Valerie shrugged. “I just know how to ask the right questions.”
“I have to say, you’re good.” Nicole still couldn’t believe Holly had given up so much personal information so easily. Then again, judging by her own experience with Valerie, there was something very intuitive about the woman. She had a way of reading people that was both unnerving and fascinating.
Nathan glanced at Caleb in pleasant surprise, along with a bit of triumph shining in his eyes. “I’ll be damned. Looks like we have enough evidence to bring charges against Sloane in a federal case, outside any influence he has with local law enforcement.”
Caleb’s look echoed Nathan’s satisfaction. “We can bring in the FBI to start an investigation on the charges, as well as look into his connections in human trafficking.”
An adrenaline rush of excitement pulsed through Nicole at the thought of Sloane going to prison for what he’d done to Holly, and every other girl he’d violated. No doubt many other girls had been picked up off the street and taken to Sloane’s estate to be prostituted out to his buddies. The charges would be myriad, not to mention that Sloane would have a lot of company in prison.
“So, he’s going to be arrested?” she asked, needing confirmation that the bastard would soon be behind bars.
“Just as soon as it can be arranged through the proper channels,” Caleb replied with a business-like nod. “I’ll give the attorney general a call and start the ball rolling, then I’ll run a background check on Holly so I can contact her parents.”
Nicole breathed a sigh of relief that something good had come of all this. That not only had she rescued Holly from a dire situation, but soon Sloane would no longer be able to prey on young girls’ innocence and naivete.
Caleb left them to make some phone calls, and Valerie headed back to the guest room to check on Holly, leaving Nicole alone with Nathan.
“You did good,” Nathan said to her, the admiration and respect in his gaze genuine and warm. “You should be proud of yourself.”
“
“Yeah, we do,” Nathan replied huskily as he brushed his thumb along her jaw and his fingers caressed the side of her neck in a tender, romantic touch. “In more ways than one.”
He was referring to the two of them-not professionally, but intimately. Beyond the case and working together to rescue the two girls, to the deeper feelings that had developed between them. Feelings she’d desperately tried to keep contained to physical attraction alone, but somehow, someway, they’d evolved into something far more real that scared the hell out of her and threatened everything she’d worked so hard to achieve.
Her heart beat faster in her chest, and an overwhelming sense of vulnerability swamped her. Over the past few weeks with Nathan, from the moment they’d met at the speed-dating event, he’d become her greatest weakness. Sexually, she couldn’t get enough of him. But it was the underlying emotions he evoked that struck fear into her heart, because she didn’t trust her ability to fall in love and not lose her sense of self all over again.
She took a step back from him, her stiff body language speaking volumes. Knowing it was best that she kept their conversation focused on the case, and off them, she thought about the young girl in the other room. “Thank you for letting me take Holly.”
“I don’t think you would have given me a choice.” His smile was a little sad, as if he realized she was pulling away from him, retreating from everything they’d shared. And that there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
“Probably not.” She swallowed hard. The hurt she saw in his eyes was much more difficult to bear than she realized. “I’m happy to hear Sloane will get his comeuppance. Knowing that is like icing on the cake.”
“Nicole… are you okay?” His voice was soft and worried, like no other man’s had ever been before.
No, she wasn’t okay. She was a wreck, inside and out. She could feel pieces of her heart splintering, and wondered how long the ache in her chest would last. “I’m just tired.”
His jaw clenched, and he pushed his hands into his pants pockets, as if that would keep him from reaching out and touching her again, which would undoubtedly be her undoing.
“You and I need to talk,” he said.
Not here and not now. She just couldn’t handle what was bound to be a painful discussion after the day, and evening, she’d had. She was mentally exhausted, and too emotionally raw.
“I need to be with Holly right now.” It was the truth and an excuse, all in one.
To her immense relief, he let her go without a reply, but it was the unspoken emotions lingering in his gaze that told her she’d only been granted a brief reprieve.
Chapter Nineteen
Throughout the night, Nicole sat next to Holly’s bed, curled up in the comfortable chair Caleb had brought in for her to use while she watched over the young girl she felt responsible for. Nicole was exhausted and drained, yet a deep, restful sleep eluded her. There was too much going on in her mind-her worry for Holly, thoughts of Sloane’s impending arrest, and the disappointment in Nathan’s eyes as she’d walked away from him earlier.
The latter still haunted her, in ways she’d never anticipated.
As the hours slowly passed, Holly tossed and turned in her bed, moaning and whimpering as her own dreams, and possibly nightmares, plagued her. The few times she did wake up Nicole made her drink gulps of cool water to help flush the alcohol and drugs out of her system, though Nicole had a strong feeling the young girl was going to feel like crap come morning. By then, the narcotics would have worn off and Holly would be forced to deal in the real world with nothing to dull her anxiety, emotional pain, and the reality of her situation.
She heard Caleb’s and Nathan’s voices drifting in from the other room, along with an occasional comment from Valerie, and knew they were discussing details of the case, gathering information on Holly, and getting in touch with all the pertinent agencies to take Sloane down.
By dawn, Nicole’s heavy eyelids drooped and she snuggled into the blanket wrapped around her and nodded off. When she woke up half an hour later, she found Holly awake, curled up on her side, her vacant gaze staring at the wall behind Nicole. The girl’s makeup was smeared, showing her pale complexion, and her hair was a disheveled mess around her face. She looked so empty and alone, and much older than her fifteen years. Her innocence and childhood were gone, stolen by a man who had no regard for the lives he destroyed in his quest for his own sick pleasures.
Nicole sat up in her chair so she was closer to the side of the bed. Holly didn’t even acknowledge that she was there, though she knew the girl was well aware of her presence. Most likely, she was still pissed off at Nicole for taking her away from Sloane.
“How are you feeling?” Nicole asked softly.
Holly didn’t respond, clearly ignoring her.
Sighing, but by no means defeated, Nicole tried again. “Would you like some breakfast? I can make you some eggs or toast.” Eventually the girl would need to put something in her stomach-other than drugs and alcohol.
“I don’t want anything from you,” Holly finally said, her voice flat and spiritless. “Just go away.”
Okay, she was talking. At least that was a start. “Do you remember where you are?” Nicole asked, unsure what the girl recalled from last night. “That I took you away from Preston’s estate and brought you somewhere safe?”
Her gaze finally met Nicole’s, a spark of renewed animosity flashing in her eyes as last night’s events came back to her. “You had no right to take me!”
“We did have the right to take you,” Nicole said gently, trying to keep the girl calm. “You’re only fifteen, Holly. You’re an underage runaway who was kidnapped and taken to Preston’s place in Summerlin.”
Holly’s brows snapped into a frown. “Who told you that?”
So, she didn’t remember her conversation with Valerie. “Last night, you talked to one of the other women who is here. You told her you ran away from home a year ago, when you were fourteen, and that Gwen brought you to
