Manhunt (12 page)

Nikki didn’t even bother trying to bring back the memory in her own mind. She was singularly focused on Michael. She reached for him, but he shook his head and resumed pacing.

“Don’t you see, Nikki? It’s my fault they’re all dead. I killed them. If only I hadn’t made such a mess of the living room, or if I fought harder against my dad when he insisted on going out in that state, but I didn’t. I was a coward. I ruined your life, and was rewarded for it by being adopted by Jeremy’s family while you suffered with a bitter father who thought his daughter was a slut thanks to me. I didn’t deserve you before they died, and I sure as hell don’t deserve you now.”

Michael grabbed his hair in frustration. Suddenly all the odd behavior she’d been remembering made perfect sense.

Nikki sat deathly still for a moment. What could she say that she hadn’t probably said to him a million times before? She felt certain she had already tried to make him see it wasn’t his fault, not by a long shot. How could he blame himself for this? Because he and the guys got popcorn on the floor or left their soda cans on the coffee table? Because he got scared and ran from his abusive father? Because he’d turned to her for comfort and they’d been caught in a compromising position? No. There was only one person to blame, and he was buried six feet under.

Nikki shoved back her anger and focused on the one thing she doubted she ever told him before. It was the one thing she should never have needed to say, but might just be exactly what he needed to hear. She stood up, blocked the path of his pacing and put her hands on either side of his grief-stricken face.

“I forgive you.”

It was as if a dam broke inside Michael, and the torrent of need that let loose crashed over them both. Michael grabbed Nikki roughly and smashed their lips together. This was not the sweet, innocent kisses of the afternoon. No, this was desperate and urgent and passionate. His tongue forced his way between her lips and claimed hers as his own. Nikki returned his kiss with equal passion. Their hands tugged at each other’s clothes, clawing and pulling frantically until every scrap of clothing had been strewn across the room, on the floor, hanging from the lampshade on the nightstand, behind the dresser…

Michael’s explorations came across the tape around her chest and he pulled back. “Nikki…” he attempted between kisses. “Nicole…”

Nikki didn’t stop kissing him any longer than it took for her to growl at him. “Don’t you dare stop now.”

Michael picked her up bridal style and walked the few short steps to the side of the bed, his lips on hers the entire time, and sat down. Nikki shifted to straddle him in his lap and pushed him back by his shoulders until he was lying flat on the mattress with her hovering above him, showering his chest with kisses.

He scooted them back further on the bed and settled his head on the pillows before letting his hands drift to palm and squeeze her breasts. Nikki’s head fell backwards as she let Michael shower her with attention. He tilted his head up and took one of her nipples in his mouth while he rolled the other between his fingers.

Nikki started moaning and grinding against him, causing him to buck beneath her. She threw her hair off to one side to give him more flesh to ravish before reaching down and grabbing his length firmly, rubbing his tip against her clit a few times before lining him up at her entrance and lowering herself onto him.

When he was fully sheathed within her, he wrapped his hands around her back and latched onto her shoulders, pulling her down to him so he could kiss her again.

“I’m so sorry, Sunshine,” he whispered between fevered kisses.

She knew why he was apologizing. He was sorry for her mother dying. He was sorry that he marred her image in her father’s eyes. He was sorry for how he treated her in his grief. He was sorry for Sebastian. He was sorry for kidnapping her.

But at the moment, not a single one of those things made the slightest difference to her.

“I forgive you,” she chanted with each stroke.

She was riding him hard, her movements erratic and frantic, her nails digging into him each time he met her thrusts. He filled her completely, in every way, and she never wanted it to end. It didn’t take long for their pleasure, denied for so long, to overtake them. Nikki’s stomach hurt a little as she crested, her muscles clenching tightly around Michael before relaxing and releasing him. Michael took control, then, holding her hips and slamming up into her, stretching out her climax as long as he could while he reached his own.

They both let exhaustion overtake them then, still a tangle of limbs wrapped around each other.

Chapter 12

“Right away, Mr. Brennan,” Jeremy’s executive assistant, Heather, replied before leaving his office, notepad in hand. Heather was prompt, dedicated and pleasant, everything he’d come to expect from his assistants. She was also very good looking, petite with strawberry blonde, naturally curly hair, high, delicate cheekbones and plump, inviting lips. Not that she got the job based on her looks, but still, it didn’t hurt, either. There were times when he thought he saw her ogling him. Once he’d even made eye contact, raising an eyebrow at her in question, and she blushed and turned her back on him, giggling. If she wasn’t his employee, he might consider asking her out. Then again, probably not.

Jeremy knew better than to think Heather could possibly be interested in him for him. She saw the powerful computer mogul on the cover of Forbes, and the bank account to go with it. He didn’t have Michael’s good looks or Christian’s irresistible charm. What he did have was a killer I.Q. and a fierce determination to prove his high school gym teacher wrong. That man looked at Jeremy’s scrawny physique with scorn and, along with Sebastian and the rest of the jocks, made every day of his four years in high school miserable. He’d cornered Jeremy one time and gave him this rousing lecture on how he might have book smarts, but he didn’t have street smarts and at the end of the day, he was going to end up the smartest guy on the unemployment line. Now, every year Jeremy has Heather send that miserable excuse for a man a company Christmas card. He has yet to get a response.

Jeremy hit a button on the remote on his desk and the wall parted, his plasma television moving forward and turning on. It was already tuned to the network news channel, as it had been for days. There’d been yet another lead on Michael and Nikki’s whereabouts, but no matter how hard the Feds tried, they always seemed to be one step behind. Even so, Jeremy knew their luck couldn’t hold out forever. Jeremy shuddered to think what would happen to them once the manhunt came to a close.

Why do bad things always happen to good people?
Jeremy lamented as he paced back and forth. Well, not always just good people, he supposed. Sebastian Cross had finally got what was coming to him. Jeremy only wished he’d taken the time to pull the trigger himself, but he couldn’t regret that. Nikki was his top priority. Jeremy sighed out loud as he thought about Nikki. His love for Nikki had taken on many forms over the years—best friend, first crush, should-be-sister-in-law—but it had never wavered. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, or for Michael.

Jeremy had no problem admitting his adoration for his adopted brother bordered on idol worship, but in Jeremy’s eyes, no one deserved it more. If it weren’t for Michael, Jeremy probably would never have survived high school. Literally. Michael was the one who saved him when he’d tried to commit suicide in the 10th grade after a particularly cruel round of bullying by Sebastian and his cronies. Michael snuck into Dr. Brennan’s medical bag and poured ipecac syrup down Jeremy’s throat until every last pill had been purged from his system. Then he gave him an extra dose or two, to make sure his point was driven home.
Just for good measure,
he’d said. He’d threatened to kick Jeremy’s ass himself if he ever tried something so monumentally stupid again, and Jeremy believed him.

The next time Sebastian had bothered Jeremy, dumping his food into Jeremy’s lap, Michael had ended up in a heap of trouble for the ensuing fist fight. Jeremy was not at all happy with Michael for resorting to violence, especially on his behalf. Although he would never admit it to Michael, however, it just added another shiny layer to Michael’s suit of armor in Jeremy’s mind.

Now look at where Michael’s need to be the black knight had taken him... Running away from a murder rap and dragging Nikki across the country when what she should be doing was being properly treated for both her injuries and her amnesia. Jeremy had thought through every possible outcome for this situation he could imagine, and none of them were good.

“Mr. Brennan, Mr. Jefferson’s on line one for you,” Heather’s perky voice came across the intercom.

Jeremy plopped down in his seat and picked up. “Hey, buddy.”

“Hey. Did you see the news?”

“Yeah, looks like they’re closing in,” Jeremy replied, turning off the television and tossing the remote across the room in disgust. “What are we going to do?”

“Shy of finding someone else to pin it on, I’m not sure there’s much we can do. I assume the Feds have questioned you already too?”

“Yeah, nothing big, just wanted to know what I saw when I picked Nikki up and took her to the hospital and if I’d talked to Michael since they left. I don’t think he believed me when I said Michael hadn’t contacted me, but I don’t really give a shit. It’s the truth.”

“Of course it’s the truth. Michael’s not that dumb. Man, I wish I were that lucky, though. They had Sophie so worked up that I had to threaten to sue their ass if they endangered my wife’s pregnancy. They backed off a little, but they weren’t just looking at me as a friend of Michael’s. They were looking at me as a suspect, I’m sure of it.”

“Jesus, seriously?” This was just getting worse by the minute. His parents had been under intense scrutiny too. His mom’s nerves were fried. As despicable as the idea was, Christian was right. They needed someone to pin it on.

“Yeah, man. I already contacted my attorney to represent me and Sophie, as well as Michael and Nikki, if that’s allowed. He’s the best there is. Knows when to ask questions and when not to, if you know what I mean. I figure when they do catch Michael and Nikki, they’ll need all the help they can get.”

A plan started to form in Jeremy’s mind. A ludicrous, stupid, ridiculous plan that Michael would probably kick his ass for, but as soon as the thought occurred, it cemented in his mind. Jeremy knew exactly who they needed to pin it on. It was the only way he could envision a positive outcome for the people he loved most in the world.

“Christian, do you think you could have your attorney give me a call? I might want him to represent me too.”

“Yeah, sure, but why would you need representing? I mean, besides the fact that you have an entire company legal department at your disposal, you just said yourself that they weren’t giving you too hard a time. What gives?”

“I just think it might be a good idea to have someone who knows when to keep his mouth shut, you know?”

Christian sounded leery, as if he could imagine what Jeremy was up to. “All right, man. I’ll have him call you. But don’t go and do anything stupid, all right? You don’t have all the facts.”

Jeremy brushed off Christian’s warnings and resumed pacing the floor while he waited for the phone to ring. The more he thought about it, the better he felt. It was his turn to fall on his sword, go down a hero, and by God, he was going to do it.

“Mr. Brennan, you have a Wes Straussman on line one.”

After a rather heated discussion with Wes in which he protested Jeremy’s decision vehemently, he agreed to represent Jeremy and meet him on the steps of the courthouse in two hours’ time. Jeremy made swift work tying up what loose ends he could and delegating what he could not. Then he left his office for possibly the last time, he thought somewhat sadly as he looked back before closing the door. He emptied his wallet, giving the money to Heather with instructions to buy herself something pretty. Then he shocked her by kissing her on the forehead before he walked away. He wanted to kiss her properly, but when it came right down to it, he was too afraid. He always had been, which was yet another reason why now, more than ever, he needed to be brave.

Wes had already taken care of everything by the time Jeremy arrived outside the courthouse. A podium was set up, and a throng of news reporters were anxiously awaiting his arrival. He was part thrilled, part terrified, but one hundred percent determined as he walked up to the microphone to confess to the murder of Sebastian Cross.

Chapter 13

The next morning, Michael and Nikki made love again. Slower, gentler. Afterwards, Nikki took a shower while Michael set some coffee to brew in the little commercial coffeepot in the room. He kissed her as they traded places. While he was in the shower, Nikki made them both a cup of coffee, grimacing a little at the bitter taste and wishing she still had her instant hot chocolate.