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"Positive. He and his friend come here pretty regular. Darnell, I think his name is. Some guy from D.C. They were here until closing." He glanced at Mikayla. "You know how it is. We all just get together and bullshit sometimes. That was one of those nights."
"Thanks, Ryan." Mikayla smiled back at him.
"Look, sweetie, I know what you're going through. Maddix is a big fish, but I might have something that could help. It's just, ya know, I work for him, too." Ryan's hand settled on her shoulder and Nik had to grit his teeth to keep from knocking the touch away from her even as he waited for the information.
"Your name won't come into it," Nik informed him.
Ryan drew in a deep breath, dropped his hand, and looked around for a second.
"Maddix says he was at a meeting. That was in the papers. Well, I saw Maddix as I was heading here. He was at the station just off the exit before you get to the job site. Seemed kind of strange, because he was using the ATM."
Nik stared at Bhats as his jaw set in potential fury. It kept coming back to Maddix. Each thread was slowly coming together to create a noose for the construction company owner's neck and Nik was beginning to wonder just what made Maddix think he could manipulate this.
Hell, Nik had been as certain of Maddix's innocence as he was of Mikayla's and learning he could be wrong enraged him. God help Maddix if Nik proved the other man had used not ju
st him but also Mikayla to get away with murder. And as far as Nik was concerned, using Mikayla was a far greater crime.
"I think we're finished here." He rose from the bar, helped Mikayla down, and turned to Ryan Bhats. "Thank you, Mr. Bhats."
"Look, just keep my name outta this." Concern darkened the other man's eyes. "I like Mikayla. She's a good girl. But I have a job, I have a mortgage, and I enjoy my life, ya know?"
"Your name isn't a part of this," Nik promised before turning and urging Mikayla to the exit.
She was quiet, her expression somber as she glanced up at him. He couldn't look back at her. He'd followed the line that she must have mistakenly identified Maddix. That somehow someone could have tricked her. It was beginning to look as though somehow Maddix Nelson had managed to trick him instead.
"Nik?" she questioned him as she stopped him outside the bar before they headed back to the parking lot.
God, he loved her eyes. Loved the scent of her, the feel of her. Hell, he even enjoyed the hell out of her being with him, questioning those involved, when he knew he shouldn't enjoy it. Yet having her with him was an experience he knew he would miss when it was over.
"When I prove it, he'll pay for it," Nik swore to her. "I promise you, Mikayla, I'll make sure he pays for every moment of fear, every second you were in danger."
"He'll pay for it anyway," she told Nik. "The proof will put him in prison." He hoped.
169
"We have to break his alibi, but first I need more information," Nik told her.
"Come on; let's get back to the house. I need to get on the computer." He needed facts. He needed to find proof, not supposition, which was all he had at this moment.
"Then let's go." Walking ahead of him, she moved smoothly and gracefully, despite the height of the heels.
Shaking his head, he started to follow her. He should have stayed closer to her. He should have never let her get so much as an inch ahead of him. He was jumping for her as he heard the motor rev, as lights suddenly blazed, blinding him as the car shot from a parking spot too close and with a sharp burst of speed headed for Mikayla.
His hand went for the gun at his side as his arm wrapped around Mikayla's waist and jerked her from her feet.
The car missed them by inches. Bearing the brunt of the fall on his back as Mikayla cried out, Nik was shooting at the car, rage coursing through him as a curse tore from his lips.
Rolling smoothly, he shielded Mikayla's body between him and a parked car before dragging her quickly between the parked vehicles.
She rolled with him. She didn't fight him. When he pushed her against the side of the car and came to one knee, weapon raised as the car screamed onto the main road. The bastard had gotten away, but Nik was fairly damned certain he'd hit it at least once.
Assured there was no other threat, he turned back to Mikayla. She was pressed against the side of the car, eyes wide, the perfect wavy updo falling to the side, covering one cheek and smeared with blood. His hands were shaking as he brushed her hair back, relief searing him first as he glimpsed the long scratch that disappeared into her hair. On the heels of that relief came a rage so all consuming it nearly exploded inside him.
He was becoming sick and damned tired of these attempts against his woman. Someone was going to pay for it. When he found Eddie's killer, he'd find her assailant. He'd find the shooter, and by God, they were all going to pay. 170
Chapter 18
As far as Nik was concerned, it took too long to call the police department, report the attempted hit-and-run, and answer the questions the uninterested detective managed to ask.
