“Nate,” she said again. He had to see that she was still the same person she’d always been. He hadn’t known, and then he hadn’t believed—but all the years they’d been working together, she’d been this way under the surface.
“I believe you,” he said. There was an urgency in his voice, like he needed her to listen. He needed it so he could end the conversation and get away. So that he didn’t have to be around her anymore. “I do. I just… wow, Laura. This is a lot.”
“I know,” Laura said. That numbness was falling over her again. Didn’t he think she knew? She’d had to live with this curse for her whole life.
“I have to go,” Nate said, starting a few steps in the direction of the cops now coming across the overpass toward them. Then he hesitated, looking back at the ground. He wanted to run so badly. Laura could see it. It was only duty holding him back.
“I’ll go,” Laura said instead, standing up. “They know where to reach me if they want a statement.” She turned to leave, walking in the opposite direction from where the cops were coming from even though it would mean a longer trip back to her car.
“Laura,” Nate called.
She turned and looked at him.
“Thanks,” he said. “For saving my life.”
Laura nodded, then continued walking.
Her partner of several years, her closest friend, and now the only one who knew her secret.
And he couldn’t even stand to be around her.