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Nicole’s head shook. “Guys, you don’t know the whole story.”
Kim leaned in, her expression serious. “Ted Holloway foundout about your gun, didn’t he?”
“Who is that?” Grim asked.
“Micah’s brother.” Nic stared at Kim like she might bethrowing her a lifeline. “Yes. I don’t know what actually happened. I knowMicah either owed someone money or he’d taken money he shouldn’t have. Therewas mention of the feds being brought in. Ted killed him so they wouldn’t comeafter the family. Somehow he knew about the gun and he used it to murder hisbrother and then put it in my locker. How did you figure this out?”
“Roman did. So when he read the file, he was curious about acouple of things. It didn’t make sense that you would kill your husband, putthe gun back in the locker, and then go on the run,” Kim explained. “Now youhad it stashed in a way that kept it pretty hidden, but he didn’t know aboutthe money, did he?”
Nicole huffed. “So he left the money there? At that point Ihad almost a thousand dollars in cash stashed in my locker.”
“Why the hell would she put the gun back but leave thecash?” Josh asked.
“My son found it confusing, and that was why he dug deeper,”Kim explained. “He was the one who uncovered the rumors about mob ties to MicahHolloway and also embezzlement at the family’s company. I assume theembezzlement was an attempt to pay them off. They likely wanted more. So hisbrother killed him?”
Nicole nodded.
“Why wouldn’t he have them arrest her then?” Grim wasconfused.
“Because she could talk and someone might listen.” ChaseDawson was obviously not. He let out a long huff. “I’m surprised he didn’t killyou himself and say it was self-defense. But then he would have the problem offorensics.” Chase seemed to be thinking his way through the problem. “Theballistics would match, but it’s surprisingly hard to get gunpowder residue onthe hands of someone who didn’t actually fire a gun. He could say he wrestledthe gun away, but he would have to be so careful to show Nicole had fired itfirst. He had a problem. If the feds came in, they could blame the wholefamily. They could freeze accounts. He also had to satisfy his mob contacts butkeep the blood off his hands. He wouldn’t want his parents to know he was goingto off his brother. There would be eyes on the whole family if Micahdisappears.”
“I could explain this to you,” Kim offered.
Ben shook his head. “It’s better if you let him come to hisown conclusions. He feels smarter that way.”
“Asshole,” Chase said under his breath.
Harlow stood as her father paced. “But if Ted Holloway couldpoint the finger at someone, someone who had reason to kill her abusivehusband, then the police wouldn’t bother looking too closely at them. The mafiacontacts might be willing to make a deal with the brother-in-law if he wasn’tthe one who owed them. Honestly, having the cops looking into a crime aroundthe family might make the mob back off.”
Chase nodded. “Yes. That was what I was thinking, daughter.It also occurs to me that having Nicole on the run would give his parents atarget for their anger and grief. If their son’s killer is out there in theworld, they won’t be bothering Ted.” He turned to Nicole. “He gave you moneyand a car, didn’t he? He wanted you to run.”
“Yes. He told me he would give me a head start.” She soundedmore solid now, as though having people actually listen to her story gave herstrength. “He did give me the option of him putting me up somewhere quiet andbeing his fuck toy, but I chose to run.”
Grim looked at Josh and knew they were both thinking thesame thing. They were going to kill Ted Holloway.
But she didn’t need to hear that right now. She needed themcalm, to keep her needs at the center of the discussion.
When someone is hurting, you need to put aside your ownneeds and focus on them, sweetie. I know it’s easy to get mad, but anger causesway more problems than it solves.
He’d been angry at Olivia’s college boyfriend, and Abby hadsat him down and explained his sister didn’t need his rage. She needed his loveand affection.
Oh, he’d still put the fear of god into the boy, but Livdidn’t have to know.
His pops had taught him that.
His mom and dads. His real mom and dads.
He was going to have to do some fast talking to keep hisfamily together because Josh was pissed and they needed Dad.
“So the parents are still looking and you took the case.”Grim prompted Kim. They needed to get through the explanations so they couldget to the part where he held her and made her feel safe and they made plans.
“Yes,” Kim said. “I took the case because I thought she wasin trouble. I’ve looked into the Holloways and they’re a dangerous family. If Ihadn’t taken the case, they wouldn’t have stopped.”
“How did you find me?” Nicole asked. “It’s because I stayedin Willow Fork too long, isn’t it?”
Kim shook her head. “I actually found you in a couple ofplaces. It’s damn near impossible to disappear these days. You showed up inSeattle under the name Helen Cage. You worked odd jobs and lived in your van.When you had to dump that vehicle, you bought a bus ticket to Chicago. Youlived in a homeless shelter for a while. They remembered you because you saveda man who was having a heart attack. It would have been better for you to run,you know. You had to talk to the paramedics, and the police showed up. You hadto know that would happen.”
“I couldn’t… He was dying. I wasn’t going to let someonedie.” She teared up.
