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She set Opal on the floor, but kept her close. “Hunter’s been arrested for murder.”
Nicholas sucked in a breath. “Oh.”
“Oh? Is that all you have to say?”
“No. It’s just that… I guess I didn’t work fast enough.”
“Yeah, I guess not.” She couldn’t help the bitterness in her voice. He had helped them at times, but he’d also stood by and did nothing when she taken. Could he really be trusted?
“I’m sorry. I’m doing everything I can.”
“And what are you doing? Do you have a way to get Hunter out of jail?”
“No, not exactly.”
“What are you doing then?!” She tried to take several deep breaths, to keep the tears at bay. After all that had happened, she needed to just rest and relax today, not have another storm of stress crash over her. She couldn’t take it.
“Well, I still have to gather more proof, but I think I have something on Jeremy.”
She clenched her teeth together and forced herself to stay calm. “Why are you collecting proof against Jeremy? He’s dead. He can’t go to jail now.”
Then the awful thought flashed through her mind. Had she imagined that? Was he somehow still alive? Was it possible the nightmare was continuing and hadn’t even started to end yet?
“No, I know that. Let me explain.” She heard him take a deep breath and shuffle some papers. “Okay. Before Jeremy was killed, when we were still trying to bring him to trial and hoping to have him locked up, I did some research. I was looking for anything I could find that might help us, and might prove that he was the one who was endangering Opal. That’s my job, you know. I had to find a way to tie it back to her, or I could get in trouble myself for looking into things that—”
“Okay, I get it. What did you find?”
“Well, it seems that Jeremy was not only heir to a large fortune, as you know. He’s also a member of a crime family who’s involved in a huge crime ring in the city.”
“Like, the mob?”
“Yes.”
She let this information sink in. Could he possibly be correct? Could Jeremy have been a member of the mob?
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes. Like I said, I need further proof on a few matters. Proof to show the various crimes he was part of. But once I get what I need, this can help Hunter. It might not get him out of jail immediately, but when he goes to trial, it will help his case.”
“How?”
“Well, he’ll be able to prove self defense better. We can show that all the men Hunter killed all worked for Jeremy. He can count on Stand Your Ground laws to set him free.”
“On what?”
“It’s basically the right to use deadly force in order to protect oneself or others from harm.”
“That’s not self-defense?”
“It’s similar, but with both of those combined, he should be able to get off from any murder charges. We can show that there was plenty of intent for harm on Jeremy’s part and the part of his hired men. Besides that, the police might be quite pleased to know that Hunter took out so many big-time criminals. It could help his case, as well.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“Well, now that I know he’s been arrested, I’ll go to the police with what I know. I’ll advise them of the last bit of proof I’m waiting on, which is photo evidence from a nearby gas station that showed Jeremy and his men with weapons. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to get them to set bail instead of keep him until the trial. He committed a violent crime.”
“Okay, I like that.” He could be out soon if he was released on bail. Otherwise, it could be months until the trial, and who knew how often she’d get to see him in that case.
“I’ll let you know what I find out when I go down there.”
“Thank you, Nicholas.” She was starting to soften to him, to put some trust in him. Really, she had no choice. She had no way to get Hunter out. But Nicholas might. She needed him. And he knew it.
“You’re welcome. I’m doing everything I can for you both.”
“I know you are.”
