The Girls in the Snow (Nikki Hunt #1) - Stacy Green Page 0,108

was at least four inches shorter than him, but she seemed to tower over her son. She smacked him across the face, the ice pack flying out of his hand. In the few days since Nikki had first met her, the stress had pushed Mindy to her breaking point. She seemed like she was capable of anything. “She knows what you did. I’m trying to cover up for your idiocy.”

Unshed tears shined in Bobby’s eyes. “No one would have thought of us if you’d just stayed away from the Bankses.”

“Don’t you dare blame this on me,” Mindy shouted. “You brought this on us.”

“I’ll speak for you at trial,” Nikki said. “I can make a case for both of your mental states. God knows I understand a mother trying to protect her child.”

Reality seemed to be sinking in on Mindy. She leaned against the counter, her hands shaking. “That’s all I was trying to do. He made his mistakes, but he’s learned from them. Haven’t you, honey?”

Trying not to squirm and draw attention to herself, Nikki found the metal hooks of the bungee cord and carefully separated them.

Bobby seemed unfazed by her words. “You killed that dancer. How was that protecting me, Mom?”

“Amy told me the police didn’t think Frost killed the girls,” Mindy said. “I had to do something to lead them away from you, especially since you’d started getting friendly with this woman.”

“You didn’t even know Janelle?” Nikki asked.

“I knew she’d lead you to John,” Mindy said. “He goes to that filthy club. His favorite girls have little ones at home, and I’m not a monster. But I found out Janelle had no one.”

“She had a family in Wisconsin,” Nikki snapped. “She was someone’s child, too.”

Bobby’s nose had started to bleed again. “Maybe I should just turn myself in. I’ll take the fall for Janelle. I deserve to be in prison.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Mindy screamed. “After everything I’ve done to protect you? I lost my husband and my home. Now you want me to give you up, too?”

“I want you to be free, Mom.”

She laughed and pointed the gun at him. “I will never be free. And you’re not leaving me.”

The ear-splitting sound of the gun discharging drowned out Mindy’s scream. She stared at her son, her hand trembling. “I swear I didn’t mean to. My finger just twitched.”

Bobby seemed frozen in shock for a moment, and then turned around to look at the bullet embedded in the wall. She’d missed his head by an inch.

Mindy started to cry, the gun falling to her side. Nikki lunged, dropping her shoulder into the woman’s chest. Mindy fell backwards, her head connecting with the granite countertop. She sank to the floor, streaking blood down the white cabinets.

Nikki twisted, trying to grab the gun, but her hands were too tightly tied behind her back.

Bobby snatched the weapon up. “She’s dead.”

“She’s still breathing,” Nikki said. “You need to think long and hard about the next few seconds.”

He glared at her, the rage in his eyes terrifying. “I tried to stand up for you, and you killed her. Get on your knees.”

Nikki backed against the wall. “You can still run and leave me here, tied up.”

“You killed my mom. Now I’m going to kill you. Get down on your knees. You can die like your father did.”

Nikki’s entire body chilled. “How do you know he was kneeling?”

“John told my dad everything that night. He made my dad help him cover it up.” Nikki sank to her knees. Robert Vance hadn’t just suspected and lied about John not leaving the party. He’d known the entire time and let an innocent man spend his life in prison. Bobby stepped over his mother, his face white with rage. “My dad was a victim. He didn’t have a choice.”

“Everyone has a choice,” Nikki said. “You don’t think I’m angry as hell? My parents are the ones he killed. I testified against an innocent man because of John’s friends backing up his story. I understand grief, and I understand you.”

“You don’t know me.”

“I know you well enough to realize that you would have come forward if your mom hadn’t tried to protect you. I know you’re drowning in guilt.”

The gun shook in Bobby’s trembling hands as Nikki spoke. His wild eyes made it clear he wasn’t going to listen to her. “General rule of holding someone at gunpoint,” Nikki said. “Check the window before you step in front of it.” She ducked her head as the window