Page 76 of Tessa's Trust

His strides were sure and strong. “I was at the office.”

“Why were you at the office this late?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. I lifted my head and bumped his chin. “Ouch,” he murmured.

I tried to see his eyes. “That didn’t hurt. Why were you at the office?”

“I was talking to contacts I have in various places,” he said. “I need to figure out where Sadie and Jonathan are.”

“Oh,” I said lamely. He’d been working on my case, which was incredibly sweet of him, considering I was causing him nothing but political problems. “Did you hear that Sheriff Franco took me across the pass?”

“I did, but only because your sister called and told me.”

I blinked. “Anna called you?”

“Yeah. She thought I might have some insight into the prosecutorial process in Gem County. She thought I might know the prosecutor.”

“Do you?” I asked softly.

He shifted me a little in his arms. “No, not really. I’ve met him a couple of times, but the guy’s only been in office since November. Don’t worry. I’ll handle him.”

I swallowed. “You don’t have any jurisdiction.”

Nick was silent. Interesting. Was he talking legally, or acting like the alpha male I’d accused him of being?

“I’m in trouble here, Nick, and you can’t help.” I patted his chest. “That’s okay. I don’t expect you to fix everything.”

We reached his truck, and he opened the door, setting me gently inside. “Oh, I’m going to fix everything, whether you want me to or not.” He shut the door before I could answer.

Confusion clouded my mind, so I remained silent as he slid into the driver’s side and drove away from the hospital. I didn’t even argue when he turned away from Timber City and headed toward Tamarack Lake, the smaller body of water that fronted his condo. I didn’t feel like talking tonight, so I shot Donna a quick text saying I’d see her in the morning. We’d have to figure out a way to get my car from the hospital parking lot later.

“Do you think they have a good case against me?” I finally asked.

Nick drove around the smaller lake road, his gaze intense on the storm outside. “I think it’s an interesting one. Nothing ties you very well to Rudy Brando’s murder,” he murmured. “The knife found in your fridge? I mean, that’s just weird.”

“I agree,” I said.

“The stronger case is the one against you for Lenny’s death,” he continued.

Yet I barely knew Lenny. “You know about that evidence?”

“I do. Anna told me everything.”

That figured. Anna wanted to get Nick all riled up. But hey, I could use all the help I could get. “Because they found the murder weapon?”

“Yeah, because they found the murder weapon in your possessions. However, again, it’s weird because you weren’t in possession of those boxes. Right now, the sheriff is going through and trying to track who had which box in their truck. He’s talking to all your cousins, but nobody can find Rory.”

I stiffened. I’d forgotten all about Rory. “You know he takes off once in a while.”

“I do know that. I also know that nobody’s found Serenity.”

I winced. “Hey, he gave her until New Year’s Day to decide what she wanted in life.” That wasn’t exactly how Rory had put it, but I wouldn’t throw my cousin under the bus.

“Hmm,” Nick said. “He’d better make himself available to the sheriff.”

“It doesn’t matter—at least not with my case. Rory was long gone before we moved any boxes, and Bobbo helped clean rather than pack. You’ll have to speak with Bosco, Vince, and Quint. They packed and moved the boxes.”

“Franco’s talking to all of them tomorrow,” Nick relayed.

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