Things We Hide From the Light

When Nash rescues the mayor from a snake in her house, the two discuss the touchy subject of disciplining Tate Dilton and the legal ramifications of his stop of the Black couple from Washington. “One bad cop,” the mayor tells him, “is all it takes” (304).

Lina agrees to meet Nolan for drinks at the Honky Tonk—a “non-date” she tells herself (307). She shows up before Nolan. At the bar, a drunken Tate Dilton stares menacingly at her, and then aggressively accosts her about being Nash’s girlfriend, calling her “Morgan’s bitch” (310). Dilton snarls a threat about Nash, but Lina stands up to his bullying. Lina is surprised when the guy from the convenience store steps between Lina and Tate. Tate backs down and departs.

The convenience store man starts up a conversation that focuses on Nash and whether he remembers who shot him. When Nolan arrives, the man leaves. Nolan and Lina talk about their jobs; Nolan would give it up in a minute if he found the right person. Lina disagrees: “Letting someone in makes it that much easier for them to rip you apart” (317).

Lina returns home. As she settles down with a murder mystery, there is a thump at her door. She finds Nash, shivering, sweaty, and shirtless, having another panic attack. She leads him into her apartment, Nash clinging to her and begging her to stay close. She gently leads him to her bed where he gratefully falls asleep.

The Morgan brothers treat Career Day at Waylay’s school as a competition. To guarantee a bigger impression on the kids, Nash takes them on rides in a squad car and lets them flip on the siren.

Later, Nolan tells Nash about the Honky Tonk incident between Dilton and Lina.

As Lina shadows the thugs from Duncan Hugo’s car theft ring, hoping for a lead to the stolen Porsche, Nash calls her and demands to know why she did not tell him about Dilton and the Honky Tonk. If Dilton bothers her again, Nash wants to know first. He contritely asks Lina to have dinner—they have something real. She agrees to dinner.

Just as they hang up, there is a commotion at the house Lina is watching: Two men and a woman come out fighting with knives in their hands. Lina calls 911. Just then, a white van pulls up behind Lina’s car, and a man in a ski mask aims a gun at the feuding men—but he is not protecting Lina. He forces Lina to get in the van.

The abductors, one of whom is a woman, treat Lina politely. They take her to a Burger King to meet the man known as Grim, the leader of the area biker club. Grim explain that the stolen Porsche never made it to Hugo’s chop shop and cautions Lina—word on the street is that Duncan never left Knockemout because he is planning a bold act of betrayal: to cooperate with the feds, railroad his father into prison, and then take over the organization. But first Duncan would have to tie up the loose end: Nash.

On Lina’s advice, Nash and Grim meet. Nash is on edge, but Lina assures him that the bikers are no threat. Grim repeats his street intel that Duncan never left town after Nash’s botched shooting and that he is planning a big move against his own family’s operation by providing anonymous tips to the Feds about his father. Then, Grim warns that Nash, Naomi, and Waylay are the only obstacles between Duncan Hugo and his ambitious ascent to power.

It is Halloween. Knockemout’s Public Library sponsors its annual dress-like-your-favorite-fictional-character party. Lina is dressed as Nancy Drew. She sees Dilton and his cronies. At the party, Lina sees a friend from high school who apologizes for not being more caring after Lina’s heart attack on the soccer field. As the friend corrals her kids, Lina imagines for a moment what that kind of life must be like.

Her reverie is interrupted by the arrival of Nash and his buddies. Lina pretends to ignore them, but her heart is racing. As the party continues, during a raucous line dance, one of Dilton’s sleazier friends accosts Sloane, the librarian.

The situation escalates. Knox, Nash, and Lucian surround Sloane. Lina, who is itching to take on Dilton’s buddy, also steps in. When a drunken Dilton himself joins the showdown, a fight breaks out. Nash first lifts Lina up on a table to protect her from the scuffle. Dilton takes a swing at Nolan, who then knocks him down with a single swing. The two men, bloodied and cussing, are led off by cops. The Halloween party resumes.

Nash confronts Lina and tells her the two of them are going to talk—no more running away, no more games. Lina’s world is suddenly “full of Nash” (373). The two kiss passionately, have quick sex in the library, and leave.

They head to Lina’s apartment. There, they have fierce and unbridled sex again, ending in multiple orgasms. Their bodies rock in perfect rhythm. Nash has never felt this way before: “Angelina was my goddamn miracle” (382).