Page 76 of Release You

If they returned to Paradise Creek, there was only one place where they could hide. They would never risk anyone from town seeing them do anything illegal, like keeping a woman against her will. They were back at Cavalier Manor. I was sure of it.

I faced Dom. He’d already gone over and above what a lawyer or a friend was required to do. “I need one more favor.”

“Fire away.” He braced his hands on his hips.

“Can you make sure my uncle returns every penny he stole from me? Everyone in Paradise Creek needs to know what he is. If he doesn’t rot in jail, I don’t want him to ever have the chance to go home.”

“Done.”

“If I don’t make it tonight, make sure Nikki and Lisa get everything.”

“Let me come with you.” He stepped toward me.

“No. I need to know someone will bring them justice.”

He nodded once. “You got it. But I thought Nikki left you. Does this mean you trust her after all?”

What Nikki had done cut me deep, and it hurt like all fucking hell. But what she and I had was separate from this. “Nikki and Lisa lost everything because of my family. They deserve to have their lives back, their home.”

“You got it.” He patted my arm.

I walked back to the valet podium on the other side of the parking lot and handed him my ticket. He looked me up and down as he took the stub.

“Things got rough at the bar,” I said to him.

He gave me a nervous smile before he took off to get my truck. I had no idea what was waiting for me in Paradise Creek, but I was done running. Dad would have his vengeance tonight. And I would finally be free from the past.

I climbed in my truck and headed for the freeway. Between the lack of traffic, because of the late hour, and my foot glued to the gas pedal, I made it back to Paradise Creek in under an hour.

My stomach knotted the minute I crossed the hotel’s threshold. Memories of Nikki came rushing back, like a kick to the stomach. Taking a deep breath, I rushed upstairs to my room. Everything was exactly how I left it earlier tonight. I glared at the pieces of Nikki’s letter and broken glass scattered on the floor.

I trudged to the closet and fished out my handgun. I checked the empty barrel first and then released the cartridge to make sure it had ammo. After I replaced the magazine, I stuffed the weapon in the back of my jeans and pulled my T-shirt over it.

Maybe Nikki had been right to run away from all this again. This thing with Jonathan and Francesca wasn’t her fight. Nikki had come back to clear her sister’s name, and she’d done exactly that. In a few days’ time, Lisa would be out of jail. Nikki had no reason to stay and risk her life. Certainly not for me. The tightening in my chest let up a bit, and I took a lungful of air. For the first time since I read her letter,I was glad she was gone, safe, and away from this fucked-up version of the life we should’ve had.

I descended the stairs. My heart pumped so hard I had to swallow several times to keep my lunch down. Not the fucking time to lose my shit. I left the hotel without a second glance and climbed down the manhole in the middle of Main Street. The minute my feet touched the concrete at the bottom of the steps, I took off running toward Cavalier Manor.

CHAPTER 27

A Thief Like Me

Nikki

Maybe sending Henry away hadn’t been one of my best ideas. But how was I supposed to know we would be dealing with gunmen? Though, in retrospect, I should’ve known. Jonathan and Francesca had been hiding a nasty little secret for over a decade. To say that they’d become paranoid would be a major understatement. I hated guns…and I hated blood.

I glanced down at Tessa. The front of her shirt was soaked through and sticky. She’d been passed out for God knew how long. At this point, I had no idea if she was tired from the loss of blood, knocked out from the pain, or worse. She moaned and stirred in her sleep. I inhaled and held her closer to me. She had to make it…for Henry.

“Tessa, do you know where you are?”

“Hmm.” She nodded.

“You were shot. I can’t see where the blood is coming from. What hurts?”

“It’s my shoulder…feels like a hot iron went through it.” She cleared her throat.

I winced. I had no idea what that felt like, but it sounded painful. In all my escapades with so-called cons, I’d never had to deal with real criminals. All my marks were spoiled rich men who were more than willing to pay up to have a pretty girl smile at them. This was a whole new fucking game for me. I gripped the fabric of my dress, feeling the emergency pack strapped to my left leg. The small handgun I kept inside it nudged against my palm. A shiver burst down my spine, as if someone had dropped a bucket of ice water over my head. In all these years, I never had to use it. The Taser I probably used on a weekly basis, but a weapon, something that could kill? That was different, even for a thief like me. I’d spent countless hours training at the shooting range, always hoping it’d never come down to this.

Third Rule of Con: always be fucking prepared.

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