AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mike nodded to me.
I gathered my strength. “When she called, I told her we were on the way. I thought she would be here when we arrived, which is why I was surprised when you told me she wasn’t here. She didn’t say anything about leaving, or where she would go if she did.”
“And where is she most likely to go?” Beal’s eyes drilled into mine. “In your opinion.”
This was a question I had no clue about either. “I honestly don’t know. She’s always stayed here since she left her parents’ house. I doubt she’d go there, but it’s all I can think of.”
“Did she have trouble with Tanaka?” Beal asked. “Any recent argument? Did she change her mind and think maybe he left that previous note?”
I glanced at Mike, who nodded, before answering. “Not that I know of.”
Lara had seemed a little scared of Maro, but only because he corrected her when dealing with the trees. Hell, Maro corrected all of us.
Chapter 23
Josh
Beal finally leftthe house after asking Nicole again about Lara’s whereabouts and being told flat-out that we didn’t know one last time.
“Remember the rule,” Mike warned Nicole as he headed to the door.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. The last thing I want to do is talk to him.”
I followed Mike. “I’ll walk you out.”
Outside, Mike stopped at his car before getting in. “I believe Nicole about Lara, but Beal doesn’t.”
“No shit.”
“He thinks she should have been charged five years ago. He’s not looking beyond the similarities of the two cases. And I don’t have to tell you how her pulling a disappearing act looks.”
It was painfully obvious how bad this looked. “Lara has had a target painted on her back for a long time.”
He reached for his car’s door handle. “I’m sure she believes that.”
“I do too.” Sometimes paranoid people had good reason.
“One more thing,” Mike said as he opened the door. “If she calls and tells you where she is, you won’t have deniability. Keep that in mind.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
Back inside, I found Nicole pacing in the kitchen.
I pulled my anxious girl into a hug.
She shivered against me.
I kissed the top of her head as she molded herself to me. “I’ll help you with whatever you need. You need to talk to me.”
She relaxed as I stroked her back. “Don’t stop—”
“You can’t ever stop me from helping you, Nickels.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled into my shoulder. Her grip on me tightened. “Thank you.”
My phone rang with Dad’s distinctive ring tone.
She pushed back, but I didn’t let her get away. “You should get that.”
