“Involved how? You were having an affair?” Jaren asked, freeing me up to continue deciding how to proceed.
“No, not an affair,” Nick said. “Well, it was an affair, sort of. Maybe. I don’t know. It was years ago. Before we graduated. Before they were married. Nothing has happened in years…until the night before last.”
“The night before last?” I perked up. Now this was new news.
“Laura…” He hesitated, a grimace on his lips as he prepared himself. “She kissed me.”
“What?” I demanded. My heart thundered in my chest. Why hadn’t she told me?
“I don’t know why. It was the night Emily died. She came by my hut, and she was talking about Emily…something about what happened at the spa. She said she didn’t trust her…and then she just, she…” He shrugged. “She just kissed me.”
“And then what happened?” I asked.
He hesitated. “The sort of thing that usually follows kissing.” His face was beet red as he ran a hand over the back of his neck. They’d had sex? He couldn’t mean that, could he? Was he really admitting it to me? In front of Jaren. I’d have to make sure Jaren kept her secret, like I’d sworn to do all those years ago. “And then, it was over,” Nick went on when no one responded. “I don’t know what happened. It was a moment of weakness. She called it a mistake.”
“Was it?” I asked.
“I don’t—I-I don’t know. She ran off before we could talk about anything, and I went back home. I’m telling you this because on the night that it happened, I could’ve sworn I saw Megan watching us from the hut.”
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” The cold chills were back, and I was staring out the window, searching for Megan then.
“Because I thought I was wrong. When I got inside, Megan was asleep. I convinced myself I was seeing things, and then we found out Emily had died. I practically forgot what happened, and I didn’t think about it again until Laura went missing.”
“So you think Megan did something to her?” Jaren asked.
“I don’t know what to think. She was talking about Laura just now, and she said something in past tense… Isn’t that how cops always know someone’s guilty on those cop shows?”
I raised a brow. “I don’t know. That’s a stretch. I mean, did you ask her? Couldn’t it have just been a slip-up? You came running over here like you’d found her with a bloody knife.” Was that all he was talking about? For all we knew, he was jumping to conclusions.
“I asked her why she said it like she did—why she said it in past tense—and she gave me an answer, but it was something in her eyes, Natasha.” He was pleading with me again.
“I don’t know, Nick. I can’t really see Megan hurting anyone…” I wanted to believe him because I wanted answers, but they also needed to make sense. Why would Megan have done anything to hurt Laura? Even if she caught them together, why not confront Nick? Why not tell Brad? It didn’t make any sense. Besides, I couldn’t believe Megan the vegan-vegetarian-whatever she was would hurt a fly, let alone a living, breathing human.
I could see it in his eyes. Disappointment. He’d trusted me to believe him, but I wasn’t sure I did. “I know you want to find her. To find answers for her and Emily, but we can’t jump to conclusions. We can’t turn on each other right now. We need to stick together.” Jaren looked at me, and I could see he agreed.
“So, what are you suggesting? Laura’s gone. We all just pretend like she’s fine, like everything’s fine until we know for sure something horrible has happened?” Nick demanded, running a hand through his hair.
I could see the fear in his eyes, feel it in the room. He’d likely never felt such panic—he didn’t have kids. Wasn’t all that close to his family. Laura was the most important person in the world to him, and she was missing.
I stepped forward and put a hand on his arm. “Nick, look at me.” I couldn’t let him see the panic I felt. It would only make his more real. Strangely, seeing him freak out only calmed me. I needed to find my best friend, but right now, Nick needed me more. Wherever Laura was, I would do this for her. I would be there for him like she would’ve been. “Look at me,” I said again, watching as his cognac brown eyes flicked up to meet mine. “We’re going to find her, okay? I don’t know what Megan saw or didn’t see, did or didn’t do, but I know Laura. I know you. I know us.” The smile on my lips was small, and I hoped he believed it. I needed him to believe it as much as I needed to believe what I was saying myself. “We won’t give up until we find her. She isn’t Emily. This isn’t the end of her story.”
He swallowed, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. His nod was slight, barely noticeable, but it was there. “We need to find Brad and Andy. We have to get back to looking.”
“There we go.” I patted his shoulder before bending down near the edge of the bed to pull my shoes back on. Jaren was strangely quiet behind me, but I paid no attention. Instead, once my shoes were on, I put an arm around Nick, casting a quick glance behind me to make sure Jaren was following, and led them both out the door. “Now, we need to get Megan first. Like Andy said, none of us should be left alone right now. We’re going to keep an eye on her, but we have
