Chapter 4
4
Nina watched the two most important people in her life as they absorbed her words. Zeke leaned against the wall, and Monty dropped to the seat next to her, his head in his hands.
She would have been more shocked if they didn’t know the name. Nina was sure everyone knew Gwendolyn Lennox by now. But their reactions confirmed they were more than aware of who she was. They were intimately knowledgeable about what Gwendolyn was capable of.
“How are you alive?” Monty whispered. He lifted his gaze to hers. The pain in his was enough to send Nina to the chair next to him.
She wondered the same thing over the years, but she never let herself dwell on it. If she did, she would have lost hope, and hope was the only thing she ever had. The only thing Gwendolyn never took from her. “She liked me. I was… She called me her sister. Said we were alike, and she took care of me.”
“Shitty sister,” Zeke growled, his gaze locked on the handprints around Nina’s throat.
Nina instinctively reached up to hide the marks. She’d done the same for years. Whenever Gwendolyn got angry with her, she would leave marks on Nina. The marks would anger Gwendolyn even more because if Nina was given to one of the customers with marks on her, the men would think it meant they were allowed to leave their own. Gwendolyn was horrible, but she didn’t like her women getting beaten. Unless she was the one doing it.
“Don’t cover up what she did. You need to report this. It’s more evidence against her. More that can be used to keep her ass in jail when she’s found.” Monty’s voice was harsh. His glare was worse.
Nina shivered as she removed her hand. “This is nothing compared to what she’s capable of.”
“We know,” the men said together.
“Fuck,” Monty whispered. “All this… I can’t… I’m so fucking sorry.” He hauled her from her seat and into his arms, burying his face in her neck.
Nina held on to her brother, never wanting to let go. She trembled against him. Over the years, she’d almost lost hope of seeing him again. Gwendolyn told her he’d left and never returned. That he moved on without her holding him back. She reinforced the decision seventeen-year-old Nina made and said Montgomery was better off without Nina in his life.
Nina hoped she could one day see her brother again, but she never hoped it would be in the same town where they always lived.
“When did you come back to Niagara Falls?” Nina asked against his chest.
Montgomery sniffed, pulling back from her and wiping his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sat on the edge of his desk. “After my four years were up, I came back. Everyone told me you were gone, but I couldn’t give up. I started all of this hoping I could keep someone else from losing their sister the same way.”
“And you didn’t get married? Did you break up because of me?”
Monty looked past Nina to Zeke.
Nina followed his gaze and caught Zeke shrugging.
“I was never engaged,” Monty said.
“What? I thought…” Nina closed her eyes. “Kids?”
“None of those, either. Why would you think that?”
“Gwendolyn told me you settled down and had a good life. Said you were better off without me.”
“I’m going to kill that bitch,” Zeke growled. “What did she tell you about me?”
Nina shook her head. “She never mentioned you. I… When I left, I wanted to put everything that happened behind me. We talked about my family, and I told her I couldn’t have Monty give up his dreams because of me.”
“I would have given up everything for you.” Monty grabbed her hands and held them tightly in his. “Everything, Nina. I wanted to. The only question I had was what the Navy would say.”
“You would have gotten in trouble. I heard you talking about it after Mom’s funeral.”
Monty shook his head. “I could have, but being your guardian would have been a special circumstance. I would have delayed enlisting, but it was possible.”
“I didn’t… I didn’t know.”
Monty shook his head slowly. “We can’t go back. All we can do now is move forward and put that woman in jail forever so she never hurts anyone else.”
Nina nodded, but she didn’t want Gwendolyn in jail. Jail was too good for her. Gwendolyn was too connected and too powerful. She had her hands in every legal entity in the area. There was no way she would stay in jail long, or stop ruining lives.
Gwendolyn Lennox deserved to be in the ground. And Nina was going to make sure it happened.
“She needs to talk to Lorelei,” Zeke said, drawing Nina’s attention from her thoughts.
“Who is that?”
“She’s great. Let’s go. Before this place gets any busier.” Montgomery stood, leading the way to the door. He opened it, letting Zeke go first.
The abruptness of their decision threw Nina off. She wasn’t sure where she was going or why, but she knew they would never risk anything happening to her, and if they wanted her to meet someone, she would go with them.
Zeke drove, Montgomery in the back with Nina. Zeke looked in the mirror at her every few seconds, something that gave Nina comfort as he wound through the city streets. When he pulled up outside a house, she was more than a little confused.
“Does the woman you mentioned live here?” Nina asked.
Both men shook their heads.
“No, but I think she’s here right now. Let’s go in,” Monty said.
Nina followed Monty out of the SUV. Zeke was already there, the two of them once more flanking her on the way to the door. Nina recognized the move from Gwendolyn and her many security people. They were always surrounding her, making sure no one could get a clear shot at the most hated woman in town.
Montgomery knocked on the door of the house and stepped back. He looked up at a camera above the door, then into the doorbell camera. He waved at both.
A minute later, the door opened. An older woman smiled at the men. “Well, this is a surprise visit. How are you doing today?” The woman’s sharp gaze zeroed in on Nina and her bruises. “Did you bring me a guest?”
Both men shook their heads and moved closer to the door.
“Frannie, this is my sister,” Montgomery said.
Frannie’s gasp told Nina the woman understood exactly how loaded that simple statement was.
“Oh. Let’s… I think we should speak more inside.”
“Is Lorelei here?” Monty asked as Frannie let them all into the house.
Frannie nodded. “Everyone is here.” Frannie glanced at Nina and smiled. “Are crowds too much for you? We can speak in a quieter setting if that makes you more comfortable.”
“That would be nice. Thank you,” Nina said, smiling at Frannie.
Frannie nodded, then pointed to a small living room off the front hallway. Zeke and Monty went with Nina, and Frannie turned to go to the other side of the house, where female voices were loud and friendly.
Nina looked around, trying to figure out what sort of place they were in. It reminded her of B&B’s she’d seen on TV. Small, cozy places in little towns where people could stay. Nina always thought they looked charming and sweet. And the one they were in was the same.
Except for the double doors in front, both with heavy-duty locks, and Frannie meeting them on the porch. That didn’t happen on TV shows.
Frannie returned with a Black woman. The Black woman smiled at Nina, but her demeanor and posture were not friendly and open.
Nina took a step backward, running into someone behind her. She gasped before hands cradled her body.
“Are you okay?” Zeke asked.
Nina shook her head. “Who is that?”
The Black woman approached, her hand extended. “My name is Lorelei. I’m an FBI Agent. Frannie said you were looking for me.”
“FBI? No. No. I’m not… I can’t.”
“Nina, you have to tell her everything. She’s the one leading the investigation,” Monty said.
“No. The police never did anything for anyone. Why am I going to trust her now? She’s not safe. I’m not safe here. I have to go. I can’t.” Nina turned and buried her face in Zeke.
His arms came around her and held her tight. She trembled against him, fighting the urge to run away from the intense and dominating woman and knowing Nina wasn’t safe on her own.
“Lorelei isn’t going to hurt you,” Zeke assured her. “She’s the one who figured out Gwendolyn Lennox is behind everything. She’s leading the charge toward stopping her.”
Nina looked up at him. “The last time I trusted a woman, I spent twelve years in captivity.”
The collective gasps around the room had Nina closing her eyes in shame. She chose to leave. She chose to go to Gwendolyn. She chose to put her faith in a woman who ended up being a worse monster than the person Nina was really running from.
Nina couldn’t do it again. She couldn’t sit there and let a stranger tell her she could trust her. Not when Nina knew how it worked out last time.
“Gwendolyn Lennox tried to have me killed,” Lorelei said, her voice firm but soft. “She kidnapped me and tortured me to figure out what I knew about her. She didn’t do it, of course, but one of her people did. He left me for dead, but I was lucky. I was found, and I was rescued, and I regained all my memories, including the ones from when I was tortured. The ones that gave me her name.”
Nina shook her head as Lorelei spoke, her fear ramping up. “That was you.”
Lorelei inhaled sharply. “You heard about me?”
Nina nodded, facing the woman. “Agent Sloane. Gwendolyn was furious when you survived. If she wants you dead, you’re dead. She doesn’t screw up, and she doesn’t tolerate people who do.”
“Which is likely why the man who kidnapped me had three bullets in his chest last night.”
Nina sucked in a breath. She was there when Gwendolyn shot Benjamin. Three times in the chest. He fell to the ground, face down, and Gwendolyn stepped over his body. She was sending a message to anyone who dared challenge her.
Nina left hours later.
“When I was much younger,” Frannie said, drawing Nina’s attention, “I was friends with Gwennie. We worked at a club together. I was a dancer, and she was a server. At Club Curves.”
Nina gasped. “You worked there?”
Frannie nodded. She gestured toward the couch and sat, looking up at Nina to do the same.
Nina looked at the men, then sat next to Frannie.
“Club Curves saved me. So did Gwennie. She got me the job, then she found me an apartment. She made sure I was safe. She was my best friend. We spent a lot of time together.”
“Are you still in touch?” Nina asked, her throat tight with fear. Frannie seemed sweet and thoughtful. Nothing like Gwendolyn.
Frannie shook her head. “Not in years. We were walking home one night after a shift and witnessed a murder. I wanted to call the police, but Gwen said they would never believe us. We’d been drinking, and we worked at a place that wasn’t known for being on the right side of legal all the time. She told me we were bad witnesses and couldn’t even be sure of what we saw. I listened to her, but my conscience got the better of me and I ended up talking to the police.”
“What happened?”
“The cop I spoke to trusted me. He listened to me. He set up a lineup, but Gwennie was there when he called. She went with me, and she confused me. We couldn’t agree on a person, and the case stopped.”
“She did it on purpose.”
Frannie nodded. “She did. But I didn’t realize that until recently. I had no idea who she was. What she was capable of. It was many years after Casey Slater died before I found the man who killed her. She wasn’t his last. Lots of others died because of him.”
“You found him?”
“I did. His name was Damon Street.”
Nina gasped.
Frannie smiled sadly. “Damon was not a good man. Another friend of mine was involved with him. Didn’t know who he was or what he was capable of. He almost killed her, and she came here.”
Nina looked around. “Here? What is this place?”
“It’s a shelter. Shelter in the Storm. Casey Slater was one of the reasons I opened this place. After her death, I knew women needed a safe place to be when home wasn’t safe. Children, too. Many people have come through those doors. Have found solace here.”
“Including me,” Lorelei Sloane said. “You don’t have to trust me. You don’t have to tell me your story. But the two men who brought you here trust me. They knew you needed to tell me what happened. And Frannie knows it, too.”
Nina looked at all of them. Her gut churned with anxiety. There was so much. Good, but mostly bad. The things she knew, had witnessed and done nothing to stop. “I didn’t help any of them.”
“Any of who?” Frannie asked.
“The others,” Nina said. “Gwendolyn listened to me. She said I was her little sister. She would talk to me. I could have told her to stop. Or done something to make her stop. I could have?—”
“Gwen would never have stopped. I’m guessing those bruises you have are from her hands.” Frannie gestured to Nina’s throat and face.
Nina nodded.
Frannie sighed heavily. “She wasn’t violent when I knew her. Obviously, I didn’t know her well. She didn’t talk about herself much. Or her family. She had a brother and her father, but I never met either of them. When Lorelei first told me Gwen was behind everything, I had a hard time believing it. She was my friend. She was someone I spent time with. How was it possible I missed so much?”
Nina nodded, her throat closing. She inhaled a shaky breath. “I ran to her,” she whispered. “I chose to go to her.”
“She deceived you, Nina. She manipulated you into thinking she was going to be there for you. That’s what happens.”
“I didn’t know she was so evil,” Nina whispered, all her emotions and regret and fear and pain bursting from her.
Frannie gathered Nina close and held her while Nina sobbed painfully all over the woman she’d known for less than an hour. Nina couldn’t stop the flood once she started, her chest heaving with pain and her lungs crying for air as she cried and hated herself for choosing to turn to a woman who would one day kill her.
When Nina’s sobs turned to hiccuping breaths, Frannie pulled back slightly.
“None of this is your fault. I know you’re not ready to hear that, and it’ll take a long time before you are, but I want you to hear it from me. Everything Gwen has done is on her. She’s to blame for her actions. Even if you tried to stop her, she would have beaten you more or sold you to someone or just killed you. You never would have made it back to your brother.”
Nina couldn’t accept that, but she appreciated Frannie saying it. Nina wished she’d done so many things differently over the last twelve years.
But she couldn’t go back.
“Lorelei is one of the good ones. She’s smart and she’s capable and she’s leading the charge to find and stop Gwen for good. Her partner is married to Damon’s ex, the one I mentioned?”
Nina breathed a laugh. “Really?”
Frannie smiled. “She got her happily ever after. Lorelei is living with the man who found her. The other room is full of women whose lives were nearly destroyed by Gwen and Damon and the rest of them, but who found their way through that to a happiness they never expected would exist.”
“Wow,” Nina breathed.
“You are welcome to join us. Now or any other time.” Frannie’s smile was warm and kind and made Nina wonder if there was a chance at a life for her.
“Thank you.”
“Will you tell me about your time with Gwendolyn Lennox?” Lorelei asked.
Nina faced the woman. She tried to build up the fear she felt when Lorelei spoke earlier, but it was gone. Hearing Frannie’s story, knowing she wasn’t the only one who trusted Gwendolyn and paid the price for it, told Nina she was safe.
She should have known Monty and Zeke would never put her in danger, but her instincts were rusty at best. And trusting a stranger was a mistake Nina was not willing to make again.
“I’m ready,” she said, nodding at Agent Sloane. Time to stop Gwendolyn.