Chapter 14
Micah slid his hand into Clover’s as they walked up the driveway to Krystal’s home. She nearly jumped, but then reminded herself that they had to act like a couple.
She just didn’t want to get used to it. “Do you think your sister will actually have pizza?” she whispered.
He shot her a startled look, his green eyes bright. “I don’t actually know.”
“Guess we’ll find out,” she murmured, squeezing his hand lightly.
When the door swung open, one of Krystal’s sons stood there. Jet, she thought, but she wasn’t a hundred percent on all their names yet. Her three teens were all tall, gangly and had dark hair. Two were twins, but to her they might as well be triplets.
He hugged Micah and started telling him about some game he was mastering, clearly trying to pull him away, but Micah slid an arm around Clover’s shoulders. “I promise we’ll talk about it later. Where’s your mom? And is there pizza?”
Jet grinned. “She’s in the kitchen. And there’s maybe a couple slices left.” He ran off before either of them could respond, stomping up the stairs like a water buffalo.
Before they made it to the kitchen, Krystal stepped out of a doorway, then pulled the two of them into what turned out to be an office. Maybe Mike’s office, from the look of it.
Then she locked the door and turned to them, her expression serious. “Ilena wasn’t there and neither was the Morrow woman. It’s going to hit the news soon. The parents are going to do a public plea for the kidnappers to release her.”
Micah scrubbed a hand over his face and Clover closed her eyes.
“What happened?” Micah asked before Clover could.
And to be honest, she didn’t want to question his sister—the detective. At this point she was just glad that Krystal hadn’t turned them over to the Feds. Not that she actually thought the woman would turn her brother over, but still.
“They acted on the tip and raided the Kendrick estate. The man you say is your friend’s boyfriend, or ex-boyfriend,” she said, looking at Clover, “was there. He and the others with him are all in custody. So far they’ve all lawyered up. But I think one of them will turn soon enough.”
“Do they know for sure if Morrow was there?” Micah asked.
“Yep. DNA doesn’t lie.”
No it didn’t. “Do they have Ilena’s name?”
“As of right now, I don’t know. But they have vast resources. If she’s on any cameras in downtown Sanctuary Falls, they’ll find out who she is. And I need to tell them.”
“I can send another tip,” Micah murmured.
“No…just wait. They’re running all the DNA at the house. If she was there—”
“She was,” Clover said.
“They’ll know who she is if they don’t already. I just don’t like holding back when a woman’s life is in danger.”
Yeah, Clover didn’t like that either. “If you need me to come forward—”
“No.” Micah cut her off before she could finish, his expression hard. “That’s not happening and won’t do any good.” He looked back at his sister, his jaw still tight. “Her involvement will just muddy things and she doesn’t have any real intel. They’ll waste time questioning her. I won’t allow it.”
Allow it? Okay, why did that sound so hot? She’d contemplate that later. Moving closer to him, she slid her hand back into his, liking the way they fit together. She was grateful when he didn’t even pause, simply linked his fingers with her and tugged her closer.
Krystal looked between the two of them, sighed. “You’re right. And thank you for the info you gave me to start with. Go grab some food and at least hang out for a bit. The boys have missed you.”
“I saw them four days ago.” His tone was amused.
“An eternity, apparently. They certainly don’t miss me like they miss their fun Uncle Micah.”
Micah snorted. “They might not realize it, but they’re the luckiest kids on the planet.”
Krystal blinked in surprise, then pulled him into a tight hug before she shooed both of them out of the office.
“That was really sweet,” Clover whispered as they headed toward the kitchen.
He just lifted a shoulder. “It’s true. I didn’t realize it until I was older but they’re lucky to have her. So was I.”
As they stepped into the kitchen, she realized his nephew hadn’t been kidding about the pizza. There were only two slices visible and eight empty boxes.
Apollo and Cormac were standing at the island with Mike and the other two teenagers.
“You animals couldn’t save anything for us?”
Mike just opened the oven and pulled out two boxes. “Of course I did.”
One of the boys went to grab it, but Mike held it away. “You just ate two pizzas solo. Please pretend I’m raising you right.”
“Oh, sorry, Clover.” The kid’s cheeks flushed.
“I see how it is,” Micah growled before they did some sort of wrestling thing. “Sorry to her but not me.”
“She’s pretty and you’re not.”
Clover laughed in surprise but grabbed two plates for herself and Micah. Even as she worried about Ilena and the mess she’d gotten into, she was still starving.
As she started to sit down, her phone buzzed and she froze when she saw Nyla’s name on the screen. “Hey,” she said, hurrying from the room. “I’m surprised to hear from you.”
“I almost didn’t call you.” Her voice was muted. “But you saved me from that asshole Badger,” she said almost grudgingly. “So I figure I owe you.”
“Is he bothering you?” she asked, alarmed.
“No. I think my cousin is handling him… That’s not why I called.
I saw your friend,” she whispered, her voice dropping even more.
“Ilena. She’s staying at this old camping site.
It’s not in use right now but it will be starting next month.
I know you’ve been worried about her so… I figure this makes us even.”
“Wow, thanks. Can you give me the location?”
She gave an address, then said, “I don’t think you should come back into work.”
She hadn’t been planning on it. “Fair enough. Thank you.”
Nyla hung up, but Clover didn’t care. She started to hurry back inside but Micah stepped out carrying a pizza box.
“Everything okay?”
“Ah…yeah. That’s ours?”
“Yep.”
“Good. Nyla just called, told me she saw Ilena,” she whispered, then paused. “Should we tell your sister?”
Now he paused, then shook his head. “Let’s see if this pans out, then bring her into it if necessary.”
That worked for her.
After an Irish goodbye—her favorite kind—the drive to the camp took about thirty minutes, and not for the first time she wondered… “Do you think this is like a trap or something?” she blurted.
“By…Nyla?” Micah slowed down on the uneven road, following the faded signs pointing to the campsite.
“Yes. No. Maybe.”
“I’ve been monitoring her phone calls, so no.”
“Wait, what?”
He looked completely unapologetic as he said, “Yep. She could have been a threat to you. I wasn’t letting that go.”
“That’s… I don’t even know what to say to that.
How many people are you currently monitoring for like…
jobs? Also, what the hell is your actual job?
For real. Is it like an official PI? Like Silvia?
” She scanned the forest on either side of the road, could see a lake to the east of them through the thinning trees.
“That’s a lot of questions but here goes.
I’m monitoring six different individuals—not counting the people we’re looking into from Cain’s stash.
That’s on the periphery though, I haven’t started a seriously deep dive on them yet.
The job listed on my taxes is corporate investigator.
Being completely transparent, I take on a handful of those jobs a year because they’re usually cake, and I can wrap them up with ease.
It’s a good cover and one that pays all my bills. It also lets me do what I want.”
“Which is?”
“Help people. Right wrongs. Make people who wouldn’t otherwise, pay for their crimes.”
“I sort of love that. So not a typical PI because…you break the law?”
“I prefer to think of it as living my life the way I want to live it. And more often than not, no one hires me to do the things I do. Don’t get me wrong, I do take jobs that pay very well—off the books. But I also take on things that I don’t get a penny for…that usually cost me.”
“How do you find jobs like that?”
“Online mostly or through references from people who have my information. And there aren’t many who do.”
“I can’t even pretend not to be impressed…” She trailed off as he reached the end of the path. It forked in three directions, but everything was wide open, with at least fifteen small cabins scattered around the large, still lake. “Smoke coming up from that cabin.”
It was likely a risk, but if there wasn’t electricity out here in the off season they’d need a fire to cook. And probably for warmth.
“I think I should knock on the door,” she said before he could take point. “I know you’re more experienced, but she’s my friend and I think I can talk her down from whatever situation she’s in.”
He was quiet for a moment before he reversed them out of sight from all the cabins, then threw his truck into park. “Let’s try and get a view through the windows first, see what we’re up against.”
“Not a yes, but also not a no.”
“Fine.” She took the binoculars he handed her, wishing they had darkness as cover, but that was a little ways off.
It took longer than she’d have liked, but they trekked through the woods parallel to the cabins. Once they had a good view of the cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney, they zeroed in on the place with the binoculars.
“It’s weird that there are no vehicles anywhere,” she murmured, glad that the curtain on one of the windows was pulled back.
She could see Ilena sitting in a rocking chair in front of the fire, reading a book.
“Probably got it stashed somewhere out of sight.”
She started to respond, but froze when a branch cracked behind them.
“Hands up and don’t make any sudden moves,” an angry female voice snarled into the quiet forest.