Sweet Seduction Serenade (21 page)

The note was a prime example of why my relations were indeed dumbasses. In fact, I don't think there could have been a better model to base "dumbasses" on than Aunty Jessie and her boys. If it wasn't for the fact that Dad needed tender care, regular medication and the right food prepared in a way his stomach could keep down - oh and the fact that he was darn well dying - I could have laughed out loud when Adam finally - after calling ASI control to advise of our new dilemma - handed me the piece of paper to read.

What freakin' planet was Jessie on? The attempted kidnapping by Bailey clearly failed, so they'd decided instead of taking me out of the picture, they'd take Dad out of mine. If Dad was gone, then I'd head home to Nashville and with Jessie's hospitable care he'd rewrite his will out to her, bypassing his saint of son in Mt Eden Prison.
And
they'd no doubt tell Dad I'd skipped town too and didn't give a toss anymore, so making him forget about me as well.

In some warped trailer trash kind of way it made sense.

In reality it just made me mad. Add to that a fuming Adam, and when Nick turned up with Pierce and Stone and Ben, an even angrier Nick. Then throw in an outraged Cary, decidedly irate Gen and an incredulous Kelly, fuming Gus, incensed Gonzo and just plain cursing-up-a-storm Spike. Not to mention a none too happy cowboy from Nashville, Tennessee.

The house was truly empty, aside from our guests. Dad's wheelchair gone and much to my relief his meds as well, which gave me some hope that Jessie would tend to him appropriately, even as she used him as a lever in her sick games to get me to disappear and get her hands on his money. I stood in the middle of the lounge - after ascertaining that Dad had what he needed to survive his last few days - and numbly took stock of how absolutely wretched things had got. Nick and Derek seemed to have come to some sort of understanding though, because neither was throwing punches or hurling petty words at the other. But then neither was coming within three feet of me too.

I needed some arms to comfort me and I would have gladly taken Nick's - despite his recent Neanderthal behaviour, in a strange way I understood it now, having spoken to Adam right before finding the note - but I had to settle for Cary's. Which was OK, Cary was a good hugger and I think his arms around me were more acceptable to the two men firing testosterone all around my world right now. If Adam or Ben had tried to comfort me, I think the atmosphere in the room would have been ten times worse. Gen and Kelly joined in on the hugfest, because as Gen said, there was never an occasion where multiple hugs were needed more. So the four us stood in one big hugging huddle in the middle of the room while ASI and the police detectives did what it is they do best.

And somehow it worked. I was furious and scared, a little lost and a whole lot stressed. But those arms around me, those bodies pressed against me in an offering of support and friendship and nothing more, seemed to work. Because despite the seriousness of the occasion, I was handling it. I wasn't crying. I wasn't breaking down. And I wasn't having a fit. Which was definitely a possibility before the hugging began.

Finally after all the evidence had been assessed and my statement had been taken, it was closing in on one in the morning. Gen and Kelly offered both Derek and Cary a ride back to their hotel. Both men insisting they'd see me tomorrow, both for entirely different reasons. And after Stone and Pierce, along with all of the ASI men present, declared their desire to get this sorted on my behalf once and for all, they too left. Leaving me alone with Nick.

I'd been a bit numb throughout the entire episode, hugs aside, so I hadn't seen if Derek left willingly or had been even aware that I was going to end up in Nick's company alone. I had a sneaky suspicion that all of the ASI guys, as well as Pierce and Stone, had engineered it so Derek didn't get a chance to consider that outcome at all. In fact, I think Gen, Kelly and Cary also helped out in that regard. Making me wonder how Nick had so many "friends" willing to go in to bat for him and then feeling kind of sad for Derek that he did not.

Then when Nick finally wrapped his arms around me and whispered against my ear, all thoughts like that were totally and utterly gone.

"You need to pack a bag, angel. This will be the first place they look." Meaning, of course, the Russell boys coming after me. He was right and with Dad not here there was no need for me to stay.  But despite the logic I still jerked alert, tensing in his arms at the softly spoken words.

Nick soothed me with a warm hand running down my back, then sweeping up to my neck again. He kept repeating the motion until my body - of its own accord - began to relax.

"I guess I can check into the same hotel Cary and Derek are at," I said, allowing myself to feel calmed by Nick's nearness.

"Can't protect you in a hotel, angel," Nick said in a deceptively calm voice.
Deceptively
, because I felt his body stiffen when I'd finished those words and his calm voice was not in keeping with the rigidity that spread through his entire frame at the mention of Derek.

For several seconds I was reminded of his ridiculous school yard behaviour of earlier, of the fact that I hadn't yet had a proper chance to tell Derek to go home and live his life without me. Several seconds that seemed to pass entirely too quickly, because before I knew it I'd skipped the whole
being angry with Nick
part and moved on to the
where was Nick thinking he could keep me safe
part that sped up my heart.

"Um..." I said, pulling back slightly to look down at the floor with a frown. "Where did you have in mind?"

"My place. It's secure, perimeter alarm, video surveillance linked to ASI control. There's nowhere safer."

I felt him take a breath and not let go. For some inexplicable reason this amused me no end. And that seemed to make me lose my mind as well as my morals, because no way should I be entertaining this idea without first cutting Derek free.

"Well, then," I found myself saying. "I suppose that's just the way it has to be."

"Yes," he said on a grin, which my eyes picked up from my still tipped-down head position, because when he spoke I couldn't seem to stop myself watching his lips move. "So," he said still grinning at me, "go pack a bag then."

"OK, then," I replied, still trying to pull my eyes from his lips, my head no longer tipped right down, but somewhere between down and up that definitely gave me away.

The grin widened into a smile and there was no tipped-down part to it anymore, my eyes came up to his spellbinding ice-blue ones and stayed locked on. He held my gaze for several seconds then leaned forward, as though to kiss me, and said, "Go pack a bag, angel," then he pulled back denying me anything more.

I blinked, broke the spell and with head back down looking at the floor with a frown I berated myself the entire way to Dad's spare room. Could I be anymore of a tool?

I threw some gear together, the essentials and a couple of days worth of clothes - who knew how long this would all take - and then glanced around the room feeling like something was definitely missing. On a somewhat defeated sigh I realised it was the Breedlove, which hopefully was safe back at Sweet Seduction, because there was no way in darn hell I could afford a new Martin and a replacement Breedlove for Gus's friend too.

Feeling a little dejected that I couldn't strum myself into a restful state when we got to wherever Nick's house was, I came back out into the lounge. Nick was checking the windows, probably making sure the place was as secure as it could be for my father, which was kind of a nice thing to do. His head came up from the lounge window and his eyes took a quick run down my frame, then back up again to settle on my face.

"All set?" he asked, dusting his hands together.

I nodded and watched as he walked toward me slowly a small smile playing on his lips, then reached forward and took my overnight bag in his right hand. His other hand came up and brushed my hair behind my ears. I kind of jumped when he did it, it was unintentional and completely embarrassing and only made that small smile turn into a knowing grin.

"I promise I won't bite," he said mock seriously, taking hold of my elbow and guiding me to the front door. "Unless of course you beg," he added huskily, hot breath against my ear.

"You're incorrigible," I noted, feeling my stomach do a flip inside.

"Eight years, Eva. Eight years and tonight I'll have you under my roof again."

"That doesn't mean we'll live out any of your fantasies," I felt inclined to point out for some reason.

"That's fine," he said casually, locking Dad's door behind us and handing me Dad's spare keys. "We can start on your fantasies first, if you like. I'm an equal opportunity bed partner. I'll let you have the first say."

"Who says we'll be sharing a bed?" And why was I arguing against something I wanted with every fibre of my body?

"Because I'll toss any other surface you think is suitable for sleeping on out on the front lawn, so you'll be forced to share the one and only appropriate sleeping platform... with me."

"Incorrigible," I muttered.

"Goal oriented," he countered, in my ear again as he had leaned forward to open the front passenger door on his SUV - a quick glance confirmed it was a Porsche Cayenne. Nick's boys drove Ford Territories, the boss drove something else entirely it seemed.

"Opportunist," I replied when he'd come 'round to his side and slid in behind the wheel.

He hesitated, then said with a cock of his head as he turned the ignition on, "OK, I'll give you that one, but you gotta take into consideration I've been dreaming about this for
eight fucking years
."

I couldn't help it, I smiled. With everything going on, with so much to be worried about, Nick could still manage to make me smile.

The drive to Nick's place didn't take that long at this hour of the night. He lived in Epsom, so further away from the CBD, but only a couple of suburbs over. His house was a refurbished single storey villa-style bungalow in dark grey, with even darker grey window trims and roof. A well maintained hedge bordered the front of the property providing some privacy, but no other plants marred the perfectly trimmed front lawn. Manicured might have been a better description. Clearly Nick took pride in his residence.

He drove the Porsche down a short driveway beside the house, that led to a double garage. Inside the garage were the regular boy's toys; gardening equipment, gym equipment and what had to be a beer fridge. As well as a Ducati in bright canary yellow. Which kind of stood out against the black of the SUV that was now parked beside it.

Nick grabbed my overnight bag and headed straight for the house, security lighting had come on as soon as the car started down the driveway, so the path was well lit right up to the back door. I wanted to take everything in. To study the back lawn, which had an impressive wooden deck with comfortable and sturdy looking outdoor furniture, a huge barbecue in stainless steel and two large Yucca plants in bronze coloured pots. But Nick wasn't in the mood for a show and tell, with a no-nonsense attitude he unlocked the back door, my bag in one hand, the keys in the other and then entered a code into the alarm system. At the same time he hit a wall mounted button to close the door on the garage across the way.

He ushered me in, closed the door behind us and locked it, then reactivated the alarm again.

"If you need to go outside, the code is twenty-eight, thirteen, hash. If you don't enter it the perimeter alarm will be triggered and ASI will come out to investigate if we don't stand them down first. To reset it if you come back in, same code, but press star instead. Got it?"

I blinked at him, twice, trying to take it all in.

"Code, angel?" he asked abruptly.

"Um..." I managed, my brows furrowing with concentration. I'd been stomach flipping excited moments before, now I was fading fast. Post a two-and-a-half hour concert, ex-boyfriend proposal disaster and a kidnapped Dad, I was on a downhill slide that was going to end in me being a puddle at the bottom of it all pretty soon. And he wanted me to remember an alarm code?

"Twenty-eight, thirteen," he said softly. "Hash to go out, star to come in."

"Twenty-eight, thirteen," I replied on a yawn.

"Hash to go out, star to come in," he semi-repeated.

"Hash out, star in," I said, starting to sway.

"Jeez, Eva. How can you go downhill so fast?" he asked, wrapping an arm around my waist and leading me through a utility area I so wanted to take note of but could hardly keep my eyes open, and then a stainless steel ensconced, granite topped kitchen and then down a fairly wide hallway with highly polished dark wooden floors, to a bedroom at the front of the house.

The room was large, but not over-the-top-yell-at-each-from-opposing-ends large. It had a king sized dark wooden sleigh bed with a navy cover, a tallboy dresser with plasma TV on top, a bay window with thick navy damask drapes at the front of the room, and a comfy overstuffed armchair sitting in the bay part of the window, covered in a gold and navy design. There was also a free standing antique wardrobe and a door that led to a bathroom off one side. It was beautiful, but my eyes were all for the bed and the possibility of being asleep before I fell over.

Nick threw my bag towards the armchair and deposited me on the side of the bed, then turned toward the tallboy and rummaged around inside for several seconds. When he turned back he had what looked like a T-Shirt in his hands. He came over and crouched down, then proceeded to take one of my boots off, hand behind my knee, the other cupping the heel of the boot.