WHEN I got to work, Megumi wasn’t a

WHEN I got to work, Megumi wasn’t at her desk so I didn’t get to see how she was faring. It kind of gave me an excuse to call Martin, though, and see if things with him and Lacey had panned out after our wild night at Primal.
I pulled out my smartphone to program a reminder and saw that my mom had left a voice mail the night before. I listened to it on the way to my desk. She wanted to see if I wanted hair and makeup done before the dinner on Thursday, suggesting that she come over with a beauty crew and we could get dolled up together.
When I reached my desk, I texted her back, letting her know I loved the idea, but time would be tight, since I wouldn’t be getting off work until five.
I was settling in for the day when Will stopped by.
“Got plans for lunch?” he asked, looking cute in a plaid shirt only he could pull off so well and a solid navy tie.
“Not another carb feast, please. My butt can’t take it.”
“No.” He grinned. “Natalie’s past the brutal phase of her diet, so it’s getting better. I was thinking a soup and salad bar.”
I smiled. “I’m game for that. Want to see if Megumi wants to come?”
“She’s not here today.”
“Oh? Is she sick?”
“Don’t know. I only heard about it because I was the one who had to call the temp agency for someone to cover for her.”
I sat back with a frown. “I’ll give her a call on my break and see how she’s feeling.”
“Tell her I said hi.” He drummed a beat on the top of my cubicle wall and headed off.
THE rest of the day passed in a blur. I left a message for Megumi on my break, then tried to reach her again after work as Clancy drove me to Brooklyn for my Krav Maga class. “Have Lacey call me back if you’re feeling too sick,” I said in my voice mail message. “I just want to know you’re okay.”
I killed the call, then sat back and appreciated the grandeur of the Brooklyn Bridge. Going through the massive stone arches soaring over the East River always felt like traveling to a different world. Below, the waterway was dotted with commuter ferries and a lone sailboat heading out into the busy New York harbor.
We reached the long off-ramp in less than a minute and I turned my attention back to my phone.
I called Martin.
“Eva,” he answered cheerfully, clearly recognizing my number from his contact list. “I’m glad to hear from you.”
“How are you?”
“I’m good. You?”
“Hanging in there. We should get together sometime.” I smiled at a cop who was artfully directing traffic at the hugely complicated intersection on the Brooklyn side. She kept things moving with a whistle between her teeth and fluid hand gestures that had serious sass to them. “We could grab a drink after work or double-date for dinner.”
“I’d like that. Are you seeing someone in particular?”
“Gideon and I are working things out.”
“Gideon Cross? Well, if anyone can hook him, it’d be you.”
I laughed and wished I had my ring on. I didn’t wear it around during the day the way Gideon wore his. He didn’t care who knew he was taken or by whom, but I still had everyone in my life to tell. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. What about you? You seeing anyone?”
“Lacey and I are dabbling. I like her. She’s a lot of fun.”
“That’s great. I’m glad to hear it. Listen, if you talk to her today, can you ask her to let me know how Megumi’s doing? She’s out sick and I just want to make sure she’s all right and doesn’t need anything.”
“Sure thing.” The receiver filled with a sudden rush of noise, the unmistakable sound of him stepping outside. “Lacey’s out of town, but she’s supposed to give me a call tonight.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. You’re on the move, so I’ll let you go. Let’s plan on getting together next week and we’ll work out the details in the next couple of days.”
“Sounds good. I’m glad you called.”
I smiled. “Me, too.”
We hung up and because I felt like reaching out, I sent a text to Shawna and another to Brett. Just quick hellos with smiley faces.
When I looked up, I caught Clancy looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“How’s Mom?” I asked.
“She’ll be fine,” he said, in his usual no-nonsense way.
I nodded and looked out the window, catching sight of a gleaming steel bus stop shelter displaying Cary’s billboard. “Family is so hard sometimes, you know.”
“I know.”
“You have any brothers or sisters, Clancy?”
“One of each.”
What were they like? Were they tough as nails and deadly like Clancy? Or was he the black sheep? “Are you close, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“We’re tight. My sister lives out of state, so I don’t see her much, but we talk on the phone once a week at least. My brother’s in New York, so we catch up more often.”
“Cool.” I tried to picture a relaxed Clancy tossing back beers with someone who resembled him, but couldn’t pull it off. “Does he work security, too?”
“Not yet.” His mouth did that little lip twitch, almost-smile thing. “He’s with the FBI for now.”
“Is your sister in law enforcement?”
“She’s in the Marines.”
“Whoa. Awesome.”
“Yes, she is.”
I studied him and his military crew cut. “You were in the service, too, weren’t you?”
“I was.” He didn’t volunteer any more than that.
When I opened my mouth to pry further, we turned a corner and I realized we’d reached the former warehouse where Parker had his studio.
I grabbed my gym bag and got out before Clancy could open the door for me. “See you in an hour!”
“Knock ’em out, Eva,” he said, watching me until I got inside.
The door had barely closed behind me when I saw a familiar brunette I would’ve rather not seen again. Ever. She stood to the side, just off the training mats, with her arms crossed. She was dressed in black workout pants with a bright blue stripe down the sides that matched her fitted long-sleeve shirt. Her brown curly hair was scraped back into an unforgiving ponytail.
She turned. Cool blue eyes raked me from head to toe.
Facing the inevitable, I took a deep breath and approached her. “Detective Graves.”
“Eva.” She gave me a curt nod. “Great tan.”
“Thanks.”
“Cross take you away for the weekend?”
Not exactly a casual question. My back went up. “I had some time off.”
Her thin mouth quirked on one side. “Still cautious. Good. What does your dad think of Cross?”
“I believe my dad trusts my judgment.”
Graves nodded. “I’d keep thinking about Nathan Barker’s bracelet if I were you. But then, loose ends make me twitchy.”
A shiver of unease ran down my back. The whole thing made me twitchy, but who could I talk to about it? No one but Gideon, and I knew him too well to doubt that he was doing everything in his considerable power to solve that mystery.
“I need a sparring partner,” the detective said suddenly. “You’re up.”
“Uh, what?” I blinked at her. “Is that … ? Can we … ?”
“The case has gone cold, Eva.” She stalked onto the mat and began to stretch. “Hurry up. I don’t have all night.”

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

WHEN I got to work, Megumi wasn’t at her desk so I didn’t get to see how she was faring. It kind of gave me an excuse to call Martin, though, and see if things with him and Lacey had panned out after our wild night at Primal.I pulled out my smartphone to program a reminder and saw that my mom had left a voice mail the night before. I listened to it on the way to my desk. She wanted to see if I wanted hair and makeup done before the dinner on Thursday, suggesting that she come over with a beauty crew and we could get dolled up together.When I reached my desk, I texted her back, letting her know I loved the idea, but time would be tight, since I wouldn’t be getting off work until five.I was settling in for the day when Will stopped by.“Got plans for lunch?” he asked, looking cute in a plaid shirt only he could pull off so well and a solid navy tie.“Not another carb feast, please. My butt can’t take it.”“No.” He grinned. “Natalie’s past the brutal phase of her diet, so it’s getting better. I was thinking a soup and salad bar.”I smiled. “I’m game for that. Want to see if Megumi wants to come?”“She’s not here today.”“Oh? Is she sick?”“Don’t know. I only heard about it because I was the one who had to call the temp agency for someone to cover for her.”I sat back with a frown. “I’ll give her a call on my break and see how she’s feeling.”"Katakan padanya aku berkata hi." Dia menanamkan mengalahkan di atas dinding bilik saya dan berangkat.Sisa hari berlalu dalam kabur. Aku meninggalkan pesan untuk Megumi pada istirahat saya, kemudian mencoba menghubunginya lagi setelah bekerja sebagai Clancy mengantarku ke Brooklyn untuk kelas Krav Maga saya. "Memiliki Lacey menelepon saya kembali jika Anda merasa terlalu sakit," kataku dalam pesan suara saya. "Saya hanya ingin tahu kau baik-baik saja."Membunuh panggilan, kemudian duduk kembali dan dihargai kemegahan Jembatan Brooklyn. Melalui lengkungan batu besar yang menjulang di atas Sungai East selalu merasa seperti perjalanan ke dunia yang berbeda. Di bawah ini, yang pernah tercatat adalah dihiasi dengan feri komuter dan perahu layar lone berangkat ke sibuk New York harbor.Kami mencapai panjang off-jalan dalam waktu kurang dari satu menit dan aku berbalik perhatian saya kembali ke ponsel saya.Aku menelepon Martin."Eva," ia menjawab riang, jelas mengenali nomor saya dari daftar kontak nya. "Saya senang mendengar dari Anda.""Bagaimana Apakah Anda?""Aku baik. Anda?""Tergantung di sana. Kita harus berkumpul Kapan." Aku tersenyum pada polisi yang berseni mengarahkan lalu lintas di persimpangan sangat rumit di sebelah Brooklyn. Dia terus hal-hal yang bergerak dengan peluit antara gigi dan gerakan tangan cairan yang serius sass kepada mereka. "Kita bisa ambil minum setelah bekerja atau tanggal ganda untuk makan malam.""Aku akan seperti itu. Apakah Anda melihat seseorang khususnya?""Gideon dan saya adalah bekerja hal-hal keluar."“Gideon Cross? Well, if anyone can hook him, it’d be you.”I laughed and wished I had my ring on. I didn’t wear it around during the day the way Gideon wore his. He didn’t care who knew he was taken or by whom, but I still had everyone in my life to tell. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. What about you? You seeing anyone?”“Lacey and I are dabbling. I like her. She’s a lot of fun.”“That’s great. I’m glad to hear it. Listen, if you talk to her today, can you ask her to let me know how Megumi’s doing? She’s out sick and I just want to make sure she’s all right and doesn’t need anything.”“Sure thing.” The receiver filled with a sudden rush of noise, the unmistakable sound of him stepping outside. “Lacey’s out of town, but she’s supposed to give me a call tonight.”“Thank you. I appreciate it. You’re on the move, so I’ll let you go. Let’s plan on getting together next week and we’ll work out the details in the next couple of days.”“Sounds good. I’m glad you called.”I smiled. “Me, too.”We hung up and because I felt like reaching out, I sent a text to Shawna and another to Brett. Just quick hellos with smiley faces.When I looked up, I caught Clancy looking at me in the rearview mirror.“How’s Mom?” I asked.“She’ll be fine,” he said, in his usual no-nonsense way.I nodded and looked out the window, catching sight of a gleaming steel bus stop shelter displaying Cary’s billboard. “Family is so hard sometimes, you know.”“I know.”“You have any brothers or sisters, Clancy?”“One of each.”What were they like? Were they tough as nails and deadly like Clancy? Or was he the black sheep? “Are you close, if you don’t mind my asking?”“We’re tight. My sister lives out of state, so I don’t see her much, but we talk on the phone once a week at least. My brother’s in New York, so we catch up more often.”“Cool.” I tried to picture a relaxed Clancy tossing back beers with someone who resembled him, but couldn’t pull it off. “Does he work security, too?”“Not yet.” His mouth did that little lip twitch, almost-smile thing. “He’s with the FBI for now.”“Is your sister in law enforcement?”“She’s in the Marines.”“Whoa. Awesome.”“Yes, she is.”I studied him and his military crew cut. “You were in the service, too, weren’t you?”“I was.” He didn’t volunteer any more than that.When I opened my mouth to pry further, we turned a corner and I realized we’d reached the former warehouse where Parker had his studio.I grabbed my gym bag and got out before Clancy could open the door for me. “See you in an hour!”“Knock ’em out, Eva,” he said, watching me until I got inside.Pintu telah hampir ditutup di belakang saya ketika saya melihat rambut cokelat akrab saya telah agak tidak terlihat lagi. Pernah. Dia berdiri ke samping, hanya off tikar latihan, dengan tangan menyeberang. Dia mengenakan celana hitam latihan dengan garis biru cerah menuruni sisi yang cocok kemeja lengan panjang dilengkapi. Rambutnya keriting cokelat tergores kembali ke ekor kuda yang tak kenal ampun.Ia berpaling. Mata biru keren meraup saya dari kepala hingga ujung kaki.Menghadapi yang tak terelakkan, aku mengambil napas dalam-dalam dan mendekatinya. "Detektif Graves.""Eva." Dia memberiku mengangguk singkat. "Cokelat besar.""Terima kasih.""Cross membawamu pergi untuk akhir pekan?"Bukan pertanyaan yang santai. Saya kembali naik. "Aku punya beberapa waktu."Tipis mulutnya quirked di satu sisi. "Tetap berhati-hati. Bagus. Apa ayah Anda pikirkan silang? ""Saya percaya saya percaya ayah penilaian saya."Kuburan mengangguk. "Aku akan terus berpikir tentang Nathan Barker gelang kalau saya jadi Anda. Tapi kemudian, berakhir longgar membuat saya gugup."Gemetar kegelisahan berlari ke punggungku. Seluruh hal yang membuatku gugup, tapi yang bisa saya berbicara dengan tentang hal itu? Tidak ada tapi Gideon, dan aku tahu dia terlalu baik untuk meragukan bahwa dia melakukan segala kuasa-Nya cukup untuk memecahkan misteri itu."Saya perlu sparing partner," kata detektif tiba-tiba. "Kau naik.""Eh, apa?" Saya berkedip padanya. "Apakah itu...? Bisakah kita...?""Kasus telah pergi dingin, Eva." Dia berjalan ke tikar dan mulai untuk meregangkan. "Terburu-buru. Aku tidak punya sepanjang malam."