Now it was time to do the same with his life.

Tessa was gone, but he wasn’t. As much as he missed her, he was going to have to think about her replacement. The monster inside him had to be fed.

As long as he lived, he’d have needs.

Dark needs.

Needs someone would have to meet.

Chapter Eleven

Morgan opened her eyes to a throbbing headache. She hadn’t slept much since finding Tessa’s body, and Nick’s arrest the day before had kept her awake long into the night. When she did manage to drift off, her nightmares were filled with images of Tessa and Nick and blood. Eventually, her subconscious got around to substituting her own girls in Tessa’s place.

Wasn’t that part of what drove her denial? She didn’t want to believe she’d let a murderer into her home. That she’d introduced Nick to Tessa.

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. Seven o’clock! She hadn’t slept past the crack of dawn in years. She stumbled out into the hall and glanced in the girls’ bedroom. Empty. Mia and Ava had school today. Were they ready?

She ducked into the kitchen. Used cereal bowls in the sink reassured her that they’d eaten. She poured a cup of coffee, downed two ibuprofen tablets, and continued her search.

Giggles drew her out onto the deck. In the morning light, the girls chased giant bubbles in the fenced backyard. Gianna waved a huge wand through the air, sending a shimmering bubble drifting across the grass.

All three children were dressed. And, miracle of miracles, Sophie’s hair had been brushed and was fastened into two ponytails on either side of her head.

Setting her mug on the outdoor table, Morgan descended the steps barefoot. Her odd mood lifted as her three little girls raced across the lawn to greet her. She hugged Ava and Mia. Little Sophie leaped from the ground. Morgan caught her, and Sophie wrapped her clinging limbs around Morgan.

She felt her daughter’s head. Her temperature was normal, but Sophie’s sniff and swipe of her hand under her nose verified she’d caught a cold.

“Look.” Sophie pointed at her head. “Gianna gave me kitten ears.”

What a brilliant way to win Sophie’s cooperation.

Sophie squeezed as hard as she could for the count of three, and then dropped to the ground and raced away. Morgan’s heart swelled. There were times when her love for her children was almost overwhelming, especially when they smiled and she could see John in each of them.

Gianna walked over, grinning. “I’m counting that as a victory.”

“And you should. Thanks for handling the girls this morning. I can’t believe I slept so late,” Morgan said.

“You needed the sleep, and we’ve been having fun.” Gianna set another giant bubble loose.

“I don’t want them to tire you out.”

“I enjoy them.” Moisture glittered in Gianna’s eyes. “I’ve never been part of a real family before. I love living here. I keep waiting for someone to pinch me and take it all away.”

“No one is taking you anywhere.” Morgan touched her arm. “We love having you.”

Gianna blinked and wiped her eyes.

“Have you seen my grandfather?” Morgan asked.

“He went to the store. Why don’t you go get some breakfast and a shower? I’ll put Mia and Ava on the bus.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate that.” With a backward glance at the happy children, Morgan turned toward the house.

After a hot shower, she felt almost human. She dressed, combed her hair, and brushed her teeth. Returning to the kitchen, she refilled her coffee mug. Movement pulled her gaze to the kitchen window. At the end of the driveway, the girls and Gianna waited for the school bus. Mia and Ava wore pink-and-purple backpacks. Gianna held Sophie’s hand, obviously having learned the hard way the day before just how fast Sophie’s tiny legs could run.

Morgan looked across the street. Bud and Nick’s house looked dark. How had Nick fared overnight? Had he been booked and transferred to the county jail, or was he still in the holding cell at SFPD?

She was relieved when the front door opened and Sophie burst into the kitchen. There was no better distraction than a three-year-old. Gianna was right behind the child.

“Gianna says I can be a kitten today.” Sophie bounced on her toes.

They spent the next few hours digging through the craft supplies and fashioning a crude kitten costume out of black felt and leftovers from last Halloween. The morning passed quietly. Grandpa came home and fell asleep in his recliner. At noon, Sophie ate three bites of her peanut butter sandwich and set it aside.

When the doorbell rang, Morgan jumped. Leaving Gianna and Sophie at the kitchen table, Morgan looked out the window. “It’s Bud.”

Gianna held her hand out to Sophie. “It’s almost nap time. If we go into your room now, I’ll have time to read two stories.” Gianna plucked a tissue from the box on the table, but Sophie bolted down the hall before Gianna could wipe the child’s nose.

“Thank you,” Morgan said, then went to the door and opened it. “Come in.”

“Are you sure?” Bud stepped into the house. His face was gray, his eyes bleak. “I don’t want to overstep.”

She waved him in. “Where did you stay last night?”

“My assistant manager let me sleep on his couch.” The police had spent the entire night completing their search of Bud’s house.

“Are you allowed back in today?”

Bud nodded. “I haven’t been inside yet. I don’t even know what they took.”

“They’ll give you an inventory of all items removed from the property,” Morgan said. “Tell me what’s happening with Nick.”

“He had an arraignment hearing this morning, but it wasn’t anything like I expected. Nick didn’t say anything. There was a lawyer there he’d never met. I haven’t been able to find him a private one yet. I applied for a mortgage over the phone, but the approval is pending. I’m hoping there’s enough equity in the house to at least cover a retainer. I don’t have much in the way of savings.” Bud followed Morgan into the kitchen. “Anyway. They didn’t even ask him if he was guilty or anything. The whole thing only took a couple of minutes.”

“Nick is charged with a class A felony. The initial arraignment is really just a formality. He’ll have a chance to issue a plea later.”

“I couldn’t even hear most of what they were saying. The judge set his bail at a million dollars. The bail bondsman said I need a hundred thousand in cash to get him out. There’s no way I can come up with that kind of money. Even if the mortgage is approved, I’ll need every cent of that equity to pay a lawyer. How can they lock him up when he hasn’t been convicted of a crime?”

“Nick is charged with a violent and particularly heinous murder.” Morgan shuddered, remembering just how heinous. “He will be held in custody pending a formal indictment by the grand jury, which should happen within six days of his arrest, which will be Tuesday.”

But even the grand jury was a formality. Morgan knew Bryce. The DA wouldn’t have charged Nick if he didn’t have enough evidence for a conviction.

“What about after that? How do I get him home?”

“I don’t know. His attorney can petition for a bail reduction.”

“But you don’t sound like that’ll happen, which means he’d have to stay in jail until the trial, right?”

“Yes.”

“How long will that take?” Bud asked.

“It could be a year before the case is brought to trial.”

Bud’s face went gray. “And Nick will have to stay in jail that whole time?”

“It’s possible.” Morgan didn’t add that the case could take even longer than that.

As a prosecutor, Morgan had always believed that the vast majority of people arrested were guilty. She’d never felt that she’d put an innocent man in jail. But there had been cases in New York of innocent people who’d spent years in jail waiting for their trials. Though the percentage of innocent people held unjustly was low, when someone you cared about was included in that small minority, the situation was suddenly intolerable.