Nico crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the flames. He shrugged one of his shoulders. “I guess we’ll have to find out after they get inside, right?”
Hererra narrowed his eyes at Nico. “He won’t be there, will he?”
Nico blinked at him. “Mario shot at him before he could get to the girls or me. The last time I saw him, he was on the ground.”
Hererra’s lips curved up in a shit-eating grin. “I call bullshit. But hey, as long as the fucker gets what he deserves, all is right with the world.”
Nico didn’t say another word as they continued to watch the blazing fire get put down. “Hey.” He looked down to see Autumn at his side.
She looked up at the house as if searching for something. With a blink, she glanced back up at him while a smile lifted her lips. “I want you to meet some special people.”
Nico turned with her to see the couple she embraced with their arms linked.
The man, Braeden Walker, a retired FBI agent, reached out to Nico. “I heard you were the man who saved my daughter.” His voice caught on the last word and cleared his throat. “I have to thank you, Mr. Scala.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for, Mr. Walker.”
Walker’s pupils dilated. “You know who I am?”
“Yes.” Right now, Nico didn’t want to go over the fact that he researched the man when he first met Autumn. He turned to her mother, “And you must be the woman she takes after.”
“Stubborn streak and all,” Walker muttered.
Lilliana Walker shoved at her husband’s arm gently and turned to Nico. “Thank you for saving my daughter’s life. We’re sorry she had to relive her nightmare.”
“And she never will again,” Nico murmured as he looked at Autumn.
She looked back at him, then at her parents. Her lips pursed when she glanced at the couple. “As soon as we can leave, we need to talk.”
Her father nodded, his smile loosening. “Fair enough.”
The four of them together turned back to the fire. Police kept the reporters behind the police tape. Nico kissed the top of Autumn’s head and stroked his hands through her hair.
Yes, the nightmare was finally over.
I need to take the trash out.
The words reverberated in Autumn’s head.
They never found Elijah Winters. They found everything he brought with him. Perhaps burnt, but it was there.
They never saw Mario or Gregory either.
It was as if all three men vanished in a puff of smoke.
Autumn turned to Nico from her seated position on his sofa. Her parents had just left his condo. They didn’t talk about the past, instead focusing on the case and how it had developed. Autumn told her father, her real father, about the crime scenes and the newspaper clippings, including the one she kept. It was destroyed because her apartment went up in smoke. She filled them in on how the Big Three syndicate got involved.
Braeden–her father–explained how much he wanted to be there for her. That he was at the airport when she called him. He felt something was wrong, and they’d come as fast as they could. And then Hererra called to say she was face to face with her tormentor.
Soon after, they’d left and now here she was, with Nico.
After bidding them goodnight, Nico stood at the window, staring down into Central Park. She moved to his side and remembered the first night she was here doing just this.
“They took him, didn’t they?”
Nico’s lip tilted to one side. “I wondered when you were going to ask that.”
She didn’t take the bait. “I explicitly told you he was supposed to go to the authorities. Instead, you took matters into your own hands.”
