Nothing To Lose: A Grey Justice Novel (14 page)

Though a part of her acknowledged his right to feel angry, she would not back down. She raised her chin stubbornly, refusing to justify her actions. Hurting her friends had never been her intent, but she’d had no choice. “I did what I had to do. If I’d told anyone, I’d have been putting their lives in danger.”

“How the hell did you find out about the hit on Thomas?”

As quickly and succinctly as she could, she explained about finding the safe-deposit key and the packets of information and instructions Thomas had left her.

“What was in them? Did you find something you could use?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“On my way back from the bank, a man ran me off the road. I thought he stopped to help, but when I opened the door, he took the packet I had lying on the seat. He told me if I told anyone about what had happened, I would be killed and so would the person I told. I believed him.”

He’d gotten paler as he listened to her story, but what a relief to be able to say it out loud. For so long she’d been too terrified to tell anyone and fearful that if she did reveal what happened, no one would believe such a wild story. But she saw the confirmation in Nick’s eyes. He did believe her.

“If the packet was stolen, how do you know about Slater, or what Thomas wanted?”

“There was a letter the man didn’t take. I’d stuffed it inside my purse, but the other packet was too large to fit. I’m sure the man thought he got everything.”

“Then why run?”

“Because I opened the letter in my house and read it.”

“So?”

“Don’t you see? How would anyone even know I found the safe-deposit key…that I was going to the bank, unless I was being watched?”

“Someone put cameras in your house.”

“That was my only theory. And if he saw me open the letter, he could have seen that Thomas named the Slaters as responsible for his death. I had to leave.”

“And you told no one?”

“No. It crossed my mind to go to one of the attorneys I’d worked for and then I decided against it. Thomas said trust no one.”

“Did that include me?”

“No, of course not. Thomas wanted me to take the information to you and then disappear. I tried calling you several times. I didn’t know you’d been shot. I had no choice but to run.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t. I’m glad you had the good sense to get away. But my question is, why haven’t you tried to contact me since? If you were following my progress, you had to know that as soon as I could, I’d be searching like hell for you.”

She shook her head. “It almost got you killed before. I couldn’t take the risk of involving you.”

“You were protecting me?”

She hadn’t thought his eyes could blaze any brighter. “What’s wrong with that?”

Once again, he was silent, as if struggling to keep his temper in check. This wasn’t a Nick she recognized. She’d often thought about what she would do when she saw him again. She had imagined he’d give her that gentle smile that he seemed to save especially for her. He had been such a good friend, and she’d thought the first thing she would do was throw herself into his arms and hug him. But this Nick wasn’t the easygoing, compassionate friend she’d leaned on after Thomas’s death. This Nick frightened her a little. So why then was her blood zinging through her veins and her breath quickening? She was mature and self-aware enough to know that it wasn’t just fear. This man excited her in a way her friend Nick never had.

“Let me get this straight. I’m a cop, with years of experience in bringing down hardened criminals and murderers. You’re a law student…or at least you were.”

She straightened her shoulders. “You’re the one who got shot. Not me.”

Instead of answering with an angry rebuttal, he closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Did he still suffer from headaches because of his injury?

When he raised his head, a glint of amusement had replaced his anger. “You got me there.”

Happy to see that some of his good humor still existed, she let the muscles in her body relax slightly.

“If you were afraid for your life, why not just disappear completely? That’s apparently what Thomas wanted you to do when he gave you those instructions.”

“The Slaters are responsible for his death. I couldn’t let them get away with it.”

“And what do you intend to do? Make a couple of data-entry mistakes and bring down the empire? Or was your plan more deadly?” His eyes flickered to the gun she now held at her side. “Did you just plan to kill them?”
 

“Of course not.” Pride and anger stiffened her spine. “Mock me all you want, but I do have a plan.”
 

“And it is...?”

She chewed her lip. To a trained professional, her plan would probably seem weak or disorganized. She threw off her doubts. She’d given this plan more than enough thought. It might not be the most direct path, but she had a lifetime to succeed.

“I’m going to get as much information as I can and find a way to destroy them.”

Nick stared hard at her for several silent, nerve-racking seconds. She held his gaze, refusing to flinch. He had to see her determination…that she would not back down, no matter what.

Finally, he huffed out a breath and said, “Then I’m in.”

“In? What do you mean?”

“I’m going to help you.”
 

Elation warred with panic. Having Nick’s expertise and guidance would be a godsend. How she had longed to call on him and ask his advice the last few months. But she couldn’t help but worry. She was willing to take this risk because of what she had lost. Putting someone else at risk, especially someone she cared for, didn’t feel right.

“I can see you have your reservations. Don’t.” Guilt darkened his expression. “Despite my lapse in judgment that allowed another man to die and almost got me killed, too, I am quite capable.”

“You feel responsible for that man’s death?”

“Hell, yes. He came to me, asking for protection. He was my responsibility. I failed. I won’t fail you.”

“I’m not your responsibility.”

“You’re a lot of things to me, Kennedy. But for right now, think on this. Thomas was my best friend. I loved him like a brother. On top of that, I almost died because of the Slaters. I have more than enough reasons for wanting to bring those responsible to justice.”

She understood his reasoning. And despite her anger at his sarcastic comments about her training, he was right. She wasn’t trained for this…she was going on instinct alone.

A disturbing thought came to her. “How did you find me?”

“I’ll tell you all of that later.” He glanced down at his watch. “But for right now, we’re due at a meeting. Do you need to freshen up before we go?”

“What kind of meeting? Where are we going?”

“We can talk on the way.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me—”
 

She gasped as he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down till his forehead touched hers. Kennedy’s heart pounded, her knees weak. Was he going to kiss her?

The warmth of his breath covered her face as he said in a growly voice that sent an electrical charge zipping up her spine. “Either go freshen up or…”

“Or?”

He took a long, ragged breath and then dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Just go freshen up. Okay?”

Heat spread throughout her body. What the hell was happening here? When had Nick become someone that could turn her on with just the sound of his voice? Why, from the moment she’d seen him, had she wanted to hurl herself into his arms and kiss that firm, unsmiling mouth?

His hands on her felt right…exciting. Was this sexual deprivation? Maybe having had no human contact for so long, these feelings were just a normal reaction. So why didn’t she want to hug him as a friend? Tell him how good it was to see him again, like she would if it had been Julie standing here. That wasn’t what she felt. The images flashing through her mind had nothing to do with a platonic friendship.
 

“What’s wrong?” He dropped his hands and stepped back…was now looking at her quizzically.
 

What would he do if he knew her thoughts? Would he be surprised? Maybe embarrassed for her? To him, she was Kennedy, his best friend’s widow. She needed to remember that.

“Nothing’s wrong. Guess I’m still startled by all of this.”

Something gentle, like the old Nick, flashed in his eyes. “Go freshen up. We need to leave soon.”

Questions trembled on her lips, but instead of asking them, Kennedy turned to her bedroom. He’d made it clear he wasn’t going to tell her anything until they were in the car. The sooner they left, the sooner she could find out how he had found her and, more important, how he planned to help her bring the Slater family to justice. These incredibly odd feelings he invoked in her would have to be explored later.

Chapter Twelve

Nick leaned against the front door, waiting for Kennedy to return. She’d looked so damn good his teeth ached. There was a new maturity about her. After what she’d been through, she had every excuse to be bitter, angry at the world. Instead, he saw a woman sure of herself and her purpose. She had adjusted to her circumstances and was stronger.

He wanted her. Heaven help him…how he wanted her. When she’d been Thomas’s wife, he’d forced himself to ignore those feelings. They had been wrong in every way, and he had refused to allow them. Dating a multitude of women hadn’t really helped, but it had kept anyone from guessing just how big of a lie he was living.
 

Even though Thomas had been gone almost two years, that didn’t mean he could act on his feelings. She was his best friend’s widow and his friend. That was all he was to her.

There had been that one moment, though, when he’d grabbed her and almost shown her how very much he’d missed her. For just an instant he had thought he’d seen something in her expression, her eyes. A spark or something.
 

He shook his head. Hell, he was crazy. Hadn’t he learned long ago that wishful thinking got him nowhere?

“Okay, I’m ready.”

She stood before him, dressed entirely in black, from the baseball cap that completely covered her white-blond hair to the black sneakers on her feet.

His mood lightened slightly. “You look like you’re ready to break into a bank vault.”

She shrugged and headed toward the door. “I’ve gotten used to being invisible.”

He didn’t bother to tell her that the change in her appearance made her anything but invisible. She had worked hard to become someone else. She hadn’t been recognized so far, so whatever she was doing was working.

Nick opened the door and stuck his head out before allowing her to go through it. He didn’t anticipate that he had been followed, but until this was over, the possibility existed. The last thing he intended was to put Kennedy in harm’s way.

They were in the car, headed to the warehouse district, when she finally said, “Okay, I’ve been patient long enough. Tell me where we’re going.”

“A few days ago, a man broke into my house and offered me a job. I knew his identity but only by reputation. He, however, knew a hell of a lot about me. And about you, too.”

“Who was he?”

“Ever heard of Grey Justice?”

“The billionaire?”

“Yes.”

“What did he know?”

“Everything, it seems. He knew about Thomas’s death. That it was a hit. Knew about my shooting and that you’d disappeared. And he knows the Slaters are responsible.”

“How do you know it’s not a trap? Maybe he’s working with the Slaters to find out what you know. Or to find me.”

“I’m sure he has his own agenda and reasons for wanting Slater to go down, but contacting me to aid him makes no sense. If the Slaters were behind this, we’d both be dead. He had photos of you, knows exactly where you live and who you’re working for.”

“Photos of me?” she said faintly.

“Yeah.” He flashed her a sympathetic look. All this time she’d thought no one knew she was here.

 
“But why would a man like Grey Justice want to help us? Isn’t he in the same category wealth-wise as Slater?”

“Yeah. I don’t know a lot about his motives. One thing does ring true—he believes Jonah Slater was innocent and was framed by his father. Based on what Thomas told me about the case, I’m inclined to agree with him.”

She twisted in her seat to face him. “Thomas’s letter said something similar. Not that Mathias Slater framed his son—which seems beyond bizarre—but that his arrest and conviction were just too pat. That’s the reason Thomas started investigating the family. I guess he was right. But how is Grey Justice going to help?”

“That’s why we’re going to meet with him. He says he has a plan.”

“You seem to be taking a lot of things on faith these days.”

“You have no idea.”

So far, Justice had lived up to his end of the bargain, but that didn’t mean Nick trusted the man. He’d learned long ago that every person had his or her own agenda. For the time being, their two agendas coincided.