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“Me too.” Rayne tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, a restless frustration seething inside her. “Unfortunately, we can’t force them to tell us what they know.”
“I could,” he said in harsh tones. “But I might end up in jail.”
Rayne swallowed a sigh. Niko should be in his elegant Kansas City office, concentrating on his future. Not ripping open old wounds. But it was too late to regret her impulsive phone call. Pandora’s box had been well and truly opened.
“We can’t have you getting hauled off by the cops,” she teased, trying to lighten the dark mood that filled the van.
He turned his head to send her a wry smile. “Would you come visit me?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “I’ve never been inside a prison. Nat told me that I needed to broaden my horizons.”
His smile widened. “That sounds like something my sister would say.”
“She—” Her words were cut short as something hit the side of the van.
What was that? There was another thump. Was someone throwing rocks at her? The thought barely had time to form before Niko grabbed her shoulder and yanked her down.
“Stay low!” he commanded, his hands fumbling with his seat belt. “Someone’s shooting at us.”
Rayne’s brain refused to accept what he was saying. There had to be a mistake. People didn’t shoot at random vehicles in the middle of the day. Especially not in a small town that probably hadn’t seen a violent crime in years.
Then the side window, just above Niko’s head, abruptly shattered, sending tiny shards of glass spraying through the van.
Rayne stifled a scream even as Niko finally managed to wrestle out of his seat belt and reached for the door handle.
“No, Niko!”
Rayne grabbed his arm, a sizzling fear clenching her heart. There was no way she was going to allow this man to be injured, maybe even killed. Not only because she would blame herself. But because . . . because it would destroy something inside her, she realized, with a jolt of surprise.
“I need to see who was shooting at us.” He gently pulled out of her grasp, holding her gaze as he cautiously straightened in his seat. He turned his head to study the broken window, at the same time there was the sound of squealing tires.
“Damn,” Niko growled. “It’s too late.”
Rayne sat upright, glancing around. On her side of the van was a row of brick buildings that were a combination of small businesses and empty shells. On Niko’s side, however, there was a frozen park with an enclosed shelter that was next to a side road. A shooter could have parked behind the wooden building and remained out of sight of the locals as he—or she—tried to gun them down.
“Did you see anything?” Niko demanded. “A vehicle following us?”
“Nothing. But I wasn’t really paying attention. Obviously a mistake.” She muttered a curse. “I suspected that Brooke and Trent and even Henri Wagner were hiding something. But it never occurred to me that they would be desperate enough to try to get rid of us.”
He grabbed his seat belt and pulled it across his body, his jaw set in a stubborn line. “Let’s turn around.”
“Turn around?” She blinked, certain she couldn’t have heard him right. “Why?”
“Someone doesn’t want us asking questions.”
“Exactly.” Rayne deliberately reached out to brush the shards of glass from his shoulders. It’d been so close. If Niko hadn’t recognized that first thud that hit the van, they never would have bent down and the bullet would have gone through his head. Her stomach clenched and her mouth went dry. “Which is why we should go back to Chicago and call the cops.”
“And tell them what?” he demanded. “That we found an old note in the attic and now we think two members of a highly respected, powerful family are trying to kill us?”
Put like that, it did sound like a wasted effort. For better or worse, the cops weren’t going to investigate the Orwell family unless there was solid proof of a crime. And perhaps not even then. Old money was still a perfect barrier to avoid the bad things in life.
“It could have been Henri,” she gave one last shot at convincing him to return to Chicago.
“You’re right.” A tight smile curved his lips. “We’ll talk to him first.”
“Niko . . .”
She heaved a harsh sigh. Niko wasn’t going to be satisfied until they’d gone back and demanded explanations. Even if it meant facing a potential killer. And a part of her agreed with his grim resolve to discover the truth. Whoever had followed them was determined to keep the past buried. Neither she nor Niko would be safe until they’d uncovered what had really happened to Nat.
