“He’s helping Samuel with another case,” Monty said. He didn’t meet Nina’s gaze.
“Is he coming back?”
Monty shook his head slowly, as though he didn’t want to answer the question.
“Why not? Where am I going to stay?”
“With me.” Monty finally looked at her. His eyes held all his love. His pain and his hope, too. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Nina swallowed roughly. She never wanted to hurt her brother. When she called Zeke, she thought Monty was gone. When she learned he was there, she still wanted to stay withZeke. She felt safe with Zeke. She knew Monty would protect her, but Zeke was different. She could crawl on his lap and not feel weird about it. And when he admitted how much he wanted her, she knew going to him was the best choice. She was able to heal in ways she never would have if it weren’t for Zeke.
But he was leaving her.
“I think I have enough,” Lorelei said, moving toward the door. “I’ll keep you posted on what we find.”
“When do you think you’ll be able to check out the house?” Nina asked.
“We can’t sit on this, so we’ll do everything possible to get over there today.”
Nina nodded.
“Thanks for coming so quickly,” Monty said. He ushered Lorelei to the door and left with her, leaving Nina alone.
She curled up on the couch and tried not to cry. She didn’t blame Zeke for being angry, but she thought he would be there. He promised to keep her safe.
And she promised not to lie to him.
Nina held her stomach and let the pain of losing him fill her. She’d been through it before. She would survive.
“Are you okay?” Monty asked when he walked back into the office.
“No.”
Monty was quiet for a minute. “I need to take care of a few things. Frannie said you could stay with her while I’m unavailable.”
Nina shook her head and sat up. “I hate being a burden.”
Monty sat next to her. He took her hands and squeezed them. “You are not a burden. You never have been. I had some meetings lined up today and didn’t realize Zeke would be unavailable. I don’t want you alone. That doesn’t mean you’re a burden. I would feel the same about any client, too.”
Nina nodded, trying to get past the hurt. If Monty didn’t know Zeke was going to be unavailable, then he didn’t send Zeke on whatever job he was on. Zeke chose to leave. He chose to leave her.
Monty led her out of the office and into his SUV. Nina stared out the window at the passing city, thinking how different things were just a few hours earlier. She went to see the Falls. She laughed with her brother. She didn’t worry about someone trying to kill her.
And one dead body changed all of that.
Monty parked in front of Shelter in the Storm. Before he could walk around to Nina’s side of the SUV, Frannie was walking out.
“Hello!” she said warmly, wrapping Nina in a hug. “I’m so happy you’re going to spend the day here.”
Nina made a noise she hoped Frannie took as agreement. She liked Frannie, but being there was not her first choice.
“I’ll be back around dinner, if that’s okay,” Monty said.
Frannie nodded. “Of course. We’ll see you then.”
Nina hugged her brother and felt like the child in the middle of divorced parents, being passed between them like she couldn’t take care of herself.
She supposed she couldn’t. She didn’t know how to defend herself. She didn’t know how to stop Gwendolyn. She didn’t know anything.
