“Like what?”
“People get paid to do a lot of shit. Maybe she gave up on moving stolen property and got mixed up in something else. Maybe they got their hands on information that someone else wanted. Or that someone didn’t want anyone else to know.”
“How does someone lose or hide information?”
He smiled sweetly at me. “Not everyone’s as organized as you are, honey.”
“If this whole thing is about something Tina was irresponsible enough to lose, I am going to be pissed,” I told him. “She went through nine house keys. Nine. And don’t even get me started on the car keys.”
His smile stayed fixed in place. “It’s gonna be all right, Naomi. I promise you.”
I nodded. But I couldn’t stop thinking of all the ways Tina had managed to hurt me despite my parents’ best efforts. How were a small-town police department and a wounded chief supposed to protect us?
And then it hit me. Maybe it was time for me to start standing up for myself.
Nash leaned against the wall. His expression gave nothing away, but I was willing to bet money that he was in pain.
“There is something I wanted to ask you,” he said, looking serious.
“There is?” I croaked. Sure, Nash was as unfairly gorgeous as his jerk of a brother. He certainly had a more amiable personality. And he was great with kids. Great with Waylay. But if he asked me out just days after his brother, I was going to have to let him down easy.
I had zero headspace for another Morgan brother and I needed to focus on my niece and the guardianship.
“You mind if I have a word with Waylay?” he asked.
I jolted, rewinding his words to see if I’d somehow missed the dinner invitation. Nope. “Waylay? Why?”
“I might ask the right question and help her remember something important from before her mom left. She knows Tina better than any of us.”
I bristled. “Do you think she has something to do with this?”
“No, honey. I don’t. But I know what it’s like to be a kid who keeps quiet, plays things close to the vest.”
I could see that about him. Knox was the “stand up and pitch a fit about a problem” kind of guy. On the outside Nash was Mr. Nice Guy, but there was a quiet depth there, and I wondered what secrets lurked beneath that surface.
“Okay,” I agreed. “But I’d like to be with you when you do talk to her. She’s finally starting to trust me. To open up to me. So I want to be there.”
“Absolutely.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and I thought about what a good guy he was. Then I wished it was Knox’s fingers in my hair. And then I got mad all over again.
The restroom door opened, and Sloane walked out. More accurately, she stumbled. I caught her, and she smiled up at me and squished my cheeks between her hands. “You are sooooo pretty!”
“I’ll escort this one back to the table,” Nash volunteered.
“You’re really pretty too, Nash,” Sloane said.
“I know. It’s a curse, Sloaney Bologna.”
“Aww. You remember,” she crooned as he led her back to the bar.
I stepped into the ladies’ room and decided it was not a room I wanted to linger in. So I made quick work of taking care of business and then ducked back into the hall. There were no babysitters lurking, so I pulled out my phone and opened my email.
Glancing over my shoulder to make sure Lucian or Nash hadn’t materialized, I started a new message.
To: Tina
From: Naomi
Subject: What you’re looking for