His eyes flicked over me again. “Beautiful and smart,” he murmured.
I ignored that.
“What happened to her?” I asked. “To Sophie.”
He leaned forward slightly. “Some things,” he said quietly, “are better not to have answers to.”
“I disagree,” I answered, holding my ground. He had the answers I needed. Did he murder her? He didn’t seem like a killer. His comment about his mom and sister seemed sincere, or maybe he was a convincing liar.
His jaw tightened. “You don’t understand what you’re digging into.”
“I understand more than you think,” I said. “Her father finally caught up to her mom.”
Nico went still.
“He killed her,” I stated.
Something changed in his face. His fingers curled slightly on the table.
“I know what that can be like,” he said after a beat. “My dad wasn’t a good man. My mom kicked him out.” He looked away briefly. “That’s how I got into this line of work. To make sure my mom and sister never had to rely on anyone like him.”
For a second, he didn’t look like a crime boss. He looked like someone who had survived something dark. It made me think of all the criminals I studied. Were they just good people put into bad circumstances?
“I’m sorry,” I said softly.
He didn’t answer.
“My life’s been on hold,” I continued. “I need to know what happened to her. I need to give her justice.”
Something flickered across his face. He straightened abruptly. “You should leave.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“You shouldn’t come looking for me again,” he said, shutting down.
“I’m not done?—”
“Yes, you are.” He raised his voice just enough to make me jump. “I’m serious,” he said. “Go home.”
The sudden sharpness startled me. My chair scraped loudly as I stood. He didn’t move to stop me. He just watched. And for the first time since I walked in, I felt truly scared. I didn’t look back as I left the room and walked straight out of the bar to my car. Everything inside me was shaking.
The rain started as a drizzle while I drove. By the time I reached the outskirts of Maple Valley, it was pouring. Thunder cracked across the sky so loudly it made me flinch. Lightning split the clouds in violent flashes. My hands shook on the steering wheel. We never helped people that young across before. The words replayed over and over. Nico saw it as helping, so did his boss. Would they help only to murder her? If it wasn’t either of them, then who was it? There was an old, creepy-looking guy. There were the other people trying to make it across. Why would one of them decide to murder someone along the way? It must have been easy to hide a body out there.
A shiver ran up my spine as I parked and ran for the cabins. Within seconds I was soaked. My curls flattened. My tank clung to my skin. Cold water slid down my spine. I fumbled in my bag for my key but came up empty. I crouched near the door, panic rising. Maybe I dropped it in the car, or the bar. Lightning flashed again. I crouched lower, turning on the flashlight on my phone and scanning the ground. Rain soaked through my jeans. My fingers were numb.
“Claire?”
I startled so hard I nearly dropped my phone.
Asher was standing a few feet away in the rain.
He took one look at me kneeling, soaking and shaking.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his tone filled with confusion. “Did you just get back?”
“I can’t find my key,” I said, my teeth chattering slightly.
He stepped closer, rain sliding down his hair.