Page 79 of Captivating Anika
As I’m trying to find the right words to call this interview to a halt without pissing Anika off in the process, Bill Evans suddenly grabs his phone and reads something on his screen.
“He’s awake,” he announces, drawing Livingston’s attention. “Cooper. We should go.”
All three of them immediately get to their feet.
“I’ll see you out,” I volunteer, whispering to Anika, “Eat, I’ll be right back.”
Outside, I tap Evans on the shoulder. He stops and turns.
“She needs to know everything. And not just her, it needs to be made public, the car, Kim’s death, everything.”
“Not yet.”
The answer comes from Livingston.
“Why the hell not? This is twice she’s been attacked. Clearly someone thinks she has information she doesn’t. Are you going for three? Let this organization come after her themselves? You heard her, the brother told her they’d come after her too.”
I know I’m gaining ground when Evans backs me up.
“You’ve gotta admit, the guy has a point.”
“Tomorrow. Give me a day to interview Brian Cooper, see if he’s able to provide us with what we need. One day.”
“One day,” I agree.
We’re picking up the dogs tomorrow morning, I’m hoping they’ll be a distraction for her when I have to tell her her friend is dead.
I wait until they’re gone before I return inside to find Nira shoving a plate at her daughter.
“Eat.”
Nira who, a little over an hour and a half ago, spotted her daughter being accosted by a man in the driveway when she was looking out the window and reacted. That five-foot-nothing woman snuck outside through the garage, and after grabbing one of the clubs from the golf bag I’d just stored there, walked up to the gun-toting FedEx guy, and whaled him in the head so hard, she knocked him down and out with one swing.
And Momma bear apparently isn’t done yet, trying to get her daughter to put something in her stomach. The woman has to be made of steel, because I haven’t seen her flinch yet.
But when I close in, I notice the plate shaking in the older woman’s hand.
“Not hungry, Mom, just leave it, I’ll eat something later,” Anika responds right then.
I don’t think she notices the shaking, or the spots of deep red high on her mother’s cheekbones. If I’m not mistaken, Nira is not doing nearly as well as she’d like everyone to believe.
I take the plate from her hand before she drops it, and set it down on the coffee table. Then I put my arm around the woman, but before I can guide her to the couch, her knees buckle.
“Bodhi! Need a hand.”
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
Anika reacts faster than her brother and shoots to her feet, helping me move her mother to the couch. Nira is almost vibrating under my hands as we sit her down. Bodhi rushes over, and so does Sumo, who immediately goes into paramedic mode.
“Back off a bit,” he tells us firmly.
I slip an arm around Anika and pull her back with me.
Sumo tosses his keys to Cheddar. “Car is parked across the street; kit is in the trunk.”
That’s probably his trauma kit, which would hold just about anything a paramedic might need in a medical emergency.
“I’m fine,” Nira says, sounding a bit out of breath.