by Y. L. Stokes
“I’ll find a way,” she said in her most confident voice.
Charlie’s laughter stopped her at the door. “Unlike with you Trisha, Nicholas loves the woman he’s going to marry.”
Trisha slammed the door on her way out, just as Charlie threw the glass against the wall, shattering it.
Jack hated having to cut his meeting short, but he was having a hard time giving the guy his full attention. After promising to have his secretary call to set up another appointment, Jack immediately headed for Charlie’s place. Now he sat out in front of his apartment complex. He didn’t have long to wait before Trish came out and hailed a cab. He quickly made a U-turn and followed the cab back to the bar where he’d first spotted them. The cab drove around to the parking lot, and she climbed out and got into a 2001 Lexus sedan. He jotted down the license plate number—he’d have his buddy down at the DMV run a check on it—and he continued to follow her until she reached her destination. Low and behold, she drove right to the home of Nick’s grandmother.
Jack reached into the back seat and grabbed his binoculars. He watched until the door was opened by the supposedly wheelchair-bound Peter. Damn, I wish I had my surveillance equipment. He remembered the camera he had in the back seat. Praying that he still had film in it, he zoomed in on them as they embraced in the doorway.
He snapped pictures until the door closed. His mind raced. He wasn’t sure what to do. Should he tell Nick what he suspected and what he’d suspected all along, or should he just keep quiet, because as yet, he still had no concrete proof. Jack started the car. So deep in thought, he hadn’t realized where he was until he arrived at Ashley’s house. He smiled to himself.
Well, I guess my heart knew where I needed to go.
Nicole answered the door and stared at his face. “Honey, what’s wrong?” She led him into the living room and sat him down on the sofa.
Jack loved the way she was so in tune with him, knowing when something was wrong and when he wasn’t feeling well. After a quick breath, he told Nicole about the events that had happened earlier in the evening.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
He shook his head. Nicole grabbed his hand and led him into the kitchen.
“Sweetheart, I’m not hungry. I can’t eat until I decide what I’m going to do about this situation with Nick.”
“First you’re going to sit down and eat.”
No sense in arguing with her.
He sat at the table while she fixed him something to eat.
“First of all, I think you should have told him what you suspected a long time ago. I can guess why you didn’t. You probably felt that if you didn’t have any proof, the accusation would cause a rift between Nicholas and yourself.”
He nodded, and she continued on. “Jack, you should know that Nicholas values your input on any and everything he does. You two may not have the same blood, but you’re closer than any blood brothers could ever be. I think you should develop the pictures and take them to Nicholas, tell him what you suspect, and then the two of you can go from there. I’m sure Nicholas won’t hold it against you. He probably suspected the same thing.”
Jack reached over, cupped the nape of her neck, and pulled her mouth to his. “I knew I fell in love with you for all the right reasons.”
“When are you going to talk to Nicholas?”
“Tomorrow. While you guys are out dress shopping, I’ll try and talk him into closing the office early.”
Later, as she walked him to the door, he said, “I would ask you to come home with me, but I know my mom, and she’ll want to get started on the wedding as soon as possible.”
“You just want me to go home with you so you can get into my pants,” she said, smiling up at him.
“Not just your pants, love, but what’s in the pants.”
She swung at him, and he ducked.
“No,” he said. “I’d just love waking up next to you each morning.”
The serious tone of his voice brought tears to her eyes.
Chapter Sixteen
Ashley came out of the shower and found Nicholas lying in bed with Marcus lying beside him sound asleep. “Honey, shouldn’t you be getting ready?” she asked as she finished dressing.
“I’m in no hurry. All I have today is a conference call to finalize everything, and it’s not until eleven.”
“Okay, but what about Marcus? Will you have enough time to drop him off?”
“Well, I thought that since it was going to be an easy day, he could just stay with me. I called Maggie while you were in the shower and told her that she could have the day off.”
Ashley stopped what she was doing. The note in his voice bothered her, and she walked over and sat on the side of the bed beside him, placing her hand on his arm. “Nicholas, talk to me. What’s going on?”
Nicholas took her hand in his and gently rubbed his thumb across her palm. “Jack called and asked me if I could close up shop early today.”
Ashley frowned. “Why would he do that?”
“He said that there was something that he needed to talk to me about. A suspicion of his.”
Ashley felt as if she were trying to pull his teeth. “A suspicion about what?”
“When Trisha and I were together, Jack had the feeling that she wasn’t being all that truthful with me.”
“Regarding what?” she inquired.
“About me being Alicia’s father, and that maybe a friend or someone that we thought was a friend was sleeping with her and possibly fathered Alicia.”
Ashley stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Nicholas answered her before she could voice the question. “Charlie Carson.”
She stared at him, unblinking. “Did you suspect him also?” She saw the answer in his eyes. “Oh, Nicky, I’m so sorry.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him. He must have buried this within himself. Something that was trying to resurface that needed to be addressed.
Nicholas ran his hands through her hair.
Ashley was sure that he wasn’t aware of this, but she knew that it comforted him. “I think that it will be great for you and Marcus to spend time alone today.” She leaned back to look into his eyes.
“That’s what I was thinking, so you go ahead and do your shopping, and we’ll meet you back here for dinner.”
“Why didn’t Jack tell you his suspicions a long time ago?” she asked, even though he had obviously tried to change the subject.
“He did, but he wasn’t sure, and we both decided that we wouldn’t say anything unless we had concrete proof. I guess I just wasn’t ready to admit that I’d been duped or…I….” He stopped.
“Or it could be that you loved Alicia so much that it didn’t matter that she wasn’t yours,” she finished for him.
“Do you know, she looked nothing like me at first. We just said that she took after Trisha, but after a while that didn’t even cut it, and it was so damn uncomfortable when the three of us were together—which was very rare. People stopped to look at her saying, ‘Hmmm, which one of you does she look like?’ It always felt as if a knife was stuck in my back and twisted.”
“I know you’re hurting, honey, but we have to purge this out of your system, and maybe talking to me about it and talking with Jack will help.”
Careful not to wake Marcus, Nicholas climbed out of the bed, walked over to where Ashley stood in front of the mirror, and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her back up against him. “Do you know how much I love you?” he asked against her ear.
“Probably almost as much as I love you,” she replied and turned, slipping her arms around his neck.
The sound of the doorbell ringing forced them to end the kiss.
“I guess that’s Nicole. I’d better let you go, huh?”
“Never!” she said before she pulled his mouth down to hers for another kiss. “I’m yours forever, just as you are mine.”
Nicholas opened the door for Ni
cole while Ashley finished dressing.
“Hey, where’s your mom?” he asked after closing the door behind her.
“Who knows? I sure as hell don’t.”
Nicholas detected a hint of bitterness in her voice but didn’t say anything about it. “Ash will be down in a few minutes. Have you talked to my brother this morning?” Nicholas was sure that the mention of his brother would bring the sparkle back in to her eyes, and he wasn’t disappointed.
“Yes, I’ve talked to him. He told me that the two of you were going to get together this afternoon.”
“I guess he told you what this is all about, huh?” Nick asked.
Nicole nodded. “He came over last night after he followed what’s-her-name.”
Nicholas chuckled. This young woman that his brother was so madly in love with was just as loyal as her aunt.
They both looked up when Marcus’ voice babbled.
“Nicholas, someone woke up looking for you,” Ashley said as she descended the stairs. As soon as she reached Nicholas, Marcus nearly leaped out of her arms.
“Give Mommy a kiss,” he said to Marcus. “You and I are going to hang out while Mommy, Nicole, and Nana go shopping.”
Ashley quickly gave her soon-to-be husband and her son a kiss before she and Nicole left.
After feeding and dressing Marcus and himself, Nicholas headed for the office. The conference call didn’t take long at all. Happy, he had more time to play with Marcus, which was what he was doing when Jack arrived. Nicholas had informed George that his brother would be coming by and just gave him the okay to send him up.
Jack stood in the doorway watching his brother and Marcus playing. A huge smile lit his face.
Nicholas smiled. “What’s with that dumb look on your face?”
“It’s just the sight of you, a grown man, on the floor playing peek-a-boo. I wish I had my camera. Talk about blackmail pictures.”
“Whatever.” Nicholas scooped Marcus up and headed for the sofa. Marcus held out his arms for Jack to take him, so Nicholas handed him over and took the envelope Jack held out.
The pictures had come out surprisingly well. The sight of Peter embracing Trisha shocked him. “So, it appears that we were right all along. Charlie and Trisha were seeing each other.”
“You mean they were screwing around,” Jack said.
Silence descended on the room.
“So do you think Charlie was Alicia’s father?” Nicholas asked, a catch in his voice.
Jack placed Marcus back on the baby mat with his toys and walked over to the sofa.
“In all honesty, my friend, yes I do, especially after seeing Marcus, who, even though he’s not your biological son, looks more like you than Alicia did.”
“Yeah, I know. I mentioned the same fact to Ashley this morning. But knowing that I wasn’t her father doesn’t erase the pain of losing her.”
“I know, bro, believe me, but it has to have lessened it some.”
Silence ruled again, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Marcus caught their attention. Nicholas nudged Jack. Marcus crawled over to the sofa, pulled himself up, and made his way to Nicholas, all the while saying Dada.
Without a doubt, that little boy is more than enough to help ease the pain that Alicia’s death caused me.
Nick picked Marcus up.
Jack paused in collecting the toys and the baby blanket. “Nick, you have a visitor.”
Nick turned. His blood seemed to freeze in his veins. Marcus must have felt the change; he ceased his Dada sing-song. “Jack, take Marcus over to Ashley’s office while Charlie and I talk.”
Jack hesitated for a brief moment. “Keep it under control, bro,” he said and left the room with Marcus in his arms, leaving the door open.
Charlie walked into the office. “So I guess Jack told you about what he saw last night?”
Nick didn’t respond to the question. Instead, he asked one of his own. “So were you screwing her the entire time we were together? Or had you and Trisha been together before I got with her?”
“Before I answer that, let me explain to you—”
“Just answer the damn question, Charlie.”
Charlie hesitated before answering. “Yes, but it wasn’t my intention to hurt you.”
Nicholas let out a brittle laugh contradicted by the ice creeping up his spine. “You mean to tell me that you were going to let me marry the woman that you supposedly loved and also let me raise your child as my own? You didn’t intend to hurt me? How in the hell did you figure that you screwing the woman I was going to marry wouldn’t hurt me? Let alone have me raising a daughter that I thought was mine when you knew damn well that she wasn’t.”
Nicholas’ scathing remarks ignited Charlie’s anger. “Well, hell, Nick, it wasn’t as if you were in love with her. I loved her.” Charlie took a calming breath.
“It doesn’t matter, Charlie. You knew that I was going to marry her. You were in on all the plans for the wedding. Hell, you were going to be in the damn wedding. I guess with my luck you were probably going to screw her after we were married.”
Nick was trying to bait him, but Charlie refused to rise to it.
“I wanted to tell you. I really wanted you to believe me, but every time I mentioned it to Trisha, she begged me not to tell you. I loved her so much that I wanted her to be happy. I had even told her the day of the accident that I was going to confront you about it. Then she confessed that her parents were forcing her to do it, saying that your grandmother had paid them to see that it was done.”
“So the reason that my daughter was with that sorry piece of shit and her stoned boyfriend was because Trisha had to come over and fuck you, huh?” Nicholas shook his head, walked over to the picture window, and stared out. After a moment, he turned to face the man he at one time had considered a friend. “Why exactly did you come here, Charlie? Were you trying to get to me before Jack did?” Nick walked back over to his desk to retrieve the pictures that Jack had given him and sifted through them.
“Oh, I guess this is her leaving your place last night. Hmmm, she looks a little upset. Did the two of you have a little tiff?” Nick’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Oh, I wonder who’s paying for this nice Lexus that she’s driving.” After each comment, Nick flicked a picture at Charlie’s feet. “Well look at this one. It appears that after she left you she ran into the arms of another man. I wonder who that could be. Let’s see…I think I may have another shot—a closer shot. Ah, yes, here it is. That looks like…I don’t believe it! Why, it’s my cousin, Peter. It looks to me as if you were being played.”
Charlie picked up the picture. “That bitch!” he screamed and ripped the picture in half. “She lied to me, told me that she had to let you think that the baby was yours so that she could get you to marry her because that was what your grandmother had paid her parents for.”
“Was she worth it?” Nicholas cut in to his ravings. Charlie just stared at him. “I asked you if the bitch was worth our friendship.” Before Charlie could answer, Nicholas continued on. “Well, why don’t you think about it, and I’ll have my attorney give you a call tomorrow to make you an offer to buy you out? I just don’t think that I could trust you anymore. Hell, I couldn’t trust you with my woman, so I’m damn sure that I can’t trust you to look out for the true interest of my company.”
Charlie stared at him, dumbfounded. “I can’t believe you’d do this. We have a great working relationship.”
“No, Charlie, we had a great working relationship. Just like a relationship between husband and wife, it’s only strong when there’s trust, and there’s no way in hell that I’ll ever trust you again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get my son and take him home.” Nicholas stood at the door waiting for Charlie to walk out. “Oh, and I wonder how you’ll sleep at night knowing that you share part of the blame for Alicia’s death.”
Charlie walked into his apartment and headed straight for the bar. His hands shook as he reached for a glass. He still h
eld one of the pictures that Nick had flicked at him. As he stared at it, his blood boiled again.
All because of this bitch, not only have I lost my closest friend, but also my business.
He realized that his glass was empty. Walking over to the bar, he placed the glass on top and grabbed a bottle. He cradled it in his arms and tromped to his bedroom. His last thought before he passed out on the bed was the fact that he’d killed his daughter.
Chapter Seventeen
Nicholas had dinner ready and on the table by the time Ashley and Nicole made it back. Marcus laughed while he played with Jack in the playroom. Nick couldn’t wait to see Nicole’s response when she came in after seeing Jack’s car parked out front. As soon as she walked into the kitchen from the garage, she immediately asked where he was. Nick couldn’t help but laugh at the sparkle in her eyes. Before he could respond to her inquiry, she heard Marcus’ laughter and headed for the playroom, a huge smile on her face.
Ashley came in, her face tight and drawn.
His smile faded. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“How’d it go today?” she asked.
“Everything went fine. I’m fine, especially now that you’re home.” He pulled her into his arms. “Why don’t we run on upstairs? I have something to show you, and I can show it to you while Jack and Nicole watch Marcus,” he said in a sexy whisper.
Taking his hand in hers, she led him out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into the study, where she took him over to the sofa and sat him down. For a moment she didn’t say anything, just gently rubbed her hand across his. “Now, do you want to tell me exactly what happened today?”
He stared down at her hand in his. “Well, my conference call didn’t last that long, so Marcus and I played until Jack arrived. He had some pictures he’d taken last night after he’d spotted Charlie and Trisha. While we were gathering everything up to leave the office, Charlie came by.”
