Her Final Confession

Chapter Sixty-Five

They called it a day early, went to Noah’s house, and collapsed into his bed. Too exhausted to fool around, they both fell deeply asleep. When she woke, it was dark outside, and a glance at the clock showed they’d been sleeping for four hours. Beside her, Noah lay flat on his back, snoring lightly. She leaned over and traced the line of his jaw, then ran her fingers through his thick brown hair. It was something she wanted to do often, but of course, never could because they were work colleagues. Now, everything had changed.

Smiling, she woke him with a kiss.

An hour later they were showered and dressed in sweats, sitting at Noah’s kitchen table together, a smorgasbord of Chinese takeout spread before them.

“This,” Noah said, stabbing a piece of sweet-and-sour chicken with his fork. “This is nice.”

“The food?” Josie teased.

“No,” he replied, waving his fork around. “This. Us. Together with no interruptions. Finally.”

He was right, of course, but Josie knew it was only a temporary reprieve. At any moment one or both of their phones would ring—hopefully with a lead or good news about Ethan Robinson. Gretchen’s whispered words about needing more time still pricked at the back of her mind. It was like gravel in her shoe. Every time she thought she got it out, she’d start walking again, only to be stabbed in the sole of her foot once more.

“I know that look,” Noah said.

She blinked and focused on his face, on the sexy stubble that had grown in that day. “What look is that?”

“You’re thinking about work.” He took a bite of rice. He wasn’t angry or even annoyed, and she loved him for that.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He smiled. “Don’t be. I know you can’t help it. So, tell me, what’s on your mind?”

She sighed and selected an egg roll, picking at its flaky skin. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

“Still?”

“Shouldn’t Ethan be with the Devil’s Blade by now?” she asked. “It’s been a week.”

“Hard to say,” Noah said. “We’re assuming he had to go to the Seattle chapter. We don’t know how much instruction Gretchen was able to give him. Maybe it was just a name. He had to get to Seattle and locate some man or some woman and then convince them not to let Devil’s Blade kill him. Gretchen asked for more time. She must be expecting some sort of notification either from this kid or from Devil’s Blade.”

“I still think there’s something, something important, that we haven’t figured out yet.”

“I’m not sure there’s anything we need to figure out. We know who killed Omar. We know why Gretchen lied. We know who killed the Wilkins couple. We know the identity of the Soul Mate Strangler, and we even have a damn good idea where to find Ethan Robinson.”

Josie put her egg roll back down. He was right, of course, but she was still bothered. Noah put his fork on the table, stood, and walked over to her, extending a hand. “Come on,” he said. “Let me help clear your head.”

Josie laughed. She took his hand and let him lead her upstairs.