The kiss had been nice, but Ivan pulled her away with comments about being drunk. Wasn't that the point of drinking?
Alex sighed as they walked and went to sit. Water was on tap. She wasn't that drunk!
Her head was a little fuzzy so when he asked her the question she blinked at him. Alex wondered where he was going in all of that. Surely he'd ended the kiss for just that reason, now he was seeing if she was single. But none of that came out as she spoke softly. "There was someone, nothing serious, mind, but still someone. But he passed."
Alex didn't really want to expand on it but she would. Irony was that it was Ivan who had put Bas on the radar of the Atharim. Or rather Bas who did it from all accounts, but still it was Ivan who he'd been on the scene when it all went down. Bas was on the run after that - from the cops but the Atharim found him. Alex was sure of it. Vega had covered it up.
Alex covered her mouth, she hadn't meant to say it out loud. Maybe she was a little more drunk than she thought.
Her voice was so enticing he had to stop and think for a moment before he heard what she said. Her words seemed whistful. Not serious my ass.
She seemed to get angry. And then... "Vega had it covered up."
She seemed to realize what she said and tried to cover.
"What?"
His head was fuzzy but he tried to focus. "What do.you mean?"
The words had been out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying. She had no proof and that had sounded a lot like fact. She didn't know, but she assumed.
But she explained. "Vega is Atharim. The man I was seeing was one of the channelers. The second I had encountered. Vega was on the case, I can't be certain, but I am confident he made it more difficult for the other cop."
Which was Ivan, but Alex didn't want to come out and say it. If he picked it up then he could confront Vega, but Alex didn't know any of this. "He was one of the first on the scene and your friend, the murderer, he was there. The Atharim got him, I know it and Vega covered it up."
Ivan felt fuzzy, trying to process everything Alex was saying. Knowing Vega was Atharim- had covered stuff up- was one thing. Specifics was something else.
And part of it seemed familiar. He leaned forward, intensely focused- well as focused as he could be after a shot or five. "Which case are you talking about? Nox, you mean?The murderer?"
He couldn't help the disquiet or churning in his stomach. Hopefully that was the tequila.
Alex sighed. Ivan was too drunk. She giggled. She was doing things she shouldn't have done so why not go all out. Not that her rational mind had anything at all to do with her drunken one. Maybe he wouldn't remember it in the morning.
"You are a little drunk."
She said ruffling his hair then leaned in and whispered (or so she thought) "The Volodin case. You were on it. You have more than one murderer friend?'
She scoffed in mock disgust with a grin. "Of course the Durante boy. Tell me you didn't put two and two together. You were walking around in tunnels on one end of town, and Volodin was on the other. Bas was in Nox's supposed home which was conveniently blown up with Bas inside. I wouldn't be surprised if Durante didn't lure Bas into the building. And for all we know there was no body even in there. The fire incinerated all evidence."
Alex sat up and took a long draft of her water in front of her. "All very fishy to me."
He was trying to concentrate on what she was saying but her rifling his hair and leaning in to whisper was kind of distracting. Part of him was to the point of saying 'fuck it' and seeing where this led.
But this was important, damnit!! Focus, moron! Ok...so the name Volodin's of course gonna grab his attention. Asshole just attacked him and Zoya in the market for no reason. (And he pushed away thoughts of her again. She'd left not soon after that.)
And she brought him up saying Vega had covered up the loss of someone in her life. The lightbulb went off and his eyes widened. "Wait. You and that Volodin guy? But you're a cop?"
Suddenly he was glad it hadn't gone any further. First Vega. Alex too? Was there anyone who was what they said they were?
Alex pulled away with a frown. "That's what you take away from this conversation. That I was fucking a criminal?"
Alex stood up, dislodged her keys from her purse and detangled her car key from her keyring and held it in her fist. "First. I am not a cop.
I am a profile who works for the CCDPD."
Alex shifted her footing. "And second it's none of your goddamned business who I share a bed with."
She grabbed his hand and pressed the car key into the palm of his hand. "I'd appreciate it if you drove my car into work tomorrow. I'm taking a cab."
Alex turned on her heel and wove her way to the door.
He felt the keys hit his palm and her anger washed over him. What? Did she not get it? As she turned to go, he took her arm.
"Hold on. Hold on. I wasn't ignoring what you said."
He couldn't keep the anger from his voice. "But you saw what he did. Not just to me, though I was in the hospital for over a week. Or to someone I cared about. To the others in the market. People died, Alex! And you just casually tell me you knew him? Were fucking him? Don't pretend you don't understand why I might focus on that little fact. Don't pretend Nox isn't a sore point for you because of the things he and his friends did to your people."
The wrong way, he knew, especially when 'you' came out a bit more forcefully than normal. But he didn't care.
Well, normally he did. And he did. He forced his voice down,
realizing he had been speaking louder than necessary."Look. I'm sorry. Let's start over again. You don't assume what I think and I don't assume your motives. Ok? Sit. Please?"
That 'please' was almost an after thought, but he did mean it. He almost expected a drink thrown in his face. And tequila burned the eye. He let go of her arm, held his hands up, keys still dangling from his fingers. He couldn't pretend he wasn't mad. But that didn't mean the conversation had to stop. This could change everything.
Alex glared at him. "I was sleeping with long before you and him got into it. You don't think I was torn up over it. But I didn't have to deal with any of it because the fucking Atharim killed him! I didn't get to be angry with him. I didn't get to forgive him. I saw him one day and then I would never see him again."
Alex didn't sit down. She was furious. "Of course I get why you hate him. It wasn't casual. I didn't mean to say that about Vega. I didn't mean for you ever to find out. For anyone to find out. The only person who knew even remotely who I had been with was your little friend who you let away with murder."
Alex turned again and headed through the door and into the cold night and stepped to the curb her hand raised for a cab. She should have called for one, but she needed out of that place, out of the heat and hearing of other idiots. Her reputation forever tarnished!
Well, at least his eyes didn't sting. He stared at the door as it banged shut. Gradually, he became aware of the noises around him. Georg studiously ignored looking at him- and then dropped a shot in front of him. Ivan looked up at him and gave him a half- hearted smile.
She had been trying to say something. But damnit it, he was right! She knew he was right! But could she say that? Nooo.
And his heart was racing, all that anger and frustration he was feeling. Because she was right too. Knowing the guy didn't make her any more guilty than him knowing Nox. And the fact was, he'd been stupid about Nox. Wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Wanted to believe too easily that an Atharim could be an ally.
Vega. This was all about Vega. Really. For him at least. Fucking asshole!!! Had betrayed his badge. Unapologetically. Copped to hiding crimes and derailing investigations. Volodin had deserved a trial. He didn't deserve to be put down. He should have faced Ivan in court. Should have faced Zoya. Should have seen the families of the people he'd hurt and killed. Should have lost his freedom. The right way.
But the fucking Atharim. Playing judge, jury and executioner. Cept he'd liked Vega. Looked up to him. Tried to see how noble he was all trying to save his son.
The most selfish motives in the book. You're all good with killing innocent people- until it's someone you love. Fucking bastard. He wasn't a good cop. He deserved to be prosecuted as accessory after the fact.
And Nox should have been held. That had been all him. Trying to forge some sort of coalition just to feel better about Vega. Well, he'd have to face the music in the morning.
But Alex deserved better.
He ignored the drink and went outside. She was still standing there. Her body language was wound tight. It was cold and she was just standing there with her hand raised. He walked up to her, feeling a sense of shame. He didn't say anything. Just stood there.
Finally, "Look. I was being an asshole."
He laughed softly to try to break the mood. "I know that."
Another laugh. "And maybe you didn't need to fly off the handle either. I didn't actually say you did anything wrong. You just caught me by surprise, is all. And maybe you are right about some things."
That asshole Vega! "Can we just maybe talk a bit more? Let me walk you home at least, if you live nearby. I can't drive, obviously. Let's work through this. You're a good partner. And I like you."
He colored but was glad for the shadow. He did like her. A little.