A Little Harmless Faith

by Melissa Schroeder

  Nicola looked at the clock and realized she didn’t know where her phone was. Jensen had taken it away the day before, so she would sleep, but she wanted it now. Rising, she started toward his office That would be the one place she thought Jensen would keep her phone. She found it on his desk, but it was turned off, so she booted it on.

  “What are you doing?” Alfie said from the doorway.

  She jumped and turned around. “Oh, Alfie. Wow, you scared me a little. I guess it’s because I am so jumpy since the accident yesterday.”

  She saw a voicemail from Jensen from about fifteen minutes earlier. Clicking it on, she listened. Nicola, it was Alfie who screwed with your brakes. Carino and I are on the way.

  She looked at Alfie and knew in that moment, he understood what had just happened. He pulled a small revolver out of his jacket pocket.

  “I really hate that it has come to this.”

  “Why?”

  “Why do I hate that it came to this, or why am I going to shoot you?”

  “Why are you going to shoot me?”

  “Simple. It will hurt Jensen.”

  “They know it’s you.”

  “I gathered that from your expression. But, at this point, I don’t really care. Right now, I just want to make him suffer.”

  “Why? What did he ever do to you?”

  “He treated me like an outsider,” he said, his voice rising just a little. She knew if she could get him distracted by talking about himself, she might be able to get away or at least charge him.

  “An outsider? How, by giving you a job?”

  “No. At Wulf, only family members get the higher positions.”

  “You are VP of Acquisitions. Did you really think you would get CEO?” she asked, inching closer.

  “He was always talking down to me,” he continued ignoring her question. “The man treated me like a subordinate.”

  “You are a subordinate. You work for him.”

  “I’m better than him. My father made his millions on his own.”

  “And from what I understand, he lost it all on his own too.”

  “You bitch,” he screamed.

  “And why all this hatred toward me? What did I do?”

  “You helped him stay clean. Even when I came to New York while you were gone, and we went out, you took care of him. You are the one he needs, always. You don’t think I know you’ve started an affair.” He snorted. “Jensen was never that good at hiding his feelings. He’s been half in love with you for years, but the way he acted today told me all I needed to know.”

  “So, you’re going to kill me and then what? Kind of hard to get away on an island.” She inched even closer, and he still didn’t notice. He was so insistent on explaining himself to her that he paid no attention to what she was really doing.

  “I don’t give a flying fuck what happens. I just know he will suffer. Hell, he would probably start using again, and that would be a just reward, especially since I took him on his first trip.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “I helped him score his first hit of heroin. Did Jensen not tell you? It was so easy really. He was drowning in all the responsibility of running the company when dear old dad died, so I took him out. Easy enough to get him hooked.”

  Rage filled her as Alfie’s confession sunk in. They hadn’t been out partying together, that she could forgive. Alfie had known that Jensen already had a problem with drinking and hooking him on heroin would be easy.

  “You bastard,” she screamed and rushed him. Alfie was ready for her though. The gun went off and she felt the searing heat of the bullet as it passed through her right shoulder. She ignored it and kept on until she could grab him. He smacked her across the face, and she temporarily lost hold of him. She tasted blood, but again, she paid no attention to the pain. She grabbed him once more and kneed him in the groin, then took him down on the floor. Nicola got hold of his wrist and slammed it until he released the gun. It slid across the floor out of his reach. She punched him, ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder. The crack of his nose bone under her fist had him howling.

  Blood spurted, and he screamed. “You broke my nose, you bitch.”

  Sirens sounded in the distance, and all of a sudden there were hands on her pulling her off of him. With what strength she had left, she tried to fight off whoever it was, but then she heard Jensen’s voice and realized it was him.

  “Hey, love, come on. Carino will take care of him.”

  She let him pull her into his arms. “He’s a bastard.”

  “He is.” Then hugged her close, causing a shaft of pain to radiate from where she had been shot. She whimpered and he pulled away. “What’s wrong?”

  The room was starting to spin. “My shoulder.”

  Jensen apparently hadn’t noticed her wound. “What happened? You were shot?”

  “Jensen, I’m really dizzy.” The room sped up around her as she felt herself falling into a dark abyss. Then she remembered nothing at all.

  18

  Nicola woke to the sound of Jensen’s voice and a beeping. She breathed in the scent of antiseptic and frowned. What happened?

  “It doesn’t matter why I need it, Mother. Do you have it with you?”

  She forced her eyes open and for a second, she didn’t know where she was. Jensen was on his cell, but there was little light in the room. As her eyes adjusted, she recognized the room. She had been brought there after recovery the night before. She noticed the sun was trying to peek out from behind the curtains. Yes, it had to be the next day.

  She settled her gaze on Jensen again. He had turned away from her and was muttering into the phone, then he hung up. He lowered his head and sighed. He looked worn out, as if he had been through the worst experience of his life. She wanted to give him comfort, cross the room and slip her arms around his waist, but she knew she couldn’t. Standing was out of the question.

  “Jensen,” she said, her voice coming out rough. Damn, her throat was dry.

  He turned around and rushed to the bed. Relief softened his features, but it did not hide the fact that he was tired. Dark circles marred the skin beneath his eyes, and he looked as if he had been through hell.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He gave her a smile as he took her hand, then sat on her bed. “I should be the one asking that. I’m fine, although I’m not made for sleeping in chairs.” He brought her hand to his mouth and brushed it over her knuckles.

  “What happened? It’s all very blurry.”

  “You were shot.”

  “By Alfie?”

  He nodded. It was then that the flood of memories came rushing back. The fight, the gun going off, her punching him…

  “Is Alfie here?”

  He shook his head. “They brought him here, patched him up, then Detective Carino booked him. He’s going to be in jail a long time.”

  “Oh.”

  “Do you remember anything about yesterday?”

  “Yes, bits and pieces. He’s so jealous of you. He kept ranting about how you stole stuff from him.” She closed her eyes as the memories left her a little dizzy. Opening her eyes, she found Jensen staring. “What?”

  “You lost a lot of blood. They were very worried about it.”

  “Everything turned out fine. I’m made of good stock,” she said trying to smile. Her cheek hurt from the effort.

  “How bad does my face look?” she asked.

  Jensen smiled. “Not bad at all now that you’re awake. It’s been a long eighteen hours.”

  “Eighteen hours? God, did you talk to the press? Did you—”

  “Stop. Things are being taken care of for right now. Mother is in charge of all media issues, so you know it will be handled. She and my brother are on their way here.”

  “Your mother? God. To Hawaii?”

  He shook his head. “To the hospital. I told them to go to the house, but you know Mother.”

  Oh, crap. His mother, here. She probably looked like he
ll, and she would more than likely want a rundown of everything. Nicola had no idea what had happened since she’d been asleep.

  Then it hit her. “My parents. I’ve got to get hold of them—”

  “Woman, I took care of everything. That was the first call I made. You were shot and have been out for hours. Do you think I can’t make a few calls? Serenity and her men will be here later.” His frown darkened. “Don’t you think I can handle it?”

  Her mouth opened, then she snapped it shut. She heard the frustration in his voice, but there was a thread of fear that slinked its way through the words.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, as she tried to blink back tears.

  “Oh, Nic, don’t cry. It might just break me,” he said in a voice that told her he didn’t really want to admit it. “I’m sorry I yelled.”

  She shook her head as her vision wavered. “No, you’re right. You can handle it.

  He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. “I thought I’d lost you. I saw all the blood and…” he stopped talking, apparently unable to continue.

  “You should know better than that, Jensen. Nicola is no a shrinking flower,” Micah said.

  She had been so caught up in her conversation with Jensen, she hadn’t noticed that the door had opened.

  “Can I have some water, Jensen?” she asked. He nodded and filled a cup that had a straw in it. He held it out to her to drink. The cool liquid eased the rawness in her throat.

  “Thank you.”

  “You kind of look banged up,” Micah said.

  “Screw you, Micah,” she said.

  He smiled and glanced at Jensen. “You don’t look much better.”

  “Try sleeping in one of those chairs.”

  “Yeah, not very comfortable, although the maternity ward has recliners so it’s a little better.”

  “What are you doing here, Ross?” Jensen asked, irritation and defensiveness filling his tone.

  She glanced at him as he took hold of her hand. Then it hit her. This was the first time they had come face-to-face since Jensen had learned Micah was her first Dom. Was he jealous? No, he couldn’t be. Jensen didn’t get jealous over his subs. Besides, Micah was crazy in love with his wife.

  “I’m friends with Rome Carino. He’s a member of Rough ‘n Ready, and he knew that we’re friends. He let me know what happened and got me in here.” He looked at Nicola. “You’re going to have to give him a statement, but he said it could wait. That idiot Thompson is still bitching about the right hook you landed on him.”

  “I kicked him in the nuts too. Did he talk about that?” she asked.

  Jensen turned to her, his eyebrows rising. “You did?”

  She nodded and instantly regretted it. Pain radiated from her forehead, then spread through her entire skull. Damn.

  “Yes. It’s one of the many things my father taught me.”

  He smiled and kissed her knuckles again. “Good.”

  The door opened and almost hit Micah. From the outfit the woman wore, she assumed it was a nurse. Right behind her was another woman. “Hello, I’m Doctor Jacobs. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I’ve been shot.”

  The doctor smiled, then looked first at Micah, then Jensen. “You both need to leave. I need to examine the patient. Come back in about twenty minutes.”

  The sour expression on Jensen’s face told her that he wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t argue. He let go of her hand and leaned down to brush his mouth over hers.

  “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “Good,” she said pulling a smile from him.

  “Come on, Wulf, let’s go have some coffee. I have a feeling you need it,” Micah said, as he followed him out of the room. He gave Nicola a wink, telling her he would look out for Jensen.

  “Wulf? As in the Royal Bad Boy? Also known as Bad Boy Billionaire?” the doctor asked.

  “He was never a royal,” she said. “But yes, that one.”

  “I thought he looked familiar. Quite the catch,” she remarked.

  “He’s not mine.”

  “Oh, really? The way he raged last night at me and the rest of the staff, I thought he was your husband.”

  “No, just a friend. And I work for him. He was just worried about me.”

  The doctor shook her head. “The man who threatened me last night was not doing that for an employee.”

  “I apologize. He can be a bit autocratic if I’m not around to control him.”

  The doctor shook her head. “I think you two have a lot to talk about, and I’m glad to say you’ll be able to accomplish that, thanks to me.”

  Jensen and Micah barely talked as they ordered their coffees and sat in the cafeteria. Once they were seated, Micah kept staring at him.

  “What?” Jensen asked, still irritated with his presence.

  “I’m here because my wife told me it was a good idea, and I can see that she was right.”

  “What the bloody hell do you mean?”

  “Don’t push yourself too hard. You have friends on the island who can help until your mother gets here.”

  “And Nicola’s mother and father. They will be here later tomorrow, hopefully. The weather is causing a bit of a problem.”

  “You’re flying them here?”

  He nodded and took a sip of coffee.

  “So, how much do you want to hit me?” Micah asked.

  “Because you didn’t tell me you were her first Dom?”

  Micah nodded.

  “Right now, I don’t have the energy, but I would like to kick your arse.”

  He smiled. “You can try, son, but I don’t think you would get close. And, I couldn’t tell you. It was her right to tell you, not mine.”

  “Rubbish.”

  “No. Not really. You didn’t know her back then. That relationship…the fucker she skated with was a real bastard. He had her doubting everything. Her ability to skate, her attractiveness, her ability to be a productive human in society. You’ve talked about it with her? You know what happened?”

  He nodded. “I watched the video again and now I see the signs. At first, I didn’t see it because when I watched them skate, I always watched Nicola. But after she told me, I re-watched the video. During that last skate, it was easy to see he was high. She could have easily died then.”

  “Yeah, but she didn’t.”

  “She could have died last night, and it would have been my fault.”

  “Stop that crap, Wulf. The whole world doesn’t revolve around you. And we all thought it was one of those Johnsons. Thompson made sure of it.”

  “I brought him into her world.”

  “Good God, get over yourself. You Brits are always so damned proper. Alfie Thompson is an asshole, who is going to spend a long time in jail.”

  Jensen nodded but he wasn’t convinced.

  “If you are so sure that you’re a danger to her, maybe you need to let her go.”

  Anger swept through him. “Over my dead body.”

  Micah smiled. “Good. She’s good for you, but you’re also good for her. I’m glad you found each other.” When Jensen didn’t say anything, Micah asked, “You are planning on a permanent D/s relationship, right?”

  “Kind of.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” he demanded, and it made Jensen smile. He sounded like an outraged father.

  “I have even more permanent plans, as long as she doesn’t screw them up,” Jensen said. “Do you know she wanted to call the press when she woke up? She was worried how it would all play out.”

  “I know you probably already know this, but that’s why she is the perfect sub. She’s a control freak, but the type that needs to give it up with someone she trusts.”

  “Are you giving me a backhanded compliment?”

  “Look how smart you are. Yes. I am. She trusts you. More than she ever trusted me. I talked to her in those early days she worked with you. She never used your name, but she always had complete belief in your ability to overcom
e the addiction. Even after the one setback. Her faith in you always worried me until I met you. I knew then what you both just figured out. You need each other.”

  “Is this where you say we complete each other?”

  He smiled. “No. You already know that. Seeing you together, just those few minutes in the room upstairs showed me.”

  He sighed. “I still can’t believe I almost lost her.”

  “Need a hit?”

  “What?”

  “Hey, we all know how you met Nicola, and the entire world has access to your drug days via the internet. I would think that you would be jonesing for a hit right about now.”

  He did also, but it never came. The need to escape, to control his world, it wasn’t there.

  “No.”

  Micah cocked his head to the side and studied him. “Really?”

  “Surprised the hell out of me too.”

  “That’s good.” He studied Jensen another moment. “I know exactly how you’re feeling.”

  “I highly doubt that.”

  He snorted. “When I met Dee, she was on the run from her father, who had put a hit out on her. I almost lost her too. Hell, when her brother kidnapped her, I worried I had lost her.”

  “Her brother?”

  “Devon Stryker, also in hiding because of the hit his father had out on him.” Jensen’s expression must have shown his thoughts. The club owner smiled. “Yeah. Who would have thought that the bastard son of a whore would be a better catch? Either way, I lived through hell. Each second that ticked by, I felt as if I would lose my shit. Until I finally found her, then almost lost her again. Damned family.” He shook his head. “But I ended up with Dee, so I’d do it all over again. Just as I am sure you would.”

  He sighed and nodded.

  “Have you told her?”

  “Told her what?” Jensen asked, pretending not to understand the question.

  “That you’re in love with her.”

  “Not yet. I had planned on it, but some asshole tried to kill her.”