The Blue Link

by Carol Caiton

  "Then why did I turn onto this path and find your arms wrapped around my blue link?"

  Simon watched him through steely eyes. Any thread of friendship that might have survived the past weeks was gone and Ethan felt the loss.

  It wouldn't have mattered which of them Nina had chosen, the outcome would still be the same. He knew that, but he didn't answer right away. He took a minute to absorb the grief of losing a friend, to think about the company of good men, and to prepare for the inevitable. Then he met Simon's eyes and said, "Because I've fallen in love with her."

  Simon stared back, accusation hardening his expression. "Then we have nothing more to say to each other."

  CHAPTER 49

  "We have a situation," Simon said, addressing the conference table. "Or maybe I should say I have a situation—an unforeseen complication we need to discuss."

  Ethan wasn't surprised. He'd expected Simon to bring the issue to the table because he had no choice. But to give him his due, he'd explored every other option until Ethan forced his hand.

  "What sort of situation?" Malcolm asked, lifting his pen.

  "When one of our male clients pursues a female without the sanction of a link, the penalty is severe—"

  "Immediate forfeiture of membership," Elliott supplied. "Without a refund."

  "Yes. But we never discussed the penalty if one of us violates that rule."

  "One of us?" Elliott asked. "But we—" He broke off and switched his gaze across the table. "Ah, hell, Ethan."

  Ethan said nothing. He met Elliott's eyes without flinching, but he planned to withhold comment until he saw how this was going to play out.

  "Why doesn't anyone else look as surprised as I feel?" Elliott asked the table.

  "Because it was inevitable," Malcolm said. "Nina's been living in his house for some time now."

  "Well we can't control what happens outside the premises," Oliver said.

  "Actually," Simon took over again, "I can't say what goes on outside the premises since I rarely see Nina or Ethan off property. But when Security interferes every time I engage with Nina on property . . . ."

  "Have her stress levels spiked?" Elliott asked. He directed the question to Simon. But when Simon merely raised a brow, he looked across the table again. "Ethan?"

  "No," Ethan told him. "Her levels haven't spiked."

  Exhaling, Elliott sank back in his chair.

  "Anything else, Simon?" Oliver asked. "Anything more brazen than interruptions?"

  "It seems I was the one interrupting something last night. On property. An embrace that implied a lot more than hello, goodbye, comfort, or congratulations."

  Silence fell. Michael shifted uneasily and Ethan knew none of them were comfortable with this development.

  Malcolm tapped his pen on his legal pad. "Simon, I'm going to ask you outright if Nina has withdrawn from your blue link."

  All eyes shifted toward Simon, Ethan's as well. He wanted an answer to that question once and for all.

  Simon looked directly at Ethan. "No," he said. "Nina hasn't withdrawn from our link."

  * * *

  Nina woke up to the air conditioner dispersing its cool breeze onto the sofa. Her arms were wrapped around her upper body. Her legs were curled to conserve warmth. The plan had been to wait for Ethan to come home, not to fall asleep in the living room still wearing her clothes. Had he even made it home?

  She shuffled into the kitchen and peeked into the garage, but his car was gone.

  By the time she bathed, dressed, and finished eating breakfast, it was nearly lunchtime. She wouldn't allow herself to pick up the telephone and call him at work. She'd been bumped to voicemail enough to have learned her lesson. He knew she was home and he knew his own darned phone number.

  But when the telephone didn't ring and two more hours passed, she decided to stop puttering around the house. She picked up the receiver and pressed the buttons that would connect her to RUSH, but not so she could speak to Ethan. When she had the information she wanted, she waited for the dial tone again then called Lydia at work.

  "How would you like to come to RUSH with me tonight as a visitor?"

  The silence on the other end was bittersweet. "You're allowed to do that?"

  "Yes. I just phoned Security and asked."

  "Do they know I'm in a wheelchair?"

  "Yes."

  Lydia caught her breath. "Absolutely. Absolutely I want to go."

  "What will you tell Mom and Dad?"

  Her sister laughed and it was so lighthearted, so free, Nina wished the idea had occurred to her before. "I'm twenty-six years old, not twelve."

  "You know what I mean."

  "Yeah, I know. I'll call and tell them I'm going out after work with a friend. How late will I be?"

  "How about ten?"

  "Sounds good. You'll pick me up at the office?"

  "Yes. But we'll need to make a quick stop back at Ethan's house."

  "In Isleworth? Be still my heart. He won't mind?"

  "I don't think so. We won't be staying anyway. I'll pick you up at five, put something together for Ethan's dinner, then you and I can go to RUSH and eat at Magnolias."

  Traffic was heavy so it was dark and nearly six o'clock when she turned into Isleworth and parked in Ethan's driveway.

  "I'm speechless," Lydia murmured as she maneuvered out of the car and into her wheelchair.

  "Yeah, well wait till you see the inside."

  Nina steered the wheelchair to the porch, then inserted her key into the lock. "Give me a minute to turn off the burglar alarm."

  Lydia spun her chair around and waited so that Nina could back it over the threshold. Once inside, her eyes skimmed every wall and surface as she examined the architecture, the art, and the astonishing spaciousness of a living room more than twice the size of the one she was used to.

  "The kitchen's through there," Nina said, pointing in the general direction. "When you're finished looking around come find me."

  "Okay."

  Nina left her, intent on checking to see if Ethan's car was parked in the garage. But she barely made it into the kitchen before his dark shape filled the opposite entrance.

  "Where the hell have you been?" he demanded. He finished pulling a sweater over his head then tossed his car keys on the countertop as though he'd been preparing to go out.

  Nina stopped short, heart in her throat. "You scared me."

  "Where have you been?" he growled.

  "Are we back to that again?" She was still annoyed with him for ignoring her calls. "I'm twenty-two years old," she mimicked Lydia's earlier comeback, "not twelve."

  He yanked the ribbed band of the sweater down to his waist. "You're a twenty-two-year-old, gullible target is what you are."

  "I'm not gullible. I'm level-headed and I'm careful—"

  "You're naïve and you have no idea what's going on around you."

  "How can you say that!"

  Sparks of anger flared in his eyes. "Have you been playing both of us?" he barked.

  "Playing?"

  He glared at her. "I was told— No, I was ordered to stay away from you. I was told it would be a good idea to move the fuck out of my own house!"

  Nina remembered her sister in the living room and bristled. "Clean. Up. Your. Mouth!"

  "This is my fucking house!"

  "Well it's my house too! For as long as I live here!"

  She took an angry step forward and poked a finger at his chest. "You invited me to live here! And you gave me a key! And you told me your stupid security code! And you dumped my clothes inside my dresser drawers! And then you hid my boxes so I couldn't find them!"

  "Are you in love with him?"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "You know what I'm talking about."

  " Are you asking if I'm in love with Simon?"

  He looked as though he wanted to strangle her. "Why the hell haven't you withdrawn from that link?"

  "What link?"

  "Your fucking blu
e link, Nina! What the hell were you doing with me last night?" He grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake. "And what were you doing with me here in the goddamn kitchen while you were blue-linked with Simon?"

  Nina froze. She stared up into his eyes, finally beginning to understand.

  "Ethan," she murmured, "I'm not blue-linked with Simon."

  "Don't lie to me!"

  "I'm not lying! I never accepted it!"

  His eyes blazed.

  "I'm telling you the truth. I didn't accept the icon or decline it. I just sort of . . . ignored it."

  He stared down at her as though she might be an alien life form. A dozen emotions streaked through his eyes as she looked on.

  Then, without warning, he yanked her upward and crushed his mouth down on hers, angry and explosive.

  "Is this where you tell the girl you're sorry and profess everlasting love?"

  Lydia's amused voice zinged through the wild torrent of his kiss, shocking them both.

  Ethan's head shot up and he shoved Nina behind him.

  Carefully, she eased back around his big body, breathless, and cleared her throat. "Ethan, this is—"

  "That fucking sonofabitch, he whipped out.

  He reached for Nina's shoulders and set her aside. Then he grabbed his keys and stormed out to the garage, leaving her and Lydia staring after him. A moment later Nina heard the revving roar of a car engine as the garage door slid open. A few seconds after that his Audi took off with screaming tires.

  Mouth agape, trying to sort through what just happened, she looked over at Lydia.

  The grin on her sister's face sparkled like a thousand stars. "You've been holding out on me, Nina Lucille."

  * * *

  "I'm in love with him, Lyd."

  They traversed the entire main circuit before turning into Magnolias. B. Spinner, the guard assigned to Lydia, sat alone at a table near the door, giving them privacy to talk. He'd offered to steer Lydia's wheelchair, then presented her with a tour similar to the one Nina had received, sans the class lecture and the visit to Medical Services.

  "Sometimes he looks at me as though I'm the only thing in the world that matters to him. Then the next thing I know he's shouting and swearing and angry. You saw him. He's got a temper and his mouth could use a bucket of soapy water. But he's protective and caring. He's got a knight-in-shining-armor complex that comes through for me every time I need help and . . . . God, Lydia, I love him." She lifted her glass of peach tea and took a swallow. "I wish I knew more about men. They're so volatile, aren't they?"

  Lydia set her fork down. "Well I'm no expert, but I got the impression he was worried because you were late coming home today. Then he was furious because someone ordered him to stay away from you. That sounds pretty promising if you ask me." She smiled. "Relax and let it happen, Nina. You're living with the man so it's not as though you won't have a chance to sort it all out."

  "But that's another thing. I'm causing all kinds of problems for him by living there. If the board of directors told him to stay away from his own house, then I've got to move out before things get any worse."

  They talked until it was time to drive Lydia home. B. Spinner went the extra mile, steering Lydia's wheelchair through the checkpoint and all the way to Nina's car before leaving them with a friendly, "Good night, ladies."

  * * *

  By the time Ethan parked his car in the garage and turned off the engine it was after one in the morning. He sat for a few seconds then got out before the overhead light turned off and left him in darkness.

  Nina was asleep on the sofa. Again. He knew she'd been waiting up for him the night before, sleeping in the living room with the hope of hearing him come in.

  But he'd been careful. He'd come home in the middle of the night to make sure she was all right, grabbed a couple hours of sleep, then showered, dressed, and left again before she woke up. This past week he'd been spending about eighteen hours a day at RUSH. Between working, tracking her, watching her stress levels, and trying to anticipate when Simon might make a move on her, he would have been better off sleeping there.

  But then he'd miss moments like this. Quiet moments that allowed him to look at her without wondering what she was up to, without the edgy anger of watching Simon try to win her back. —Just looking at her. Her hair was spread out across the pillow and she breathed softly in sleep, breasts rising and falling in gentle rhythm.

  Last night he'd gone to the armoire for a blanket to cover her then decided it would be better if she never knew he'd been home. Tonight however, she'd come prepared with pillow and blanket, setting up camp to wait him out.

  Raking his fingers through his hair, he headed toward the kitchen for a glass of her cranberry juice. He'd prefer a cup of coffee but the aroma would probably wake her up.

  He glanced at the coffeemaker, started to look away, then did a quick double-take. On the lid above the filter cup stood a miniature fan—one of the personal hand-held things he'd seen at the check-out counter in any number of stores. He picked it up to read the sticky note beneath it.

  Chill!

  He gave half a smile. He'd been in a fury after the board all but ordered him to move out until Nina found a place of her own. He'd been told to stay away from her, that neither he nor anyone from Security was to step in again unless her stress levels called for it.

  He wandered back out to the living room once more. The earth had dropped out from under him when Simon told everyone she hadn't withdrawn from their link. All this time the sonofabitch had allowed everyone to believe she'd accepted it. And that assumption had wrapped things up very nicely for him. Ethan had been rendered powerless while Simon had been given the freedom to do as he pleased.

  When Nina told him the blue icon was still sitting dormant in her account, he'd driven straight to Mason's house. Fortunately the haze of his fury hadn't burned out every working cell in his brain. He'd still had the presence of mind to get RUSH's legal position on the matter before trying to knock Simon's teeth down his throat—an action that probably would have landed him in jail for the night.

  Unfortunately Mason had advised him to adhere to the board's ruling until another meeting could be arranged, thus the overnight duffle waiting by the utility door. But the home stretch was in sight. He could feel it. So he'd follow every last rule to the letter and put an end to this torment at last.

  He finished off the cranberry juice and carried the glass back to the kitchen. Placing it inside the dishwasher, he lifted the little battery-operated fan off the coffeemaker and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he paused and drew it out again. Once more, it would be better if she didn't know he'd been there. She'd want answers to a string of questions and an apology for his treatment of both her and her sister.

  So that was Lydia. What a beauty. He could easily imagine the hell-raising good-time girl she'd been as a teenager. The world would have been at her feet.

  He set the miniature fan back on top of the coffeemaker, walked over to the utility door, and picked up his duffle. Nina had left the foyer light on for him, just as he did for her. He allowed the warmth of that thought to settle over him as he stepped into the garage and quietly closed the door. He'd be back. It wouldn't be long before he had her in his bed and sleeping beside him.

  CHAPTER 50

  The Moon Orchid Spa was scheduled to open in just a few days and the security system he'd installed kept Ethan tied up until seven o'clock. On his way back to Security Central he grabbed a sub at The Deli, already knowing he wouldn't get away until midnight. But at least he was going home. That much had been resolved.

  He wanted to call her. He'd thought about it several times but stopped himself. The things he wanted to say shouldn't be conveyed through the telephone and the prize was worth the wait.

  Simon had claimed that until Nina declined the blue icon in her account he was within his rights to pursue her, and that was true. That was precisely the way the board had set up their unconventional link from the beginn
ing, with no time limit set for acceptance or refusal.

  Since there had been no acceptance, however, the lack of an official link had absolved Ethan from the harsher restrictions imposed by the board. Unless her stress levels spiked, neither he nor his guards could approach her while she was at RUSH, but he could go home to her, goddamn it, and he planned to.

  Up in Control he caught Jeremiah's eye and gestured toward his office. "Any interruptions?" he asked, closing the door.

  "Only at the initial connection. After that it ran like clockwork."

  "Good." He unwrapped his sandwich and turned on his desktop computer. "Last chance. Both the spa and the mall operation are yours if you want them. You'll be the man in charge and it means first shift hours."

  "I appreciate the offer. And don't get me wrong, it's tempting. But I'm partial to the big picture."

  Ethan nodded. "I am too."

  "Anything else?"

  "Yes. Find out if Nina's on property, will you? Then put a marker on her and let me know where she is."

  "Will do."

  A minute later Jeremiah knocked on his door. "She's not here."

  Ethan knew she had a class scheduled but he nodded and swallowed a bite of sandwich. "Okay. Thanks."

  When he finished eating he ran a check on her himself but she still wasn't on property. Pulling out his cell, he phoned the house. It rang with no answer and voicemail kicked in. Where the hell was she this time?

  After midnight, just as predicted, he parked the Audi in the garage and went inside. His jaw cracked when he yawned and he was so tired, he wanted to drop onto his bed, clothes and all, and shut his eyes.

  But he needed to see Nina first. He'd phoned the house again at nine, but she still hadn't answered. Neither had she shown up for class. With her penchant for finding trouble and the fact that she wasn't where she was supposed to be, he'd spent the last three hours at RUSH reminding himself that she wasn't wild and unpredictable like her sister and tried to focus on the job.

  He made his way to the living room and it caught him up short when he didn't find her on the sofa. The room was dark and deserted and his stomach tightened as he headed for her bedroom.