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“I’ll go see Fiona, my friend from college. Can’t get much farther away from home than Perth, Australia.”
“It’s summer down there,” I said.
She smiled for the first time since I’d shared the news. “I could use a good tan.”
Nix came in, pulled out a chair and sat beside me. “Holy shit,” he murmured, wiping a hand down his face.
Beneath the table, Eve took my hand in hers, gave it a squeeze.
Nix pointed at Eve. “You pull shit like that again, I’ll take you over my knee. I don’t give a shit if your men kill me.”
“Get in line,” Finch said, eyes snapping with frustration, the same way I felt at what could have happened to Eve.
“Hey!” she said, taking offense.
Nix nodded, paying her no attention. “Good.”
Kit came over, wrapped an arm around Nix and kissed his temple. She was in the diner’s T-shirt and jeans and had been working tables on the other side of the restaurant. From what I’d heard, she was keeping her job at the diner while her party planner business took off. She’d had to start over on her own since Erin had been killed. “I’m done for the day.”
Donovan arrived next, and he slid a table over to make ours bigger to fit everyone, then took a seat. He tugged Kit down onto his lap. “Kitty Kat,” he said, then gave her a quick kiss.
I glanced at Eve, who had a look of… envy on her face? Was she jealous of what Kit shared with her men? She shouldn’t be. She had the same thing with us. Maybe it took a sociopathic murderer to make her realize it.
Finch looked my way, gave me a small nod.
“My father’s with the Mills family,” Donovan said. “He wanted to tell them personally the murderer had been caught.”
Of course he did. Everyone at the table knew Donovan’s dad wanted all the glory.
“What about Lucas?” Nix asked.
“He was with them but left. He’s got Cy and Hailey. He’s not alone,” Donovan confirmed.
Finch looked my way, gave me a small nod. We were done here. Poppy wasn’t alone. Nix and Donovan would watch out for her. But Finch and I needed to be with Eve. Only Eve.
“We’ll be at Finch’s for a while,” I said, pushing my chair back to stand. “As soon as the police release my house, I’m selling it. Burning it to the ground. I don’t give a shit.”
“We’ll deal with the media,” Nix said. “I’ll have someone on Poppy.”
She shook her head. “I’ll hire security until I leave town. Eddie Nickel can pay for it.”
Her eyes were fierce. She was angry, not sad, and that was where she needed to be. She looked my way. “Go. Take care of Eve.”
“I’m fine,” Eve replied. She hadn’t said much since we’d left the station. “My mind’s just working through everything.”
Finch took her hand and tugged her up against him, wrapping her in a tight hold. “I know just the way to shut that pretty head of yours off.”
I couldn’t agree more. “Let’s go,” I said, heading out of the diner and leaving everyone behind.
EVE
The mudroom door clicked closed behind us. Shane had driven my car—he’d given me a male death stare when I pulled out my keys—to Finch’s house, and Finch had followed in his big truck. There was so much to do on the Mills case, but for now my work was done. I’d filled out the paperwork, the reports turned in. The memory cards would be searched by the tech team and analyzed. The women would be identified and notified. They would be witnesses in Eddie Nickel’s trial, if it ever happened.
It was possible his lawyers would make a deal. He
wouldn’t get less than life for what he’d done. Not only because of premeditated murder but the pile of other felonies the DA would be sure to include. Was justice served? I had no idea. But Erin Mills’s life had been destroyed long before Eddie Nickel had hit her with her volunteer award. He’d ruined it when she was sixteen.
Finch hung his hat on the hook by the door, then looked to me.
