by K. L. Donn
“Pepper Nicole Wallace,” she repeated to her reflection in the mirror for what felt like the millionth time and probably was. “Twenty-four years old. Administrative assistant to the CEO of JHT Construction.”
Since waking up four days ago with her memory fully intact and her pain level the highest it had ever been, she had never felt better. She remembered who she was and what she found important in life. Pepper knew where she belonged before a doctor had even been in to see her. An hour after what was another intrusive exam, James had gotten her the information she needed to know about what was going on with Nick and Ace. She had cried long and hard about that, knowing she was the cause for their professional problems.
The hospital staff had told her that they called daily. She wanted to talk to them so badly, let them know she missed them like crazy. Tell them she was fine and coming back for them. Regrettably, she didn’t do any of that because she had still been in the hospital dealing with the physical repercussions of this ordeal, and she had to work through her mind as well. Figure out exactly what she wanted and the best way to get it. Because like Tami had told her time and again, she was nothing if not thorough. She planned every detail to a T and wanted nothing left unfinished in Vancouver before she packed up all her worldly possessions and informed her men that they were having that wedding Jake had planned.
Not once while she was planning did she have a single doubt about their true feelings for her. It was hers she’d doubted.
For about five and a half minutes.
The pain of missing them was so intense. She knew they were her destiny, her own fate. The only thing she struggled with was her part in Alex’s death. While he died because of his own actions, she had led him into that cave. She understood what would happen as soon as he entered it. Nightmares about the sounds of the attack still followed her into sleep. Haunting her.
“Pepper Nicole Wallace! Get your sexy ass out here before I drag you out!”
“Tami,” she sighed. She had missed her best friend something fierce. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t remembered the woman; her lack of presence was noticeable.
“I’m coming,” Pepper hissed at the woman, sauntering through the bathroom door. “Must you always be so damn loud?”
“You’re leaving me. I have to annoy you as much as humanly possible, so you miss me, or don’t miss me. Depends on how much I bother you, I guess.” Her friend was a rambler.
As they walked down the long corridor counting doors until they found room eight, she took a deep, fortifying breath as Maddox walked up to her. “Deep breath, dear, you’ll be fine.” He squeezed her hand before walking in. The door closing with a quiet snick.
“You’ll be fine, Pepper,” Tami encouraged from her side.
They listened as there were a few words spoken before she entered the room and sat in the back. Her gaze was riveted to the backs of their heads. She missed them, wanted to run up to them and beg that they take her home. Even if that home was falling apart.
Her body felt compelled to go to them, to be in their arms. She wanted nothing more to do that, but Judge Maddox had also warned her that any emotion showed to them while in the hearing could be held against them. She had to remain aloof, and it was going to kill her.
When the mayor started spewing out his ass about things he couldn’t possibly understand, she wanted to run up to the man and punch him in the throat to shut him up. His voice was obnoxious, like nails on a chalkboard.
Pepper had zoned out during her violent thoughts and only realized all eyes were on her when Tami squeezed her leg. Looking to her friend then back up at the room, her eyes met Nick and Ace’s. So many emotions swam within them: happiness, love, relief, anger.
She held onto the anger as she stood. She needed to believe they were angry at her as she told this panel of dick heads off.
“Miss Wallace, please come forward,” Judge Maddox called. He’d told her when they spoke on the phone over the last few days that she would have to stand at a small podium without fidgeting and to not shy away from any of the stares she may receive. Remain firm.
For Nick and Ace, she would do it.
“Judge Maddox, this is highly irregular,” another man complained.
“Shut it, Superintendent. This young lady’s life was in the balance. Don’t you think she should be the one to judge these boys on their conduct?” Maddox snorted at their objections. From what he’d told her, he ran the town and not the mayor. That he had dirt on everyone, and if she wanted to speak, it would be so.
“Fine.” The mayor gave an exaggerated eye roll before commanding, “State your name and birth date for the record.”
Clearing her throat, she fought back the tears as her anxiety threatened to take control. “Pepper Nicole Wallace, born February 6th, 1993.” Her voice rang out stronger than she thought it would.
“And what is your nature in this matter?”
“I’m the victim.” How she hated that word.
“Please explain.” He sounded bored.
“Is my situation boring to you, Mayor?” She wasn’t going to cower to his ignorance.
“Excuse me, miss?” He was shocked she’d called him on it.
“The bored expression, the condescending eye roll, not once but twice. Is my near death and rape boring to you? My family was missing me for weeks, worried sick that I had died, and you sit there acting as though my situation means nothing. You want to persecute two honorable men because what? I fell in love with them? Found the other half of my soul? You sit there high and mighty as can be, judging what you know nothing about.” She took a minute to catch her breath and let him absorb her words.
Tami’s slow clap from the back of the room drew his glare to her.
“Listen, young lady. I am sorry for the trouble you’ve been through. There’s no question there. The question is, did Alex Medina have to die? Could his death have been prevented?”
“Okay, I can understand that. You want everything tied up in a neat little bow and shoved in a dark closet never to be looked at again. Do you have a daughter or maybe a granddaughter, Mayor?”
“I have a daughter your age.” His answer wasn’t nearly as sarcastic as his questions before.
“Let me paint a picture for you. If you would all please close your eyes. Imagine a young woman, happy and miserable all at the same time. A young woman that wanted nothing more than to be loved, to be someone’s everything in life.” She took a breath because even though she was trying to distance herself, it wasn’t working. “Picture her going out on a blind date with a man she had only known by word of mouth. Trusting in the two people who had set them up to know he was a safe choice. That she would be safe with him.” She watched their faces for any ticks. Looking back to Nick and Ace, she saw they had their eyes closed too. Tami had moved closer to her in the front pew. “Imagine a cold chill running down your spine, a menace surrounding you, and you don’t even realize it. But she ignored it, going against every instinct for just one night of intimacy, one night to be a woman and not a burdened sister, not an orphan, not just an ordinary girl.
Think of what your own first date with your spouses was like, the happiness and joy. The nervousness. You worked through it, made a connection, and soon you were actually dating. You had someone listening to you, asking about your day. Now think of how heartbreaking it would be without that connection. Picture leaving defeated.”
Pepper’s hands were shaking as she paused to take a drink of water. Wet her parched throat. Fear was bubbling to the surface as she continued.
“The opportunity to have a romantic getaway presented itself, and you jumped on it because you’d gotten into a fight with a loved one and even though your head was screaming at you not to go, you do. You go, and you have all these notions built up in your mind, but instead what you get is a fat lip for not spreading your legs. A bruised cheek for flinching when he bites your breast as you fight him off. A concussion from a blow so hard you lose your memory. Bruised ri
bs for fighting back. Amnesia because you said no. Thrown from the side of a mountain and left for dead. All because You. Said. No.” She punctuated the last three words with her fist banging on the podium in front of her. Looking at everyone’s faces, she knew they felt what she did. Time for the kill.
“Now, imagine that was your daughter.” The mayor’s eyes popped open, tears swimming in them. “Your granddaughter,” Maddox and the superintendent slowly opened theirs as well. “Or maybe even your wife before she met you. Imagine their pain.” The other two councilmen finally looked at her.
Not a single person was unmoved by her statement. “Gentlemen, that was me. That happened to me. That is my truth, my statement. Now tell me, if you found one of your loved ones in that very same position, what would you do?”
Everyone was so quiet a pin dropping a mile away would have been heard. The tears running down her own cheeks remained unchecked as she struggled to contain her emotions in front of this panel of strangers.
“I am terribly sorry for what you went through, Miss Wallace, and I can’t imagine how you’re dealing with it all.” The mayor was such an idiot.
“No, Mayor, I don’t believe you are. You couldn’t care less what happened to me. You only care about what happened to Alex fucking Medina.” She blasted him.
“We care about what happened on that mountain,” his voice hardened.
“What happened on the mountain? What happened was that Alex was going to kill me. There was no doubt in my mind that had he gotten his hands on me, I would be dead right now. What happened was Alex set a bear trap on a trail I personally frequented with Nick’s dog, Roxie. What happened was Alex planted bombs at each corner of Nick’s home. What happened was one of those bombs went off, and a Molotov cocktail was thrown through a window and a man was sent running for his life out of his son’s house as it began to burn. I was chased up a mountain, Roxie was shot, and I led Alex to his death… I led him into a cave where two Cougars lay in wait, and as soon as he entered, they tore him apart. That Mr. Mayor is what happened. No shots were fired from Nick, Ace, or anyone else except Alex when he shot Roxie for protecting me.”
“I was never given that information,” he sputtered out.
“Which information, Mr. Mayor?”
“Mr. Medina’s cause of death,” he explained weakly.
“Yes, you were.” One of the councilmen finally spoke up.
“Honestly, it’s a moot point now. We’re coming up on the noon hour, and every news station in western Canada has my first-hand recollection ready to be aired right now. If you persecute Sheriff Kelly and Deputy Mitchell, say goodbye to your career. You’ll only ever be known as the man who tried to ruin two heroes. The media are waiting on my word about which way you’ve chosen to go, by the way.”
The mayor’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water while the superintendent and two councilmen left their chairs, saying to her as they passed, “Well done. Never seen him speechless before.”
Judge Maddox stood, walked over to the mayor and suggested, “Let it go, Allan. They’re good men doing fine work. We need more of them, not less.” He left through his chambers, giving her a wave as he did.
Pepper stood at the podium, waiting for the mayor’s decision. Would he let it go or pursue his senseless and baseless case? If he wanted to bring charges against anyone, it should be her. She was the one to lead Alex into the cave, not them. They only tried to do their jobs by protecting her.
“Mr. Mayor?” she called softly when he remained silent.
He seemed to be startled out of whatever he had been thinking. Gathering the papers in front of him, he stood to leave. Finally looking past her to Nick and Ace, he told them, “You’re both free to go. No charges will be brought forward on you now or in the future.” The man refused to meet her eyes as he left the room in a rush.
The air left her lungs in a blast at his words. She had come to the hearing to make sure Nick and Ace wouldn’t leave with a mark on their careers. She hadn’t anticipated on having to bare her soul to people she’d never met before or to have it on a permanent record as she did now.
“You did it!” Tami cheered, running up to hug Pepper from behind.
“Thanks,” she whispered as the other woman slowly pulled away from her.
Taking a fortifying breath, she forced herself to turn and face the men she’d confessed her love for, unprepared for the blank looks on their faces as she murmured, “Hi.”
“Out,” Nick snapped at his lawyer. His intense dark chocolate eyes smoldered with unspent emotion.
The lawyer scurried away.
Ace prowled behind her.
“I’ll just…go.” Tami winked before leaving.
And the damn burst. Tears fell in heavy streams down her face, her chest heaved with inhalations that were too big for her lungs to hold.
“I missed you,” she stuttered.
Her body shook as Nick closed in on her. When Ace pressed his chest to her back, she wilted like a flower at the end of its bloom.
“You came back,” Nick marvelled. He didn’t know what to expect of the day, but Pepper being there never entered his mind. She’d been but a thought on the wind. He was positive they’d have to go to her.
“Of course, I did.” She hiccupped through her tears.
Taking the final step into her body, he pushed his hands through her neatly combed chocolate and red hair. Gripping her by the nape of her neck, he forced her to her toes as he buried his face in her neck. Breathing her in deeply, he sighed, “Vanilla and peaches.”
Ace’s hands wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly to his chest. They played tug of war, wanting her as close to them as possible.
“Are you okay? Should you even be here?” his cousin cooed into the back of her head. They both seemed to be choked up for words.
“I’m fine,” she responded, “I promise.”
For the first time in his life, Nick didn’t know what to do or to say. He was at a complete loss.
“I, umm, I remember everything.” She wiggled out of their grips, and he felt bereft without her against him. “Before, after, during,” she blushed, which had him and Ace smiling like idiots.
“When did you wake up?” Ace thought to ask.
She hesitated for a second before finally admitting, “Four days ago. Everything was still fuzzy. I had trouble focusing and understanding what was happening, where I was. It wasn’t pretty. When I found out you guys weren’t there, I might have tossed a food tray in James' face.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. “Needless to say, he jumped whenever I moved after that.”
“Should you even be out of the hospital yet?” Worry overriding his happiness.
“Probably not, but when James explained what was happening, why I was in Vancouver and not here, why you guys hadn’t come with us. Well, I had a sole focus that wouldn’t allow me to stay. Yesterday, I checked out against the doctor’s advice after speaking to Judge Maddox.” The sneaky bastard. Nick was grateful but shocked that the judge had stepped in.
“When do you have to go back?” Ace asked, his voice even.
“About that.” She looked away briefly. “I quit my job, gave up my apartment, and am having James sell anything that I told him held no meaning. Everything I own is in my little Jeep sitting outside the courthouse, right now. So, technically, I don’t have to go back at all.” Her words were rushed as she confessed what she’d done, her eyes shy and hesitant as if they might reject her.
“You’re going home, Pepper.” Disappointment colored her green eyes, dimming the light until he said, “With us.”
She flew into their arms. Wrapping one arm around each of their necks. “I missed you both so much.”
“Yeah, baby, we missed you, too.” Nick kissed her cheek, placing a hand on her back. The feel of her in his arms something he’d never take for granted again.
“It’s not the same without you here, baby,” Ace said, smoothing her hair down her back.
<
br /> Having Pepper in his arms made Ace never want to let her go. Seeing her in that courtroom had been a huge shock. Waking up that morning, he had been prepared to walk out with some sort of criminal record because the fucking mayor had an axe to grind with them for whatever reason.
As his beautiful girl had explained her emotions and feelings, making everyone close their eyes to get a better picture, her soft voice carried through the room. He had felt all of her pain and had wanted to rush to her side and hold her.
Never in his life did he want her to feel anything but their love again. It was a goal he intended to achieve. Now hearing her tell them she’d left everything behind to be with them made him the happiest man in the world. He still didn’t believe he was worthy of someone who loved so wholly, but he’d make it his life’s mission to earn her adoration. He would be everything she needed from him, no matter what he had to do.
“How’s Roxie?” she asked, pulling back just enough to look them in the eyes.
“Sad,” he told her.
“Misses her mistress,” Nick smiled.
“I miss her, too. Is she doing okay?”
“She’ll be just fine as soon as she sees you,” his cousin admitted.
“Let’s go then!” She preceded them from the room, bursting through the door with more enthusiasm than he’d ever seen from her.
Leaning towards Nick as they walked, he murmured, “I think we’ve just caught a glimpse of the old her.”
“I’ll take her any way I can get her.” Ace couldn’t agree more.
“Tami!” they heard Pepper call. “Follow us in my Jeep!”
A clattering followed. “Damn it, Pepper, why do you do that?”
“Because it’s fun?”
Those two were gonna be a handful.
As they walked through the courthouse doors, Tami was bent down under a bench searching for what he figured were Pepper’s Jeep keys. Rushing towards them, she asked, “Ready to go home?”
“Hell, yes,” they both said at the same time.
After getting Tami set up with GPS in case she lost them on the way, Pepper settled in the front seat of the SUV as Nick drove them home.
