Page 75 of Sleigh My Heart

At Junior’s comment, Nick released him and moved back.

Michelle straightened and took a step forward. “Did you kill Jonny Staniski?”

His face flew up, eyes wide. “No! Jonny was helping me. It was supposed to be easy. We steal the sleigh, ruin the festival, and my old man would finally sell the mall.”

“How does that help you?” Nick asked.

“I cut a deal with the developer. Dad was never going to leave me the mall.”

“Gee, I wonder why? You’re such a loyal employee.” Michelle shook her head. “Go on.”

Junior sighed. “You have no idea what my old man is like. One mistake years ago. I served my time. And my thanks, he sticks me in maintenance. He was never going to give me my inheritance.”

Nick leaned down. Junior jumped.

Was it wrong that Michelle enjoyed the way Junior flinched?

“What you don’t seem to understand, Horace.” Nick used Junior’s given name to drive home his point. “Is that you didn’t do anything to earn it. Your grandfather started the business, and your father made it what it is today. Thanks to him, you have money to blow. You chose to blow it up your nose and not give back to the company, through investment or sweat equity.”

At the indignation on Junior’s face, Michelle added, “We have all your financials. All of them.”

He sagged. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m as good as dead. Like Jonny, and if Cliff doesn’t get out of town, he is too.”

“From who?” Michelle needed him to confirm it. Say Towers.

Junior ran his hands over his thighs, his fidgeting grew worse. “I gotta take a leak.”

Fine. She knew there were no windows in the bathroom. When Junior disappeared down the hall, she motioned Nick to the doorway of the trailer. “I have to call Jim and grab the recorder. I want this on tape.”

“I’ll keep Silver from making a break—”

A boom thundered. The floor shook beneath them. Heat licked up her back. Nick grabbed her as they fell into the snow.

“Junior!” She squirmed to get out from under Nick.

“No! Stay here.”

Before she could stand, Nick disappeared into the flaming doorway. What the fuck was he doing? She pulled out her phone and called it in.

She started toward the door as Nick came back out, Junior’s lifeless body over his shoulder. He dropped it in the snow.

One look. That’s all it took for Michelle to see that Junior Silver was gone.

***

She followed Nick inside. Why was she at his house? She should go home, but when she finished at the police station, he was waiting for her. Her lungs filled with crisp air and when he held out his hand, she took it. The moon was high in the sky by the time he locked the door behind her.

“Ava is at her friend’s overnight. Stay.” The exhaustion in his eyes echoed with something deeper. Longing? She didn’t know.

“I should go through all the files. There has to be a connection to HighTower. I can’t just accuse Evan Towers when Junior didn’t actually say it was that development company, he made a deal with.”

“We can do it tomorrow. You need sleep.” He tugged her toward the steps.

So did he, but… “The festival…”

“Will come if we have the sleigh back or not. I’m tired of stressing out over that thing. All of it. My job, my father, my daughter. I just want to curl up with you and sleep.” The sincerity in his eyes gave her the nudge she needed. She toed off her shoes at the bottom of the stairs and hung her coat on the railing. Like a lost puppy, she followed him up the stairs.

“One minute. You can go into the bedroom if you want.” He crossed to his daughter’s room and opened the cage. Bandit and Snowball scurried around his legs with excitement.