It was a ridiculously romantic sentiment ... and something Nick felt to his very core. “I get that. Maddie and I are the same ... and yet different. I fell in love with her when I was a kid. We grew up together, and even when I was too young to know what love was, I felt in here that I needed to protect her.” He touched the spot above his heart.
“She’s always been ... different,” he continued, choosing his words carefully. “She’s always been more than everybody else, even though she would prefer to hide in the shadows and not draw attention. That more is what caused her to run away after high school. She was afraid to tell me the truth, what she could do.
“She came back after her mother died because duty propelled her. Her grandmother is still alive and needs constant monitoring. I love Maude, but she’s like a small child sometimes ... a naughty child at that. I was angry at Maddie for ten years because she broke my heart. I was with her within twenty seconds when she came back and I knew that I would not let her slip out of my reach a second time.
“I know about love and needing to protect what you hold most dear,” he said. “I know about loving so intensely all reason flies out the window. I want to protect Maddie, and yet I feel she needs to be here. She’s been closed off from others like her. I want to open her world.”
Cooper studied the detective’s earnest face for a long beat and then nodded. “You’re trying to do what’s best for her and keep her safe. Being cut out of the investigation bothers you.”
“It does.”
“You have no jurisdiction here.”
“I don’t.”
“And yet you want to see what’s inside of that building,” Cooper noted.
“I want to make sure Maddie isn’t a potential target,” Nick corrected. “Do you have any idea why this was done?”
“We do. At least we think we do.” Cooper blew out a sigh and then went with his gut, motioning for Nick to follow him. “Come on. There’s a few things I want to show you inside. Boone is already in there and expecting me. He won’t be happy that I’m bringing you, but an extra set of eyes can’t possibly hurt.”
Nick was both gratified and suspicious. “I’ll tell Maddie anything I learn. I can’t keep her in the dark.”
Cooper smirked. “I don’t know if it’s that you have the most trustworthy face I’ve ever seen or I look at you and see my own reflection because the way you feel about Maddie mirrors how I feel about Hannah, but I get it. We’ll figure it out as we go along. Besides, I wouldn’t mind an extra set of eyes watching things. There are a lot of people running around, and one of them could very well be a murderer.”
“I can do that.” Nick was eager to help. “I’d like to know what you have.”
“I think you’ll be surprised.”
“I still want to know.”
And because Cooper understood that to his very bones, he inclined his head toward the brothel. “Then come on. There’s a lot to talk about.”
MADDIE WASN’T NORMALLY A SOCIAL PERSON. It wasn’t that she hated people as much as she felt uncomfortable around them. Growing up, she was the sort of girl who thought everybody was watching her ... and for all the wrong reasons. She’d grown stronger as an adult, but she was still more comfortable sitting on the outskirts of life watching than she was participating, even now. It was something she was still grappling with.
She interacted with the other psychics, responded to questions asked of her, and debated what questions would garner the best answers (and least amount of attention). Before she even realized what was happening, the bulk of the psychics had departed the saloon because Tyler was going to lead a walk through the fields to point out various wildlife specimens and Maddie was left alone with Hannah.
“You didn’t want to see the animals?” Hannah asked, plopping down in one of the open spots across from Maddie without asking if the other woman wanted company.
Maddie shrugged, noncommittal. “Do you have unique animals running around in the hills of Kentucky?”
“It depends on who you ask.” Hannah’s lips quirked. “Some people think monsters live in the caves that surround Casper Creek.”
Despite herself, Maddie was intrigued. “And what do you think?”
“I think that monsters come in different shapes and sizes.”
“Including humans?”
Hannah bobbed her head. “Especially humans.”
Because Maddie had come to the same conclusion, all she could do was nod. “Yeah, well ... humans are their own brand of monsters, aren’t they?”
“They are.” Hannah leaned back in her chair and crossed her feet at the ankles. “You’re different from the others.”
Maddie’s eyebrow arched. “Meaning?”
“You’re not all about promoting yourself. The others, they want to be the new go-to psychic now that Velma is gone. She may have been the self-proclaimed leader of the pack but that wasn’t a title the others were comfortable bestowing upon her. She claimed it for herself, and now that she’s gone, people want to fill the void.”
Oddly enough, Maddie had come to the same conclusion herself. What was strange — at least to her — was how observant Hannah was. She would’ve bet money the woman wasn’t even paying attention to the psychics she was waiting on and yet, now that it was just the two of them, it was obvious Hannah was much more observant than Maddie initially gave her credit for.
“I didn’t realize you were watching that closely,” Maddie admitted. “I guess that was stupid to assume. You looked busy.”
“I was busy. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t looking. Being a bartender is a great way to
