Chapter 44

chapter

forty-four

Gage placed a hand on Nia’s shoulder, compassion flooding him. “I’m sorry.”

As tears began rolling down her face, he prodded her up from the seat and wrapped his arms around her. Nia leaned into the hug.

Gage would hold her as long as she needed to be held.

This had to be a shock to her. It would be for anyone.

More than anything he wanted to comfort her.

“I just can’t believe this,” she muttered into his chest. “Why would these men go after my sister?”

“These guys are going to do anything to get what they want.” He gently stroked her back.

Nia sniffled again before stepping back. She grabbed a tissue from her desk, running it under her eyes and then wiping her nose. “They want to make this personal.”

“They want to hit you where it hurts.”

“What can they possibly want from me? It appears they already have all the files and even the contract. They killed Rob—the one person they could have gotten more information from. Why target me?”

“I don’t know what they’re up to, Nia.” Gage’s voice remained gentle. “But there’s one person I know who might have some of those answers.”

She looked up at him. “Cormac?”

“Yes. Cormac. We need to go back to the cabin and see if he’s back from that boating trip yet. We don’t have any time to waste.” A new sense of urgency pressed on Gage.

As soon as they climbed into the car, Gage’s phone rang.

Nia’s heart pounded harder as she anticipated more bad news.

She couldn’t get her sister’s image out of her head. Poor, poor Sophia. She didn’t deserve any of this.

She’d already gone through so much with her illness. Why did these men have to drag her into this?

The thought was enough to make Nia cry. But it also strengthened her resolve.

She’d do anything to get her sister back. Anything . And that was exactly what these people were anticipating.

What would these men demand of her?

Gage answered the phone, and Austin’s face came across the screen. “Hey. I’ve been searching other video feeds, and I found something that may interest you. I’m going to send you a clip of it, okay?”

“Sounds great.”

They ended the call, and he told Nia while they waited.

Nia nearly felt sick to her stomach as the seconds ticked by. What would be on the video? What if it was proof Nia did have something to do with this?

She could hardly handle the thought.

The seconds crawled by with agonizing slowness.

Finally, Gage’s phone beeped, and he hit the link Austin had sent.

Nia leaned closer and caught the whiff of Gage’s piney cologne. She’d noticed it earlier when they’d hugged, but she hadn’t been in the mental state to enjoy it.

Right now, the aroma brought her a temporary burst of comfort.

She shoved that thought aside as a video began playing on the screen.

It was of Rob’s apartment building.

The footage was from a camera near the front door that picked up everyone coming and going. The time stamp at the bottom read three a.m.

“I woke up about three-thirty,” Nia murmured.

Her lungs felt frozen as she continued to wait.

Then she saw it.

A man walked into the building.

She squinted, needing to be certain her eyes were not deceiving her .

But they weren’t.

That man was Cormac.

He’d gone into Rob’s apartment building on the night Rob was murdered.

It was looking more and more like he might be their guy.