Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“Roman did. So when he read the file, he was curious about a couple of things. It didn’t make sense that you would kill your husband, put the gun back in the locker, and then go on the run,” Kim explained. “Now you had it stashed in a way that kept it pretty hidden, but he didn’t know about the money, did he?”
Nicole huffed. “So he left the money there? At that point I had almost a thousand dollars in cash stashed in my locker.”
“Why the hell would she put the gun back but leave the cash?” 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 Micah Holloway and also embezzlement at the family’s company. I assume the embezzlement was an attempt to pay them off. They likely wanted more. So his brother killed him?”
Nicole nodded.
“Why wouldn’t he have them arrest her then?” Grim was confused.
“Because she could talk and someone might listen.” Chase Dawson was obviously not. He let out a long huff. “I’m surprised he didn’t kill you himself and say it was self-defense. But then he would have the problem of forensics.” Chase seemed to be thinking his way through the problem. “The ballistics would match, but it’s surprisingly hard to get gunpowder residue on the hands of someone who didn’t actually fire a gun. He could say he wrestled the gun away, but he would have to be so careful to show Nicole had fired it first. He had a problem. If the feds came in, they could blame the whole family. They could freeze accounts. He also had to satisfy his mob contacts but keep the blood off his hands. He wouldn’t want his parents to know he was going to off his brother. There would be eyes on the whole family if Micah disappears.”
“I could explain this to you,” Kim offered.
Ben shook his head. “It’s better if you let him come to his own conclusions. He feels smarter that way.”
“Asshole,” Chase said under his breath.
Harlow stood as her father paced. “But if Ted Holloway could point the finger at someone, someone who had reason to kill her abusive husband, then the police wouldn’t bother looking too closely at them. The mafia contacts might be willing to make a deal with the brother-in-law if he wasn’t the one who owed them. Honestly, having the cops looking into a crime around the 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 a target for their anger and grief. If their son’s killer is out there in the world, they won’t be bothering Ted.” He turned to Nicole. “He gave you money and a car, didn’t he? He wanted you to run.”
“Yes. He told me he would give me a head start.” She sounded more solid now, as though having people actually listen to her story gave her strength. “He did give me the option of him putting me up somewhere quiet and being his fuck toy, but I chose to run.”
Grim looked at Josh and knew they were both thinking the same thing. They were going to kill Ted Holloway.
But she didn’t need to hear that right now. She needed them calm, to keep her needs at the center of the discussion.
When someone is hurting, you need to put aside your own needs and focus on them, sweetie. I know it’s easy to get mad, but anger causes way more problems than it solves.
He’d been angry at Olivia’s college boyfriend, and Abby had sat him down and explained his sister didn’t need his rage. She needed his love and affection.
Oh, he’d still put the fear of god into the boy, but Liv didn’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 his family 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 could get 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 was in trouble. I’ve looked into the Holloways and they’re a dangerous family. If I hadn’t taken the case, they wouldn’t have stopped.”
“How did you find me?” Nicole asked. “It’s because I stayed in Willow Fork too long, isn’t it?”
Kim shook her head. “I actually found you in a couple of places. It’s damn near impossible to disappear these days. You showed up in Seattle 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. You lived in a homeless shelter for a while. They remembered you because you saved a 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 had to know that would happen.”