“You know, then.”
He regarded her thoughtfully. Brookes had warm brown eyes and sinfully long lashes, an old-fashioned cowboy in a modern world. “Yeah.” He was a man of few words, but that one told her that all the intel on her history with Benny had been shared, at least the highlights. No doubt Fisher had pulled a few strings when he saw how Nicki had lost it, and had felt the need to dig into the how’s and why’s. He was fiercely protective of both her and Brookes.
“You hate me too?”
“Hate you?” His lips quirked as he sat back in the chair. “Fish doesn’t hate you, Nix. He only wishes he could have ripped the man’s dick off himself. Knowing him, he would have choked the son of a bitch with it, too.”
Nicki almost smiled.
“We love you, Nix. You’re one of us. You’ve got to know that.”
She nodded, and blew out a breath. She loved them, too. They’d been her family when she had no other. They’d saved her life as many times as she’d saved theirs. She tried to imagine what it would feel like if she learned that someone had done something so vile to either of them. Felt the answering roar burning through her gut.
“There’s something else that’s got him all worked up, though.”
Nicki looked at him questioningly. Brookes stood up and carefully removed the bottle from her hand, moving it to the table and well out of her reach. Nicki narrowed her eyes, waiting for it.
“You’ve been suspended until further notice.”
Nicki dropped her head and blew out a breath. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been. At least they hadn’t fired her outright.
Suddenly Brookes was beside her. He eyed her warily. Seemingly satisfied that she wasn’t going to break the bottle and slit his throat with it, he handed the beer back to her along with a flash drive.
“What’s this?” she asked, palming the drive.
“Directions to a safe house. Taser says you need to chill for a while, stay off the grid, get your shit together.” He paused, pulling out a beer for himself. Then Brookes sat back and closed his eyes, stretched out his long legs as he raised the bottle to his lips.
“Where?”
“Don’t know. Drive’s flagged N2K.” Need to know.
“And you didn’t look?”
Brookes smiled without opening his eyes. “Of course we did. But it’s encrypted.”
Chapter Seventeen
The mountainscape changed as she travelled down I-81 south through Maryland and into Virginia. It was more angular; the peaks were sharper and the valleys more severe. They made for a beautiful view against the horizon. Piles of snow along the side of the road dwindled down into patches, then occasional puddles, then nothing. Along the highway she spotted big farms, horses grazing peacefully within the confines of split-rail fence as far as the eye could see. Large, well-kept homes sat atop rolling hills, and Nicki couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy for a life she would never have.
At least she was free now. Her mother was gone. As hard as it had been, Nicki was glad she had made her peace with her before she died. The nurses said Charlene never regained consciousness, but Nicki knew in her heart that Charlene had heard her. More than once her mother’s eyes had moved beneath closed lids, the cadence of her breathing had changed slightly in response to her daughter.
Nick was going to be okay, too, despite his most recent lapse in judgment. Something told Nicki he wouldn’t be repeating that mistake again; there was no reason to. With Charlene and her out of his life, he wouldn’t feel the need to.
It had been great to see him again. He was such a man now. All grown up, but still retaining enough boyish qualities to save him from complete darkness. He had his own life, was in a good place. Pine Ridge was a nice town. There were decent people there, and he had a good job. She smiled. It wouldn’t be long before he found someone and really settled down. She would miss him – she would always feel as if a part of her was missing – but it was much easier to move on knowing he was surrounded by good people that would be there for him.