Trigger (20 page)

I wrinkled my brows. “He’s upset? Really?” If Hugo had thrown Emma out of his apartment, breaking up with her, I didn’t think he’d be all that upset. Especially not if he was the reason she was murdered in the first place. My boss must be a better actor than I had given him credit for.

Laura looked taken aback. “Yeah, of course he’s upset. Wouldn’t you be?”

Realizing my faux-pas, I quickly rearranged my face to appear more sympathetic. “Yes, yes, of course. Those were stupid questions for me to have asked. I suppose I just didn’t think Hugo was the kind of person to display emotions at work. I was wrong.”

“Oh, it’s not that strange. I mean, it’s not like he’s walking around crying openly.” Laura stole a few furtive glances around us before adding in a whisper, “But I did catch him crying when he was reading about her in the news. I think he forgot I was supposed to come back to his office with coffee for him.”

“Really? He was crying? No wonder he’s seemed a bit edgy lately. He must be in a lot of pain.”

“Yeah, it sure looks like it.” Laura’s phone rang then. I used the interruption as an excuse to end the conversation. I’d gotten enough for now, but instead of feeling more convinced Reiss was behind Emma’s death somehow, I was less sure. And that was not good.

Nina

I had asked Ricki to come over to help prepare me for my date later that evening with Dylan. Ricki was a master with curling irons and I had decided I wanted spirals in my hair tonight. Not wanting Ricki to come over just to do my hair, I cooked an early dinner for her—
Pierogis
. My mother had taught me to make this Eastern European dish to perfection and Ricki, whose parents were from Eastern Europe—Ukraine—loved
Pierogis
. The fact that we originated from the same part of the world was one of the reasons we had connected so quickly when we’d met at a coffee house a couple years earlier.

Ricki rolled the first of my dark locks around the hot iron rod.

“So you think he’s right?” she said, meeting my eyes in the full-length mirror before us from where she was standing behind me. We were discussing the latest regarding Emma’s murder.

“Let’s hope so,” I said. “He does have a point that it is a bit weird the police haven’t come up with a single suspect yet.” I smirked. “Except for me, that is.”

“Right. That
is
a bit weird. The LAPD must really suck. I still can’t believe that detective came over to me, thinking
you
could’ve had anything to do with the murder. That’s like insane.”

“Ouch!” My hand flew up and landed on top of Ricki’s that had taken a firm grip of some of my hair. “Not so hard, please. I’d like to keep
all
my hair, thank you very much.”

Ricki immediately slackened her grip. “Sorry! Anyway, I definitely straightened him out.”

I grinned at her via the mirror. “I can only imagine.” A beat passed during which both of us were silent. “Thanks for believing in my innocence, by the way. I don’t think I ever thanked you for that. It does mean a lot to me.”

“Don’t even mention it. It’s not a matter of believing. I
know
you’re innocent. You’re not capable of murdering anyone.” Ricki paused. “Well, except for by accident maybe… But strangling someone with a chain could not have happened by accident. Especially not as drunk as you were. I mean, you could barely stand up! That detective must’ve also realized that, not to mention what kind of a person you are after he spent some time with you. Which is why he no longer suspects you.”

“I’m sure the lack of evidence and witnesses played into his decision.”

“That’s a good point. Which means my conviction is not
just
based on a gut feeling. But I’m still glad all of this happened since it made you start therapy. After what you’ve been through, you really need it. What’s even better is that you don’t have to pay a dime for it.” Ricki gave a knowing smile and wiggled her eyebrows. “Well, for now.”

I gave Ricki a sharp look. “Exactly—for
now.
Don’t think for a second I won’t pay back Dylan every cent he’s spending on my therapy.”

“Oh my, you’re such a noble person… I’m sure Dylan doesn’t mind paying for it. It’s not like he’s poor like you and me.”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of principle.”

Ricki nodded, looking pensive. “I guess you’re right about that. Maybe I’d feel the same way if I were in your shoes.”

“I’m sure you would. I’m glad Leslie is as cool as she is, though.”

“Yeah, it would suck if you couldn’t stand her, huh… When’s your next appointment?”

“Saturday. Hey, do you think I should invite Dylan to Nixon’s birthday party?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“So you don’t think it’s too early?”

Ricki shook her head. “No. You might as well introduce him to the rest of the crew. So they get to see who has finally made Nina Tyler believe in love and relationships.”

“Hey, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Just because I’m seeing him again doesn’t mean I now believe in relationships. Besides, for all I know it might be over next week the way things have been going.”

Ricki chuckled. “I seriously doubt that. If you could see yourself when you mention his name, you’d agree with me. And considering that he’s going out of his way to help you get better, it’s fair to say that he’s not about to dump you any time soon, either. No, the only way the two of you won’t last is if you accidentally kill him.” Ricki pulled in her breath, her red lips turning into an O. The hand that was reaching for another of my tresses flew up to her mouth to cover it. “Oops! Sorry.”

I cracked up. “Don’t worry about it. So I guess I’ll invite him then.”

Dylan

Feeling heavy, I climbed the stairs that led to Nina’s second-level apartment. All the way over to her house I had rehashed my talk with Laura earlier in my head, telling myself that just because Laura caught Hugo crying when reading about Emma didn’t mean he was innocent. Guilt, a bad conscience over what he had done, might have triggered those tears. Not sorrow. The man had after all thrown out Emma from his apartment a day before her death, callously dumping her, according to Emma. Would a man who loved a woman ever do such a thing? I didn’t think so. And not when it was so uncharacteristic of the man in question.

I also didn’t think Hugo had ever imagined that Emma would not only run into me at the Blue Moon, but then—more importantly—
break apart
in front of me. That she would tell me all about how poorly her new boyfriend had treated her at the night of her planned murder. By now, I simply assumed Hugo knew Emma had been my girlfriend right before they became an item. This fact
had
to have come up at some point during their several months together, at the very least during their last fight. The way Emma had needed to talk to me, practically begged me to take her back—
save
her—suggested I must have been on Emma’s mind for days. It also suggested that Emma must have discovered that Hugo was someone completely different than the persona he presented publicly. Someone who had something to hide and knew the woman he was dating was about to uncover it.

But just because Hugo had seen the need to take out Emma didn’t mean he didn’t have feelings. I had seen with my own eyes that not all criminals were cold-hearted psychopaths. Some committed crimes out of sheer desperation, only to be plagued by a harrowing conscience afterward. Hugo was likely one of those individuals.

So why am I dreading seeing Nina again?
She had nothing to do with Emma’s murder.

Right?

I had reached her front door and rang the doorbell. Soon she was standing before me, looking gorgeous in a snug purple dress that plunged low, enhancing the creamy skin on her soft breasts. Her long dark hair was curlier than normal as it flowed down her shoulders and back. A suggestive little smile appeared on her pouty lips as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Despite the conflicting emotions flowing through me ever since I’d left the office, I felt myself harden.

“Hi handsome,” she said in a husky voice. “I’ve been waiting for you. Have you missed me? I’ve missed
you
.”

Oh, God, yes, had I missed her
, I realized as I gazed down at her. Whatever may be wrong with her, I knew I needed to have her, be with her. There was no point trying to fight it. She’d captured my heart like no other woman ever had. I pulled her close and bent down to kiss her. Hovering over her lips for a few seconds, I inhaled her scent, got lost in the liquidity of her dark eyes.

There was no way this beautiful creature could be guilty of murder.
Impossible
. God could not be that cruel.

I could hear her gasp as I, very lightly, brushed my lips against hers. I moved my hands up to her head and, running my fingers through her silky tresses, I brought her mouth toward mine with a force that surprised even me. I parted her lips with my own, finding her tongue that I circled with my own so deeply and fiercely I thought I might actually be hurting her. But when I pulled back finally and seeing the way she was looking at me, I knew I had accomplished the opposite effect. Her pupils had widened so much her normally hazel eyes had become black.

Emboldened by her reaction, I pushed her into the apartment, gripped the front of her dress and pulled it down so hard the material almost broke. I stared at her braless breasts for a moment, admiring their beauty, before I grabbed them and squeezed them hard, bending down to suckle her nipples, nibble them. She moaned with pleasure, spurring me to bite a little harder. As I kept working her breasts, filling my mouth with as much as I could of them, I pulled up her dress over her ass and found her panties. I ripped them off in one smooth move.

“Lie down on the floor,” I ordered her. Without a word, she did what I wanted, watching me from the rug as I undid my pants. The way she was breathing, biting her lower lip in anticipation, told me my actions was just what she wanted in that moment. I found a condom in my back pocket that I opened and slid over my big erection.

“Spread your legs wide,” I said. As she did so, I enjoyed the sight of her, seeing how aroused she was by my commands. Placing my hands on the insides of her knees, I spread her even wider. Then I entered her wet heaven with the full length of my erection.

Nina

“How did it all start?” Leslie asked me, having a sip of the iced tea she’d brought us both. We had been talking more about the bullying when I was in high school. Leslie had managed to convince me it was important for me to work through it, talk about it, in order to truly put it behind me. That it might be the key to why I was having these strange outbursts with Dylan. No matter how much I hated talking about it and doubted it would make a difference, I had decided I’d give it a go. I’d try whatever this therapist wanted once. I’d try it for Dylan. He deserved as much.

“When I was fourteen,” I said. “Pretty much as soon as I was transferred to Harvard Westlake and became friends with Hannah. Like a couple of weeks after those girls realized we were friends.”

“So Hannah was already a student there then. Was she on a scholarship like you?”

“Yes, but she was on a different kind that enabled her to transfer years earlier than I did. She had gone to Westlake since middle school.”

“I see. And was she always an outsider?”

“Not at all. She told me that when she was in fifth grade she and Chrissy were friends even. That friendship ended in seventh grade when the guy both of them had a crush on said he thought Chrissy was ugly and Hannah gorgeous. Ever since then Chrissy strived to become the most popular girl at school, the one all the guys wanted to date. And that meant she needed to make them hate Hannah.” I had a sip of iced tea. “The funny thing was that, physically speaking, Chrissy was better-looking than Hannah… But there was something about Hannah that just made her incredibly appealing. She was very vivacious. So
alive
.” My throat tightened and I needed to take a moment before continuing. “Anyway, so it was really when I started at the school and we became friends that it began. The girl basketball players coming after Hannah, and me, for being her friend. By that time, Chrissy had become the captain of the basketball team.”

Leslie nodded. “Was it mainly the girls in the basketball team that were after you?”

“Yes. It was as if Chrissy thought that by Hannah having a friend now, she was even more of a threat to her… That’s what it was all about—Chrissy being threatened by Hannah. She was a truly special person and Chrissy was just a dime a dozen kind of a girl. Pretty, but vapid. Deep inside, Chrissy knew it and she couldn’t handle it.” My throat felt thick again and my eyes began to burn. I swallowed, forcing back the threat of tears. To my relief, it didn’t take too much effort.

“Was the bullying always physical?” Leslie asked.

“No, only toward the end. They were mostly just spreading nasty rumors about us at first. Chrissy and her friend Tara came up with most of them, the girls in the basketball team taking their cues from them. They said we were lesbians because no guys would ever touch us. That we were prostitutes, pimping ourselves out to old men. That we were having sex with animals and were part of a sect that worshipped snakes. None of it was true, of course, but people seemed to believe it, because they stayed as far away from us as they could.”

I gave a humorless laugh. “Don’t ask me where these girls got all those warped ideas from… Anyway, when it came to physical bullying, they mostly just pushed us when they got a chance. The real bad stuff only started when Chrissy started to suspect her boyfriend liked Hannah. Which he did.”

“Did you girls ever tell the principal or a teacher what was going on?”

“Yeah, but they didn’t do anything about it. We told them a few times, but they didn’t care. I now know it was because Tara’s parents and a couple of the other girls’ parents were big donors to the school. And, after all, we were only scholarship kids. Expendable.”

“How many girls were part of that basketball team?”