Читать книгу Mother by Fate - Tara Quinn Taylor - Страница 15
ОглавлениеTHE WOMAN WALKED with assurance, her shoulders straight and her head held high. She took her seat across from him at the round glass-topped table.
“Sorry about that,” she said.
“No problem.” He didn’t need an apology. He wanted an explanation.
She wasn’t offering one. Her gaze met his and Michael knew he’d met his match.
“Did you take care of whatever it was?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
It was late. But the air was nice. Balmy. If they listened carefully they might just hear the ocean on the other side of the security wall surrounding the complex.
“Why are you still here?” He liked that she was direct.
“Because I need to know anything you know that can help me find Nicole Kramer. I need to know what she told you.”
“If I knew a Nicole Kramer, I couldn’t tell you anything even if I wanted to.” She repeated what she’d told him earlier, and added, “I’m legally bound by HIPAA laws. And by client-counselor privilege.”
He’d obviously failed to convince her of the seriousness of the situation.
Leaning forward, one arm on the table, he said, “It would be just like Nicole to use a women’s shelter as a hideout. And if she’s doing so, every woman in your care is at risk.”
She assessed him silently.
He made certain that he stood up to the test. His gaze didn’t waver.
“The longer she’s out there, the more chance there is that someone’s going to get hurt,” he said, trying to find even a little of the connection they’d had earlier. He’d been there under false pretenses, but some of those feelings had been real. Her interest had been obvious, and his actions hadn’t been all calculated. All lies.
“You’ve seen her rap sheet?” Sara met him gaze for gaze.
“Yes.”
“You’ve read it yourself?”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t just something you heard about from someone else? A cop, maybe?”
“No.”
She studied him some more. And he wondered if she put her clients under the same microscope.
He wasn’t sure how well that tactic worked with abused women, but was pretty certain her skills would be a huge asset in law enforcement.
“Look, I realize you have no reason to trust me at this point. But I’m asking you to do so anyway. I’ve shown you my credentials. I’m not out to hurt Nicole. Only to get her off the streets until our justice system determines it’s safe for her to be there. I’m after her because she’s a threat to innocent people... And I came clean before allowing you to engage in a personal partnering based on lies.”
Her nod allowed him the first moment of satisfaction he’d had since he’d refused to allow their kiss to turn into something more.
Next to keeping his family safe, he’d wanted that in the worst way.
“So you’ll tell me what you know?”
“I’ll help you on one condition.”
His eyes narrowed. He wasn’t going to like this. Her tone of voice told him so. “What’s that?”
“I come with you.”
“No.”
“You need me.”
So she did know something.
“I work alone.”
“Make an exception.”
What was it with this woman? The question was becoming like a broken record in his mind. “Why?”
“You said you were near the thrift shop this afternoon.”
“Right.”
“And that this Nicole person was there with me yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“But she’s on the run now.”
“Correct.”
“It’s highly likely, then, that she saw you and that you are the reason why she took off.”
She’d made a bit of a jump. He hadn’t said he’d seen Nicole at the thrift shop that day. Only that he’d seen her there the day before. And that he’d been there that day. The day she’d run.
She knew more than she was openly admitting.
But then, he’d already known that. The question was did she purposely just let him know that? Or had she slipped?
“It’s possible that I spooked her” was all he said.
“Chances are if Nicole is associated with me, she trusts me.”
“Chances are.”
“She trusts me, not you. She sees you, she runs. I can’t find her. You can. Simple math here. You take me with you, and once you find her you let me approach her, and you end up with more than the nothing you have now.”
“So you don’t know where she is.”
“I’m not saying I know her at all.”
“But if I agree to take you with me, you’ll suddenly realize you know her. Am I getting my math right on that one?”
“You’re going to have to trust me on that one.”
