Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91622 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Her eyes shimmered with tears. “I don’t even know how to tell you this.”
Cole’s nerves jangled. “What is it?”
“Last time Vicky called me, it was right before the weekend. She was hysterical because she’d been setting up a special place for the two of you to live and she found out Erin was pregnant.”
“Where is this place?” Cole asked.
Nicole spread her hands wide. “I don’t know.”
“Who would?” Cole asked.
She shrugged, looking helplessly at Sam.
Sam cleared his throat. “We just need you to think. You said she’s setting up a special place. Would she use a real estate agent? Does she have any friends she’d confide in?”
She pressed her fingers against her forehead. “Umm . . .”
“Anyone you can think of,” he encouraged her.
“No friends. She’s not good at keeping them,” she muttered.
“Real estate agent?” Cole asked.
She shook her head.
“Decorator?” Sam said, obviously grasping. “Someone who’d have the address for deliveries.”
“Well . . . there’s this antiques dealer she’s used for unique items in the one apartment she had on her own and both houses Victor owned.”
Cole exhaled a long breath. “Call him.”
“I don’t remember his name and I certainly don’t have his phone number memorized. I need to think, and I can’t do that with all of you pressuring me.”
Cole nodded and took a step toward the door. “Fine. I’ll go.” This woman represented the only shot they had at finding Victoria before she went after Erin again. She wouldn’t cooperate if he suffocated her. “Just answer one question for me?”
She turned in her seat. “What is it?”
“How dangerous do you think your sister is? How big a threat?”
She bit down on her lower lip. “Truth? I’ve never heard her so out of control before. That’s why I came here. To find her and try to make her see that she’s behaving this way because she’s off her meds. And to warn Erin.”
Son of a bitch. “Thank you for being honest.”
Nicole inclined her head. “She’s my sister. I want her to get help.”
Cole wanted her behind bars or, at the very least, padded walls, far away from Erin and his unborn child, but he couldn’t tell her sister that. They needed Nicole to keep them in the loop.
She didn’t trust Cole. Sam was another story.
Cole leaned his head against the wall, trying to think clearly. “Sam. A word?” Cole tipped his head to the outer room.
Sam placed a hand over Nicole’s. “Sit tight. I’ll be right back.”
* * *
Erin and Cara remained out back at the house while Cole and Mike went to the station. Erin was not happy they all insisted she remain behind. She wanted to see this woman firsthand. Confront the threat. But she also understood the wisdom of being smart and protecting herself and the baby. Which didn’t mean she had to like it.
The only good news was that the day had remained full-on gorgeous, with bright sunshine and warm temperatures, allowing Cara and her to sit on the patio and soak up the rays.
Cara’s cell rang suddenly, interrupting the serene peace Erin had almost begun to find.
“Hello?” Cara answered. She waited a couple of beats, then . . . “Yes, I understand. I’ll tell her. Thanks. Tell Sam to be careful.”
Erin sat up straighter. “Tell Sam to be careful about what?” Her heart rate picked up speed.
Cara met her gaze. “Apparently the woman Sam arrested wasn’t Victoria, but her twin sister, Nicole. It seems Victoria is bipolar and off her meds, which goes a ways toward making sense of her irrational, impulsive behavior.”
“I’d feel bad if my whole life weren’t turned upside down,” Erin said. “Okay, I do feel bad. But she’s still a threat to me.”
Cara nodded. “But Nicole isn’t. Mike said she was at your house trying to find her twin and to warn you.”
Erin narrowed her gaze. “Why does Mike believe her?”
“I don’t know yet. We’ll have to see what he has to say when he gets here, but I’m guessing he’s not one hundred percent convinced, because Sam’s going to stick close in case her sister makes contact.”
Erin frowned. “So that psycho’s still out there.”
“I’m sorry,” Cara said.
Erin rose from her seat. “I have to do something.” She paced the back patio. “We need to draw her out. She wants me—let her think she can have me.”
“Over my dead body.” Cole approached from the side of the house. Faded jeans molded to his well-defined body and a white T-shirt hugged his chest and muscular forearms. His expression was dark, frustration emanating from him.
“Why are you coming up that way?” Erin asked.
“I wanted to walk the property, check the perimeter. Just in case.”
“Okay.”
“You are not making yourself a target. If Victoria wants anyone, it’s me.”
Erin nodded, an idea slowly forming. “Then let’s give her what she wants.”
“What?” Cara touched Erin’s arm. “What are you talking about?”