Nic

by J. M. Stewart

  Luc stepped up beside him and handed him a fresh cup of coffee. “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer. If it were Liz, I wouldn’t stop either. Hell, I didn’t. When I found out she was pregnant, I refused to let her push me out of her life. I just think you should be prepared for the possibility.”

  “Mmm. Exactly what I’m afraid of." Nic took a sip from his mug, the warm liquid searing a path to his stomach.

  He’d come to a big realization since Anna’s disappearance. He’d underestimated the hold she had on him. She’d become a part of him. His heart said they belonged to each other, and his world would never be right without her in it.

  He needed to know she and Lacey were safe. If she didn’t want him … well, he’d handle it. He was a big boy. But not knowing if Tony had gotten to them ate a hole in his gut, and it would never heal until he found them. Or until the police finally caught Tony.

  Afterward? He hadn’t the foggiest damn idea. He’d deal with the rest when the time came.

  He rubbed his aching shoulder and turned to head to the kitchen counter for another painkiller. He hated the damn things. They made his head fuzzy, but he could only stand the stabbing pain for so long. It provided a constant reminder of the night everything had gone horribly wrong.

  He dumped a pill into his palm and turned to head to the sink for water to swallow it with when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He deposited the pill on the counter and fished out his phone. Please let it be good news.

  An unfamiliar number flashed across the screen. Curious, he swiped his thumb across the ACCEPT button and held the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

  “Nic?”

  His heart stuttered to a stop. “Lacey?”

  “I miss you.”

  Her voice trembled with the threat of tears, and the quiet admission made his chest ache. Of all the things for her to say.

  He sagged back against the counter, all his energy drained. “I miss you, too, sweetheart. Very much. Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

  “I want you to come get us. Can you come get us?”

  Her question was a bold one and desperation filled her voice. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

  Nic straightened away from the counter, pacing to the center island and looked over at Luc. “Lacey, where’s Mom? Are you okay?”

  “Mama’s in the shower. I’m not a’posed to call you, but I miss you. You have to come get us.”

  Nic closed his eyes against the pain ripping through his chest. “I want to come get you more than anything, but I’m not sure your mama wants me to.”

  “Yes, she does. She cries all the time. She doesn’t think I know, but I hear her when she’s in the shower. Please, Nic, you have to come get us. Mama’s so sad and you make her happy. Please, you have to come.”

  He took a moment to control the wash of fear and need and longing gripping him by the throat, then opened his eyes and gave in. How the hell could he argue with a six year old who held his heart in her small hands?

  He couldn’t. He wasn’t a strong enough man. “All right, honey, I’ll come. Do you know where you are?”

  • • •

  “I want to go home, Mama.”

  Anna froze, the hairbrush in her hand halfway through a brushstroke. Her heart clenched. She stared at her reflection in the fogged bathroom mirror, focused on taking deep, even breaths and not the vise squeezing at her chest, and blinked back the ever-present tears.

  When she finally had herself under control, she glanced to the doorway. Lacey stared at her, her face practically hanging on the floor. Anna didn’t have to ask to know where Lacey meant when she said “home.” Every time she said the word, the image popped into her thoughts—Nic and Ella and Angel Bay. Every time she brushed her teeth, washed her hands or swallowed, she got an ugly reminder of the day she’d had to leave him behind.

  This tiny motel room would never be home. It was a necessity until she found another job and earned enough money to get their own place. Or find another room to rent with another woman like Grandma Lilly. For Lacey’s sake, she needed to create the illusion of a normal life.

  She hated moving as much as Lacey did, now more than ever. Every move brought her farther away from where she and Lacey both yearned to be. She couldn’t even remember where they were these days. Somewhere in California. Nic had called at least a half dozen times in the last week. Each message contained progressively more concern. With each message, he broke down her defenses a little more.

  The last one had done her in: “Please call me. I just need to know you’re okay.” She’d thrown her cell out after that and picked up a new one. It was prepaid, so she knew the line couldn’t be traced, but hearing his voice became too painful.

  Anna finished the brushstroke then set the brush beside the sink and turned to face Lacey. “I know, but we can’t. It’s time for us to move on again.”

  Lacey’s big blue eyes filled with tears. “Because Daddy found us again?”

  Anna’s chest hurt so much she thought for sure it would crack open. Damn Tony. Damn him to hell. If there was any justice in this world, that wound in his leg would fester. He’d die a slow, painful death.

  She drew a deep breath, firmly tamped the emotions down and wrapped Lacey in her embrace, hugging her tightly. How did she explain this in a way a six year old could possibly understand?

  Honesty. Despite how they’d lived for the last three years, she’d tried to teach Lacey the importance of telling the truth. How could she lie to her now? “Daddy scares me. He hurts people, and I know this isn’t what we want, but I just want us all to be safe until the police catch him.”

  Lacey pulled back to peer at her, her big blue eyes pleading with her. “Nic will protect us.”

  She opened her mouth, the need to explain they had to protect Nic, too, rising strong, but she swallowed the urge and closed her mouth again. A knock sounded before she could think of a better response. She jerked her gaze to the door, fear slithering like ice up her spine. She wasn’t expecting anybody. She’d paid cash for the room, had rented it for the entire month.

  She darted a glance at Lacey. “Go in the bathroom and stay there until I say.”

  Fear leapt into her eyes, but Lacey nodded and left the room. Anna approached the door and peered through the peephole. Only daylight stared back at her. Whoever knocked had either left or stood off to the side. The thought made her stomach churn. She pulled the door open with caution. The security latch stopped it from opening fully, giving her a two-inch slit to peer through. “Who’s there?”

  A large body turned away from the doorframe and Nic stepped into her line of sight. In a T-shirt and jeans and a black leather jacket, he stood with his one good hand in his pocket. The other arm lay in a sling, the useless sleeve of his jacket waving with his movement. Dark circles underlined his eyes, and his jaw contained several days’ worth of growth.

  “Nic.” Her heart hammered out a giddy beat. Every cell in her body begged her to open the door and fling herself into his arms. He’d come for her. He’d actually come for her.

  Hands trembling, she closed the door enough to unlatch it then pulled it open fully. Nic loomed large on the other side of the threshold, his frame filling the doorway. For a moment, they regarded each other in silence. Anna held her breath.

  “Nic!”

  Before she could gather her wits and think of something intelligent to say that wasn’t some form of “I miss you,” Lacey pushed past her, hurling herself against his legs.

  Cheek pressed to his belly, Lacey squeezed him tightly. “You came. I knew you’d come.”

  So that was how Nic had found them.

  He smiled, stroking his hand over Lacey’s hair. “Hi, sweetheart. I’m sorry I left you and Ella in the car. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  Lacey shook her head, but otherwise didn’t release her hold on him. “I didn’t let anybody in. Only Mama, like you told me.”

  Nic stroked her back. “That’s my girl.
”

  Lacey finally pulled back and stroked a hand over the arm in the sling. “I saw them put you in the ambulance. Does it hurt?”

  “It’s a bit sore, but I’m okay. It’ll heal.” He nodded then looked up, meeting Anna’s gaze over Lacey’s head. Those eyes bored into her, and a shiver of heat and longing slid through her.

  She wrapped her arms around herself. Nic broke the intense connection and dropped his gaze to Lacey.

  “Listen, I need to talk to your mom for a bit, okay?” When Lacey nodded in acknowledgment, he sank into a squat and held out his good arm. “I missed you. Give me a hug.”

  Lacey stepped into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck, and his eyes closed as he wrapped her in a bear hug. The sight caught Anna in the chest. The two people she loved the most were causalities in a war she didn’t want to fight.

  Finally, he pulled back and smiled, this one forced. Anna didn’t miss the way his eyes glistened in the low light of the morning or the intense longing in his gaze.

  Anna put a hand to Lacey’s back. “Go on inside, sweetie. We won’t be long.”

  Lacey’s bright expression fell, her big blue eyes filling with sadness, but she nodded and returned to the motel room.

  Anna stepped outside and closed the door behind her, leaving her and Nic alone on the small sidewalk. He rose to his feet and stood quietly, staring at her. After a moment, he lifted a hand, his long, thick fingers grazing the skin of her throat, where Tony had left his handprint. “He hurt you.”

  That one small touch made her knees wobble, but Anna folded her arms and took a tiny step back. “I’m fine. What do you want?”

  His gaze flitted over her face, confusion erupting in his eyes, before he finally dropped his hand and lifted a brow. “Do you have any idea how terrified I was when I woke in the hospital and nobody knew where to find you?”

  She ached with everything she had to apologize, to tell him how equally terrified she’d been when she’d had to watch him fall, to see him bleeding on her living room floor, but bit her tongue. What she wanted didn’t matter. Keeping him and Ella and his family safe did. So she drew her determination and strength around her like a protective shroud and pulled her shoulders back. “So you decided to hunt me down? You had no right to follow me.”

  The words left a lump in her throat, and tears burned behind her eyelids. They were cruel words, but if she was lucky, they’d make him turn around and leave. It was the only way he’d stay safe.

  The barest of smiles twitched at the corners of his mouth, pleasure illuminating those amber eyes she loved so much. “You’re so beautiful when you’re full of yourself. I’ll never forget the fear in your eyes the first time you looked at me. The way you used to cower from me, like you expected me to hit you. Now look at you, standing here holding your ground.”

  Anna rolled her eyes, keeping up the façade, but his speech and the awe and love shining in his eyes melted her defenses. “What do you want, Nic?”

  His expression sobered, and he held out a hand. “Come home. Please. You don’t have to do this alone.”

  God, he had to say that. Even now, after she’d left him, he wanted to be there for her. She yearned to tell him she had him to thank for those things. His gentle patience, his belief in her, had given her strength. She wouldn’t be where she was without him.

  This would be harder than she’d anticipated.

  She ignored his outstretched hand and held firm to the last shred of her sanity. “Did it occur to you that maybe I didn’t want you to find me?”

  Nic didn’t so much as flinch, but his gaze flicked over her face, intense and searching. “Mmm. That did occur to me, actually. In fact, it’s all I thought about the whole way down here.”

  He looked to the ground and gave a slow shake of his head. The dejection and pain hanging over him made her chest ache. In order to protect him and Ella, she had to hurt him, and she hated herself for it.

  “My heart, however, has other ideas.” Finally, he looked up. His brow furrowed, those amber eyes pleading with her. “He’s still out there. Baby, he may kill you next time. I know searching for you makes me exactly like him, but I can’t let you walk away not knowing if you and Lacey will be safe. I don’t sleep at night, Anna. I had to see you. I had to know.”

  The way he called her “baby” always sent a little sliver of heat skittering across the surface of her skin. She was his baby. She just couldn’t tell him that.

  She hiked her chin a notch. “Very kind of you, but I’m capable of taking care of myself and my daughter. I don’t need you. I believe I’ve told you this before.”

  Nic flinched as if she’d struck him but didn’t say anything. He remained silent for so long, it began to grate on her nerves. His intense gaze, the way he openly studied her, made her limbs tremble. Could he see right through her lousy façade? Could he see the way his words, his presence, made her heart feel like it would shatter into a thousand pieces? Did he know she’d lied to him?

  Finally, he took a step toward her. He towered over her, looming large. His scent swirled around her, and his nonchalant expression hardened in determination. “Prove it. Kiss me.”

  Her pulse rate kicked up a notch, perspiration pricking along her skin. “What?”

  He shrugged. “If you hate me so much you can’t wait to get rid of me, then you won’t mind proving it. The faster you kiss me, the faster I’m gone.”

  His perfect, luscious mouth fitted to hers … Oh, it would never work. If he kissed her, she was done for.

  She jerked her gaze from his, looking to the half-full lot behind him. She concentrated on counting the cars she could see in order to squelch the urge to lift on her tiptoes and kiss him with everything she had. “I don’t have to prove anything to you.”

  He took another small step forward, backing her against the motel room door. So close the heat of his body infused hers, warming her despite the chilly autumn air. “What’s the matter, Anna, afraid you might like it?”

  She gritted her teeth, her fingernails curling into her palms. He knew her. Too well. Did he have any idea how incredibly sexy that made him? How sexy it had always made him? Even on the first day she’d met him, this alpha male, take-charge man had made her pulse skip.

  Turning her head, she met his gaze and wanted to laugh. He did. The cocky arrogance on his face said he knew damn well he had her right where he wanted her.

  “Fine.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and pecked his cheek. His skin was cool, his stubble pricking her sensitive lips. “There. Happy now?”

  Nic only smiled again and shook his head. Stubborn didn’t do this man justice, but he did it with such gentleness, he never ceased to amaze her.

  “Uh-uh. That doesn’t count. I kiss Liz like that.” He tapped his mouth with his forefinger, heat and yearning flaring in the depths of his eyes. “Here.”

  Her gaze zeroed in on his mouth. The thought of kissing him now, when she had nothing left, made her insides shake. Did he know he’d backed her into a corner? Of course, that only made her want to laugh and cheer and shout. Before she’d met him, being in this position would have terrified her. Now, it made her tremble for an entirely different reason—because she loved when he took control of a situation. It made him sexy as hell.

  She drew a deep breath, shored the last of her defenses, and lifted onto her tiptoes again. She’d planned to plant a quick peck to his lips and back away before she lost herself. Nic, apparently, had other ideas. The instant her lips touched his, he slid his good hand into her hair and pulled her mouth hard against his. No more soft, tender kisses. His luscious mouth slanted over hers, and his tongue plunged inside.

  He didn’t let her take the lead or take her time either. No, this time, he claimed her, possessed her. The way he had the morning she’d tried to leave. She’d fallen deep then, and had fallen deeper now. Nic Rossi could be potent and every inch of her threatened to melt beneath the power of him.

  She couldn’t stop the soft moan
erupting from her throat. Couldn’t stop herself from leaning into him or kissing him back, either. He tasted … like a slice of heaven, better than the best apple pie and sweeter than a summer berry. God, how she’d missed his drugging kisses. He trembled along with her, the thought of which only increased her desperate yearning.

  When her hands slid up his chest, aiming to wrap around his neck, the truth settled over her. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stand here and lie to him, let him think she hated him. He deserved better. So did Lacey.

  She pulled back, her heart in her suddenly full throat, pounding like an out of control jackhammer. At some point, she had to make the decision. To fully take her life back. To put her faith in Nic. And this was it.

  Nic flashed a smile that always managed to melt her everything. Soft and so … gentle. He swept his thumb across her chin, a tender caress that made her shiver all over again. “As I suspected. Come home with me, Anna. You’re not alone anymore. The whole damn town is worried about you. Even Mr. Lombardi. He comes in every day, asking about you. Beth is worried sick.”

  Her lower lip wobbled. She stroked a hand carefully along his wounded shoulder. “Tony could’ve killed you. I couldn’t let it happen. To leave Ella without her only parent?”

  He released her chin and found her hand, sliding his fingers into hers. “I’ll admit it. He got the jump on me this time. If he comes back, I plan to be better prepared. But I don’t think it’ll come to that. Sheriff Decker says they’re hot on Tony’s trail. He calls me every time he gets a lead.”

  Nic’s phone sounded from his jacket pocket. His brow furrowed as he pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

  “Speak of the devil. Hold that thought, baby.” He pressed a button on the screen and held the phone to his ear. “Sheriff Decker. Tell me you have good news.”