Never and Always

by Khardine Gray

  In fact, it was making her feel sick. She set it down and rested her head back against the bed.

  “Mia, you have to eat. How about we go out? We could grab dinner.”

  “Claire, I’m broke, I have to get by on whatever food is downstairs and hope that Glenn doesn’t stop me.” She rolled her eyes.

  “I would pay. And relax, genius, I’m going to give you some money to help you out.” Claire nodded.

  Mia straightened up and looked at her friend in awe. “You’d do that?”

  “Of course I would. I’m offended that you’d ask me that. If it were me, you’d help me in a jiffy. I have a hundred in my purse and I’ll transfer some more in a few days when I get paid.”

  “You’re going to Spain, though.”

  Claire was leaving for Spain tomorrow. She was going to her sister’s wedding and wouldn’t be back for two weeks.

  “Won’t you need it?” Mia gave her a little smile when Claire shook her head.

  “No. I’m going to stay with family. Don’t worry about me. Let’s focus on you.”

  “I really appreciate it. I can’t believe I don’t have anything, or that my brother is being so mean.”

  Claire offered a sympathetic smile. “Give him time. He loves you and will calm down.”

  “He’s going to flip when he finds out about the paintings,” Mia said in a low voice. Glenn was downstairs somewhere, well out of earshot, but she was still being careful just in case he ventured near her room. When she came back here with Nick earlier, Glenn was in the kitchen. He wasn’t talking to her and looked angry at Nick for being with her.

  “Yes, he’ll probably go ape shit.” Claire widened her already huge brown eyes and shook her head. “Thank God you have your knight in shining muscles to take care of you.” A cunning smile lifted the corners of her mouth.

  “Who’s that?” she asked, pretending not to know Claire was talking about Nick.

  “Oh please, I know you aren’t suffering from the kind of trauma to give you amnesia. I’m talking about Nick,” Claire giggled.

  “Well he thinks I’m stupid, too.”

  “Does he?”

  “He asked me if I didn’t do my research before I got with Alan.” Mia was still hurt by that, as reasonable a question as it was.

  “Mia, I’ll ask you the same, but that doesn’t mean I think you’re stupid. I swear to God he likes you. And could he be any hotter?”

  Man-crazy Claire. She was the same girl in any and every year that she’d known her with her crazy mind set to always get the guy. Claire’s crazy ways had only served to fuel Mia’s desire for Nick to notice her.

  “Earlier he said if Glenn threw us both out we could get a gingerbread house.”

  “He asked you to move in with him?” Claire gasped.

  Mia glowered at her wondering how she could arrive at that. “Claire, that’s what you got from what I said?”

  “Yes, he was talking about the two of you living in the gingerbread house, right? So that’s asking you to move in with him.”

  Mia couldn’t help but laugh. She brought her hand up to her chest and her fingers brushed against the tiny diamond on a thin gold chain that was hidden beneath her clothes. The necklace was so much a part of her now that she forgot sometimes that it was there.

  Nick had given it to her for her eighteenth birthday.

  Up until that point she’d never had a present like that, and the fact that it was from him made it even more special. He was the only man to give her something so valuable. A diamond that was probably worth a thousand dollars but, like her grandmother’s paintings, it was priceless. Just for the sentiment. That was all.

  “He doesn’t see me like that. He thinks I’m a child, and I have to say that I’ve given him cause to.”

  “Mia, remember, you’re a victim here, not the bad guy. You messed up; it’s all about fixing the problem now.” Claire nodded.

  “I need a job that pays well.” She’d been thinking about finding ways to pay Glenn back for his portion of money that was stolen. “I need to get that money back.”

  “The two million?”

  “Yes.” She thought of doing beauty treatments for a prestigious salon that probably catered for celebs.

  “No offense, but unless you’re some sort of technician, a doctor, investment banker, or maybe a stripper, I doubt you’ll get that money.”

  “Strippers get that kind of money?” Mia couldn’t believe that.

  “They can. But don’t you dare even consider it. Obviously I was joking.”

  Sure, that was a joke, but it wouldn’t be very funny when Glenn found out about the paintings and really did throw her into the street.

  “I have to fix this somehow, and I can’t stay here for too long.”

  “It’s your house, too,” Claire pointed out.

  “I grew up here, but this is Glenn’s place.”

  She wanted to move to Florida permanently when her business took off and thought of getting a house to go along with the spa retreat. She’d actually wanted something built so she could be onsite. Something by the lake or the beach. That was why she held off so long on buying a house down there and chose to rent instead.

  “You can stay with me, but honey, if I were you I’d hang out here for as long as possible and let the gorgeous Nick take care of you,” Claire chuckled, nodding vigorously.

  “You’re so crazy,” Mia laughed.

  “I’m not. Just imagine running your hands all over that gorgeous body,” Claire squealed, making Mia laugh even more.

  Claire was a serial dater and was out with a different guy every other night. She’d had a handful of serious relationships, but always ended things for one reason or another. Mia thought she had commitment issues and was too taken with the idea of having attention from everyone, as opposed to one guy that mattered.

  Each to their own, she supposed. Mia had always been the kind of girl who wanted to find the one guy who could sweep her off her feet.

  “Don’t lie and tell me you haven’t thought about him like that.” Claire pointed her finger at her. “I know you have. You were completely crazy over him when you were younger. That kind of crazy doesn’t just go away, and he’s like a hundred times hotter with all that Marine muscle.”

  Claire was right and Mia couldn’t lie, but for herself she wouldn’t admit it, either. Several things went through her mind when she thought about Nick. The first was that he was out of her reach, and there was a boundary that neither of them would cross.

  There was one time, though—it was actually the last time she saw him—when she thought maybe there was a chance that he might like her.

  It was their body language and the way he looked at her. It showed more than the casual affection they displayed with each other prior to that. He was on leave from the Marines and her parents were visiting from Hong Kong. They’d had one of their family dinners where her mother prepared a feast. Nick sat next to her and she was excited for the attention he showed. It coursed throughout her, making her whole body come alive.

  But nothing became of it. It was that same year that she stopped writing to him and just cut ties. Claire could advocate for the obsession that took over during that time. If Mia wasn’t looking out for a letter in the mail, she was listening out for a phone call from him. That behavior went on for months until she had to take herself in hand and come to terms with the fact that Nick just wasn’t interested in her.

  It hurt, it hurt a lot, but it was something that she had to accept.

  “Claire, you know this is a no-go area for me that I’d rather not think about during this time. I feel bad enough about myself, so I’m just going to stick with trying to sort my life out.” That was the best answer she could give.

  Claire gave her that sympathetic look again. “Awww honey. Don’t worry, things will work out. I know they will. Doesn’t mean you have to keep your eyes closed to a gorgeous man while you wait.” She laughed.

  Mia shook her head and w
as about to say something when there was a knock at the door. She knew it was Nick because it was clear Glenn was keeping his distance.

  “It’s open,” she called out.

  Nick pushed the door open and stuck his head in.

  “I’m going to the store. Do you girls want anything?” he asked with that dazzling smile that made Mia’s whole body melt.

  “I’m fine,” Claire cooed and looked over to Mia with a conspiratory smile.

  “I’m fine, too,” Mia told him, trying to contain the butterflies in her stomach.

  “Alright. Movie later, babe? We can watch something from the crazy collection.” There was the smile again, and it was more effective because he was looking directly at her.

  While she may have been depressed from all that was happening, she hadn’t lost her mind and turned stupid enough to turn down the offer.

  “I’d love that,” she answered, smiling back and thinking of later. It was good to see that the annoyance she’d seen in him earlier had faded.

  “Cool, I’ll grab popcorn. See you around, Claire.”

  Claire raised her hand in mock salute.

  Nick laughed at that and left them. Mia knew even before she looked at Claire that she would be giving her some kind of I-told-you-he-liked-you look.

  And she was.

  “You know we’re like this all the time,” Mia offered.

  “I never said anything, babe.” She burst out laughing and Mia threw a cushion at her.

  As annoying as she was, she was funny, and the lighthearted break from the stress was most welcoming to her tired mind.

  Chapter 6

  She fell asleep before the movie finished. They ended up choosing the first Night of the Living Dead film.

  Nick finished watching it by himself because he needed the momentary distraction. Once it finished he went straight back to thinking about the situation with Mia. It got to him that she’d been involved with that guy—some criminal who’d worked his way into her life and took everything from her. But worse, it got to him that she’d actually been involved. Nick wasn’t jealous, he had no right to be, but he couldn’t help it.

  Glenn had warned him away from Mia. Him, who always took great care of her. And look who she found herself with. That Alan shit-face had multiple offenses of all sorts. Mia was lucky that all the guy did was con her. It grieved Nick to think of how he must have wormed his way into her life…and into her bed.

  That got to him, too—a lot.

  Before they went to the station he’d imagined some geeky-type person who was tech savvy. But when he saw the pictures of Alan on the police database, the sight of the guy infuriated him.

  Alan was thirty-six years old. Two years younger than Nick. He looked ordinary enough with his buzz-cut hair and sharp brown eyes, but there was a rough creepiness about him that would have given Nick every reason to be wary of him. He wished Mia could have felt the same warning and stayed away from him.

  It was pointless thinking about it that way. Pointless and fruitless because it only served to annoy him, and the tension in the house wasn’t helping, either.

  Glenn was ignoring them both now, and Nick couldn’t be bothered to try to reason with him when he was in the mood he was in.

  When he eventually went to his room he didn’t go to sleep, he spent an hour going over a few of the applications that came in for the secretary job he’d posted. While he was probably okay to do everything himself for the moment, he wanted to set everything up correctly from now.

  He didn’t want to suddenly get busy and then find he was swamped with work and had no form of organization. That almost happened last year when he was helping Glenn with a massive fraud case while he was also helping Sawyer out with a murder case. He’d just been granted his PI license. After seeing the skill and technique he employed in his work Sawyer offered him a fulltime job with the police. He thought they could use a man like Nick, especially with his high-level military background and expertise.

  Nick had turned down the offer in favor of freelancing. He hated the idea of being tied down to a full-time job, and didn’t want to only work for the police. He’d always had the goal of doing his work solo and saw restriction with a job of that nature.

  Being a true private investigator required pushing limits that would be outside an employment contract. It meant going rogue sometimes and operating in that gray area employer’s liability and shit like that wouldn’t cover. He knew that some jobs would require him to be a little rough around the edges, and use methods that would be deemed unconventional. Sometimes he would have to act like a bounty hunter. That was his style, always had been. In the Marines, Nick had managed to tame his recklessness and harness it into something that would make him an asset. He’d be the one that would take that step over the edge of reason and verge on madness when it came to situations like rescuing his comrades, or civilians who’d been caught up in a cross fire, or a bomb blast. Situations that warned you to run and stay the hell away to protect yourself.

  He’d be the guy who’d be daring enough to cross enemy territory knowing that he wouldn’t have back up.

  Nick would be that guy who’d run out unshielded into the line of fire, bullets blasting from both sides if he saw a way in to protect someone, or fulfill a call of duty. The mission was what mattered and he’d fulfill it at all cost, even if it cost him his life.

  To do what he had in mind properly he wanted his mind free of administrative work, so a secretary was definitely on his list. There were ten applications, and of them he found three ladies that sounded perfect for the job. He made a note to email them tomorrow.

  The next thing he did was a search of his own on the elusive accountant. He cringed at the picture that came up. The one Sawyer showed them earlier was a mug shot. In this one he looked like one of those slimy creeps who waited around a corner to rob you. His hair was longer and looked dirty, his face and his receding hair line more obvious. When Nick found his website and saw it listed him as a business accountant with a wealth of experience in managing new companies, he snapped his pen in half and filed a report to have the website shut down and tracked.

  There were more pictures but he stopped browsing. He’d seen enough.

  He had a face to go with the name. All he needed was a location. He couldn’t wait to meet this guy.

  Nick went to sleep on that thought and set out the next day with a plan. He went back to the station to touch base with Sawyer. There was some good news, but they couldn’t celebrate just yet. The Florida Capitol police had been in touch to let them know that some of the stolen money had been located in an account in the Bahamas. It would, however, be tied up in the investigation for another few weeks. Sawyer had also gotten some intel about the removal company that was used to get the paintings. They were able to get some CCTV footage from the storage facility that showed the company logo on the side of the van. Nick was looking into that today.

  He stayed at the station all day researching and looking through the information they had on them. They worked across the country doing mostly home removals and delivering office supplies. He got contact details for the guy who owned it and he confirmed the van registration information that had picked up the paintings. However, it just so happened that that van was listed as being on a job and had been for the last few days. Since they didn’t really do jobs that lasted as long as days unless there was a special booking, the van was reported as stolen. And with that, Nick was able to get a report out to keep an eye out for the van.

  It was a lot to organize, but Nick had a good feeling about this and felt progress was being made. The more eyes they got on the van, the better it would be. All he had to do was hope that the paintings hadn’t been sold off.

  The one thing you could trust with criminals who were into theft was that they’d try to get either the highest price for whatever it was they stole, or the thing of most value in exchange for it.

  Those things took time. According to what Mia had explained, A
lan knew about the money and was stealing with the intent to get that money. The passwords for the storage facility and paintings were a bonus. A good bonus that the guy would never have had time to plan for. With the amount that Mia said the insurance company valued the paintings at, Nick knew Alan wouldn’t be dumb enough to sell off the paintings at the cheapest price.

  By the time he got home he was exhausted and ready to hit the bed, but a conversation caught his attention.

  It was Mia. She was in the living room talking on the phone.

  “Do I have to do topless? I mean, couldn’t I just be in my underwear? That’s still stripping.”

  That was what she said, he was sure of it.

  He stopped in the corridor and listened in as she continued.

  “Of course I know what stripping is, I was just asking because I’m certain the same effect can be achieved with underwear. I wear Victoria’s Secret, the lacey kind, so you can see most of my breasts. I just don’t want to be completely naked.”

  Jesus, what the hell was she saying? Nick pushed the image of her in her lacey Victoria’s Secret lingerie straight out of his head and rushed into the room, startling her.

  She actually jumped and dropped the phone, which he grabbed before she could retrieve it.

  “Hello?” came a man’s voice when Nick pressed it to his ear.

  “Who is this?” Nick asked.

  “Nick, give me my phone back now.” Mia tried to take the phone from him but he moved away from her. “Nick! Don’t you dare mess this up for me.”

  “This is Billy from Hogan’s Whores; can you pass the phone back to the broad?” He spoke in a thick New York accent that only infuriated Nick further.

  “No.” Nick would have put the guy in his place there and then but he was trying to fend Mia off.

  “Come on, man. Her picture passed. Looks like she has a great pair of tits that will bring in business here.”

  It was such a shame this guy was on the phone. If he’d been in front of Nick, he would have knocked his teeth down his throat.