On His Watch (Vengeance Is Mine Book 1)

by Susanne Matthews

  Jason laughed awkwardly. “Well, it’s the only culinary skill I have, so I wouldn’t be much of a prize. How’s the hand?”

  Nikki breathed easier. She really had to keep a tighter rein on her wayward thoughts. Considering Jason as husband material was a fantasy. She’d watched too many of Mandy’s happily ever after movies lately. She was beginning to think there could be one in the future for her.

  “Not bad. It’s stiff, and the ring finger is in almost permanent salute position, but it’s better than I expected, actually. I’m just glad that damn cast is off. I think I was starting to rot under that plaster.” She chuckled. “It’s the brain that’s frustrating me and this stuff.” She indicated the computer print-outs he’d brought in earlier. “The more information Greg discovers about Thomas, the more confused I get. Why would Nadia have married him in the first place? I can’t believe my grandfather would’ve thrown us out of the ancestral home. I was his heir. Nothing makes sense.” She sipped her coffee.

  “On that, we agree.”

  “That doll is as puzzling as everything else. If they went to such lengths to erase my father from my life, why let me keep it? Maybe I had a high holy fit like Mandy did the other day when she couldn’t find it. People adopt children all the time, so why the secrecy?” She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

  “Maybe you should ask your mother. She’s bound to have a reason for what she did. She was alone and lonely, he was a friend of your dad’s—maybe they fell in love.”

  “And pigs fly.” She harrumphed. “I saw the way he treated her—as if she didn’t have a mind of her own. Well, at least I know I have good instincts about people. There was something about him I didn’t trust from the moment I saw his picture.”

  But there had been something she hadn’t trusted about him either, so perhaps her instincts weren’t infallible.

  “I’ll be the first to admit that man is a nasty piece of work. He’s controlling, manipulative, and likes to throw his name and his money around. He buys power and respect.”

  “And apparently does so with my money. He’s as crooked as the alders in Alticane, Saskatchewan. Don’t ask me how I know about them, I just do. It’s possible I painted them.” She pointed to the papers again. “According to the forensic accountant’s report, it looks like dear old step-dad has definitely pilfered money from my trust fund—$5.5 million to be exact.”

  “Wow! That’s not chicken feed. What are you going to do?”

  “Well, I suppose if I were a good daughter I’d let it fly and ask nicely that he not do it again, but I’m not feeling in the least bit daughterly. I want to have his ass thrown in jail. I can have him extradited to France and charged there. I don’t know what French prisons are like these days, but I seem to remember a movie where a con man got sent to Devil’s Island.”

  He chuckled. “Papillion. I saw it, too. The French closed that prison in 1953.”

  “Too bad,” Nikki said. “Well, I hope they have some place equally unpleasant to put him.”

  “Remind me not to get on your bad side.” Jason laughed, and she could swear there was discomfort in his tone. “You go for the throat.”

  Confused, she lifted the mug to her lips once more.

  “Do you think Nadia knows about this? The last time I saw her, she looked spaced out.”

  Jason shook his head. “I wouldn’t think so. He’s not the kind of guy who’d discuss business with a woman.”

  She noticed how hard she was squeezing the ball and put it down. Nathan had said not to overdo it, and she was definitely straining her hand.

  “It looks like the skiers are on their way in,” Jason said. “I’ll go and help Angie. Troy wants to do a wide perimeter sweep before the storm hits. No one’s going to be able to stay outside tonight.”

  He leaned toward her, and Nicki thought he was going to kiss her. He seemed as surprised by his action as she was. He quickly took the empty coffee mug from her hand and hurried from the room. She’d have welcomed that kiss.

  * * *

  Snow fell heavily by the time Nikki and Mandy finished supper. Despite the shuttered windows, she could still hear the howling wind, and it set her nerves on edge. She was restless and jumped at the least little noise.

  Mandy had fallen asleep watching Sleeping Beauty, and Jason picked her up. “I’ll carry her into the room for you and ask Cassie to get her ready for bed.”

  “No, that’s not necessary. If you carry her in, I can settle her. She’s already in pajamas. Cassie’s leaving next week. Nathan will stay on to help you, but her back’s really bothering her, and I can manage quite a lot on my own now. If I get into a fix, Angie can help. I’m not sure how well we’ll eat with the chef gone, but I’m hoping I can help out. If I don’t remember how to cook, I can at least follow a recipe. Go, I’ll follow you in.”

  Nikki was pleased to see she made it to the bedroom only moments after Jason, although her “sprint” down the hall left her winded. Maybe she wasn’t as fit as she thought she was, but there was no way she would admit that.

  With one hand, Jason pulled down the blankets on the cot and laid Mandy on the mattress. He pulled up the covers and stepped aside to allow Nikki to get closer to the small bed. Danny made three quick turns in the basket at the foot of the bed and settled down near her. The dog was never any more than a few feet away from his mistress, but if Mandy wasn’t around, he shifted his loyalty to Nikki.

  “I wonder what we’ll do for sleeping arrangements once we leave here.” She placed Benji in beside Mandy, kissed her on the forehead and straightened.

  “Do you want to call it a night, too?” he asked. “I know the storm has you antsy.”

  “It isn’t the storm per se. It’s the wind. It bothers me for some reason.”

  He reached out and touched her arm. His eyes, more gray than blue tonight because of the gray-striped sweater he wore, were full of sympathy.

  “I think that’s a memory. The wind was whistling loudly that night.”

  She swallowed and nodded. “I suppose that explains it.”

  “So do you want to go to sleep or are you game for a round of gin rummy?”

  “I’m not ready for bed, and I don’t really feel like cards, but can we just sit and talk?”

  “Sure. You can leave the walker here. I don’t mind carrying you.”

  “That would be great.” The comfort of his arms, even doing this basic thing, was what she really needed now.

  He set her on the sofa. A few minutes later he came back with two glasses of wine and handed her one before taking the seat beside her.

  “So, what’s on your mind? Is it that stuff you learned about Thomas earlier? I made a call to Ivan and he’s contacting the estate’s lawyers.”

  “It’s not that. Mandy asked me where we were going to live when this was over. She wants to go back to Larosa. She misses her friends. Thomas and my mother wanted me to move in with them in San Francisco, but I put the kibosh on that. The problem is I don’t know what to do. If I move back into the house, which the jerk tried to sell on me, I may recover my memories, but I’m not sure I can do it—live in the house knowing what happened there even if I don’t remember it.”

  Jason ran his hand through his hair as if he were debating something in his head. When he put his hand down, he put his arm around her and pulled her close. She tried not to read anything into it other than a gesture of comfort.

  “Larosa’s a great place to live. I grew up there and my brother’s the sheriff. He doesn’t have any children yet, but he coaches Little League. Danny played, you know. He wasn’t the next Babe Ruth, but he enjoyed it.”

  She sniffled.

  “Damn, I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, oh God, no. It’s a wonderful thing to know. Before all I could do was picture him the way he was in those photos, but now I can see him in a little ball uniform with a bat on his shoulder. You just made him real to me.”

  She kissed his cheek and pulled away.
The last thing she wanted to do was embarrass him. “Tell me about my house.”

  He swallowed and when he spoke his voice was gruff as if he’d been touched by what she’d said.

  “Your house is one of the few original houses in town. When the government flooded the land to create Lake Sonoma, your home ended up on the shore. It’s a big place—two stories—with one of those wraparound verandas. It had an attached garage and you had an art studio at the back of the house off the kitchen.”

  “Sounds nice. I think I would like it. I love the idea of being near the water, and if I start to paint again, which I’m itching to do, a studio will come in handy.”

  “Well,” he shook his head, “you’ll probably have to build a new one. Thomas had that section of the house torn down the week after the attack. He had it rebuilt, but I have no idea what he changed. The last time I spoke to Rick, he told me your father had the whole main floor gutted, but he’d left the upstairs alone.”

  Nikki felt her temper rising. “Is there no end to that man’s meddling?”

  Jason shifted his position slightly so he could look at her. “You know, he might have done you a favor.”

  His unspoken words were loud and clear. It might be better in this case to let sleeping dogs lie.

  * * *

  “The last thing I want is a germ-carrying animal in my home. They need to be cared for, brushed, walked—there’s no end to it. That boy needs to understand he can’t have everything he wants. You spoil him.” There’s anger in his voice, and she cringes.

  “But he misses his old friends. It’s hard starting a new school mid-year.”

  “And whose idea was it to send him to public school? Yours! The boy needs to learn life is what you make of it. I fought and clawed my way to get where I am today. You were treated like a princess. Well, in the real world, there are no princes, only ogres.”

  “He has a name,” she cries. “For God’s sake, Danny’s only eight years old. Can’t you be more understanding, more flexible? He’s your son.” The scene dissolves.

  The sound of breaking glass wakes her. She gets out of bed and walks down a long, dark hallway. Fear grips her. She hates the dark. The wind whistles, further upsetting her. She can hear the branches slapping against the side of the house. A redness glows at the end of the hall. She sees a door, but the closer she gets to it, the harder it is to walk. Exhausted, barely able to take the final steps, she reaches her destination and turns the knob.

  Light spills from the open refrigerator. Blood and roses cover the floor. A demon stands over a lump of rags. He beckons her to approach, but she tries to pull away. She doesn’t want to see what he stands over, but he reels her in as if she’s a fish on the end of a line.

  The lump, now a faceless child, sits up, its head flopping over awkwardly. The slash on its face where a mouth should be opens.

  “Mommy, why did you let me die?”

  She screams, but no sound comes from her throat. Tears pour down her cheeks. The monster turns its attention on her, a pair of shears in its hand, the diamond in its ear glittering in the red light.

  * * *

  “Nikki, Nikki, wake up.”

  She opened her eyes, and great racking sobs shook her. He touched her sweat soaked hair. This was the third nightmare she’d had this week. If these were memories, they were tearing her apart.

  “I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re safe. It’s just another bad dream.” He reached for her hand. “My God, you’re frozen. Move over.” He climbed into bed and pulled her against him spoon-like. Her teeth chattered, and she sobbed as if her heart were broken.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

  His arms encircled her, and she put her hands over his.

  “Don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me. When you’re with me, the monsters stay away.”

  Jason pressed a kiss to her head. “I’m not going anywhere. Go to sleep. I’ve got you.”

  Nikki closed her eyes, and he listened to the steady thump of her heart. Outside the wind howled with all the fury of a Colorado winter storm. He should get up and help Troy and Angie, but Nikki needed him, and this is where he’d stay.

  He couldn’t deny his attraction to her any longer. Every instinct told him this could only end badly, but he was the moth to her flame. She was a fighter. She’d fought to survive and continued to fight each day to regain her independence. He’d had two serious relationships, both linked in some way to his job, and they’d ended in the deaths of the women he cared for. Could he take another chance with Nikki? If anything happened to her, it would kill him. They were both broken. Maybe they could help one another heal. Things would be different this time. No one else would die on his watch.

  * * *

  By the time Nikki woke up, the room was empty. It seemed unusually dark until she remembered the wood covering the windows. She turned over, saw the indentation in the pillow, and frowned. She’d had another of her nightmares, one she couldn’t remember beyond the fact it had left her emotionally drained. This wasn’t the first night he’d held her in his arms until she fell asleep once more. She was grateful he never mentioned that fact nor the dreams the next day. She didn’t want to dwell on those terrifying events, and he was just being a friend by helping her through them.

  A momentary twinge of pain in her finger made her wince, and she caught a vague memory of a finger sitting on the gray floor, but the image vanished quickly. No other memories had returned to her the way they had when she’d first seen Jason’s painting. He wanted her to sign it for him, and she would as soon as she had the right brush and paint to do so.

  She stretched and pushed off the blankets. Mandy’s cot was empty, the covers pulled up indicating someone other than Cassie had tidied it. She sat on the side of the bed. She was getting stronger every day.

  She stood and went to take a shower. The ability to do so was something she’d never take for granted again. Clean and dressed in a blue track suit, her feet in the leather moccasins Jason had brought her from Boulder, she pushed her walker into the main living area. Mandy’s chatter from the kitchen told her where she’d find the others, but she was surprised to see only Jason and Mandy at the table playing cards.

  “Go fish,” Mandy said and giggled.

  “Where’s everybody?”

  “Mommy! You’re awake.” The puppy jumped up at Mandy’s words and ran over to her jumping up and down, begging her to pick him up. She did and scratched the small animal between the ears.

  “Good morning, sweetheart. Is there coffee?” she asked Jason.

  “Coming right up. To answer your question, Cassie’s still upstairs resting. We didn’t expect you up so early. It’s not even eight. Angie and Troy are asleep, and Nathan’s checking the fuel in the generator. We lost power around five. By the way, I think we might have a pro here. Mandy’s beating the pants off me at cards.”

  Nikki winked. “I think she has incredible luck.” She sat at the end of the table, and Jason placed a cup of coffee, doctored the way she liked it, in front of her.

  “Breakfast is simple this morning. Cassie made muffins, and we’ve got cereal. The generator’s running so you can use the microwave if you want to warm something up.”

  “I don’t like cereal.” Mandy screwed up her face. “Especially not the bird seed kind with the warmed-up milk that Daddy made us eat.”

  Nikki shivered. Indistinct images of Sam yelling at her because of the children filled her mind. She shook the thoughts away. “Bird seed cereal sounds yummy, but I’ll pass, too. Assuming you have something other than that, what’s on the menu?”

  “I haven’t the faintest idea.” Jason walked over to the pantry and opened the door. “I can see instant oatmeal, some stuff with raisins in it, and another with marshmallows.”

  “I’ll have instant oatmeal, but I’m pretty sure Mandy will have the marshmallow one.”

  “You remembered!” Mandy giggled and whispered, “It was a secret.”

  What kind of
hellhole had home been if she’d had to hide the kids’ cereal?

  “No, sweetie, I didn’t remember, I just guessed.”

  “You’re a good guesser, Mommy.”

  Nikki smiled, set Danny on the floor, and turned to Jason who was putting the oatmeal in the microwave. “How bad is the storm?”

  “We’ve got about a foot on the ground now, and the forecast calls for another sixteen inches. Schools are closed, secondary roads aren’t plowed, and the authorities are asking people to stay put. Power lines are down in a few areas, and they’ll stay down until the storm’s over. On the bright side, it’s twenty-five degrees outside. When this lets up, we’ve got first class snowman-making weather.”

  Mandy clapped her hands. “Can Mommy come out and build a snowman, too?”

  That’ll be up to Cassie and Nathan. They make the decisions where your mom’s concerned.”

  Nikki doubted she’d have the strength to play in the snow nor the coordination to stay upright.

  “Tell you what. You can have a snowman making competition, and I’ll be the judge.”

  “That works for me.” Jason placed the hot cereal on the table in front of her. “Now, eat up, ladies. It’s going to be a long day.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The snow continued to fall throughout the day. Nikki sat next to Mandy watching another princess movie on the computer. The laptop’s battery was strong and movies would keep the child occupied. As much as she might want to play in the snow, there was no way Jason would allow her outside until well after the storm let up. They’d have to do a thorough perimeter sweep. No one on the protection detail would get much sleep until this was over. The only consolation to weather like this was that it was as bad for the enemy as it was for them.

  Jason bent slightly to whisper in Nikki’s ear. “Can you come into the other room? The munchkin will be okay with Cassie. I got a call from Brad a little while ago.”

  She frowned. “Bad news?”

  He indicated Mandy, and Nikki nodded. She rose, making her way to the walker.