“I’m not signing the fucking papers and you can’t make me,” he said over her damn logic.
“Don’t fight me on this, please. I-I just can’t pretend things are okay when they aren’t, and I don’t want to be with someone who isn’t there for me.”
“I have been there for you.”
She blew out a breath. “Really? You want to do it this way?”
“I don’t want to give up on us.”
“There is no giving up. This isn’t a contest. It’s just how things end sometimes.”
“No. Not like this.”
“It’s three in the morning. I’m not having this conversation with you now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night, Jake. Hope everything turned out okay tonight.”
“Nicole, do not hang up on me. Nicole?”
The line went dead.
Jake hurled the phone across the room. It hit the front of the refrigerator and scattered into several pieces. He gaped as the broken screen flickered once, twice before it went out.
This wasn’t him.
He sank into his recliner and buried his face in his hands.
How had things gone so terribly wrong?
He could still remember the first day he’d caught sight of Nicole, how she’d turned his head so fast he’d pulled an illegal U-turn and skidded into a parking lot just so he could deliver a horrible one-liner to a pretty young redhead. She’d strolled up to his truck and told him to try again.
From the beginning he’d known Nicole was out of his league—stylish, well-educated, way too young for him. He’d wooed her to the best of his ability. And wonder of wonders, she’d fallen for him, the misplaced country boy. It had begun as a whirlwind romance, all passion, sex and excitement.
That was it.
Jake sat up straight and rolled the idea around.
He needed to seduce his wife back into love.
Chapter Three
Nicole kicked the door shut and winced as it slammed home. She’d forgotten how light it was. She hauled her load of groceries and essentials into the long galley kitchen by way of the empty dining room to the right of the entry.
There was almost nothing in the old house except for a few pieces of furniture Jake had taken out of storage to stage it for potential renters. She had a bed, a couch that dated back to their third year of marriage and a few other mostly useless pieces. But the house was quiet, well-maintained and didn’t cost her anything she wasn’t already paying. It really couldn’t get better than this.
Except all around her were memories of a happier life. A life full of love, joy and promise.
The kitchen backsplash Jake had insisted he could do on his own. To a one, their renters had commented on the artistic combination of tiles when really Jake had screwed up so much and she couldn’t stand to tell him. The wall she’d put a hole in trying to erect a Christmas tree by herself because she hadn’t wanted to wake Jake. They’d hung a wreath over the hole and stuck an LED candle in it just to be funny until he could fix it. So many memories.
In a way, staying here was harder than the brick house because these were where they spent the happiest years of their marriage.
The neighbors were a mix of people she knew and new buyers. She’d avoided speaking to any of them the last two days by luck alone, but eventually someone would catch her in the drive and she’d have to admit her failure.
She went through the motions of putting everything away, clearing her mind and focusing on the simple tasks. After holing up all day Saturday, half terrified Jake would come over for a face-to-face fight and half hoping he would, she was ready to put on her big girl panties and accept this was the best move. Both for her and Jake. He didn’t want to fight to keep her and she didn’t want to stay with someone who couldn’t be there for her.
It didn’t make being here by herself any less lonely. Even when Jake was out working, she’d had pieces of him around her. A dirty shirt, his cross-trainers or just his clutter there to remind her he was coming home. She’d known he’d be back, or at least she’d hoped so. There was always the danger when you married a cop things wouldn’t work out. But Jake had always come home.
Her phone rang from the depths of her purse.
Nicole scrambled to dig it out of her purse, almost scared to see who it might be. It rang so infrequently lately. She’d pushed most of her friends away and her family wasn’t exactly the type to call for a chat. If it was Jake, she didn’t know if she could hear his voice again.
Tanya Westling scrolled across her screen.
There was no reason for Tanya to call her. Still, Tanya had been awfully nice to her when Nicole hadn’t given her reason to.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Nicole. It’s Tanya.” As usual, her tone was full of sunshine and joy. Maybe Nicole needed someone like that around.
“Hey, how’s it going?” She jammed the phone between her ear and shoulder and kept putting away the groceries.
“Nothing much. Cole just left for the station, so I thought I’d give you a call and see how you were doing.”
Nicole bit her lip. Did she ’fess up to what was going on? The sad truth was a lot of officers got divorced for any number of reasons. It wasn’t like it was easy being married to someone who could be yanked away from you at any moment.
“I’ve had better days. Sorry about Friday.”
“No need to apologize. Everyone has a rough patch now and again.”
“Thanks for being so understanding.”
“Anytime.”
Nicole didn’t know how to respond and the conversation lulled to a stop. It wasn’t as if they were the best of friends. At most they saw each other at officer functions or whenever someone had a cookout. There was no reason to talk about anything else.
“I asked Jake for a divorce,” Nicole blurted out.
Tanya’s gasp was audible over the phone.
“I—did not mean to say that.” Nicole shut the refrigerator door and rubbed her temple. “Sorry.”
Tanya’s voice was a small, quavering thing when she spoke again. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”
“It is.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have just thrown that out there. Could you not tell anyone? I mean, Cole will probably find out from Jake, but I’d rather not have it run through the gossip mill.” There were a number of wives who seemed to have nothing better to do than talk about everyone else. Nicole had no time for them.
“No one will hear it from me.” Tanya paused. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Did she? She didn’t honestly know. Over the last year she’d put so much space between her and her closest friends, she felt truly alone now.
“I don’t want to bother you with our problems.”
“Please, bother me.”
Nicole chuckled.
“What? Was it something I said?” Tanya asked.
“No, sorry. I have a thing for movie quotes.”
“What did I quote?”
“You didn’t, but it made me think of it. There’s this cartoon movie called The Last Unicorn and the prince is trying to win over this woman and he tells her, ‘Please, trouble me’. It’s stupid, I’m sorry.”
“Sounds like a cute movie.”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, why don’t you come over here and we can eat, watch a movie or something. Don’t feel like you have to, though.”
No was on the tip of her tongue.
“Yeah, okay,” Nicole said.
Maybe that was what she needed after all. Just some plain human companionship.
Diego gripped the wheel of the car, hyperaware of the first signs of life within the house. He’d come by every few days, but each time it was empty, the furniture almost gone, not a sign of life. But now someone stirred. He hadn’t had time to do more than a brief search for the bastard who’d ruined his life. No, he’d been too busy setting his old friends up to get what they deserved. They’d
pay. All of them.
The lights in the front of the house were on and a bright-red convertible sat in the drive. Both were new additions to what had been a dead-as-a-doornail house.
He killed the engine and got out, leaving the car several houses down from the white house with the blue shutters. The block was quiet this Sunday afternoon, no one to watch him as he strolled. No one to remark on his presence as he happened by this residence.
The blue door opened and a woman with unmistakable red hair emerged.
His step faltered, and for a moment he nearly turned and bolted for the car. But why should he be worried about one woman? She’d never seen him in her life. Oh, but he knew who she was.
Nicole Vant.
He continued to stroll, going past the house and down the block as she left for whatever destination he didn’t know. After circling the block on foot, he slipped through a vacant house adjacent to the Vant residence and hopped the fence into the backyard.
Nothing had moved since the last time he’d stayed at the house, just after being released from prison. Of course the Vants weren’t aware that he’d crashed at their place, but it had helped him get the wheels rolling for his revenge. He went to the back door and in a matter of moments let himself in.
Signs of life peppered the interior. Discarded grocery bags, a trash bin. He searched the premises with glee until he realized only one person’s belongings resided in the bathroom and closet. Everything was for a woman, not a man.
Where was Jake Vant?
He could make the woman tell him, but not yet. If he had to go that route, it would be later. For today, he scoured the rest of the house for clues. In time, he would have what he wanted.
* * * * *
Jake stumbled over the threshold into his house, an arm slung over Cole’s shoulders. The room spun and he had a funny sensation in the pit of his stomach. His mouth began to water, and it wasn’t because someone was cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
“I think…I think I’m going to hurl,” Jake managed to get out with minimal slurring.
“Shit,” Cole muttered and physically dragged him into the guest bath across from the nursery.
Jake tried to move his feet, but the mix of liquor and beer in his stomach was an unfortunate cocktail. Voices of the other guys mixed together, echoing off the hall walls too loudly. His head pounded and his stomach clenched.
Getting trashed after a full day of being on shift had sounded like the great way to end a Monday. Drowning his sorrows had been the idea. Now it felt as if there were weights around his throat, slowly suffocating him.
Cole pushed him toward the toilet and lifted the seat. Jake sat down on the edge of the bathtub and stared at the pristine porcelain bowl. Had they ever even used this bathroom? Maybe when they’d painted the nursery. Nicole had just edged into the stage where she had to pee every few minutes. He couldn’t remember stepping foot in it in the last year.
It was a nice little bathroom, as far as bathrooms went, he guessed. Nicole had decorated it, picking out the paint and little tissue covers. He would never understand why everything in the damn bathroom was white, the tiles, the walls, the tub, even the damn rug and shower curtain. They’d known it would be the closest bathroom to their child’s future room, and yet she’d gone with white. Except for the towels, those were bright blue.
Aaron stepped into the doorway, not getting too close. They were all aware of the man’s weak stomach, a point Becca liked to razz him about whenever the opportunity presented itself. Too bad she wasn’t there now. Becca could hold her liquor better than half the guys and would probably still be at the bar with him had the guys not dragged him home.
“Aaron, get some cold water from the kitchen. Maybe something with electrolytes in it.” Cole rummaged below the bathroom sink, pulling out a few crummy towels Nicole had probably stashed there for messy emergencies.
This qualified. Though the intention more than likely was for the baby variety.
“We’re going to take care of you, man.” Cole patted him on the shoulder and spread out a towel on the floor in front of the toilet. “You going to be sick on us?”
Jake swallowed several times, the taste of bile coating the back of his throat. Sitting down seemed to have helped his situation. “Maybe. Not sure.”
“It might be better to go on and get that stuff out of your system. You slammed those last few rounds pretty hard.” Cole leaned against the counter a safe distance away and studied him.
Jake had thought forgetting his problems for a little while might ease his burden. Instead, his mind circled round and round the same topic.
Nicole wanted a divorce. Their baby girl was dead. His worst nightmare was a reality.
“Here’s some purple powder mix I think is a sports drink, and water. There’s some pickle juice in the fridge if you think you can hold that down.” Aaron set two plastic glasses on the lip of the tub next to him and backed up to the other side of the bathroom.
“Did the others leave?” Cole asked Aaron.
“Yeah, his truck’s in the garage. They took off,” Aaron replied.
“I’m not going to sign the damn papers. She’ll get those signed over my cold, dead body.” Speaking took thought, forcing his lips and tongue to work together, but he was pretty sure the words all ran together anyway.
“What did he say?” Aaron muttered.
“I know, man. You’re going to work this out,” Cole replied.
What a change this was. A few months ago it had been Cole and Tanya on the rocks. Hell, Cole had even made an off-the-cuff remark about wishing Tanya did things with him like Nicole. The man had been seeing only what he wanted to. Sure, Nicole showed up to the necessary functions, but they weren’t around each other. They stayed at opposite ends, driving separate vehicles. And it was all his fault.
Jake hadn’t been there for Nicole like he should have.
“Where’s my phone?” Jake patted his pockets. “Did I leave it at the bar?”
“No, man. I have it.” Aaron shook his head.
“Give it to me.” Jake held out his hand. He needed to call Nicole, set it all straight. He’d make her listen. They’d fix this. It could be fixed.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Aaron crossed his arms over his chest.
Jake sized up the other man. Aaron was stockier, but Jake had a few inches on him. In an outright fight, Aaron would win. Even inebriated he knew that was a losing battle.
“Hey.” Cole reached over and patted Jake’s knee. “You don’t need your phone right now.”
“I need to call Nicole. Just give me the phone.” Jake held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
“No, man. You don’t want to talk to her like this,” Aaron replied.
“Stop being a dick and give me my fucking phone,” Jake said louder. These were supposed to be his friends. They should be helping him get his wife back, not keeping her from him.
“Think about it, dude. You’re drunk off your ass. I’ve never seen you so trashed. What are you going to prove to Nicole like this?” Aaron asked, leaning forward slightly. The golden boy could be a menacing prick when he wanted.
“Fuck you,” Jake growled.
“You going to puke or not?” Cole asked.
“Fuck you too,” Jake added for good measure.
“You’re a ray of fucking sunshine, let me tell you,” Cole replied, completely unruffled.
“I need to talk to Nicole. She needs to come home.” They were a family, even if it was just the two of them.
“Fine. Here.” Aaron handed the refurbished phone across to him.
Jake snatched it up and started pushing the buttons, but the screen didn’t light up. Nothing happened. He smacked it against his palm. The last phone he’d been issued had problems with all the little circuits. The one he’d smashed over the weekend had actually worked. What was wrong with this one?
He turned it over and stared at the back. Something was missing. He ran his fingers over
a rectangular depression with little metal bits in the edges.
“Where’s the fucking battery, you asshole?” Jake roared.
“Hey, you just said you wanted the phone. I’m going to order a pizza. Looks like we’ll be here a while.” Aaron pushed off the door and disappeared down the hall.
“He’s such a prick,” Jake grumbled.
“We’re just looking out for you, man.” For a few moments Cole studied him, gaze narrowed. “You’re drunk off your ass, so you’ll probably forget this conversation. You probably need to have it more than once, anyways. You say you want Nicole back. I’ve known you long enough to understand how much you must love her. But I’ve also been around you this last year and I understand why she’d leave you. You’re the first man at the station and the last to leave. I don’t know when you’d have time to be with her, because you’re always with us. And you haven’t exactly been your tiptoe-through-the-tulips self. So, you say you want her back? You’re going to have to change some of your ways, man.”
“Fuck you. What do you know?”
Cole’s words stung, the stark truth staring him in the face. He didn’t say anything Jake wasn’t already aware of. He’d accepted the harsh reality of his shortcomings this weekend after a little searching at the bottom of a bottle.
“I know a lot about this kind of thing, actually.” Cole grimaced. “I speak from experience.”
“Yeah right.” Jake liked Cole as a friend, but the man seemed to lead a charmed life.
Cole’s expression hardened, his lips compressed into a tight line. For a moment it seemed as if he didn’t see the bathroom. “No, really. A few months ago I said the D-word to Tanya and she lost her shit. Rightfully so. Things are good for me because I changed. Are you willing to do that? Is Nicole worth changing for?”
An image of a young, beautiful woman with her wild red hair piled on top of her head wearing a blue dress and red heels popped into his mind. She’d been walking with someone else, but all he’d seen was her. As he’d driven past she’d turned her head and laughed at something her friend said. In that moment he’d felt something, maybe it was lust or the thrill that came following a big bust, but he’d made a decision that altered his life.
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