Page 4 of Built of Illusions

Roman was sputtering an apology, but Josie ignored them both. Instead of letting herself be led from the room, she patted Nico’s arm and moved out of his hold to see the board.

Roman moved to stand beside her. “I’m sorry, Josie. Nico’s right, I shouldn’t have brought you here. You’ve been such a big help over the years, I forget you’re not an agent.”

A smile ghosted across Josie’s face. “No need to be insulting, Roman.”

Roman laughed but it was strained. Nico knew him well enough to know this gaffe would upset his friend for a long time.

As Josie’s gaze roved over the board, her body stiffened and her face paled. She was gorgeous at any time, and she was always strong. Blunt, sarcastic, bold. Now, she appeared as fragile as the filigreed glass miniatures his grandmother used to collect. Nico shoved his hand into his pocket and rubbed the ring he used as a touchstone. His grandmother had been one of his favorite people and he liked having the reminder of her with him.

As a profiler, he spent most of his days studying some of the worst people on the planet. The ring reminded him of one of the best and helped him remember all the good in the world.

When Josie rolled her lips together, Nico decided to act. Again, he stood in front of her but this time he rubbed her shoulders. “That’s enough. Come on.”

His voice was husky and he swallowed hard while he turned her and then took her hand to tug her out of the room. Civilians didn’t need to see those images.

To his surprise, Josie didn’t resist, nor did she pull her hand away from his as he led the way back to the office he and Roman shared. His buddy called out that he would grab some coffee and join them.

Nico walked into their office and pulled the visitor's chairs so when they sat they were facing each other. Her eyes held a faraway look as she sat and he continued to hold her hand. When she still appeared frozen, he took her other hand and squeezed them both.

Josie closed her eyes again, then pulled in a deliberate breath and let it out slowly. When she opened her eyes this time, they were fully aware. Her cheeks flushed as she looked down at their joined hands. Nico squashed the sexual awareness he felt every time they worked together. This was about helping her cope with seeing the photos. Nothing else.

He didn’t have time for a relationship. He’d always been attracted to this woman, but he worked in a world of darkness. She was all about the light. He couldn’t pull her down with him.

As he always did, he shoved his feelings behind the mask and kept his attraction hidden. He was a pro at keeping his body and face in neutral.

Josie squeezed his fingers and then let go. She sat up straight, put on her own armor, and then smiled. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to fall apart on you.”

Nico laughed. “Fall apart? Seriously? That was probably the opposite of falling apart.”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, thanks for not making me feel like a fool.”

Roman walked into the room carrying a carafe of coffee and some mugs.

Josie’s eyes widened again. “You’ve upgraded.”

Nico nodded and grinned. “Tansy’s influence.” His foster-sister was a champion for the environment and he felt guilty using anything disposable. They’d upgraded from paper to glass and ceramic. In the break room, Nico had ordered and installed an energy efficient commercial dishwasher. They’d converted almost everyone on their floor to their cause.

Josie smiled and her body language relaxed fractionally. The two of them had spent a week at Christmas up in Vermont helping Tansy and their friends stop a killer. Nico had talked Josie into coming with them to help a woman who’d been in Wit Sec. Josie’s skill as an artist had been instrumental in helping them identify and catch the group of people who’d been targeting their friend.

Josie had assisted Nico and Roman enough times that they both knew she took her coffee sweet and light. Roman added the fixings and handed her a cup, then poured black ones for himself and Nico.

Roman leaned against the desk. “I’m really sorry, Josie. I wasn’t thinking about the board being up. I was on my way to bring in some more files and just dragged you into that.”

“It’s okay, Roman. Don’t worry about it. Are those poor women the victims of the man you want me to sketch?”

Roman grimaced and nodded.

Josie nodded as well and looked at them both. “I want to help. He’s a monster and if I can do anything to help you stop him, I will.”

Nico wanted to take her hands again, but he didn’t. “Thanks, Josie. We appreciate any help you can give us.”

Because they were going to take this bastard down.

Josie hoped her shaking wasn’t visible from the outside. She’d learned from an early age to keep her strongest emotions inside. Fear, loathing, and anger were some of the strongest she’d ever felt.

But nothing like what those poor women had felt.

The images of their mutilated bodies would give her nightmares for years to come. But Josie was one of the lucky ones. Seeing the images nearly made her ill, but those women had felt every moment of the attack. Had probably known they were dying and that there wasn’t a thing they could do to stop it.