Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“Josh,” Grim called out. “Josh, we can kill your uncles later. Come and listen to Kim now. She’s explaining how she got involved and what she thinks about the case.”
“Didn’t you take a Hippocratic oath?” Chase asked, sounding grumpier than ever, but at least they’d stopped fighting.
“I’m a vet,” Grim shot back. “I vowed to not harm your chihuahua. I can totally harm you.”
“Grim,” Nicole said between clenched teeth.
The fact that she was letting him know she wouldn’t put up with his antisocial behavior gave him hope. “Sorry, baby. But I’m pissed at them. You should know I had zero to do with any of this. I was willing to wait until you were ready to talk.”
“She’s planning on leaving in a couple of weeks,” Josh said, sounding a little like his uncle. “We couldn’t be sure that she would trust us enough to tell us. She could have walked away, and we would never have seen her again. She would be all alone in the world, and I wasn’t about to let that happen.”
Josh stared at Kimberly Kent, who rolled her blue eyes and shifted to the end of the sofa, leaving a place for Josh to slide in beside Nicole.
“Alpha men,” she muttered under her breath. “Like I was saying, my son found some major red flags when he studied the files about the murder of Micah Holloway.”
“That’s Nicole’s husband?” Josh asked, finally seeming to get his anger under control.
“Nora.” Nic was back to sounding monotone. “Nora Holloway was married to Micah. Sometimes I don’t feel like I’m Nora anymore.”
Josh turned her way. “Baby, you’re whoever you tell me you are. You want me to call you Nicole? I love that name. Nora is a wonderful name. I don’t care what I call you as long as I get to call you mine.”
Nicole took a long breath and turned Kim’s way. “I didn’t kill my husband.”
“I know that.” There was a surety in Kim’s tone that made Grim more comfortable with her. “Though given your hospital records, I wouldn’t blame you. Guys, you should know that her husband physically abused her.”
The thought made Grim’s stomach churn.
Nicole nodded. “It was nothing at first. He would be rough, grab me too hard. The first time he slapped me I tried to leave. But he cried and apologized, and I started a cycle then. After a while I didn’t love him, but I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t imagine how I would survive.”
“You didn’t have any money of your own.” Harlow didn’t make it a question. “He controlled it so he could control you.”
“I saved some up,” Nicole replied. “I was trying to leave when it happened. He would give me cash to buy groceries and I would clip coupons and use sales to save money. The one place he would let me go was the gym, so I had a locker there. I stashed my money and some other helpful items at the gym.”
“You had a gun, didn’t you?” Kim asked.
Grim’s heart clenched at the thought of Nicole needing a fucking gun.
“Yes. I saved up and bought a gun from the scariest man I’ve ever met. I don’t ever want to do that again. But he promised me it wasn’t… What was the word he used? He said it wasn’t a burner,” Nicole explained.
Now Grim’s stomach churned. “You bought a ghost gun?”
“A burner is a gun that’s known to have been used in a crime,” Kim explained in a calm voice. “What he was telling you is the gun you were buying was untraceable, likely made in the Philippines. They’re smuggled into the US. I’m surprised you were able to find one.”
“I couldn’t buy one from a reputable dealer.” Nicole’s hands formed a ball on her lap, as though she had to keep herself from reaching out. “I would have to have it registered, and then Micah might have found out. There are some people online who help women leave their abusive husbands. One of them put me in touch with the dealer.”
Ben stood, his hands on his hips, and he looked like a mad dad. “Young lady, that gun wasn’t properly manufactured. It could have killed you as easily as your husband.”
Josh put a hand on hers, and she didn’t pull away. “I’m glad you were taking steps to protect yourself.”
Nicole’s head shook. “Guys, you don’t know the whole story.”
Kim leaned in, her expression serious. “Ted Holloway found out about your gun, didn’t he?”
“Who is that?” Grim asked.
“Micah’s brother.” Nic stared at Kim like she might be throwing her a lifeline. “Yes. I don’t know what actually happened. I know Micah either owed someone money or he’d taken money he shouldn’t have. There was mention of the feds being brought in. Ted killed him so they wouldn’t come after the family. Somehow he knew about the gun and he used it to murder his brother and then put it in my locker. How did you figure this out?”