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“I think she’s in trouble, but she won’t talk. She’s afraidof something, and I can’t push her to tell me at this point.”
“How long have you been together? You didn’t mention herwhen I saw you a couple of weeks ago.”
He sighed. “I’ve met her since then. Look, I know it soundsquick, but she’s…she’s perfect for us.”
“Say no more.” Harlow stopped him. “I hear about how my momknew she would marry my dads within a week of meetingthem, and then Dad says he knew the minute he met her and it only took a weekbecause Papa screwed things up by taking his sugar, and I’m pretty sure that’ssomething gross I shouldn’t have to hear about. So I accept this is serious andyou need to figure out what her problems are. I need a name and any informationyou can give me. Where’s she from?”
“Chicago,” he replied, taking the key and pressing it intothe trunk’s keyhole. “Though I’m almost certain it’s a lie. Nicole Mason. Mightnot be her real name. I took a picture of her driver’s license. I’ll text it toyou.”
“Okay. I’ll start with a skip trace and go from there,”Harlow explained.
“She says she’s got a job waiting for her in Austin.” Thetrunk flipped open, revealing a neat space. There was a folded blanket, twosmall pillows, a set of sheets. She had a set of light-blocking shades shelikely used when she wanted the illusion of privacy. Something else had beenbugging him. “And look for a Childswood High School.If you can’t find it, take a look around to see if there’s a town named Childswood.”
She’d been half asleep when she’d whispered the words. Andthen totally awake. She hadn’t meant to mention the place. She’d covered ormaybe she’d told him the truth, but he wasn’t sure.
“Got it,” Harlow said over the line and then paused. “Josh,maybe you should slow things down if you think she’s lying.”
“If she’s lying, she’s got good reason.” Under the blanketthere was a stack of books. All romance, from what he could tell. She’d hiddenthose books like they were her treasures. Now that he thought about it, she’dhad a couple of books on her nightstand.
“You think someone’s after her, but sometimes that person isactually a whole police department. Maybe the FBI,” Harlow pointed out.
“Who hurt you?” Josh said sarcastically, and then fuckingremembered. “Har, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. It was a dumb joke.”
Someone had hurt her and quite brutally. She had a reason tobe suspicious. “It’s fine. It was a long time ago.” Her voice was unnaturallycheery. “But I do know what I’m talking about. If you don’t know this woman’shistory, then you could be playing a dangerous game, and you don’t know therules.”
He gently put back the blankets, covering her books. Itlooked like she’d taken as much as she could out of the vehicle and into hertemporary home.
He was probably going to look through her other belongings,too, and it would be far easier to do when she was staying with them. “Therules don’t matter. Not with her. And that’s why I’m calling you instead ofUncle Ben. I think you’ll keep things quiet until I have everything in placeand I’m ready to bring my parents into it.”
Uncle Ben was the infinitely more reasonable of her dads.Ben and Chase Dawson were twins with weird connections that sometimes seemed alittle on the psychic side. But where Ben had gotten all the normal,all-American Ken doll energy, Chase was definitely Mr. Hyde. He was a greatguy, but he sometimes decided he was judge, jury, and executioner. A factHarlow’s ex-boyfriend should have thought about.
“I’ll check into this for you, Josh, and you know I’ll keepthe dads out of it,” Harlow replied, her tone softer. “I’m happy for you, youknow.”
She was still heartbroken, but Harlow was tough, and sheknew how to love her friends. “I know. Thank you, cousin.”
There wasn’t blood between them, but they’d grown uptogether in a way that felt as close as family.
“I’ll get back to you when I know something, and Josh, becareful,” she said and the line went dead.
His heart ached for Harlow, but he couldn’t even considerthe idea the woman who’d curled up on Grim’s lap had ever done somethingseriously criminal. She wasn’t on the run from the cops. It was something else.Something traumatic.
He closed the trunk and moved around to the passenger sideof the car. There was one place he hadn’t checked. The glove compartment. Itwas normally where car guides went to die, but sometimes a person shoved thingsthere they didn’t want others to find.
He flipped it down and sure enough, there was an olddriver’s manual along with a couple of parking tickets. Not from Willow Fork.There was one from Denver dated two years before, and another from a placecalled Papillon a few months ago.
So she wasn’t the best parker in the world. He could work onthat.
But hadn’t she said she lived in Chicago until a few weeksago?
He closed the glove box and pocketed the key, which he wouldslip into her purse when he got back to the house.
He slid his cell in his pocket and considered the fact thatNic was going to be pissed if she ever found out. He was willing to risk it.What he wasn’t willing to risk was losing her. He couldn’t protect her if hedidn’t know what she was involved in, and he didn’t trust her not to run if hepressed her too hard.
The crap with Grim’s brothers was another story altogether.It was annoyance, but it would bug Grim.
It might be nice to take some of this tension out on Johnand Peter. But it would have to wait.
All he knew was no one was going to fuck with his family,and Grim and Nic were at the center of the family he wanted to create.
