Free Trapped by Revenge: A Shelby Nichols Adventure by Colleen Helme Page A

hadn’t eaten anything and looked a little pale. She also knew that Dimples was pretty shook up about it too.
    “So what did you promise Dimples to get him to talk to you?” I asked.
    Her brows lifted in surprise. She hadn’t expected that. “I have to keep a lid on it. I can publish whatever I want about Jim, but you’re off limits.” She was a little surprised he even talked to her at all, but she could see that for me, Dimples was willing to do whatever it took. She understood that he really cared about me, and she’d be jealous if I wasn’t already married. Of course, that didn’t stop some people. But after meeting my husband, she knew there was nothing to worry about. Any woman who gave him up would have to have their head examined.
    That made me feel a little better about Billie, and after shutting my trunk, I smiled at her. “So what time is your appointment with Jim?”
    “Eleven-thirty,” she answered. “Since it’s on my way, I can swing by and pick you up if you like. About ten-thirty? That should give us plenty of time to get there, and we can discuss what you found on the way.”
    “Sure, I’ll be ready.” We said our goodbyes, and I jumped into my car, eager to get home. Now that I had something to do, I felt lots better. I had the files and a place to start. I checked my phone since I had silenced it while I was with Billie, and found that I had three messages.
    The first was from Chris, telling me to call him and that under no circumstances was I to talk to Dimples without him there, and why the hell didn’t I pick up? Oops. The next message was from Uncle Joey asking me if I could please come into the office, and that he might have a lead. The third message was from Ramos. He was sorry I was in this mess and wondered how I was holding up. He promised to help in any way he could and was already asking his contacts for information.
    I got a little misty-eyed that they all cared about me. Then I got a sinking feeling that if my phone records were ever subpoenaed, everyone would see my messages. Chris’ calls wouldn’t be suspect, but messages from Uncle Joey and Ramos could look bad. Did I need to get a new sim card or a burner phone? I should probably talk to Uncle Joey about that. He’d know what to do.
    I called Chris first. “Hi Honey,” I said. “Sorry I didn’t answer the phone.”
    “That’s okay. I was just worried about you. What’s going on?”
    “I might have a lead and I could use your help, but it’s probably something we should talk about in person. Can I tell you about it later?”
    “Yeah, sure,” he said.
    “What did you find out?” I asked.
    “Not much more than what you already told me, but at least Dimp…a…Harris was cooperative. Just don’t talk to him without me there, okay?”
    I sighed. “That may not be possible. I might need to ask him questions so I can find out what he knows without him knowing I’m finding out. That would be good, right? It wouldn’t hurt my case if you knew stuff that you might not know otherwise too. Plus, he told me to tell him if I had any leads so that he could check them out because he doesn’t want me to get into trouble. I don’t think you need to worry that he’ll use my words against me.”
    “He might not have any choice,” Chris said. “I know what you’re getting at, but you’re walking a fine line here, and so is he.”
    “I know,” I groaned. “But we’ll figure it out, right?”
    “Sure,” he said, but his voice didn’t sound like he believed it. “Listen, I’ve got a few things to finish up here, and then I’ll come home. Give me about an hour and a half.”
    “All right, I’ll see you then.”
    We disconnected, and I decided that with an hour and a half, I had plenty of time to see Uncle Joey, so I quickly punched in his number. When Jackie answered, I told her to let him know I’d be at his office in a few minutes. As I drove to Thrasher Development, I was feeling lots better. Not only