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If she was right about him, she’d have someone to lean on. Someone who might even be able to protect her and the baby.
And if she was wrong...
She’d risk him going to the cops and bringing Ferdy down on both of them.
Chapter 7
Nikolas stared at his computer screen, willing answers to come to life from the depths of its pixels. Although he meant what he said and wanted to give Nova space, he wasn’t immune to the signs of abuse. Her response to a bit of spilled water had put him on high alert and he wanted to know what she was up against.
He’d also spent most of the evening picturing her faceless ex, pummeling the man into oblivion.
He didn’t want to disrespect her privacy, but a public internet search wasn’t exactly a major violation. And hey, he was a PI. Curiosity came with the territory.
Rationalize much, Slater?
He diligently ignored the thought and typed Nova Ellis into the search bar. He may be rationalizing but he also needed to understand what she might be running from. And how to protect her if it came to that.
Because now that he had a sense of her vulnerability, there was no way he was leaving her to deal with this jerk all on her own. He might have said it was none of his business, but there had been something in the very depths of those green eyes as he’d wrapped her in his arms in the kitchen that had called to him, way down deep inside.
He wouldn’t let any harm come to her or her baby.
The relative uniqueness of her first name brought back several responses on the search and he began clicking on them. Although she hadn’t shared her mother’s first name, it was easy to see the resemblance between Nova and the woman named in society photos with her as Allegra Ellis.
Nikolas clicked through a lot more of the same. New York charity functions, with both women clad in gowns, their hair done high.
And now she doesn’t have a cell phone or enough money to eat.
He considered that fact as he filtered through the photos, each more blue-blooded than the next.
Although he’d thought her beautiful, he hadn’t quite pegged her as high society. But there was a subtle substance to her. It had been easy to miss in her eagerness to find her father, but the more he thought about it, the more he saw it. The ease with which she spoke to him was a big clue.
Twenty-three wasn’t a child, but most people he knew in that age bracket were still trying to figure out who they were by day while they drank their nights away. Yet Nova had already nursed her mother through the end of an illness and had a child on the way.
Enough to make anyone grow up quickly.
And then there was what looked to be abuse.
He still hadn’t figured out if her situation had progressed to physically abusive but there was certainly emotional abuse. He’d bet his PI’s license on it.
Ferdy used to say...
Her words over dinner flashed through his mind once more.
Ferdy.
It was a unique name, too. Did he dare look for a “Ferdy” online? He could quickly string a search query together, her name and the mysterious Ferdy, and see what popped.
His hands hovered over the keyboard, prepared to make one more search when Nikolas stilled.
Nova trusted him.
That trust might have a few guardrails on it, but she was here under his protection and she’d at least settled in enough to allow him to keep an eye on her.
Did he dare betray that?
He wasn’t exactly a pro at trust and commitment, but he did know what it meant when someone gave you theirs. His father’s cynicism—or heck, even Nikolas’s own—wasn’t so far gone that he couldn’t appreciate what that meant.
Looking up her name online and seeing what came up wasn’t the same as going hunting for a name Nova had been plainly mad at herself for using. While he could justify what he’d done so far, something about taking that next step didn’t sit well.
