As soon as he got his mom justice.
Chapter Nine
“Just say it.”
“Say what?”
Ian blew out a breath and shoved his free hand into the bag of chips. “I know you’re thinking this is a bad idea. You’ve been thinking it since I told you.”
“If I thought it was a bad idea, would I be coming with you?”
Ian snorted and cast a quick glance in his partner’s direction. “Yeah, you definitely would. If for no other reason than to tell me I told you so.”
Marissa gathered her hair up into a bun and left it at the top of her head. “It is a bad idea, but I’m not coming with you so I can tell you I told you so. I’m coming because that’s what a good partner does.”
Guilt churned in the center of Ian’s stomach.
He hadn’t been fair to Marissa lately, but it was only because he didn’t want to endanger her. Too many people were in the line of fire already, and the last thing he wanted was to have his actual partner in crime be in danger.
Ian would never forgive himself if he did that to Marissa, not when they’d been partners for years and friends for much longer.
Nothing mattered more to him than keeping the people he loved safe.
It was exactly why he’d agreed to go on a three-hour drive, to a town he’d heard very little about, to meet up with a contact who had information about his mother’s case. While a part of him doubted the validity of the information he was going to get, the other part of him was impatient to throw the case wide open.
Ian wanted it to be the break he was waiting for, but he knew better than to get his hopes up, so he settled back against his seat and rolled his shoulders. Then he wiped his hands on the front of his jeans and lowered his sunglasses.
Ahead of him, the road was fairly empty except for a few other cars. The trees on either side all blurred together, but he paid them no attention.
All he could think about was the phone call he got last night and how excited he’d been. Not even a sleepy and disoriented Lucy had dissuaded him. Instead, he’d made the call to Marissa to convince her to join him, and it was how the two of them ended up on a three-hour road trip with plenty of snacks and country music playing on the radio.
This better pan out, or you’ll have wasted an entire day for nothing.
“Where are we meeting him again?”
“This bus stop in the middle of town.”
“Yeah, that’s not suspicious in the least.” Marissa popped a bag of chips open and snorted. “Doesn’t that make you worried at all?”
“I’ll take whatever chance I can get to find new evidence for my mom’s case. Wouldn’t you?”
He felt Marissa’s eyes on his face, quiet and contemplative. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. You’re a lot more patient than I am.”
“I think you’ve had too much caffeine. Why don’t you close your eyes and sleep? We should be there in an hour.”
Marissa pushed her chair back and folded her arms over her chest.
Alone with his thoughts, Ian had no idea what to do with himself. He gripped the steering wheel, fiddled with the radio stations, and wiped crumbs off of his collar. Finally, he sat up straighter, secured his earpieces, and listened to the audiobook playing on his phone.
Once they reached the city limits, Ian pulled his car up by the side of the road. He paused the audiobook, took out his phone, and texted the contact. Moments later, a black car came up out of the forest, and a dark-haired man in his forties, in trousers and a button-down shirt, came out.
He leaned against the car’s hood and folded his arms over his chest.
Marissa adjusted her seat and pulled her glasses down over her face. “It’s showtime.”
“Last chance to sit this out.”
“Not a chance,” Marissa replied before pushing her door open. “We’re in this together, partner. Besides, I don’t want to answer to Lucy if things go wrong.”
