Moving around to his side, Bayley made sure she was in the nurse’s sight while at the same time wondering why it mattered. He’s not mine to claim. Casting a smug smile toward the nurse, who was still talking to Nick but sweeping Bayley with her gaze, Bayley stayed tucked closely to Nick.
“Mr. Stone is stable at this time. I know Dr. Marsden was expecting you. I’ll page him right now. You may go in to see your uncle—only one visitor at a time.”
Offering Nick an encouraging smile, Bayley said, “You go, don’t worry about me. I’ll run to the ladies’ room and then to the cafeteria to grab some coffee. I’ll come back up in a little bit and meet you in the waiting room here.”
Nick’s chest was tight with worry, but Bayley’s words slid over him, as they often did, soothing the ache. Giving her arm a squeeze as he leaned over to kiss her forehead, he agreed. Walking away, he wondered about the kiss. What the hell am I doing? But with the realization that her presence calmed his fears, he tossed out his doubts. I’ll face them later.
No change at this time. Wait and see. The next twenty-four hours will be crucial. We’ll let you know.
Nick walked out of his great-uncle’s cubicle, opened to the ICU nurses’ station. The big man, always in control, had laid unmoving, with tubes and wires connecting him to continuously beeping machines. The functional, utilitarian beige walls were covered in plug-ins for equipment, mounted boxes of gloves, and carts containing more equipment. There was precious little room to sit and Nick continually had to jump up from the plastic chair when a nurse came in to check on Bernie.
Nick held his hand, even though Bernie gave no indication he knew his nephew was there, and talked to him over the sounds of beeping, pinging, and whooshing, for the fifteen minutes they let him visit. As he walked out, he could not even remember what he had talked about. Maybe it doesn’t matter…maybe he could just hear my voice.
Stepping into the stark, empty waiting room, the chairs appearing to be just as uncomfortable as the one he left, he pondered trying to search for Bayley, but knew she would return as soon as she got the coffee. His phone vibrated once more and, seeing the ID, he sighed but, this time, he answered.
“Richard, I know what you’re going to say—”
“Agent Stone, you’ve got no fuckin’ clue what I’m going to say,” his superior clipped.
Nick grimaced, steadying himself for the onslaught he knew was coming.
“I get a call this morning from Harlan who informs me that you’ve had to take emergency leave for a family matter. Got no problem with that. But then he proceeds to tell me that you took the Hanssen woman with you. I want to know what the fuck you’re thinking.”
“Sir, I can’t protect her if I’m not near her—”
“You can’t protect her? You? Who the fuck do you think you are? A one-man-FBI show? You take her to your home. You take her on this emergency trip. Are you fucking her too?”
Fury roared through Nick as red-dots blurred his vision. “I’m not going to dignify that with an answer, Richard. You know me. You know my professionalism—”
“And I’ve never had a reason to doubt it until now, so these latest shenanigans have me wondering what the hell she’s done to you. You’re being led by your—”
“Do not go there, Richard. Do not go there,” Nick fired back. “We were working with the Saints, who have been pulled into another job with the governor. I could not leave her to—”
“The Saints? That renegade group of men the governor is so fond of? Is that who you identify with now?”
“My job is to investigate and protect, sir. And that’s what I’m doing.”
“If you don’t get that witness back here asap, you won’t have a job anymore,” Richard bit out.
Nick stood, his heart pounding as anger coursed through his blood. “Are you seriously threatening to fire me?”
“Damn right, I am. I can have your badge for this and then you’ll have nowhere to go, other than those Saints.”
“Sir, right now, becoming a Saint is looking better and better!” Nick slung back. Disconnecting, he stared out of the window for a moment before whirling, his hands clenched into fists. “Auggggh!” he growled. At a slight noise from the doorway, his gaze shot up, seeing Bayley standing there, her hands filled with a tray of sandwiches, chips, and two coffees. And her wide, blue eyes staring back at him.
Quiet. The only sound was the munching of chips and the slurping of tepid coffee, more resembling mud than a drink.
Bayley had entered the waiting room and calmly set the tray on the table in the corner. Gently, she had led Nick to a plastic seat and had gone about setting the food in front of him. Taking the seat opposite of him, she asked about his uncle.
“The doctor is supposed to come in and see me as soon as he gets back to the floor. Uncle Bernie’s sleeping, so I just sat and talked to him.”
“I’m sure that was a comfort, even if he’s not aware of it,” Bayley said, her lips curving slightly. “And I’m sure it was good for you to see him as well.”
Nodding as he chewed, he agreed. “Yeah…”
They continued to eat but Nick barely tasted anything. Richard’s words kept swirling around in his head, mixing with worry over his uncle and wondering how much Bayley overheard. She hasn’t said anything, so maybe she just walked in at the end.
Just then, a tall, silver-haired doctor walked in, his gaze landing on Nick. “Mr. Stone?”
Nick jumped up, wiping his fingers on the napkin Bayley shoved into his hand. “Yes. Dr. Marsden?”
The doctor smiled warmly and said, “Please, sit down.” Pulling up a chair, he nodded toward Bayley before turning his attention back to Nick. “I’ve just been in to see your uncle. I’m pleased with his stable condition but, of course, we will know more in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Pine Arbor, the independent-living facility where he lives, called 9-1-1 when a neighbor saw him fall outside in the common-area yard. He was having a heart attack. He’s lucky because he got to us so quickly. If he’d been alone, he might not have survived. We have done a thrombolysis, a procedure that involves injecting a clot-dissolving agent to restore blood flow in a coronary artery. He’s responding very well, and we are hopeful he will be awake by tomorrow. Once we’re sure he’s stable, we will immediately get him up and walking around.”
“So soon?” Bayley interjected, surprise plastered on her face.
Nodding, Dr. Marsden said, “Yes, it’s essential to recuperation that patients begin moving and walking. It helps with healing, circulation…many benefits to having the patients up and mobile.” He glanced down at their half-eaten sandwiches and said, “There’s nothing more you can do tonight. I suggest you get some rest and come back in the morning. I have your cell phone number in case we need to get hold of you.”
Standing, he shook hands with both of them before walking out of the waiting room.
Bayley looked up at Nick, seeing indecision on his face. Her take-charge protector appeared lost. Her heart ached for his concern and yearned to bring a smile to his beautiful face. She realized that sometime in the past couple of days, he was no longer just Mr. TDMB to her…but a real-life man, full of power and doubts all at the same time.
“Come on,” she said, dumping the tray’s contents into the trash can. Smiling as she took his hand in her own, she gave a gentle pull. “Let’s go to the hotel and get some good food in us and rest. You’ll feel better and then we can come back tomorrow when your uncle will, hopefully, be awake.”
Nick allowed her to lead him back out to the SUV, surprised at his own acquiescence. And pleased with the feel of her hand in his as they stayed clasped together the whole time.
13
“What the hell?”
Laughing, Bayley said, “Come on, it’ll be fun!”
Nick, following the directions Bayley had given him from her phone, weaved through heavy traffic and turned i
nto the hotel’s parking lot, his gaze landing on the sign in front of the eight-story hotel and decorated grounds.
The Christmastown Inn and Holiday Park
The small, fir trees dotting the parking lot were lit with millions of twinkling, red, blue, and yellow lights. Wooden statues of elves, reindeer, and snowmen lined the walk from the lot to the front door, where a doorman dressed as a real elf greeted them.
“Welcome to The Christmastown Inn!” he called out, whistling for a bellman who, also dressed in full red and green elf costume, came rushing forward to grab their bags.
Stepping into the massive lobby, the couple looked around—Nick in stupefied silence and Bayley in gleeful awe.
“Isn’t this amazing?” she gushed, her eyes dancing in the twinkling lights draped around the lobby.
Near the staircase, draped in evergreen, stood a two-story stone fireplace, complete with stockings hanging from the decorated mantle and a massive wreath above. The entire space gave off the feeling of being at the North Pole in Santa’s workshop. Staff, in elf costumes, were everywhere, including the restaurant to the right, the bar in the back, and behind the reception counter. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him forward.
“Hi!” Bayley greeted. “We have a reservation. I made it in the name of Hanssen.”
“Yes, I see it here. It’s a good thing you made a reservation,” the female elf said, smiling widely. “There was a water main break at the other end of town a few hours ago, but the hotels on this end were not affected, so we filled our rooms with the out-placed guests.” After a few more clicks on her computer screen, she confirmed, “I have a king-sized bedroom, facing the Holiday Park gardens. Non-smoking, with a balcony and whirlpool tub in the bathroom. Breakfast is included in the price and is served a la carte in the restaurant from six a.m. until ten a.m. I’ll just need to see a credit card, please.”
Confused, Bayley inquired, “What about the other room?”
“What other room?” the elf asked, looking at her computer screen.
“I reserved two rooms…I think…I thought I did. I meant to…” Bayley stammered.
“I’m only showing one room reserved and,” the elf looked up at them, “it’s the only room we have. We’re booked to the roof tonight.”
“Oh…” Bayley said, blushing to the roots of her hair. Twisting her head around to Nick, she apologized. “I’m so sorry—”
“We can go somewhere else—” he began but the elf interrupted.
“I’m afraid you won’t find anything in the area due to the water issue. In fact, we’ve been sending people who didn’t have a reservation back down to the highway to find a hotel at the next exit.”
Nick, mentally exhausted, stood in uncharacteristic indecision for a moment before turning his gaze down to Bayley.
“It’ll be fine, Nick. We can make it work. I promise, it’ll be fine.”
Nodding, he agreed, too tired to try to find another hotel that would only be farther away from the hospital, while wondering how the hell he could handle being in the same room with the woman that filled his thoughts. Pulling out his wallet, he handed his credit card over as Bayley dug in her purse for hers.
“Perfect,” the perky elf said, taking his card. Within a few more minutes they were following a teenage boy elf up to the fifth floor and stepping into a luxurious room. Holly and evergreens hung on the fireplace’s wooden mantle, as well on the patio door. Pictures of Christmas’ past hung on the walls and a small, decorated tree perched on the table in the corner.
Bayley exclaimed in excitement as she walked around the holiday-themed room, peering out the sliding glass door to the decorated garden below. Nick stared at the king-sized bed, covered in a downy soft, red and green comforter. How the hell am I going to keep my hands off her?
Rolling his eyes at the elf flirting with Bayley, Nick rubbed his forehead. The headache that had been building all day from the moment the call about his uncle came in was threatening to implode. The constant perkiness from the endless elves all around caused Nick to reach for his beer, downing more at a time than he should. The hamburger and fries were good and, he had to admit, the food helped.
Looking across the table at Bayley, he was unable to keep a smile from curving his lips as he watched her bright eyes bounce around the room in unabashed delight. Following her gaze, he observed the twinkling lights hanging from every surface—the ceiling beams, the backs of the booths, the holiday trees in every corner, some reaching as tall as fifteen feet or more. Wreaths adorned the columns and windows and holly boughs draped over the doorways.
Staying in theme, the servers were also in full elf costumes, including hats and pointed shoes with bells on the ends. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus made their way around the tables greeting the guests. As they neared, Nick noticed they were not wearing wigs nor was Santa sporting a fake beard but, rather, the two appeared as real as their personas.
Bayley turned her excitement to him, saying, “Isn’t this place great? As soon as I saw it on the internet, I knew it was the place for you to be!”
“Me?” he asked, surprised at her comment.
“Yes, you! It’s your name—Nick. I know you don’t work for Jack, but you’re good friends with the Saints. Soooo…St. Nick. Christmastown. Holiday Park. Get it?”
Stunned, he stared wordlessly at her, but she didn’t seem to notice as her eyes continued to sparkle with the lights reflected in their depths.
“Of course, you’re kind of a grumpy St. Nick, but still…it fits you. And this place is so cool. Everyone should celebrate the season…even when it’s not the season!”
Staring at the beauty sitting across from him, he noticed a dab of ketchup on the corner of her mouth and fought the desire to lean over and lick it off. Instead, he lifted his hand and gently swiped her lips with his thumb.
Bayley’s smile slid slowly as her eyes darkened with lust. Swallowing before she choked, she lifted her beer, taking a long drink. Instead of cooling her off, it felt as though her blood rushed hotter through her veins. “I…I think I’m finished.”
“Me too,” Nick breathed, standing as he reached for her hand. Entwining her fingers with his, he led them to the elevator.
“Hello!”
Turning, they watched as two elves slid between the closing elevator doors, laughing as they joined Nick and Bayley. The two employees began to talk excitedly about the activities planned for the guests for the next day.
“What will you be doing?” Bayley asked.
“Reindeer games,” one elf answered. “We’ll have them in the Holiday Park garden right after lunch. You should come.”
As Bayley and the two elves continued to chat, Nick loosened his grip on her fingers. Torn that he hated the interruption to their building lust, he knew it was the right thing to do. Put the brakes on.
Bayley felt the change come over Nick and by the time they arrived at their room, she sighed heavily. Entering, the king-sized bed loomed large, seeming to have grown in their absence.
Nick opened his mouth, but Bayley beat him to it. “Nick, I know you’re getting ready to say that you’ll do something self-sacrificing, like sleep on the floor, but this bed is huge. We can easily share.” Grinning up at him, she joked, “And I can keep my hands to myself on my side.”
Dropping his chin to his chest, he wondered if he could make the same promise. Feeling her hand on his arm, he lifted his head. Her eyes, now warm with concern, held his.
“You’re tired…it’s been a long day and tomorrow will prove to be long as well. Hospital visits are never easy. Let’s get some sleep.”
Nodding his agreement, it felt strangely nice to allow someone else to offer comfort instead of expecting him to take charge every second of every day. Upon her suggestion, he showered first and, unsurprisingly, by the time she entered the bathroom, it still looked as though the maids had just visited.
She stifled a giggle looking around at the wiped counter and mirror. His toiletries neatly placed bac
k in his case. As she finished her shower and got dressed, she hesitated, fingering the wet towel she had dropped on the counter. Folding it neatly, she hung it up over the towel bar. Flipping off the light, she glanced at the rest of the counter, her toiletries still exploded over the surface. Well, there’s no reason to turn into a complete neat-freak too quickly. Exiting the bathroom, she observed the lump in the bed where Nick was, facing away from her. His breathing appeared steady as she tiptoed around the room. Sliding underneath the covers on her side, a sigh escaped her lips. Tired, she lay awake, her mind on the man next to her. Nothing like the guys she had been dating and, yet, proving to be everything she needed. Closing her eyes, she drifted into a fitful sleep.
Hearing her breathing slow, Nick rolled back toward her, viewing her face in the thin stream of moonlight coming from the slit between the curtains. The faint illumination only served to give her face more beauty. Her lips, so often widened in a smile, now lay in rest, plump and slightly open. Her blue eyes were hidden, but it gave him a chance to appreciate her thick lashes laying on her upper cheek. Her nose was pert, slightly turned upward.
Rolling over to his back, he stared at the ceiling, torn between desire for her and maintaining his professionalism. A quandary for which he had no answer. Forcing his mind to his uncle’s situation in an effort to stop thinking about Bayley, he heaved a loud sigh. Tomorrow may not be any better than today.
Nick opened one eye as the bright, morning light streamed into the room. He tried to move, but a weight was keeping him pinned to the mattress. Lifting his head slightly, he was met with a surprise sight. Bayley’s head was on his chest, her face turned up toward his but still slack with sleep. Her left leg was slung over his hips, perilously close to his cock, which was already standing at attention. Her left arm curved on his abdomen, her hand resting on his chest near her face.
His arm began to tingle as circulation desperately tried to travel, but her weight was impeding the flow. Sliding his arm slightly up improved his circulation, but also managed to pull her in tighter. A sigh slid from her parted lips, the warm breath tickling his chest. Bed head, no makeup, sleep messy—and she was beautiful.
Celebrating Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 11
