“I won’t forgive myself if I let him do this.”
Gravel crunched under tires, headlights cut through the darkness, and Nic clicked off the safety on his Beretta, laying it behind the briefcase on the table.Out of sight but within easy reach.
He’d left the front door unlocked and a single light on in the kitchen.
Vaughn undoubtedly knew Curtis’s house well enough.He could find his way through, and Nic, sitting on the back patio, would see him coming, and who else might be with him.Assess what he was up against.
But rather than Vaughn and his henchmen, a lone figure appeared in the shadows between the foyer and the kitchen.Judging by his size and shape, the man wasn’t Vaughn.Nic reached for his Beretta, was halfway to standing, when the intruder stepped fully into the light, revealing his identity.
One sort of tension rolled out, another rolled in.
Nic clicked the Beretta’s safety back on, set the weapon atop the briefcase, and stood at the far end of the table.Waiting.Crossing his arms and clutching his biceps, containing the urge to rail.Planting his feet shoulder width apart, fighting the instinct to run to him.
Movement drawing his attention, Cam emerged onto the patio a moment later.“Just listen,” he said, hands raised.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Stopping you from doing something stupid.And if I can’t stop you, being your backup.”
No way, especially to the latter suggestion.“I can’t let you do that.”
“And I can’t let you do something stupid.”Hands still raised, he approached slowly.“Think, Nic.Vaughn’s not going to give you Lette.”
Nic pointed at the briefcase.“I have his money.All of it.”
Cam grasped his wrist, squeezing between him and the table.“And you also have his balls in a vise with the grand jury.What do you think is more important to him?Millions, which he already has, or the future to earn more millions.”
Nic diverted his gaze, cursing the truth.Cam was right.He also couldn’t shake the image of Lette tied to a chair, bleeding from a head wound.“She’s injured.”He thrust his phone at Cam.“And Vaughn’s getting desperate.I can’t not do everything in my power to get her back.”
Cam looked long and hard at the picture.Maybe he could see more in it than Nic had, worry having fogged his brain.“It’s consistent with what we found in Morgan Hill,” Cam said, handing the phone back.“This tells us it’s a head wound.Could be superficial.”He lifted a hand, tracing the small scar at Nic’s hairline left over from their case in Boston.“You know as well as I do that they bleed more than others, even if it’s just a scratch.”
“Or it could be serious.Until we get her back, we won’t know.”
“The money won’t make that happen.It’ll only give Vaughn more leverage.He won’t give Lette back unless you drop the case, which you can’t do.”
“We might not win it.”Nic drew back and collapsed into the chair, head tilted back, staring up at the night sky.“Bowers recommended against it.”
The chair beside him creaked, Cam taking a seat.“Of course he did.”
Nic righted his head, looking into Cam’s dark eyes.They usually brought him comfort, but nothing was getting through the fog of panic that had gripped him since that text had come through.He needed to take action, more than what he was doing.“The Deputy AG wasn’t convinced either.”
“But he’s letting you argue the case tomorrow, yes?”
Nic nodded.“With Bowers there.”
“Good, prove the fucker wrong.”Cam scooted closer and curled a hand over his thigh.“You, Moore, the rest of the FBI have put too much time into this case to let it go.Even if you don’t win, the next person is going to think twice before taking a loan from Vaughn or going into business with him.”
“But we’re not trying this case in public.”
“Word will get out.Everyone will learn he’s been under investigation.”
“But if someone’s desperate enough...”Like his father had been.A few bad investments, the economic crash he’d never recovered from, debt and more debt.
“All the more reason to shut him down for good.”Cam nudged the briefcase.“This won’t.”
“I know that.”Nic hunched forward, the weight and pressure of the past week, of the past months, crashing down on him.Yes, he had Cam and the rest of his family helping him, but he had another family now he needed to protect.He tangled his fingers with Cam’s, clutching them, desperate for the comfort he couldn’t find.“I can’t let them down again.”
Fingers grasped his chin, Cam gently angling his face toward him.“And I can’t let you down.I won’t let you cut the rope.You made me promise, remember?Let me rescue your sister instead while you nail Vaughn.”
