Chapter 23 #2
Nikki looked over her shoulder and saw the picture in question of what used to be the front of their house.
They’d been woken out of a sound sleep by a Jaeggi and taken before they could even try to look for their parents.
Nikki had been terrified, jabbering one question after another, not really getting answers.
In the end, the Jaeggi had picked them up and hauled them into a car.
It wasn’t until much later that night someone had offered any sort of explanation.
All Nikki had ever known was the attack had happened at home.
“My parents must have put up quite the fight,” Nikki whispered.
“Sure looks like it. The next photo is redacted to cover the gore.” Cassie gave them a sympathetic look. “They were trying to protect you.”
Nikki had never doubted they’d been loved.
And fiercely. But seeing the article as evidence brought back the old pain in a searing hot slash across their heart.
Nikki’s parents hadn’t gone down without a fight.
And that mattered, even if they’d failed in the end.
Nikki was fiercely proud of them for that.
They only wished the Jaeggi hadn’t succeeded.
Gunter strode through the door, looking Nikki over carefully as he came. “Alright?”
“We can’t read this.” Nikki didn’t know what else to say. Were they alright? No. And yes. Because this was an old wound, far in the past. But it still hurt, too. And likely always would, to one degree or another.
“Found an article about Nikki’s parents’ deaths,” Cassie said.
Gunter detoured long enough to plant a kiss on Nikki’s forehead, a gesture of comfort, before leaning over Cassie’s shoulder. It was clear from his expression he didn’t like what he was reading, but in a careful, modulated tone, he read the article, translating for both of their sakes.
Nikki listened with closed eyes to the somewhat dry recounting of how home invaders had entered the Bos home late one evening.
How a brutal fight had broken out, and both young parents were killed.
The child was nowhere to be found, presumably kidnapped.
An alert was now in place to find the kidnapped child, a young boy by the name of Nicholai.
There were no leads, no suspects, but evidence on scene suggested multiple people had been hurt, as blood was found trailing to the road, where an escape vehicle had no doubt been parked.
The deceased were due for burial by the city, as no relatives had stepped forward to claim the bodies at this time. Both parents were orphans, their own parents having died years before.
As soon as Gunter finished reading, he came and dropped to a knee, gathering Nikki up in a tight hug.
Nikki returned the embrace, breathing him in, feeling comforted in a way words couldn’t express.
The closure Nikki needed, the answers they’d not known how to find, was all here in this moment.
Nikki felt relieved, because at least now they knew.
It wasn’t just this pitch-black spot of pain; there was a story to go with it.
Gunter hated the pain the information had brought Nikki. It was clear in the labored way he breathed, the tight hold he had on Nikki. As if he wanted to absorb the pain right out of Nikki’s skin. Gunter had not wanted to bring that bad news to them, but had still read it through.
God, they loved this man.
Gunter spoke in a rough rumble against Nikki’s forehead. “If you want to visit their graves, I’ll take you.”
“I do want to. Just not…right now. I want to sit on this information and absorb it a little.”
“That’s fine. We’ll go when you’re ready.”
“How are you feeling, Nikki?” Cassie asked quietly. “Did this help?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it helped. Now, at least, I know. I kinda always suspected, but it’s good to know.” Nikki lifted their head to give her a wan smile. “Thanks for your help. I wasn’t even sure how to search that out.”
“My Google-fu is legendary,” she agreed with a wink. “You tell me if you want to follow up on this at all. Their case is probably still considered a cold case. You can reopen it with testimony, if you’d like.”
“No.” Nikki’s instinctual answer came out firm. “It’s not something the police can handle. Trying to shift it to their court will just get them killed. I know who did it. Let’s take the crime directly to those responsible.”
She grinned, the expression a little feral. “Revenge is best served cold. After eleven years, I’d say it’s the perfect temperature.”
Nikki offered a fist bump. That was precisely how they felt about it.
Gunter sighed. “Just…take me with you? For when you do blow them to hell.”
Blinking up at him, Nikki asked, “How did you know I was thinking of exploding them straight to hell?”
Gunter’s expression was deadpan in the extreme. “It’s like you think I don’t know you. Of course, you’re thinking bombs.”
To be fair, he was not wrong.
Nikki didn’t know if they could ever complete anyone.
Driving them batshit crazy sounded more likely.
But looking at Gunter’s patient face, Nikki suspected it might not be as hard as they thought.
There was a lot of love, and trust, and affection in this room right now. More than Nikki had ever dreamed of.
And really, they didn’t need anything more than this.