“No, you meant it. This conversation is over.” Devyn pressed the button to end the conversation and began pulling her clothes out of the dresser. She didn’t care the time or how tired she was, she would not sleep another night in Nikola’s bed. How dare he try to throw her asshole ex in her face, as if it was her lack of competence that lead him to being a deceptive, manipulative and abusive ass. Devyn was pissed. She knew she couldn’t be with someone who thought she needed to be taken care of like some damn puppy. Packing the rest of her clothes she heard her phone rang, and hit ignore when she saw it was Nikola. She turned the phone on silent. Changing into a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt, she grabbed her car keys and headed downstairs and straight to her car.
On her drive to her apartment, she gripped the steering wheel so tight from anger that her nails left marks on the inside of her palm. Reaching her apartment, she didn’t even bother turning on the lights in her living room, and dropped her bags by the door. She went to her bedroom and crawled into bed. Despite how tired she’d been lately, she tossed and turned wondering if this was the end of her and Nikola. She loved him with all her heart, but she would not put up with another man trying to control who she was allowed to have in her life. And certainly not one who believed she was so pathetic she couldn’t take care of herself.
Chapter 35
“Goddammit!” Nikola cursed as he got Devyn’s voicemail yet again.
It had been nearly a week since his conversation with Devyn. He’d scolded himself repeatedly for what he said to Devyn. He didn’t believe she was some sort of helpless puppy, but he was exhausted and frustrated that night, and the words slipped out. Now, aside from one email telling him she didn’t want to talk to him right now, Nikola hadn’t had any contact with her. She was royally pissed with him, and he couldn’t blame her. He treated her like some invalid. The truth was, he thought Devyn was one of the strongest people he knew. He knew she was brave, intelligent and highly capable of doing anything she wanted. He wanted to tell her all those things, if she would just pick up the damn phone.
On top of his problems with Devyn, the negotiations were still going slowly and Nikola grew more and more frustrated by the day.
“Earth to Nik. You in there?” He looked up to see Andre standing at the door of his office while he was in New York. Andre had flown back to New York a few days ago to help run some numbers and be Nikola’s sounding board.
“What?” Nikola answered pithily.
“Geez, you come to ask your brother to lunch and he gets snippy.” Nikola looked at the time. It was well after 1:00 and he hadn’t eaten lunch yet.
“Let’s go,” he said grabbing his suit jacket. They were scheduled to go back into their business meeting at 2:30. Nikola and Andre walked to a small café across the street from their building.
“What’d you do this time?” Andre asked as the settling in to their seats. Nikola eyed him angrily.
“How do you know I did something?” Andre shrugged.
“Of course you did. For some reason Devyn isn’t speaking to you. It’s written all over your face, and your mood for the last week has been worse than usual. So what did you do?” Andre asked.
“Why does it feel like you’re taking pleasure in the thought of me doing something wrong?” Nikola leveled a look at his younger brother.
Andre smirked. “It’s not every day the great Nikola Collins shows his fallible side and does something wrong; so it’s a strange occurrence when it happens.”
“Is that what you think? That I’m infallible?” Andre shrugged.
“Mostly. I mean, I’m not saying this resentfully or anything, but you’re often the smartest guy in the room, most impeccably dressed, next to me of course, and a natural born leader. And you rarely let anyone down,” Nikola felt almost embarrassed at his brother’s praise.
“But you’re the biggest fucking control freak alive.” Andre added laughing.
“Whatever.”
For almost an hour the two men sat and ate, as Nikola told him what happened that had Devyn so angry with him. In the grand scheme of things he didn’t think it was a big deal. Andre interjected and asked him how he would feel if he knew Devyn treated him as if he couldn’t take care of himself. Nikola didn’t have to think of an answer, he already knew he’d be livid if someone tried to control him in such a way. But he wanted Devyn to understand that wasn’t his intent, it was just in his nature to protect what was his.
Just as they were finishing lunch, Nikola’s phone rang. Walking back into the building he answered the familiar number.
“Mr. Collins, I just wanted you to know your ring will be ready by Friday morning.”
Nikola thanked Renaldo and hung up. Rubbing his hand through his hair he knew he had to make Devyn understand. He had no intention of living without her.
Chapter 36
“Aren’t those lovely flowers?” Devyn turned from her filing cabinet to see Iris Collins dressed in a short-sleeve silk green top, white belt and black wide-leg pants. She looked beautiful Devyn noted not for the first time. Devyn eyed the vase full of a dozen pink roses. She’d gotten the delivery first thing this morning, with a card that simply read “I’m sorry.” Devyn had to admit her heart softened a little when she saw the roses. Still...
“Hi Mrs. Collins. How are you?” Iris pressed a kiss to each of Devyn’s cheeks.
“I’m well. I wanted to see if you had time for lunch.” Devyn wondered if Nikola sent his mother to speak on his behalf, since it nearly had been a week and a half since she talked to him. As soon as she thought it, she dismissed the idea. Nikola wasn’t the type of man to have his mother speak on his behalf or beg for him. Devyn had to admit she missed him, dearly. Even though he was gone, they usually talked daily, which helped with missing him. Now that she wasn’t speaking to him at all his absence was felt even more. She sighed.
Though her anger had declined she still wanted time to think. She couldn’t rush back into his arms and allow him to think he could just call the shots. She already gave him a lot of leeway when it came to controlling aspects of their relationship, but she wouldn’t allow him to treat her like a child.
“Uh well. I have–…”
“Come on, dear. I know Andre is with Nicky in New York, so the office is slow. It’s been awhile since I last saw you. I wanted to catch up,” she wrapped her arm around Devyn’s and practically dragged her out of the office. When Devyn went to reach for her purse, Iris stopped her, insisting lunch was on her.
Iris took Devyn to the local bistro that Andre and Nikola often ate at on their Monday lunch dates. Iris asked Devyn about her and Nikola’s trip to Brazil. Devyn was grateful she didn’t ask how her relationship with Nikola was going. She didn’t want to tell the older woman about not speaking to Nikola as of right now. Iris told Devyn about the first time she and her deceased husband went to Brazil. It was before they had children, back when Excel was a young company and they had only been married a few months, on a delayed honeymoon. Devyn listened intently as Iris recounted her trip and falling in love with the country. They had returned many times after that, even before Nikola and Raul became so close. Once they met, Iris and James became close friends with Raul’s parents, which served to increase the frequency of their trips to the South American country. Devyn could see the love in Iris’ eyes whenever she spoke about her late husband. Devyn wondered if she looked the same way whenever she talked about Nikola. According to Mercedes she did. Devyn shook her head, ridding herself of the thought.
“So tell me what he did, dearest” Iris stated, catching Devyn off guard. She gave Iris a questioning look.
“No need to look at me like that. I know my son and he can be well...let’s just say he’s stubborn and set in his ways. Tell me why he’s in the dog house and sent those flowers,” Devyn smiled.
She told Iris the story of her and Nikola’s last phone conversation and how she felt he was being too controlling although she left out the part about Edmond Styles and Nik
ola’s meeting him at one of her burlesque performances. She didn’t know if Iris knew about her performing, and was hesitant on what her reaction would be. Devyn simply told her Nikola behaved controlling when he thought another man was interested in her.
At this point, Devyn wasn’t even mad about Nikola’s intervention with Edmond Styles after speaking with another burlesque performer. Turns out, this performer had heard of Mr. Styles and she confirmed what Nikola knew as soon as he met the man. Styles was more of a con artist than an actual burlesque coordinator. He got a number of women to give him money with promises it was to be used towards costumes and practice spaces, but it rarely panned out. When it did, the women often found themselves in lackluster costumes that easily fell apart, and performing at some rinky dink bar, instead of an actual burlesque club. Devyn never really had any interest in taking the man up on his offer, and she felt a little silly at how upset she got with Nikola for intervening. However, she was still angry for the comments he made when she asked him about it. Devyn told Iris of Nikola’s comments over lunch.
“Oh dear. My James was the same way – probably worse to be honest,” Iris sighed.
“He and I broke up once over his controlling ways too. It was before we were married…”
Iris went on to tell her about how Nikola’s father had got in the way of Iris taking a job that would have taken her away from him. She was irate when she found out he went behind her back and to do such a thing. She didn’t speak to him for three weeks, until he finally showed up at her door demanding a second chance. Iris laughed when she talked about the way he demanded, instead of asked for a second chance. They were married two months later. Iris grabbed Devyn’s hand from across the table and looked at her with understanding.
“Nicky is his father’s son. He was always harder on Nicky than on Andre. He had high expectations for both, but as the oldest, it was Nicky that shouldered most of the responsibility, and he never disappointed.”
Iris went on to tell Devyn how it was his father who pushed Nikola to go to West Point in order to further develop his leadership abilities. It was always assumed Nikola would take over at Excel once his father retired. Unfortunately, no one knew James Collins would never get the chance to retire and watch his son takeover. Devyn’s eyes glossed over when Iris recanted the days and weeks after her husband’s death, and how Nikola acted as the rock of the family, barely having anytime to grieve himself, before he was sitting at the head of the table as the CEO of Excel.
Later that night, as Devyn began to settle into bed she thought about everything Iris had confided in her. Even though it was only 8:30 she was again feeling exhausted. Just as she began to doze off, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Nikola. It read:
I love you.
He’d sent her the same text every night since they last talked. She never responded, but tonight she was feeling less angry.
I <3 you too.
She sent the message before dozing off.
* * * *
Two days later, Devyn walked into her apartment, once again feeling tired. She was over being mad at Nikola. A few days ago, she responded to Nikola’s email saying she would be at his condo when he arrived from his business trip. He wasn’t scheduled to return until Sunday, so she had time, but Devyn missed being in his space. At his condo she felt closer to him even though he wasn’t physically present.
She sighed heavily knowing she was truly, deeply and irrevocably in love with Nikola Collins. Truth is – she liked that he cared enough to take care of her and looked out for her. She’d rarely felt that type of protection from a man in her life. Her father died at a young age, and although she dated before Marcus, none of those relationships lasted longer than a year and most weren’t serious at all. With Marcus his protection often turned to control and manipulation. She knew her fear of not ending up in a relationship like that again was part of what drove her anger at Nikola. She would talk to him and they would work it out.
Making her decision, Devyn stood from her bed and began re-packing the clothes she brought from Nikola’s the week before. She picked up her keys and headed to the door, planning on going grocery shopping before heading back to Nikola’s condo. Just as she opened the door she saw the face of the man she had hoped to never see again.
She looked down to his side, and aimed directly at her was a 9 millimeter handgun. She gasped.
“Marcus….” She began to tremble with fear as she looked up into the evil glint she saw in his eyes.
“Hello baby. Did you miss me?”
Chapter 37
Nikola was feeling lighter than he had in days, as he descended the plane. He felt the box in his pocket and smiled. The negotiations took longer than he wanted, but he finally threw down the hammer and made it clear he was done bullshitting around. He told the company executives they had exactly until midnight the previous night to get the deal settled or he was withdrawing his offer. They took one look at his face and knew he wasn’t bluffing. Nikola Collins didn’t bluff.
At 11:45 the night before, they reached a deal. They’d worked tirelessly through the night to get the papers signed and all the legal documents ready to be filed with the attorneys. Nikola returned to his hotel the next morning, and slept for all of two hours before calling his pilot to take him back to Atlanta. He left Andre to take care of the few odds and ends that needed to be taken care of.
He had another, more important matter he needed to tend to.
It’d been almost two weeks since he’d seen Devyn. He knew she was still upset with him, but she had responded to his text and email, so at least she wasn’t ignoring him anymore. He planned to take her out to dinner tonight and apologize profusely to get her to forgive him. He could bend a little when it came to his controlling ways, but he would never fail to protect her. She had to understand that.
He entered the car and had the driver take him to his condo first. He didn’t know if Devyn had returned to his place yet or was still back to her apartment. He wanted to see her as soon as possible. As he rode home he thought about the life he wanted and knew that it included Devyn. She had become everything to him. When he entered his condo, he immediately went to his bedroom and checked her dresser. His heart squeezed when he saw the drawers were empty.
He turned on his phone to call her to see if she was still at her apartment. Looking at his phone he saw he had a number of messages, but dialed Devyn’s number instead of checking them. He cursed when it went straight to voicemail. He decided to shower and change to freshen up before going to see her. He knew he looked like hell after only a few hours of sleep in the last forty-eight hours. He entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, inhaling deeply as the steam rose around him. The closed door prevented him from hearing the phone’s ringing.
* * * *
Nikola toweled off as he walked back to his bed. Seeing he had another message, he checked to see if it was Devyn who called him. It wasn’t.
This was the third phone message he had from Raul. He thought about letting it go until later, but the tingling at the back of his neck told him he needed to speak with Raul. His friend was not one to call excessively. If Raul was repeatedly calling him, something was up.
“Where the hell have you been?!” Nikola’s senses went on full alert as he heard the near panic in Raul’s voice. Raul did not get riled up easily.
“What’s wrong?” Nikola asked skipping pleasantries.
“Have you talked to Devyn?” Nikola tightened the grip on his phone.
“Not since last night, why?” That was technically true, since she returned his last text to her. A lump of fear began to settle in his stomach.
“It’s Marcus, man.” After an investigation by the police department, sufficient evidence was found that Marcus committed a crime when he filmed his sexual encounters with Devyn without her knowledge. That there was email evidence of his threatening her with the videos, he could not deny it. He was dismissed from the police department and had promptly been ar
rested. The latest Nikola heard Marcus was still in jail.
“Seems his parents posted his bail a few days ago and he’s been off the radar ever since.”
“Son of a bitch! Why are you just telling me this now?!” Nikola yelled into the phone.
Raul remained calm, knowing his friend needed to take his anger out on somebody. He could take it.
“I just found out today. I’ve been away on work, same as you,” Nikola ran his hand through his hair. He began rummaging in his drawers for clothes. He began taking clothes out to get dressed.
“I’m going to head over to her place. She’s not answering her phone; it’s going straight to voicemail.”
“I’ll meet you there with a few of my guys. If he’s there, we may need the extra man power,” Nikola nodded even though Raul couldn’t see him. The thought of Marcus getting to Devyn made Nikola see red. He knew a desperate man was a dangerous man. Nikola knew that after losing his job, and suffering the humiliation of being arrested as an officer, Marcus was probably as desperate as they came right about now.
“Fuck!” He yelled as he threw on a pair of dark blue jeans, a black Polo shirt and some running sneakers. He stood and walked over to his closet and went for his safe that was at the back corner of the closet. He opened the safe and pulled his loaded Beretta M9 that he’d had since his days in the Army. He usually kept it in his dresser drawer, but Devyn had seen it and asked him to keep it someplace else, so in the safe it went. Now, as he pulled it out, he hoped he wouldn’t have to use it, at least not in front of Devyn. He knew he would not hesitate to pull the trigger if it came to that, but the way he was feeling, he’d rather end Marcus’ life with his bare hands if he threatened or hurt Devyn in anyway. He quickly exited his condo and headed down to the underground garage. He could be to Devyn’s in twenty minutes.
Black Pearl: a BBW, BWWM, Alpha Male romance Page 17
