Chapter 253 The Investigation

Author

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Nancy had her own mess to deal with.

She’d been planning this for three weeks.

Three weeks of phone tag and missed calls, plus a private investigator who kept saying "almost there" every time he cashed her checks.

Then last night, he finally came through. Said he had papers. Said she needed to see them in person. No photos, no scans. Face to face.

She picked a diner on the outskirts of town.

The kind of place with sticky floors and coffee that tasted like regret. No one here knew her.

She got there early. Grabbed a booth in the back. Ordered black coffee she didn’t drink.

The door bell jingled.

She looked up. And her stomach dropped.

It wasn’t the investigator.

It was Xander.

He spotted her right away. Walked over like he owned the place. Slid into the booth across from her with that grin she used to think was charming.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Nancy’s blood went cold. Her hand tightened around her coffee cup. "Where’s the guy I hired?"

"Took a vacation. Paid for, of course." Xander flagged down the waitress. "Coffee. Black." Then he turned back to Nancy. "You really thought I wouldn’t find out?"

She didn’t answer.

"Come on, Nancy. You know me better than that." He leaned back, arms crossed. "I’ve got eyes everywhere. You think you can hire someone to dig up dirt on me and I won’t hear about it?"

"What did you do to him?"

"Nothing. Gave him a better offer. He took it." Xander shrugged. "Business is business."

Nancy’s jaw tightened. "After what you did, I think I deserve some straight answers."

"After what I did?" Xander laughed. "You don’t even remember what I did. That’s the problem, isn’t it? You’re running on scraps and gut feelings."

"I remember enough."

"No, you don’t. You remember flashes. Feelings. Nothing solid enough to take to your husband."

He leaned forward.

"Let me make this easy for you. Everything between us was clean. Every deal, every transaction, every conversation. Consensual. Legal. Nothing you can use."

Nancy’s hands were shaking under the table.

"And let’s say you do find something. A receipt. A signature. A phone call log." Xander’s smile widened. "What’s Yardley going to think when you tell him you’ve been digging into your own past behind his back? That you didn’t trust him? That you kept secrets?"

She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

"He’ll have divorce papers on your desk within a week." Xander stood up. Pulled a twenty out of his wallet and dropped it on the table. "Coffee’s on me."

He walked out.

Nancy sat there for a long time. The coffee in front of her had gone cold. The diner noise faded into background static.

She’d been so close. So close to something. And now the PI was gone, and Xander knew she was looking.

She didn’t have a backup plan. Didn’t have another lead. Just fragments she couldn’t piece together.

Nancy slid out of the booth. Left the coffee untouched. Walked out into the parking lot and stood there for a full minute, staring at nothing.

--

By the time she got home, she was empty.

Nancy walked through the front door and heard Orion before she saw him. He was in the living room, building something with LEGOs on the floor.

"Mommy!" He looked up, face bright. "Look what I made! It’s a spaceship! It shoots lasers!"

Nancy tried to smile. Her face didn’t cooperate.

"Wow, baby. That’s really cool."

Orion squinted at her. He was only six, but he wasn’t dumb. "You look sad."

"I’m just tired, sweetie."

"You always say that."

She paused. He was right. She did.

"I know, baby. I’m sorry." She walked over and sat down on the floor next to him. "Show me the lasers."

His face lit up again. He spent the next ten minutes explaining the intricate mechanics of his LEGO spaceship, complete with sound effects and dramatic reenactments of space battles.

Nancy nodded along. Made the right noises. Kissed his head when he wasn’t looking.

Later, after she put him to bed and shut his door, she leaned against the hallway wall and closed her eyes.

Her phone buzzed.

"Told you. Drop it."

Same unknown number. She deleted it.

She just had to figure out who else knew the truth.

And pray she found them before Xander did.

She needed to clear her head. She needed to breathe.

That’s how she ended up in the bathroom, turning the water as hot as she could stand it. Steam filled the room until she could barely see her own reflection in the mirror.

Nancy let herself sink deeper into the tub until the water touched her chin. She stared at the ceiling tiles and tried to untangle the mess in her head.

Could she talk to Yardley?

But then she thought about what Xander said. About the threat.

No. She couldn’t tell him. Not yet.

She was so lost in her head that she completely forgot about the wet floor.

She stood up too fast. Her foot slipped on the tile like she was stepping on ice.

"Shit—"

She went down hard. Her hip hit the floor first, then her elbow. Pain shot up her ankle like someone had jammed a knife into it.

"Nancy?"

Yardley’s voice came through the door. Low. Sharp.

"Nancy, you okay in there?"

She bit down on the pain. "I’m fine."

She tried to push herself up. Her ankle buckled under her weight.

Before she could try again, the door swung open.

Yardley stood in the doorway, steam pouring out around him like smoke. His eyes scanned the room and landed on her, half on the floor, wrapped in a towel that was doing a terrible job of covering anything.

Nancy felt her face go nuclear.

"How did you—"

"I heard you fall," he said, already crossing the room. "I wasn’t going to just stand there."

He didn’t ask permission. He just bent down, slid one arm under her knees and the other around her back, and lifted her like she weighed nothing.

Her skin was still wet and warm from the bath. His hands pressed against her bare shoulder and she felt his whole body tense up like a wire.

Nancy turned her face away. She couldn’t look at him. Her heart was slamming against her ribs.

But when she turned, her lips brushed against his throat.

Yardley stopped breathing.

His voice came out rough. Rough like gravel. "Don’t move."

Nancy’s face burned so hot she thought she might catch fire. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"I’m not mad," he said, softer now. "I just need you to stay still. Or I’m not going to be able to keep it together."

Keep what together?

Nancy didn’t want to find out. She kept her eyes closed and prayed he’d put her down soon.

But he didn’t. He carried her out of the bathroom and set her down on the bed. Slow. Careful. Like she was something breakable.

Then he stepped back like he’d been burned.

"I’ll get the first aid kit," he said.

And he was gone.

Nancy sat there, clutching the towel to her chest, her whole body shaking.

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