Chapter 19
19
C onrad swallowed to clear the emotion knotting in his throat. Kade wasn’t one for apologies or regrets. He’d changed. He was more thoughtful now. Having a family must have humbled him and brought out the best in Kade.
“I appreciate the words, Kade,” Conrad began. “But we’re all out here trying our best. You’ve done right by us.” He couldn’t imagine the sacrifices Kade had made at such a young age to ensure his siblings weren’t beaten within an inch of their lives. There was a semblance of order. “You deserved a better hand than what you were dealt.”
“There was a time, not so long ago, when that was all I could see,” Kade said. “But I never would have gotten the best siblings a brother could ask for if life had happened any other way.”
Damn. Kade really had changed. He was happy now. He was in love with Bree and their baby. The changes in him were remarkable. It made Conrad believe change could happen to anyone if it had happened to his older brother.
Could it happen to him? He was beginning to believe there might be something with Nikki that was rare. Something that was difficult to describe and elusive to nail down.
“Right back at you,” Conrad said. “We’ll fight Beau together.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kade stated. “And when anything else comes up, I hope you’ll feel able to talk to me about it. One thing I’ve learned recently is that we’re stronger together.”
Who did Nikki have on her side? She’d turned her face toward the passenger window. He could have sworn he heard a stifled sniffle a second ago.
“I’ll second that,” Conrad said.
“I stopped by the house. Where are you?”
“On the road, checking out fishing spots where I might find Lukas Wayne.” Conrad rattled off a couple of spots, just in case.
“Do you want backup?”
“Let me investigate,” Conrad said after briefing his brother on the conversation with Lukas’ wife. “I’ll text before running into a situation halfcocked.”
“Okay,” Kade conceded. “My phone will be with me at all times today.”
Conrad thanked his brother before ending the call. He wanted to ask Nikki if she was all right but stopped himself.
Instead, he reached over and clasped her hand in his. He brought the back of her hand up to his lips, where he pressed a kiss.
She didn’t say a word. Didn’t need to.
After a few moments, he gently set her hand down on her thigh and then drove toward lake number one.
There was no sign of Lukas at the fishing spot. The couple of fishermen in the area hadn’t seen him either.
Fishing spot number two, the one in the middle of the map Mrs. Wayne had shown, turned out to bear fruit.
Lukas Wayne’s pickup truck was tucked off the road, not aquarter of a mile’s walk from the exact spot his wife had pointed out. He looked to Nikki, who’d been quiet on the drive over and offered a measured smile. “This is progress.”
She sucked in a breath. “Let’s go find Lukas Wayne.”
They exited the truck and then walked over to Wayne’s ride. Conrad pulled out his new phone and took several pictures just in case. The doors were locked. There was no sign of struggle. No blood in the area.
Lukas Wayne made it to his fishing hole. Was he still alive?
Nikki followed closely behind Conrad as they hiked toward one of Lukas Wayne’s favorite places to catch fish. Her mind wandered about everything from finding him camping with another woman to his body floating on the water or buried in a nearby shallow grave.
Would the stench have hit by now?
If he was dead, wouldn’t there be a smell?
Once when Nikki had lived alone with her mother, a mouse moved in. The critter had caused large-scale panic in Nikki’s mother, so she’d bought traps, but the mouse was too smart to take the bait. Poison worked. The problem then became finding the mouse inside the walls of the house in its hiding spot. An entire wall had to be rebuilt because the critter specialist couldn’t locate the dead creature. The stench had been so awfulthatNikki remembered it to this day.
Instinctively, she covered her nose with her shirt with the full knowledge it would only make the smell a little worse.
A creepy thought of buzzards picking at Wayne’s dead body stamped her thoughts. She involuntarily shivered, then forced the image from her mind. Imagination rarely matched reality. Internally, she repeated the phrase a few more times to solidify it in her brain.
They should be getting close. No smell. That had to be a good sign they would find Wayne alive with his pole in the water. It was a clear day in the middle of the afternoon. Though, she always thought fishing was best early in the morning or at dusk. Since there was a chill in the air, they might be at the surface. In hot summer months, they did like everyone else; searched for shade. Of course, it all depended on what kind of fish you were fishing for.
Should they have driven around more? Made certain there were no other vehicles parked? They’d driven past a few places that would be easy to hide a vehicle. There had to be more than the ones she’d noted.
Which reminded her eyes could be anywhere, watching. Waiting.
No matter how hard she tried to walk lightly, twigs snapped under her feet—feet that were feeling tons better now that Conrad had treated them and she’d slept. Sleep was a miracle when it came to healing. The cuts were definitely still there, but she no longer felt like she was walking on razors as she had at one point yesterday.
Conrad brought the shotgun for good measure. It was currently tucked underneath his armpit, the barrel resting on his forearm.
She listened, trying her best not to make any noise. She wanted to ask how much longer they’d be walking along the well-worn but small trail when she heard something or someone snort from above them.
Nikki reached for Conrad, but he was faster. He’d turned, tucked her behind him, and stepped behind a tree trunk before she could utter a sound. Both searched the trees to find out what had made the sound.
Tree branches dipped under the weight of some kind of creature getting the heck away from them. Good. As long as it was something running away and not toward, they would be okay. The adrenaline push that came with the scare caused her heart to hammer the inside of her ribcage. A thumping sound was all she could hear in her ears.
Conrad held steady. He was exactly the person she wanted to be with when the chips were down. His calm-steady state kept her nerves a notch below panic.
After several minutes that felt like hours, they resumed walking toward the spot. The trees thickened in this area the deeper they went and the closer they got to water. An occasional gust of wind whipped through the trees, sending her pulse skyrocketing again when it caught her off guard.
They’d been hiking for fifteen minutes by the time they first heard whistling. Was it Lukas Wayne? Was he alive?
Up to now, there hadn’t been the telltale stench she’d been half scared to death they’d be walking up to. That had to be a good sign.
Conrad slowed his steps, planting each foot with silent precision. Nikki did her best. She’d never been a hunter or one for spending time in nature, for that matter. She reached for Conrad and tugged at his arm. He stopped.
She got close, so close she breathed in his spicy, woodsy scent. Then whispered, “Should I stay back?”
It was clear to her that she was dead weight. As careful as she tried to be, she made noise. At this point, she feared she was breathing too loudly.
He locked gazes with her before giving a small headshake. The gravity and danger of the situation struck as she studied those eyes. He was saying that she would be safer if she stuck with him.
She nodded. He squeezed her hand. With his touch, warmth spread through her, comforting herandmaking her believe this might end well. Was that false confidence?
The thought she might be about to come face-to-face with her father’s killer struck. If Lukas Wayne wasn’t directly responsible, he was surely involved. The visit to his home to speak to his wife had convinced Nikki the man was up to his eyeballs in the business deal that likely got her father killed. A picture emerged. One of a high stakes deal sealed with secret handshakes. One that had ended with murder in order to keep the details quiet.
Her father had been described as Beaumont’s clean-up person. Had her father decided it was time to broker a deal himself? Or had he been covering for a boss that was already gone? Was it loyalty? Or greed?
Conrad froze as a small campsite came into view. A person sat with their back to them, facing the water. Three fishing poles shot out above the small waves, sunlight dancing off their small metal loops.
He motioned for her to stay put after tucking her behind a tree trunk.
Nikki immediately searched for something to use as a weapon, a stick or a rock. She dropped down to her knees. They cracked. She bit back a curse.
The noise didn’t seem to bother Lukas. It had to be him sitting at the lake’s edge. Right? This had to be his campsite. Right?
This was the first campsite they’d come across on the hike. Were the odds in their favor?
Since this was a single male, she hoped that increased their chances they’d found him. And if they had, could they finally get answers?
Growing up with the twins as brothers, Conrad had become an expert at sneaking up on people. He’d gone on hunting trips with his brothers that had helped hone his skills. The element of surprise could keep him from having to use his shotgun.
Each careful step brought him closer to Lukas. This had to be him. This was the right location. This was the exact right spot.
A flannel-shirt-wearing man wearing jeans sat there, legs crossed. He had no idea Conrad was less than five feet away. Or did he?
To be certain, Conrad slowed his movement even more. At this distance, he could dive into Lukas if the man caught on and turned around.
A two-person tent sat behind a small campfire; the fire was out. There was no garbage in sight. The male figure knew better than to attract wild animals, a good sign he did this often or, at the very least, knew what he was doing. Camping alone wasn’t a complete shock. However, Conrad had been almost certain a woman would be here based on Mrs. Wayne’s hushed tones when she’d spoken to Nikki. Nikki had made it clear she understood the fears of a significant other cheating. Conrad’s blood had boiled at the thought someone would do that to her.
It would be easy for a cheating spouse to hide a lover out here.
Mrs. Wayne wouldn’t be caught dead hiking. She seemed to take the idea her husband was cheating as part of the package so she could maintain life in a fancy home and drive a luxury vehicle. She came across as someone who cared more about appearance than almost anything else and would put up with almost any behavior so she wouldn’t have to change her lifestyle.
Was she worried about her husband or that the money train might disappear?
Then there was Beau. The fact Beau had betrayed Conrad stung more than it should. Trust wasn’t something that came easy to Conrad. He’d been determined to give Beau a chance and had lobbied for everyone else to do the same.
What was his repayment?
A lawsuit.
Another step closer, Conrad refocused all his thoughts on the man in front of him. This person wore a ballcap, and his collar was up, but from behind, this appeared to be the horse trainer. Conrad had seen the man around but had kept his dealings brief.
As he moved within arm’s reach of Lukas, the man rolled several times, moving out of reach. He popped to his feet and produced a handgun, aimed at Conrad.
“Heath, no!”
Nikki’s words were the last ones heard before a bullet split the air.