Summer Kisses (225 page)

She shivered and stood and walked into the living room area. Drawing a breath, she looked at him. “Then the men came. Six of them. One by one. Each took their time looking at me. Touching me.”

“Was Gorgon one of them?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “He was the last. He and the man had words. I think they were bickering over a price. He owed Gorgon money. The next thing I knew, Gorgon pulled a gun and shot the man in the face.”

Her stare was detached.

Was she recalling the shock she’d felt at that moment or had the number of violent acts she’d witnessed since then made her cold-hearted? He’d imagine a little of both.

Well, he could scratch the name Travis off the mental list he made of things to check out later. “What about Travis’ men? Were they there?”

“Yes. They did nothing. I think Gorgon got to them before he even walked into the room.”

“And then Gorgon took you.” Even to himself, his words sounded like a cell door closing.

“Yes.” Tears shimmered on her lids before falling to her cheeks. “Later, Gorgon told me if I ever tried to escape, he’d kill my family. He showed me pictures of my home and of my mom and dad to prove to me he knew who they were. He had pictures of my sister and brother while they were at school.”

Will rounded the counter. He now understood why she had refused to testify against Gorgon. She feared for her family’s life, but he also knew if she didn’t help him many more young lives would be lost. He couldn’t let that happen. There had to be a way.

The empathy in Will’s eyes held Nicole in place. What was he offering her? A handshake on the promise to keep her family safe? A shoulder to cry on?

Oh, how she needed a shoulder to cry on, and strong arms to hold her and make her feel safe.

Nicole didn’t want Will to see her cry, so she wrapped her arms around her waist and turned away from his reach. She couldn’t recall the last time she truly felt safe.

But, she could remember the joy and the relief of being recused. When she was nine. While at the county fair, she had thought she was all grown up when she lagged behind her family, until she became separated from them.

The sting of the tears on her cheeks brought the emotions she’d buried to the surface and Nicole bit back the pain which threatened to constrict her chest. She remembered a crowd had surrounded her, and the people stared at her. Suddenly, her father had pushed through the throng and snatched her up into his strong arms. Fear was etched deep across his face. His hard muscles wrapped her so close she had gasped for air. Nothing had ever felt so good.

Nicole closed her eyes. The tears which rimmed her lids cascaded over them. Dad had smelled of spices and home and love. She had squeezed her eyes closed tight then too, so she’d never ever forget him.

Over the past nine years, Dad holding her was one of the memories she’d kept close to her heart. She’d clung to the hope to be recused and once again feel safe. She sniffled and clamped her lips tight, fearing Will would hear her pain. The floor boards under her foot creaked.

“You’re a strong woman, Nicole,” Will said behind her.

Her knees wobbled and she locked them to continue standing while she wiped the tears from her cheeks with her palms. Stiffening her spine, she turned back to Will. “I don’t feel very strong.”

Will’s hands now hung by his side and part of her regretted not snapping up the opportunity to walk into his arms.

“You are. You survived. Most don’t. You lived in hell with the devil himself and you escaped the nightmare. Not only that. You saved Susie, and your son. That took courage, lady.”

Courage? She never thought of herself as a brave person, but she guessed Will was right. She’d had the guts to plan her escape, to go to the post office and get a box, and to acquire Becca’s birth certificate. She’d known Gorgon would kill her if he found any part out, and yet, she had moved forward with her plan.

Will smiled at her.

She could tell he liked what she had done. But what kind of person would Will think she was if he knew the truth about what she almost did? “I thought about escaping while Gorgon was busy with her.”

“But you didn’t.” His brow arched. He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “I have a feeling you were the reason Gorgon never got to Susie. Am I wrong?”

She dipped her head once. “She had a fever. Gorgon would’ve given her to his men without a thought, as if he’d changed his mind about what he wanted for dessert. I told him she’d be all right by the next day. He believed me.”

“You’re quick.”

She couldn’t stop the heat creeping up her neck or the smile that pulled on her lips. “You think so?”

“I know so.” He stepped toward her.

Will’s tender gaze caressed her face with such reverence her pulse quickened sending her heart into a flutter against her ribs. She wanted to move toward him and allow him to put his arms around her, but she couldn’t. Not until she was sure he wanted to hold her for who she was and not for what she could do to help him with his case. She lowered her eyes. “So will you keep your promise concerning my family?”

Will’s nostrils flared as he inhaled. “The best way to protect your family from Gorgon and his mafia connections is to put them away for good. If you testify, we can do that.”

“Gorgon has an army. You can’t put them all away.” Hatred for Gorgon, frustration over her crappy situation, and rage with herself for not being as brave as she needed to be, churned her burning stomach. She laced her fingers together in front of her. “I want to help but don’t you see? I can’t testify.”

Will stepped toward her. His brows knitted together and his jaw line was set like he held back words he wasn’t sure he could share. “Every day Gorgon is loose, many lives are lost. If you hadn’t been there for Susie, where would she be now?”

“Goddamn it! Don’t you think I know that?”

“Sorry. I know you know.” Will raised his hand. “It’s just that for the past three years I’ve worked on this case, and in all that time, I’ve had to tell hundreds of parents we had no answers for them. The anguish in their eyes rips my heart out every time.”

“Hundreds?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

The number of victims set Nicole back on her heels. Listening to Gorgon and his men, she knew there were many, but she hadn’t thought in hundreds.

“Over fifty-eight thousand children disappear each year in non-family abductions, Nicole. How many do think Gorgon’s ring is directly involved in?”

She felt numb inside.

“Do you know what happens to them?”

Again she stared at him while iced panic ran through her veins.

“Some, like you, are sold to one owner and if they’re lucky, they remain with that owner. Most are sold to pimps. They’re drugged up and made to work the streets as prostitutes until they die. Some are sent overseas as slaves.”

“What? Overseas? How do they get them out of the country?”

“Trafficking is a twenty-eight billion dollar a year business. They have their ways.”

Vomit tickled the back of Nicole’s throat. She swallowed hard. Was her life and the lives of her family any more important than those of the thousands of children? No.

An image of Luka popped into her head and sorrow flooded her heart. They would never have a normal life together as long as Gorgon lived. There had to be a way to take him down for good.

Will’s eyes followed her as she paced back and forth.

“I understand you’re afraid, but we need your help. You’re our best chance to stop…”

Will’s plea drifted away as she thought back over the years she spent with Gorgon. She had seen acts that would haunt her the rest of her life.

She had learned to understand their language word by word. They thought she understood nothing, but she had understood much. And she knew Gorgon kept his records in the safe in their house.

Her heart leaped.

Would the records be enough to help Will?

Nicole’s hands trembled as she faced him and cut off his speech. “Gorgon keeps records in a safe in our house.”

Will stopped in midword. The blue of his eyes deepened to almost gray, telling her he was very interested. “What kind of records?”

“Contacts, transactions, bank account information. I heard him speak of them to his brother, in case anything would happen to him. Could you use them against him?”

“Possibly. Do you know where the safe is?”

“Yes. And I know the combination. If I give you the numbers, you could get to the documents. With them, you wouldn’t need me, right?” She was nearly standing on her toes with excitement.

Will shook his head and her heels fell to the floor, along with her spirits. “Why not?”

“It’s not that easy. Unless you collaborate with us to share what you know with a judge, we’ll never get a search warrant.”

Her throat suddenly went dry. “Would Gorgon find out later that I was the one who told you about the records?”

“Yes. His lawyers would have the right to know.”

“But what about the reporters who keep their sources hidden?”

“We’re not talking about showing up at a place and at a time a crime was supposed to happen. Or, looking for evidence that is lying out in plain sight—if we were invited into the home.” He sighed. “As much as I hate to say this, we would be violating the bastard’s rights if we broke into his safe. The courts would consider our actions to be an illegal search and seizure. The evidence would be inadmissible as evidence. I’m sorry.”

Nicole nodded. “Yeah.”

She went to the door and stared down on the lush grass of her landlord’s yard. She knew where the safe was.

Nicole trapped her bottom lip between her teeth. Hell, she even knew the combination. She could slip into the house and get all the evidence Will needed, if she had the guts.

She spun around, and before she could change her mind said, “What if I get his records?”

“What?
No!”

“Listen to me.” She paced while playing the scenario over in her head. “I’ve heard garbage is public property. I could put everything out with the garbage.”

She stopped in front of Will and knew by the glint in his eyes she had hit on a way to take Gorgon down.

“I can’t let you go back there, even if Gorgon isn’t there. I’m sure there are alarms and—”

“No. Gorgon would never have an alarm system installed. He doesn’t trust them. He fears they’re a way for the government to know his business. Besides, he said guarding his home was the job for his men. If they failed, he’d have their heads.”

Will stepped back from her excitement and shook his head. “Even so, I can’t let you—”

“I’m right. Aren’t I?” She dared him to lie with her eyes.

“Yes, but I’m not going to let you risk your life.”

“Testifying against Gorgon is just as dangerous. Maybe more.” She lifted her chin and folded her arms across her chest. “Besides, it’s not your choice. It’s mine.”

Will switched on his sedan’s lights.

Long shadows fell across the rolling green hills lined with white fences. Dozens of horses dotted the landscape, ignoring the looming dusk, continuing to munch on the sweet grass. In the distance, golden glows popped on, filling windowpanes. Families were gathering together inside.

This time of night always made Nicole homesick.

An eighteen wheeler zoomed by them like they stood still in the middle of the interstate, drowning out the soft rock melody on Will’s car radio.

“He’s flying,” Nicole said, tucking behind her ear the strand of hair blown loose from her ponytail by the warm breeze coming in her partially open window.

“Sure is.” Will eased up on the gas a bit and kept his attention on the truck changing lanes in front of them.

Nicole felt a spasm pick at her lower back and she arched her spine as far as the seat belt would allow without unsnapping strap.

“Are you okay?” Will’s gaze held a hint of concern.

Since he’d learned her secret, there was a difference in him. He treated her like she was a fragile package. His thoughtfulness made her smile. “Yeah. Just a little stiff. I’m not used to sitting still. Luka keeps me on the run pretty much. How long until we get to Gary and—?”

“His wife’s name is Sharon. We should cross into Pennsylvania in about twenty minutes and then another couple more hours and we’ll roll into Scranton. I’ll stop at the next rest area. It’s a few miles ahead. I could stretch my legs too. Or how about some dinner? Are you hungry?”

“Not really. I’m still full from that burger.”

“Pretty big, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Good too, but if you want something—”

“No. I’m good,” he said, patting his belly. “Besides, if I know Sharon, she’ll have something waiting for us.”

“Sharon sounds nice.”

“She is. Great mom too, so Luka has been in good hands.”

“
Hmm.
You said before she was a marshal too. Did she work with you and Gary?”

“No. Gary and Sharon met at a fundraiser for a local kids’ club. Sharon outshot him at some water pistol game. It was love at first squirt.” Will chuckled. “At least that is what Sharon says. I know she’s right, because Gary never stopped hounding her until she agreed to marry him.”

“How long have they been together?”

“Seven years.”

“So how long have you and Gary been partners?”

“Going on eight.”

“That’s a long time. You must know each other pretty well.”

“Sometimes that is not such a good thing.” He winked.

No one knew her that well. Luka was the closest person to her, and he was a child. She protected him from the world. She couldn’t share her fears with him or her desire to be held by a man, like Will.

The thought of Will’s strong hands moving over her body caused her abdomen to clench with want. The temperature in the car shot up. She rolled down her window a little further and turned her heated face into the breeze. She was not going to go there. Desiring Will was a waste of energy. She had enough problems on her plate and before she could even think of a starting a relationship with any man, she had to get her life back.

The digital clock read eight-thirty. A couple more hours. She wiggled in her seat. She missed Luka so much. Nicole snagged her purse off the floor and plopped the leather bag onto her lap.