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“Kai, call Bass and get the address of this guy. Let’s go pay him a visit, shall we?” Nic orders as he stands from the stool, keeping me in his arms.
“What? Why can’t you?” Kai argues. Though his aura swirls and pulses with need, he doesn’t mention what just happened a mere foot and a half away from him.
“Because I have some business to finish.” Nic tightens his hold on me, one hand squeezing my ass before grazing over my soaked and exposed core.
Fuck yes!
* * *
Afew hours later we’re pulling up to a large farm style house outside of town, which I can witness the grandeur of thanks to Ezra’s hold on my hand. For the first time, I’m about to be face to face with the man who stole almost everything from me once upon a time.
Arnold Miller.
I’m better off now, sure. But that doesn’t lessen the pain or mourning of the things I could have had. My dad being the biggest.
I will do my best to stay calm, collected, and completely at ease during what I’m sure will dissolve into an interrogation. I can’t promise shit, because I’m a woman of my word and I don’t make promises I can’t keep. But there’s no way I can follow the advice of the wise and powerful Yoda this time.Do or do not. There is no try.It doesn’t apply here.
All I can do is try.
“You got this, baby,” Ezra murmurs the words before giving my sweaty hand one last squeeze and leaving the truck.
I wait until someone opens my door before even trying to break the freezing spell I’ve been cast in. It’s Nic waiting by the door, his hand pulling mine and leading me to the ground. He doesn’t let go, which I will be eternally grateful for, because I am in no shape to even try to navigate on my own with my mind tumbling and twisting with so many emotions I can barely breathe.
Channeling my connection with Nic is a little harder than with Ezra, but I manage it. It allows me the chance to distract myself from my thoughts and take in the ridiculously nice house that we’re walking towards. Gizmo and Snitch, knowing I don’t quite need them at the moment, bound off ahead of me to walk with Kai and Ezra.
What I thought was a simple house as we pulled up, now turns out to be anything but. It’s like a farmhouse on crack. Large and imposing, it’s still built withfarmhousedetailing in thought. Paneling, rustic looking brick, and chimneys galore. Hell, it even has one of those metal rooster shaped things that track wind patterns on the roof.
But that’s where the similarities to country life stop. With its three stories, multiple garages off to the side, and standing as wide as a city building: it’s basically just a mansion dressed up for a hoe-down. It makes me wonder what the inside looks like.
The front doors–yes, multiple–open wide as we get closer, revealing a shorter man who appears to be in his mid forties, though it’s hard to pinpoint his exact age. His light brown hair is slightly greasy and tousled as if he’s been running his hands through it anxiously all day. His face is lined with deep frown lines and stress wrinkles, like he hasn’t used his facial muscles to smile in decades. He wipes his hands on the front of his flannel as we approach, his features twisted in a way I can’t quite put words to.
Now that I’m close enough to sense him, I don’t even hesitate, I dive right the fuck in. Not deep enough to go to his past, like I did with the guys, but enough to see exactly who is in the now. I won’t be making the same mistakes anymore. I will be using the gift given to me from here on out.
And everything I see? Disappoints the fucking hell out of me.
Sort of.
It’s like a mixed bag.
“Fuck!” I shout the word, my arms jerking out in a sweeping gesture that almost sends me to the ground when Nic doesn’t let go of my hand.
Arnold flinches at my outburst, stepping backwards as if terrified by me. Kai and Ezra spin towards me to see what happened, but I ignore everyone.
“It’s not fuckinghim!” I gesture in Arnold’s direction with my free hand before raking it through my hair. “Unless he has some crazy good ability at avoiding psychic readings–which he doesn’t–then it’s not him. He’s basically an open fucking book! A boring one at that.”
“Um…” Arnold’s voice is on the higher end of male tones. I simply shake my head at him.
“He’s a broken man. A ruined one. Cast out by his family and forced to live on his own away from society. Basically a prisoner in his own home. The only thing he has in his life outside of his animals and working on classic cars for a side gig, is his outstanding position as an advocate against–get this–drunk driving.” I rub my palm down my face as a wave of exhaustion washes over me.
So, yeah. I was hoping he was guilty. I was wishing on absolutely everything that he was my stalker so that Alan couldn’t be. I was fucking putting all my hope-eggs in his basket. I wanted to put all this bullshit behind me.
Then he had to go and be somebody that’s been punishing himself for his mistakes his entire life. La-dee-dah. Fuck!
Even as I stand here, mourning the idea of wrapping up this case, his thoughts aren’t on the fact that I just outed his entire life in an extremely rude and intrusive way. Nope, he’s thinking about the crash, about my dad, aboutme.
No, wait.
“Go back!” I scramble toward him, dragging Nic along with me, so I can still see Arnold’s startled features.
