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“Three men were given orders from Jake Worthing’s phone to attack me. One put a gun to Molly’s head. Do you know anything about that? The GPS said it came from his phone at the hospital.” Ashton was standing behind me, his arms crossed over in front of me, and I was holding on to his arms, leaning back against him.
I loved standing like this, in his arms.
Nurse Sloane’s face shuddered before she nodded. “Nea did it. Said they’d do what he said, if it came from his phone. It was her plan, trying to turn one family against the other. Or that’s what she said to me . . .” She trailed off. “Now I’m not so certain.”
“None of that has anything to do with why she killed Justin.” Trace moved toward her. “She must’ve said something. Anything.”
She flinched away from him but shook her head. “She only said that he attacked her. That’s all. I couldn’t keep asking, or she would’ve turned on me. I—I’m so sorry. I should’ve pushed harder on her.”
“She killed him because Nicolai asked her to.”
A new voice, a new presence.
I tensed, looking for and then seeing Detective Jake Worthing in the doorway. He yanked someone else forward. My dad.
“Dad!” I started for him, but Ashton held me back.
That’s when I saw that Jake had a gun on my dad, pointed into his back.
“Worthing.” Jess’s tone was like ice.
He barely gave her a look, finding Trace and then Ashton. “This fucking piece of ferret asshole almost got himself killed tonight.” He shoved my dad farther inside, releasing him.
My dad ran forward, coming my way until Ashton growled in warning.
He reined it in, pausing but holding up his hands. “You okay, Mols?”
I nodded, looking him over because I couldn’t help it. He was still my dad. Moron.
“Get over there.” Ashton pointed to the corner where no one was standing.
My dad went over but glared as he did. Then he saw a pot of coffee and poured himself a cup, adding half the sugar bottle to the Styrofoam cup.
“What are you doing here, Detective Worthing?” Trace was asking, his tone as cold as Jess’s.
Jake ignored them, looking at me first and then focusing on Ashton. “You remember my theory?”
Ashton’s jaw clenched, but he nodded, just barely. So stiff.
“I was right. And that weasel has the proof.” He motioned to my dad, who was making a face after tasting the coffee. “I don’t know where he has it, or what he has, but I followed the trail enough to know it’s true. Nicolai had Justin killed because Justin found out my cousin was working on behalf of the DEA.”
Ashton went completely still, his arm like cement on my waist.
Trace’s voice was eerily low as well, saying, “You want to say that again?”
Jake barely flicked him a glance, only focusing on Ashton. “He was approached and backed heavily to go up in power in my family. DEA wanted to get a player in the mix, in the city, to help maintain control over the drug trade. They pushed Nicolai to get in our city, thinking a player from NYC would have more power than from where we were from in Maine. They were the backer, and when the fight went too public, hitting a hospital, they pulled out. Nicolai came here as a last effort to maintain control. It wouldn’t have worked.”
“What does that fit in with Nea being the one to pull the trigger on Justin?”
“She overheard him and Kelly calling to say goodbye to that one.” He indicated Nurse Sloane. “She was on the phone with Nicolai and mentioned it to him. He asked her then and there to stop him, by any means necessary. He told her Justin was planning to go to the authorities, but Nicolai would be killed. He wouldn’t just get arrested. He convinced her that someone had cops on the payroll, and they’d go after him. She killed Justin to save Nicolai.”
“How do you know that?”
“Anonlinediary.”
We all turned to my father, who was drinking his coffee, and now he was munching on a donut. Where he got the donut, I had no clue, but he waved it in the air, now at center stage, and swallowed his coffee in one big gulp. “A diary. Online too. She logged in every night and added to it. I got everything in there up until today. It was her failsafe, I guess. In case something went wrong. She’d have something to plea her way out. She was thorough.” He frowned at me, narrowing his eyes at Ashton. “She talked a whole lot about you two. That’s how I knew the both of you were doing what you’re obviously still doing, unless I’m taking that hold in a different way than it’s intended?”
Ashton growled, low in his throat. I felt it through my back, vibrating.
