. Brian Wilde wasn’t a hugger. A quick clasp of the shoulder, a silent nod, that’s the most anyone expected from the old man, but not this time. He pounded Nick on the back as he hugged him, sure, but there was a connection too. Pride and even love showed in his father’s eyes as they embraced. There were more hugs from his brothers, and then several grumbling complaints as both Kelly and Jo hugged him too, adding a kiss to his cheek for good measure.
“That’s enough sisterly affection, Jolena. Let go of him before I need to inflict bodily harm. He’s got his own woman to fondle now.”
“I’m not sure I do, bro. I might have screwed that up,” Nick confessed.
“Who do you think got us all down here? The Tooth Fairy? It’s a good thing you’re pretty, little brother, because you’re not too bright,” Ben said and everyone else laughed before stepping back to clear a straight line to the back corner of the waiting room. Lia was standing there, leaning up against the wall with a shy smile on her beautiful face.
“Hi,” was all she said, but to Nick it was the sexiest sound in the world.
“You did this?” he asked, already stalking across the room toward her.
“I did. I know it was supposed to be a secret, but I thought they needed to know. They love you, Nick. They just needed a way to show you. After today, I think we should be a zero secrets kind of couple. So if you have anything else you’d like to confess, now would be the time.”
“I just have one more confession to make,” he told her as he pulled her into his arms.
“What’s that?”
“I love you.” He didn’t give her a chance to say anything more. Not that she needed to say a word. Her actions had told him how she felt louder than any words she could have spoken. She’d learned the darkest secret in his closet, and instead of being angry, she’d found a way to bring his whole family to his shop and tell him that they were proud of him. That was love, pure and simple. Lia melted into his arms, all warmth and laughter. Her lips parted beneath his, tongues tangling as her arms came around his neck, holding him close.
