“Or I could hire her away.”
That would work too. “Whatever we need to do to get her out of that house.”
“I’ll take care of it. And your father’s assistant?”
“Assuming Vaughn hasn’t realized we turned his own nephew-in-law, I don’t think he’ll risk him.”
“Just in case, I’ll talk to Aidan. See if there’s a reason we might hold him. Otherwise, we’ll keep an eye on him too.”
They double confirmed operational details before hanging up, and Nic stepped back in line, the calm of the hopeful morning shattered. He needed to bring Cam up to speed on all things Vaughn but had no business being his focus right now. Between Cam’s mother, an at-large Harper, and the bodies and shrine to Erin found at the farmhouse, Cam had enough on his plate.
Better that Nic focus on helping Cam clear that crowded plate as quickly as possible, then they could get back home and deal with cleaning his. Because they were going to need to before he could truly settle the way he wanted to with Cam, safe and with the future ahead of them.
The mobile order line moved fast, and he was almost back to the hotel, mind whirring on both the case here and matters at home, when he sensed someone following him. He glanced in the side-view mirror of Jamie’s rented Jeep up ahead and spotted none other than Timothy Harper skulking behind him. The way Harper was staring down his back, Nic was clearly his target, and judging by the rate at which Harper was gaining on him, Nic had ten seconds at most before Harper made his move.
Ten seconds to decide how to play this. He ignored the heat prickling his skin, the dryness in his mouth, and worked through the scenarios.
The guy looked rough. Not a meth addict like Reid but like a man on the edge whose whole fucked-up, twisted existence was hanging on by a thread. Nic didn’t doubt that he could outrun him or that he could wait for Harper to get close enough to take him down and into custody. But would either of those paths lead them closer to finding out what had happened to Erin? Maybe this was the break they needed. He looked down at the box in his hands—doing what he needed for Cam—and made the decision to keep doing the same.
He played dumb when Harper shoved a pistol into his back a few seconds later. “Don’t make a sound.”
He glanced back at Harper, eyes falsely wide. “What do you want?”
“You know who I am?”
“Timothy Harper.”
“You’re the attorney, right?”
Nic nodded.
“Good. Then you’re who I need.”
Harper nodded toward the box. “Leave the shit. And put your phone in the box.”
Digging his phone out of his pocket, Nic put it in the box, then slid the box on top of the Jeep. Right where Jamie or Cam would see it, and with his phone inside, they’d realize something was amiss.
“Get in the Charger,” Harper said, nudging him with his weapon toward a sedan with fresh tires several spots over.
“What do you need me for?” Nic asked.
Harper shoved him into the passenger seat, then came around to the driver’s side. “I need to know how I can legally get out of this.”
“You can’t.”
Nic didn’t like the cold, callous look in Harper’s eyes one bit. “Then you’re my insurance.”
“For what?”
“To make sure I get out of it another way.”
Twenty-Three
“Where is he?” Cam slammed his palms on the metal table. “You must have some idea.”
Reid tried to scoot back, away from the unhinged man Cam seemed.
Was.
