“Once I have Nathan’s full report written up, I’ll be in touch,” Caleb told the other man.
“Great. I appreciate it.” The relief at having his daughter back was visible on his face. “We have a flight back to Arizona tonight, so we’d better head to the airport.”
Nicole knew the Ramseys weren’t going to press charges against Sloane. They just wanted their daughter back safely. Since Angela, at sixteen, was at the legal age of consent in Nevada, they couldn’t prosecute Sloane.
It made Nicole sick to think that Sloane was getting off scot-free for abducting Angela, and every other girl he’d enticed to The Sanctuary, when he deserved a long sentence in prison.
Everyone said their good-byes, and once the Ramseys were gone, Caleb didn’t waste time addressing the other issue still left unfinished.
“Who is Holly and why do we have an extra girl when you were only supposed to extract Angela?” Caleb asked, direct and to the point.
Before Nathan could respond, Nicole stepped forward and accepted the blame. “It’s my fault that we took Holly.”
She didn’t feel she needed to explain her reasons to Caleb, because it wouldn’t change anything. Besides, it only mattered that Nathan understood why she’d felt the overwhelming need to save the girl.
“I’m pretty certain that she’s underage,” Nicole went on, a little intimidated by Caleb’s intense, piercing stare and commanding presence. “She slipped up and told me she’s fifteen. Her full name is Holly Davis, which should help you locate her family.”
“I’ll find out who she is,” Caleb said.
Before Nicole could ask what would happen to the young girl, Valerie walked into the room.
“How’s Holly doing?” Despite knowing the girl hated her, Nicole was still worried about her emotional and mental well-being.
“She’s a little calmer and resting, though I’m guessing her obsession with Preston is a result of Stockholm syndrome,” Valerie suggested. “It’s very common with runaways and girls that are kidnapped to fall in love with their captors, which seems to be the case with Holly.”
“How do you know she was kidnapped?” Nicole asked, wondering how Valerie had come to that conclusion.
“I asked Holly how she got involved with Preston, and she told me that she ran away from home nearly a year ago, when she was fourteen.” Valerie exchanged a quick glance with Caleb that Nicole couldn’t read before continuing. “She was picked up in San Bernardino, California, by someone named Gwen, then brought to Las Vegas and taken to Sloane’s estate, where she’s been ever since.”
Nicole was shocked that the belligerent young girl had shared so much with a virtual stranger. “Wow, you got all that from Holly?”
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 naïveté.
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.”
“ We did good.” She couldn’t have accomplished any of what she had without him by her side, and she’d like to think that she’d been a necessary component to helping him get Angela out of Sloane’s estate, too. “You and I make a good team.” The words spilled out before she realized the double meaning to them.
“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.