Page 6 of Seeking Vengeance
“We’re twins,” Nick admitted heavily, taking another long drink.
“No shit?”
“No shit.”
Sean wasn’t sure if Nick viewed the admission as a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe a little bit of both. Sean had a twin too. He and Shane were identical. Sometimes, that was as much of a curse as a blessing. Sean knew firsthand the pull a twin had on you—for better or worse. If the sister was anything like the brother—aka a magnet for trouble—well, it was no wonder the kid didn’t know which end was up.
“She in some kind of hot water?”
“Yeah. Sort of. I don’t know. Fuck.” For a moment, Nick looked lost. “She doesn’t think she is, but I’m not so sure.”
“Maybe I can help.”
Nick might have snorted. It was hard to tell. In any event, it wasn’t much of a response, and after a few minutes stretched by in silence, Sean figured he wasn’t going to get any more intel for free.
He decided to try another angle. “So, how long is she in town?”
“Don’t know. A day. A week. A month. However long it takes.”
“However long what takes?” Sean probed.
Seconds ticked by before Nick answered. When he did, his expression was like stone, his eyes cold gray steel. “Family shit.”
It wasn’t exactlynone of your business, but it was close enough, and it was clear that the kid had no intention of willingly sharing the details. Sean wouldn’t push that button too hard just yet—at least, not directly. He had a feeling that if he did, Nick would clam up completely. As it was, he could tell Nick was uncomfortable with divulging just the little bit he had. It wasn’t enough to put Sean off from trying to find out more.
“She’s staying with you then?”
“Yeah.” Nick’s features softened slightly.
Sean tried to remain patient, reminding himself that Nick seemed to be going through a rough patch even though the why of it wasn’t clear yet. Sean’s preferred style of interrogation tended to be more aggressive and involved direct—and usually unpleasant—physical contact, though arguably, it achieved more satisfactory results in a timelier manner. Nick’s vague, short answers were becoming tiresome. Adding to Sean’s edge was the unexplainable need to know. He wasn’t sure why it was important, just that it was.
“Is that part of the problem? Her crashing with you?”
“Hell no,” Nick said irritably and then caught himself. “Nicki’s great, man. I love having her around. It’s just …”
Nick scrubbed his face with his hand, and in that instant, he appeared much older than his physical years. Anger. Despair. Rage. Regret. Those things had momentarily flashed in the sister’s eyes too.
Just what the hell had happened to them?Sean made a mental note to ask Ian, the resident expert on digital research, to look beyond the standard background check, only he’d ask him to include the sister too.
In the meantime, Sean signaled Taryn for two more beers and waited patiently. Nick wanted to talk—maybe needed to. Sean would let him get to it in his own time.
As long as it didn’t take too long.
Nick was obviously giving his answer a lot of thought, picking and choosing what he could safely reveal. Sean had been through enough interrogations to know when someone was weighing their options, deciding whether or not to lie and to what degree.
“She’s stubborn, you know? She won’t let me take care of her while she’s in town. I haven’t seen her in … well, that doesn’t matter. The point is, she insists on working, chipping in for food and shit.” He snorted again. “She says she doesn’t want to be a burden.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Sean said, sipping his beer. “She’s a mechanic, like you, right? Where’s she working?”
Nick took a deep breath. His youthful features were pinched together, his mouth turned downward, like he was in physical pain. “That’s what sheshouldbe doing,” he said. “But she’s not. She’s working at Angels.”
One of Sean’s eyebrows rose in a perfect arch. He knew the place well. Angels was Pine Ridge’s local gentlemen’s club. It was a great place to hang out if you were a guy who liked drinking and watching hot, sexy women dance … among other things. While Nicki definitely rocked the Angels vibe, it was not the kind of place any man would want hissisterto work.
“Waitressing? Tending?” he suggested hopefully.
The servers and tenders wore sexy uniforms, but they still woresomething.
Nick’s look said it all. “No.”
