Page 28 of Love Over Time

“She wants a fucking apology,” I said, and she nodded. “We’ll figure this out. I promise you.”

She plopped herself down on the edge of the bed. “A scratch is all we have.”

“And Mom’s letter.”

“Neither of which can help Lisa.” The air conditioner was on full blast in the room, while a spray of rain and a warm breeze blew in through the open balcony door. Finishing the last of her beer, she strolled to the terrace, her gaze on the starless night. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to fix this for her, erase all the bad in her life.

I turned to the murder board and zeroed in on the details. Why would anyone have moved Dad to the foyer? What had the killer been trying to hide? The tunnels? The family, especially Granddad, had always been very protective of that secret. I never understood if it had been out of pride because he didn’t want people to know the family fortune had come from bootlegging or because he wanted to make the manor a fun place for me. Was the killer really protecting the family’s secret?

“What are the odds that after all this time, evidence Dad was killed in the tunnels was still there?”

Nikki turned to me, leaning on the iron rail, her cotton bathrobe clinging to her body. “That would make sense, right? I mean. There probably isn’t anything there anymore, but that has to be where your dad was when it happened. Why else move him?”

“Exactly.” I met her gaze from across the room, and the temperature went up a few degrees.

She smiled at the ground. “Do you have any more beers?”

I let out a laugh. “I have a cooler full.” She wasn’t ready to talk about us. I had to respect that. To be honest, other than this all-consuming desire I felt for her, my feelings for Nikki were conflicted at best. One minute I wanted answers from her. Why had she moved on? Why hadn’t she come looking for me? The next I wanted to forget about everything and just make up for lost time.

“Let’s go downstairs and have a drink.” I gestured toward the door. Not that the lack of a bed would deter me from having sex with her. God, I wanted to be with her. The only thing stopping me right now was her request to take it slow.

She didn’t bother to put on clothes, just followed me downstairs and made herself comfortable on the sofa…my sofa. I brought her another beer and sat next to her.

“Thank you.” She took a long sip. With her gaze fixed on the bottle, she ran the tip of her tongue over her upper lip. That was herthinking hardtell. She smelled of fancy oils and soap. “I know he’s your uncle, and we both know he’s capable of pretty bad shit. But could he, you know? To his own brother?”

I hadn’t gone there. Yeah, my uncle was a greedy asshole, but was he a killer? “I have no idea. He’s had my mom for fifteen years. If he’s capable of killing, why is she still alive?”

“Good point. Plus, if that was him back at the manor, why didn’t he send his men into the tunnel after us? Does he even know about the tunnels? I mean, how could he not?”

“You’re right. Do you think he let us go?” We were going around in circles. The same question bounced around in my head.Had Jonathan killed his own brother?Was that what I’d seen that day? A man leaving us in the dark, closing the faux panel that hid the access to the tunnel? The only thing clear in my mind was holding Nikki’s hand in mine so hard I was sure I had felt it crack. My chest tightened.

I took a long swig of beer and braced both arms on my legs. “We were playing in the tunnel that day. Do you remember?”

“Yeah. We came out, and we saw your dad in the foyer near the stairs. There was no blood, but then there was so much blood. And Lisa. She was screaming, trying to wake him up.”

“Do you remember seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, a man?”

She shook her head. “No. It was like it was tonight. Pitch black.”

I set my bottle on the coffee table and reached for her. She slid over and rested her head on my shoulder. Squeezing her tight, I kissed her head. Nikki and I had so much that was still unresolved. All my family bullshit aside, we had to figure out where we stood after all this time. But I had no idea where to begin.

“We need to find Tessa. If she wrote that letter to Lisa, I’m sure it was because she knew something. She took us in, never treated us like maids. If she didn’t help Lisa, it had to be because someone stopped her. Your mom’s the key. I know it.”

Of course Nikki was right. We could stare at the wall in her room all night, but unless we recalled something new from that night, Mom was the only one who could help us. “Okay. But where do we even start looking for her?”

She sat up, her tongue touching her lip. I grabbed my beer and downed the rest of it. “Another one?”

She nodded. “A Different Point of View. That was your mom’s favorite restaurant in Phoenix. Why was your uncle there?”

I came back with two fresh bottles. “It’s a good place. Maybe he likes it too.”

“Maybe. Or maybe he took your mom there. He has taken care of her all this time. Maybe he truly cares about her. I mean, he’s still a complete asshole for what he did to you, but he’s had your mom for fifteen years.”

As much as I’d liked to demonize my uncle, Nikki had the right of it. Mom’s garden was as beautiful as it’d always been. She wasn’t in a hospice. She was at home, surrounded by her flowers. She’d seemed content until I showed up. No, I couldn’t buy that. “Now you’re telling me she’s happy to be there. That she doesn’t want me. Which one is it?”

Nikki placed her hand on my chest. Her scent diffused the anger burning in my stomach. “We just have to consider all angles. Right? Henry, that asshole will pay for what he did to you. Us.” Her voice quavered, and she ducked her gaze.

Who knew what she’d had to go through on her own? A fifteen-year-old girl alone in New York. I cradled her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned against my hand for a moment before she removed it.

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