Page 65 of Release You

Henry squeezed my hand. “Got a text from Russ. We’re in. There’s a game tonight at the Speakeasy Bar near the hotel.”

I offered him a weak smile. I didn’t want Henry in the same room as that psycho, but it had to be done. If Jonathan thought we had what he wanted, if he thought he was about to lose this cat-and-mouse game, he might lose his calm and hopefully make a mistake.

That night I dressed carefully. Ballet flats and a simple black dress with a flouncy skirt with plenty of room for me to strap a Taser on my right thigh and an emergency pack on the other. The monochrome ensemble made the sapphire stand out against my skin. I rubbed the stone between my fingers. Soon, we’d get the answers we’d been looking for. It would help a great deal, though, if we at least knew why Tessa’s jewelry was so important to Jonathan. Turning the sapphire, I squeezed it tight, and a ragged edge scratched the inside of my nail.

“Fuck.” I sucked on my finger, glaring at the stone in the mirror.

The shape was slightly off as I brushed the facet that’d cut me. I rubbed it again between my fingers. As if the entire stone were two pennies stuck together, the top slid off and something fell out of it. When Henry first put the necklace on me last night, even though the sapphire had the same oval shape and size, it had definitely felt lighter. This was why. It was a fake stone. The inside was hollow, a perfect place to hide something small.

I sat on my haunches and hovered over the SD chip on the carpet. Tessa must’ve made a replica of her necklace so she could hide something inside it. Was this chip the reason Henry and Tessa were still alive? I took the memory card out andshoved it in the SD slot in my laptop. Bracing for the worst, I clicked on the file and stepped back.

A knock on the door startled me and made me snap the computer shut. “Nikki. We have to go.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there. Just having some female problems over here.”

“Okay. Two more minutes,” Henry said.

I stared at my closet and the few clothes I had with me, doing my best to keep my lunch down. I didn’t have time to think this through. Following my gut instincts, I stuffed the chip in my bra, slid the stone closed, and grabbed the bag full of Tessa’s money and jewelry. I pressed my ear to the door and waited until Henry’s steps echoed on the grand staircase to sneak out of my room and into his.

I had to do the right thing. For Henry.

Henry didn’t have the criminal mind needed to see this thing with his uncle through to the end. If there was something I could do to protect him, I had to at least try. I went through the mail he had on his dresser and found a preapproved credit letter. I turned it over and scribbled a note on the back of it, stuffed it back in its envelope, and wrote his name on it, hoping he’d recognize my writing. I swallowed the lump in my throat and dropped the chip in before placing the envelope back on the dresser. I had no doubt in my mind that Jonathan would act the minute he saw me wearing Tessa’s necklace.

An hour later, with my hand holding Henry’s elbow in a death grip, we walked into the bar and headed straight to the back room where Russ had told us he’d be waiting. The Prohibition Era had been a big deal for this town. Bootlegging was how the town had survived the closing of the mines. Most of the older buildings still had secret back rooms and tunnels that led to Main Street. Russ met us outside the bathrooms.

“You made it.” He beamed at us.

Henry patted him on the shoulder. “Thanks for making room for us.”

“It was nothing.” He shrugged. “It’s always fun to watch you win your uncle’s money.” Chuckling, he gestured for us to follow him.

At the end of the hallway, we were greeted by a double-wide commercial-refrigerator door. The thermometer on it showed the room behind the door was at thirty-two degrees. With a crooked grin, Russ pulled on the lever, and the door squeaked open, slow and heavy.

On the other side, a dark corridor lined with shelves stocked with pantry items led the way to another room. Henry took my hand and ushered me inside. As soon as Russ shut the door, the lights came on, shining on the cherrywood floors and dark red paneled walls. The temperature was a comfortable seventy degrees.

Around the corner, Russ showed us into a large room covered in wooden panels, with a poker table in the middle, chairs upholstered in burgundy leather, and a sparkly chandelier casting a glow over the cards.

“Henry,” Mr. Paredes said. “Glad you could make it.” He stood and shook Henry’s hand.

Next to him, Jonathan sat frozen, eyes wide. He wasn’t looking at Henry. He was staring at me. That hadn’t taken long at all. He’d recognized the necklace.

I met his gaze.Your move, asshole.

Jonathan blinked fast several times before he stood to welcome us to the table. “Ms. Swift. Good to see you again. Please.” He pulled out a chair for me.

“I’m not playing, darling. I’m just here as Henry’s good-luck charm.”

Russ took a seat and quickly shuffled the cards, Vegas style. He’d obviously been running these games for a long time. Hedealt the cards, and the second game of the night was on. Henry took a split second to look at his cards before he placed his bet in the middle of the table. His expression was hard as stone. Jonathan took a long swig of bourbon as his gaze darted from the pile of chips in front of him to his cards.

“Damn. I’m out.” Mr. Paredes pushed his cards in after Russ laid out the flop.

“I’ll bite.” Russ threw his chips in.

Jonathan stared at the table, looking paler than before. What was he afraid of? He knew that as long as he had Tessa, Henry couldn’t touch him, and I couldn’t use what I’d seen on the SD chip. Until Jonathan made a move, our hands were tied.

Time to force his hand.

“Excuse me, gentlemen.” I stood and tipped my head. “I have to use the little girls’ room.”

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