Page 127 of Smitten with the Single Dad

However, Nadine was also no somebody who normally dressed this … odd, or grunge. She literally looked like she’d been in a fight.

“Sorry I’m late,” Nadine said, out of breath as she swung her fanny-pack-style, cross-body bag off her body and into her lap while taking a seat beside Monique. “What’d I miss?”

“Are you okay?” Wyatt asked. “Your shirt is all ripped and … did something happen?”

Nadine’s cheeks pinked up, but she scoffed and smiled. “I overslept, hence the crazy hair. Then my shirt caught on a nail on the doorjamb of the bathroom and it ripped. But I figured I’d just grab a bar shirt with the company logo on it anyway.” Her smile grew wider and she made a bleak attempt to straighten her top knot and her torn shirt.

“Do you know where Ginny is?” Bennett asked. “Don’t you two often carpool?”

Nadine shrugged. “Yeah, sometimes. But she told me she wanted to ride her bike today. Why? Is she not here yet?”

Wyatt shook his head, his Spidey-sense tingling more than ever as he reassessed Nadine’s appearance. “No. She’s not,” he said slowly, exchanging curious and confused looks with his brothers.

“Nadine, where is Ginny?” Wyatt asked again, his tone sharp and leaving absolutely no room for hesitation.

Nadine’s mouth opened in shock, but it took her a moment to say anything. “I don’t know. I told you that.” She glanced around at the other staff members. “We don’talwayscarpool. She rode her bike today. As she often does, especially if she’s working a day shift.” She shrugged again. “Maybe she got a flat tire?” Or maybe she skipped town because she knew they were closing in on her and going to figure out that she was the one mole.

Nadine knew more than she was saying. Wyatt could just tell. Something was up. Something really fucking terrible. He needed to get back up to the house to Vica.

Dom, Bennett, and Wyatt’s phones all started to buzz at the exact same time.

They glanced at them. It was a message from Myla.

Your server Ginny was just found dead in her dorm room at the hostel.

Disbelief and fear created a nauseating vortex in his belly. He really needed to get back to Vica. He was about to say he couldn’t stay for the meeting, when the front door flew open again.

It was Brooke. “Jenkins and Fischer … they have Vica. They arrested her … disabled the gate.”

Dom, Wyatt, and Bennett all surged to their feet so fast their chairs toppled over behind them.

Justine was behind her, and a huge purple bruise covered her face. Bennett zeroed in on it and went to her. “What happened?”

“Jenkins,” she said, the whole right side of her face puffy, making it difficult for her to speak. “They destroyed all of our phones. They took Vica somewhere.”

“We need to warn Burke,” Bennett said, distracted by Justine’s injury. “They might be heading to get Evie next.”

“Why Burke?” Nadine asked. She glanced around the room. “Why isn’t Burke here?”

“He’s, uh … he deserves a day off,” Dom said, meeting Wyatt’s gaze and stopping himself before he said too much.

Wyatt and Dom were out the door and piling into Dom’s truck in seconds. Bennett and Brooke stayed with Justine and the staff.

“Where do you think they took her?” Wyatt asked, letting Dom drive, because he knew that if he drove, he’d probably get them in a fucking accident.

“The police station?” Dom asked. “Isn’t that where you take people when you arrest them?”

“You really think Ginny was the mole?” Wyatt asked when Dom reached the end of the laneway. He barely stopped at the stop sign before taking a left, which was in the direction of the police station.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore. I do want to know how the fuck they knew the women were there alone though.”

Wyatt nodded as he called Myla.

“It’s not looking good, Wyatt,” Myla said. “Signs of foul play. Ginny was suffocated in bed by a pillow over her face.”

Wyatt raked his fingers through his hair. “Fuck. I feel terrible for Ginny. But that’s not why I’m calling. Jenkins and Fischer showed up and arrested Vica. They have her.”

“What?” Myla exclaimed.

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