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Nia shook her head. “All right. No recording. What do you have?” She dragged a chair over to the corner and stood on it to click something on the camera. The blinking light turned off.

“Will the beginning part be erased?”

“Yes.” Nia returned the chair and sat on it. She pulled a notebook out of her pocket, set it on the table, then retrieved a second, smaller notebook.

Riley wasn’t sure she trusted a scrap of paper, but what was the alternative? Walk out? She thumbed the USB in the pocket and placed it on the table. She wanted this over with.

Nia took a step forward, a hungry look in her eyes. “What is it?”

“First, I didn’t give this to you, and I’m not testifying. I need you to agree.”

“Yes, as you said. I agree. What’s on it?”

Riley moved to the edge of her seat and glanced towards the still-open door. It had never been this quiet when she’d worked here.

“I was Nico’s executive assistant. This contains the last eighteen months of invoices that I processed on his behalf, as well as Gio Ricci’s.”

The stunned look on Nia’s face was satisfying for a moment.

“Oh, shit.” Nia picked it up, turning it over in her hand. “Where were you six months ago? Never mind. Are there copies?”

Riley shook her head. She didn’t have a copy. Kristi probably did, but Riley hadn’t asked.

“You can verify it against board meetings, financial approvals, and the Attivia accounts you froze.” Riley nodded to the drive.

Nia nodded quickly and blew a bit of hair out of her face. “Yup, got it.”

Riley pushed her chair back. “I guess that’s it.”

Nia gave her a sharp nod. “I appreciate this. More than you know.” She scrawled something in the notebook.

Riley swallowed the emotion that welled. It felt like she was finally doing something right.

“Yeah,” she said. She left the station, signing out and nodding to the older woman at the desk.

She opened the precinct door into the drizzle and walked down the three steps to the sidewalk. She looked around expecting it to hit her, that she’d just given evidence over to the police, but she didn’t feel any different.

What else was she going to do?

Humid air, exhaust, and ocean mixed on her tongue as she breathed in. She felt lighter than she expected.

Chapter 46

Riley

“Spell it out for me.”

The coffee shop was empty except for them, sheltered by an overgrown maple that had cracked the sidewalk. Saint sat across from Riley, one leg crossed over the other, his drink untouched.

“What do you want to know?”

“All of it.” What I’ve gotten myself into. “Within reason,” she amended. She didn’t need to know everything.

“I’m not going to tell you anything that puts you in danger.”

Fair enough.

His soft smile made her heart stutter. She brought her mug to her lips and waited for him to begin.