Mountain Desire (Wild Mountain Men 3)

His life was a role. Right now he was on a stage of sorts, showing me the Eddie Nickel he wanted me to see. As soon as the police got here, he was going to up his acting chops, probably give an Oscar-worthy performance. I wanted to get a glimpse of the real man. The man Shane and Poppy knew.

“I have to give you a lot of credit,” I said. The kitchen opened into the great room with a wide counter, probably fifteen feet long, as a divider. I leaned against the granite on the great room side. Eddie Nickel was on the other side, at the far end working the machine.

He looked my way with a patented smile. I was surprised a sparkle didn’t reflect off the veneers. “Oh?”

“You almost got away with it.”

“With what?”

“Killing Erin Mills.”

His smile dropped, and he frowned but focused on the hot brew dripping into a mug.

“She was the only woman who figured it out. Isn’t that right?” I asked. “All the others had no clue. Still don’t.”

He turned, leaned against the counter, coffee forgotten. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’d have thought, with all your experience with the ladies, that you wouldn’t mess with a woman scorned. You should have given her a role in one of your films.”

There was a shift in him, so slight I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been focused on him. “Everyone earns a spot in my movies because of their skill.”

“Women earn theirs on their backs, right?” I countered, then held up one finger. “No, wait. On top. That’s how you like it. The woman’s always on top.”

“Not in my world,” he said. Yeah, there was the real Eddie Nickel. His voice was deeper, his tone cold.

“No, not in your world. But in your secret films they are. Every. Single. One.”

I wanted to get this asshole to talk. I wanted to know why. Maybe then I could understand Chad and how he’d almost destroyed me.

I’d almost let him, too, if it weren’t for Shane and Finch. If they hadn’t shown me Chad still had a hold on my life, blocking myself off from love. Shane somehow had allowed me in even with what his dad had done to him. He’d sought out love, real love, instead of avoiding it. Finch had fought against a guy just like Chad and Eddie Nickel. A misogynist who believed he held all the power. It had been validated when Finch had gone off to jail even while being honorable.

Shane deserved the full truth about his father. Finch needed to see an asshole get the justice.

I stared him down. He knew it was over, that all his secrets were known. It was time to poke the bear.

“I’m surprised you were afraid of Erin.”

He gave a dry laugh and slowly shook his head. “Afraid?”

“She was the only woman who’d stood up to you. To get what she wanted from you. What she deserved.”

“Deserved? She didn’t deserve a role in my film. She wasn’t good enough.”

“She earned that role when she was sixteen and you raped her.”

“Rape? She was there all on her own. She wanted it.”

He made me sick.

“It took her a few years, but she had power over you.”

His eyes flared. Not with heat but cold. Bitter cold. “She held no power.”

“You lost your cool. Went to her house. Hit her with the glass award.”

I held my breath. This was it. He’d admitted to being with a sixteen-year-old Erin, but would he admit to killing her?

“She’s dead. Who has the power now?”