Page 40 of Seeking Vengeance
Sean thought again of the lightning-quick lunge and sequence of moves he’d seen her execute, and even then, he’d had the distinct impression she’d been holding back. She was poetry in motion, graceful, efficient, and potentially deadly. Definitely not something he would expect from a Vegas showgirl or gifted grease monkey.
Given the shape Nick had been in, he’d keep her busy for a good part of the afternoon, more than enough time for Sean to do some digging. He’d be back later with an offer of food and support and whatever else Nicki needed. And if she had any more ideas about going somewhere without him, he’d soon set her straight on that. His patience was at an end.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Hey, Sean,” Lexi greeted with a big smile when he appeared at the pub a short while later.
Judging by the empathy in her eyes, Taryn had already filled her in.
He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Hey, Lex. Sorry about this.”
“Don’t sweat it, sweetie,” she said, handing Sean a cup of coffee. “He’s in there, working on it now.”
“You really are a goddess, Lex,” he said affectionately.
She laughed, blushing.
Lexi was the master chef at the Celtic Goddess restaurant, so named for her unique menu of Celtic and Greek cuisine based on her mixed heritage. She made no secret of the fact that she was not comfortable with being the inspiration behind the hit chain’s name, so now that she was family, they teased her about it mercilessly, as brothers do.
“Come on. He’s expecting you.”
Lexi led Sean into Ian’s “office”—which was really just a room in his suite upstairs— and then quietly closed the door behind her as she left. The cursory glance Ian spared him when he entered the room didn’t bode well. Neither did the sobriety in Ian’s expression or the distinct downturn of his mouth.
“What’ve you got?” Sean asked.
Ian’s fingers moved like lightning over the keyboard as his eyes processed screen after screen, moving through them so fast that it was hard to believe he could absorb any of it. “It’s fucked up, Sean. Really fucked up. What did you get yourself into?”
Sean sank down heavily beside him, mentally preparing himself. “Give it to me.”
“Let’s start with the mother, Charlene Milligan. Died two days ago right here in Pine Ridge after being brought in to the hospital for a massive drug overdose several weeks ago. Bad shit too. We’re not talking the usual recreational pharmaceuticals.”
Sean nodded. He’d already known about that part.
“History of indigence, drug use, prostitution, theft, domestic violence. Had two children—twins, Nicolette and Nicholas—at age sixteen. Father unknown. The kids were taken away and put into the foster system when they were around five.”
Nicolette. Her name was Nicolette.
“That young?”
“The first time. They didn’t fare much better in the system; they kept running away from their foster parents and returning home to Charlene. Each time, it took months before the law could take them away again. No one wants to take kids away from a biological parent, even when the mom’s a real piece of work. Doesn’t look like the foster homes were much better actually. Anyway, you get the basic idea. I’ve got all the details here for you to peruse later, but I can tell you, they’re not pretty.”
Sean nodded. He would go through all of it later, but he needed the highlights now. “Tell me about Nick.” He wanted to hear about Nicki last, sensing that whatever Ian had to say about her wouldn’t allow him to absorb much else.
“Classic troubled kid. Scored really high in aptitude tests, genius level or above, especially in science and math, but never applied himself. Had a couple of run-ins with the law—petty theft mostly. There are a lot of hints that the kid was a user, maybe even a dealer, but he was never officially busted. If I had to guess, I’d say whoever the kid was working for had some friends in high places.”
“And Nicki?”
Ian’s face darkened. “How much do you know about her?”
Sean shrugged. “She’s intelligent. Spirited. Great with engines, like her brother. Worked in Vegas as a dancer before she came here.”
Ian’s frown deepened. That was never a good sign.
“Why?” Sean asked. “What did you find?”
Ian took a deep breath and exhaled. “I found a marriage license.”
Whatever Sean had expected, it wasn’t that. “She’s married?”
