Of course she does

One thing Rick did not need was a needy and clingy Nicki. Despite his alibi, it seemed likely he'd be the prime suspect in Olivia's murder and he needed to focus on that. He also needed to focus on Tiffany's suspension. He was sick of being a sort of typhoid Mary, spreading joblessness and problems everywhere he went.

Which made it completely predictable that Nicki would become needy and clingy.

"Rick, I don't want to be alone." She'd wrapped a towel around herself and they'd gotten the blood and secretions off of her in the shower but without makeup, she looked young and helpless.

"Fine," Rick said. "You can come with me but I won't be able to give you much attention. I've got to find out what's going on with Tiffany and the cops."

"Nobody would believe you would kill my mom. She thought you were great. You should have heard her going on about that party."

Oh, great. While Rick hadn't heard Olivia going on about the party, he had a pretty good idea about who had. As in Dan Hughes. He'd found a microphone in his own office back in the day and suspected Dan had set it. And if he'd wire his employees, he certainly would wire his family. Which meant, while Rick hadn't killed Olivia, he'd been part of the trigger that had set Dan off.

"In Texas, juries convict people because they're accused and nobody wants to be soft on crime. You don't have to be guilty."

"That's silly."

He pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "Yeah, it's also crazy. But that's the way it works. Sometimes what they teach you in school is a lot more theoretical than practical. Now put on your clothes and let's go out and see what's going on."

"You just want to see what's under this towel."

"I'd be happy to wait outside."

Nicki grabbed his arm. "Don't leave. I don't want to be alone."

He sighed. "Fine. Just get dressed." She was eighteen years old, an age when she should be discovering her independence, finding out who she really was, escaping from her family of origin to create a new sense of personality. But that didn't mean she should be tortured and body-mutilated by her father, on the run from the police, or fearful that her mother's fate would become her own. Because while Dan would be happy to sexually abuse his daughter, Rick was pretty sure he would move quickly to dispose of her if she ever became a danger.

Once Nicki had dressed, the two left the bathroom, Nicki holding onto Rick's arm like Velcro as he sought out Tiffany. They needed to talk about next steps because having the group stay with Tiffany could not be a long term solution.