by Ali Parker
Karen smiled and held her glass up to clink it against mine. "That's kind of how I feel about it with Clive. If ever there was a man I would want as my partner in raising a child, it would be him."
She took a breath, about to say something else when a familiar song started playing from my purse. It was the ringtone I set for when Sonny called. I fished around for my phone, holding up a finger. "Just give me a second. He said he would call when he was done with his meeting. It shouldn't take long."
"Hey, you. Everything go okay?" I smiled into my phone, marveling at how far we’d come in such a short time from the days I used to spend worrying about him every second only to speak to him for the first time that night.
"I don't know." There was an edge to his voice I didn't like, a dark undertone that made me sit up straight and put my glass down on Karen's coffee table. "I got your text that you're at Karen's. I hate to break up your girl time, but can you meet me back at the house tonight? We might have a problem. Something could be wrong."
I felt myself go pale. He was too vague for me to make any assumptions on what the latest in our line of problems might be, but I didn't want to wait to find out. "Okay. I'll be right over.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sonny
Niki returned to the house as I was unlocking the front door. Juggling two pizza boxes, I waited at the door. I’d picked up pizza on my way home so she wouldn’t have to worry about cooking dinner.
I was already feeling like an ass for cutting her time with her friend short. The least I could do was to make sure I had food and some wine ready. She parked her car behind mine in the driveway and hurried to me, still wearing the white flowy tank and tight yoga pants she’d had on earlier.
My cock twitched. Damn, my body was practically a slave to her. It didn’t really matter what she wore or what else I had on my mind, all I had to do was get close to her, and I wanted her. Fiercely. I sternly gave my cock a backdown order. Now is not the time.
“What happened?” she asked, walking into the house after I pushed the door open and motioned for her to precede me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I walked to the kitchen and placed the pizzas down on the counter, then grabbed a beer from the fridge for me and uncorked the wine I bought for her. “How was Karen’s?”
She leaned against the door frame with her arms folded, chewing on her lower lip with a worried expression on her face. “It was fine. We just had a cocktail and talked a bit. You said we might have a problem, what’s going on?”
Pouring a glass of wine, I handed it over, gesturing to the patio off the kitchen. We carried our drinks out there. The sun was beginning its bow for the evening. Wispy clouds dotted the sky as the blue faded, and the sky turned orange toward the horizon.
My patio was comfortable. I didn’t use it as much as I wanted. Barbecues with my brothers, mostly. Niki and I came out here from time to time, usually when the sun was rising or setting. Two gray loungers with a low table between them looked out over the yard and my small, sparkling blue swimming pool.
On the other side of the patio stood my grill and a wooden table with six chairs around it. There used to be a chair for each Lovett, but with Marie and Austin in the picture and now Niki, I was going to have to consider getting a bigger table.
Evan and I built the table back when I bought the house. I idly wondered if he’d help me extend it. At the time, we hadn’t considered the need for more space.
I tended to think of family as a set thing, a done deal. You had what and who you had, and you had to be happy with it. Our family changed when we lost Mom. We changed even more when we lost Dad. In my head, I was counting down.
It never occurred to me our family could grow again, but it was. The people we were adding now were by choice. I never thought I’d see the day that happened. For the longest time, it didn’t feel like it would.
Niki sat down on the lounger next to mine and sipped her wine, her gaze scanning the horizon. “You planning to let me know what was so important I had to rush home?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have ruined your girls’ day,” I said, cracking the top off my beer and stretching my legs out in front of me. “I saw something suspicious, and the first thing I thought of doing was sharing it with you. In retrospect, it could’ve waited until you got home.”
She reached over and placed her hand on my forearm. “I’m glad you didn’t wait. I asked for this, Sonny. I want to know what’s happening. I would’ve gone with you if I could. We’re in this together.”
I flipped my hand over and slid her hand into mine. Things between us happened so naturally, it was hard to remember a time there had been any awkwardness. “Together.”
The condensation from my beer was cool on my fingers and reminded me to sip. I took a deep swallow before I sighed and wondered how to phrase what I saw earlier without sounding like a paranoid lunatic. “Darren took the flash drive from me. He told me again to stay out of it, and he didn’t give me any more leads. I still get the feeling he’ll let me know if there’s anything else to look into he can’t necessarily do.”
“That doesn’t sound like a problem,” she remarked. “So I’m guessing there’s more to the story.”
“He didn’t linger after he finished his coffee. I was paying when I saw him cross the parking lot to his truck. Two men in suits walked past him. It didn’t look like they spoke to each other, but they got in their car as soon as he was in his. Then Darren made a call before driving off. When the other two left, one of them was on the phone too.”
“You think the suits were his men?”
“I don’t know what to think.” Therein lay the problem. “They could be agents on the investigation with him, but then why would he bring them to a meeting he shouldn’t have been having with me? Also, why not introduce them then?”
Niki frowned and crossed her legs at the ankles, spread out on the lounger. “I didn’t think about that. Who do you think they were?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I don’t know if we can trust Darren fully. He could be part of all this. I’m not saying he is, but anything suspicious I see triggers me nowadays. I used to write things off as coincidence, but now—”
“It’s better to err on the side of caution,” Niki finished for me. She also put it in a way that made me feel a little less crazy.
I squeezed her hand and held my beer up for her to clink her glass against it. “It’s safer that way. I’ve learned my lesson with this investigation. There are very few people around I can really trust.”
“True,” she mused, then looked over to me with worry in her eyes. “How are you doing with the confirmation about Chief Harris’s involvement? I know it’s not easy for you.”
My eyes closed from the bolt of pain that shot through me. Harris had been a role model to me. He'd become something of a father figure after dad's incarceration. He was the one who was always there when I needed to talk, protected me from departmental politics and doubts about my abilities given the messy legal situation with my father.
"I'm trying not to think about it. There's too much going on for me to be distracted by his betrayal. When I do think about it, I wonder whether everything he's done for me over the years and every word we've ever spoken was a lie or because he felt guilty. If I started chasing that rabbit, I'd start doubting everything."
"I can understand that,” she said, pausing to take a sip of wine as the sun kissed the horizon. "It seemed like he believed in you. Doubting his motives for that belief must be painful."
"It is, but my personal feelings don't change the facts. He's in this as deeply as anyone else. The sooner I accept that, the sooner I can put the hurt behind me and focus on the future."
"In this future, what are you going to do about Darren Hanson?" she asked, voicing the question I'd been asking myself since I left the diner.
I shrugged, pressing my lips together and shaking my head. "Honestly? I don't know. I'm going back to work on Monday. I�
��ve got no choice but to wait until then to see what comes of the news I gave him. I guess his next steps will determine ours."
"That makes sense." She nodded her agreement as she sipped her wine. "If he arrests Harris, you’ll know he's really after the bad guys. If he doesn't, and if what you gave him gets buried, well, that might mean something else.”
"If he doesn't arrest him, it might also be a strategic timing thing about the investigation. I can’t assume he’s on the wrong side if he doesn’t arrest him. He might choose to wait for plenty of reasons. It's going to be hard without knowing what's going on behind the scenes, but I'll figure it out."
"Of course you will. I have faith you’ll figure it out one way or another,” she said, squeezing my hand.
Hearing her say she had faith in me sent a flash of protectiveness through me. Whatever happened, I wouldn't let her down.
We stayed outside talking until the sun was long gone and the sky turned an inky black, stars blinking down at us as night fell. Niki shivered, and I glanced over, seeing her hug her arms around her waist.
"I think it's time for us to go inside. You're cold, and I’m ready to eat."
She pushed up off the lounger and drained the last of her wine. "Good idea. Between my cocktail this afternoon and this wine, I really do need to get some food in me. Was that pizza I saw you carrying earlier?"
"It was, but before you say anything, I didn't think either of us was in the mood to cook. Plus, it's Saturday night. Junk food on Saturday night is practically a rule."
She laughed and headed to the kitchen, calling out over her shoulder. "I would never argue with pizza, but I've also never heard of that rule. I’ll heat the pizza up if you want to find us a movie to watch."
"Sounds like a plan."
I heard her step through the sliding glass door into the kitchen, but she stuck her head out the door and wagged her index finger at me. "No action movies tonight, okay?"
I flashed a grin as I stood up. "Me? I would never. I was just about to look for the cheesiest, most clichéd romantic comedy I could find."
"Liar." She laughed and ducked back into the kitchen. "But yeah, do that!"
Chuckling softly to myself, I did as she asked. Not because I was whipped or anything, but because it was legitimately her turn to choose a movie. Although, I would be willing to sacrifice movie choosing privileges for the rest of my life if it meant spending every evening with her.
By the time Niki came into the living room, carrying a box of steaming pizza and cradling the bottle of wine under her arm, I had a movie lined up I knew she'd been wanting to watch and had drawn the curtains. Just in case.
It was a habit we got into after we realized the forest green sedan was often parked outside. I hadn't seen the car for weeks, but I figured it was better to keep doing it anyway.
I jumped up to help Niki set the pizza and wine down and went to fetch her empty glass and another beer for myself. We settled in on the couch, with Niki close beside me as we ate.
She squealed when she saw the movie I chose and nudged me with her elbow. "You remembered! I read the book this movie is based on, and I can't wait to see it."
I smirked. "Which is why I chose it."
Turning her head, she leaned over and smacked a kiss onto my cheek. "And this is why I chose you. Best boyfriend ever. Just remember I said that. You're going to need the praise to hold onto because I think you're going to hate the movie."
I didn’t really care what we watched. The movie was an excuse to be close to her and not much more. Niki and I had never spoken about labels for our relationship. It never really crossed my mind to think of her as my girlfriend.
This was the first time she'd called me her boyfriend in front of me. Although it was nothing more than a word, hearing her say it sent a rush of emotion through me. My heart gave a swift kick to my ribs, clenching in a way it only ever did when she was around.
I found myself turning the word over in my head. Boyfriend. Girlfriend didn't feel like a strong enough term to describe what she meant to me. Girlfriend felt like a term that should have been left in high school, but it wasn't like I had another word for it.
As I watched her laugh throughout the movie and sometimes dab at tears, I realized that girlfriend simply didn't cut it. She was more than that. I loved her. Damn.
Later that night, she fell asleep in my lap. Sifting my fingers through her hair, I tried to focus on the miniseries we'd put on after the movie, but I couldn't really think about anything but her. Her breathing evened out, and I knew she was fast asleep. Even so, I felt a pressure to let her know just how much she meant to me. I knew I’d almost blown it with her because I hadn’t been able to own up to my feelings before. One day, maybe sooner or maybe not, I would tell her.
For now, though, it was easier to tell her knowing she didn't have to answer me back. Into the quiet of the living room, I whispered, "I love you, Niki Holmes. With all my damn heart, I love you."
Chapter Fourteen
Niki
"Monday bloody Monday," Sonny muttered, banging around the kitchen after we got ready for work that morning. He made our coffee while I fixed our breakfast, but I could feel the dark cloud hanging over him.
Soft early morning light streamed in through the window, and I could hear the birds outside. The radio was on but turned almost all the way down. I could only just make out the morning show traffic update being reported.
The kitchen smelled like bacon and coffee and toast. Sonny and I had spent Sunday relaxing, watching movies and talking about everything but the investigation by unspoken agreement.
By all accounts, despite it being Monday, we had a great weekend, and it was shaping up to be a beautiful morning. Sonny shouldn't have been in such a mood, but he was. I knew what was bothering him.
He was going back to work today, which meant he was going to see if Darren had done anything with the information he gave him. It was the day he would hopefully find out whether he could trust the man or not. More importantly, it was the day he had to face his colleagues for the first time after taking his leave of absence. I knew it was weighing heavily on him knowing the corrupt ones would be watching him again.
"Will you let me know as soon as you have any news?" I asked him, even though I was confident he would anyway.
He nodded, tearing into a piece of bacon roughly. "There should be some news today, at least."
"As soon as we know what it is, we can plan from there. Just like we discussed," I told him, worried about how the day was going to play out but also relieved to feel like part of the team.
His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. On a sigh, he frowned. "I was thinking about possible next steps after you fell asleep last night. We have no idea how today's going to go down, so I think we need to be prepared for the worst."
"Okay, that seems like a good plan. What's the worst case scenario?"
He seemed conflicted when he met my eyes again. "I really, really hate to say it especially since I know you've already taken some vacation time because of this. But if things go south, we might have to leave Cypress Creek."
My heart pounded, and I felt my eyes grow wide. I didn't have family or anything really keeping me rooted in town. Sure, I had Karen, and I had my job, but I could keep in touch with Karen, and there were always other jobs. Sonny, however—
"You would leave your brothers?"
His gaze was somber as he nodded. "If we had to, yeah. I mean, I don't want to. If that's what it comes to for us to be safe though, we need to be prepared to leave."
I nodded, walking over to him where he was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter. I wrapped my arms around his neck and brushed a kiss to the side of his jaw. "If we need to, then we leave. It wouldn't be forever."
"No. It would only be for as long as necessary. I know of a cabin up in the Blue Ridge Mountains we could use for a couple of days. I haven't made any arrangements, but I know it’s available and ready for us if we need it."
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"What are the chances that we will need to leave?" Before I met Sonny, I never took any vacation time whatsoever. Even after the days I took at the beginning when this fiasco started, I still had plenty saved up.
Gary was trained to be my assistant, but he handled things fine when I left him alone. The library would continue running smoothly without me for however long it took to get this cleared up. Sad, but true.
All I would have to do was arrange it.
Sonny lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "I can't give you exact percentages. I don't think it's very likely we'll have to go, but I wanted you to know."
"Thank you." I pressed another kiss to his cheek before I let him go. "I appreciate the heads up this time. I have another hour or so before I have to be at work. I'll pack a small bag just in case."
He nodded slowly. His mood made complete sense now. "I'll call you as soon as I know anything."
"Just stay safe, okay? That's the most important thing." I blew him a last kiss from the doorway and went to pack my bag. Sonny went to work a few minutes later.
Once I was done packing, I grabbed myself a few things for lunch and made a thermos of coffee before heading out myself. I watched in the rearview mirror as Sonny's house disappeared when I turned the corner. It was strange not knowing whether I would be coming back here tonight.
It was even stranger that I wasn't worried about not coming back. I didn't think we would really have to leave Cypress Creek. If that was what it came to, I was more than ready to get away from town with Sonny for a couple of days while we waited for whatever might happen to pass.
A mini-vacation together might even be nice. We weren't going on the run or anything. If we left, it would be for the heat to die down. That was all.
That was if we even needed to go anywhere, which was a big IF.
I sang along to the top twenty for the week on my way to work. Mondays weren't so bad for me, especially now that Sonny and I were back together and things were going well.
