Page 88 of Who's Saving You
She watches me closely with sad eyes. “She did but she had no clients. No one was willing to take a risk with her because she had no capital to back them.” She clears her throat. “But EP INC was established just three weeks after that thrown game. And then she had clients almost immediately. It doesn’t add up.”
“What are you getting at?”
“I think your sister was well aware of what was happening with your dad. And I have a feeling she was involved with this game. And getting the money.”
“Feelings and facts are different, you know that.”
“I do know that.” She turns and pulls something up on her laptop. “I requested police department logs on yourdad. Besides a few misdemeanors, there’s nothing on his disappearance.”
“We just assumed he ran off.”
“But why? If your sister and your mom never knew about that sophomore year game, and you knew you got him out of trouble, why wouldn’t anyone push further for answers? You said your mom never knew the danger she was in, so you may have assumed he got into trouble with another crew, but they wouldn't think that, right?”
“Mom knew he had a problem. There were many nights growing up when he didn’t come home. Mom was afraid, but then she kind of grew immune to it.”
“So, no one filed a missing person’s report?”
“Eva said…” I clear my throat. “Eva told me she’d handle it. She wanted me to concentrate on getting to the NFL.”
“Nik, things aren’t making sense.” She takes another lick on that damn push pop. “And you’re not going to like this, but I think Rhett holds some answers.”
Worried about me, Warrior?
Those words play in my head, and I don’t want to give voice to my thoughts. Or what Dante and I spoke about.
“And I think the only way to get those answers is formeto talk to Rhett.”
My hands ball into fists. The more we talk, the closer it all feels. And I hate that she and I are on the same wavelength. “Noelle, I don't want to admit it, but I think you’re right. My first reaction is to say, ‘No fucking way. You’re not going near him!’“
“But?”
“But with everything that we know, I think you’re the piece that puts it all together here.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“He was sent to kidnap you. Why would you go willingly?”
“Because I don’t think Rhett is a threat.”
“But who he's working for is. And if Ghost is the same guy from the sophomore game, it means there’s more at stake. I just don’t understand what that is.”
“I think I do. And I’m asking you to trust me with this, Nik.”
37
Noelle
Nik is a smart guy, but I think he’s blinded by the love of his family and his hatred of Rhett to see it. And the only way I’ll be able to prove it to him is to go by myself. And now I have to give him my facts, not feelings, on this situation.
“Nik, Eva incorporated her company three weeks after the game. That’s not a coincidence, it's perfectly planned.”
I hold his eyes, speaking slowly but matter-of-factly. “She acted like your lawyer at the school hearings. How did she know to suppress their findings if she didn’t know anything about what your dad owed?”
I keep talking. “She said she’d handle looking for your dad, but I think she already knew where he was, what he did, and made him stay away. She couldn’t risk him coming back and gambling again, or telling you what hadhappened. She needed time to build the company, make other accounts, and make new LLCs to bury all that she did.
“The warnings about not digging too deep, stay away from college game talk, the emails I received. Why was I told that? I’d know nothing about looking further if that wasn’t said to me. I would have seen a bad game and moved along.”
He stares at me, piecing it together just like I did. “And why me? Because once she heard I was doing an article, she researched me. Eva isn’t stupid. She’s calculated and needed to cover bases before I even stepped to the plate. I’m close to showing her empire was built on a single dropped ball. Because if I say it out loud, if I prove it, the foundation and integrity of her company cracks wide open.”
