by Jennie Adams
He dropped a set of keys into Nate’s hand. Gave what probably passed for a smile through a face full of beard. ‘Motorbikes are me own choice. Hogs rock. But it didn’t kill me to drive her off the road for ya, even if you did try to bean me with the keys.’
‘Thanks.’ Nate’s eyes narrowed. ‘Uh, I was a little preoccupied before. What’s your name?’ He reached for his wallet. ‘Can I—?’
‘Not unless you want me to break your bloody arms off so those ambos have something to do with themselves for real.’ The man slapped him on the back hard enough to jolt him forward, then glanced at the two sisters standing staring at them. ‘Couldn’t fool me that she’s breedin’, though. Skinny as pretzels, both of ’em.’
With those profound words, he walked off.
Leaving Nate to face Chrissy and her sister. He bit down on the urge to share a few choice words that would match up to anything a biker could come up with.
Chrissy seemed too stunned to speak. Not so Bella. Her eyes widened, then narrowed, and she divided her gaze between her sister and him until it settled on him in earnest.
When she spoke, it was with the voice of the thousand waters sometimes used to describe God himself. ‘You got my sister pregnant?’
A screech from the cellphone in Bella’s hand made him aware that Soph was still tuned in to the conversation as well.
‘Ah, listen, Bella, this probably isn’t the time or the place—’
‘Be quiet.’ Bella put the phone to her ear. Spoke clearly and concisely into it. ‘You’ll have to excuse me now, Sophia. Christianna and I have a situation to deal with. I’ll call you later.’
It took almost an hour to extricate them from Bella’s protective, outraged clutches. Chrissy’s sister alternated between ranting at Nate, telling Chrissy she would be the best mother a baby had ever known, that she would be the best aunt in the world and crying.
Yes, Bella. Crying. All over the place. Strangely, Bella’s reaction was just what Chrissy needed to pull herself together. In the end, she guided her sister to Nate’s car, they all piled in and Nate drove them to the apartment.
He had taken Bella’s hammering. Had accepted every bit of vitriol and had simply repeated, at relevant intervals, that he intended to make a future with Chrissy and they just needed time to work things out. Chrissy’s heart leapt every time she thought about it. She tried not to hope too much, but…
When they stopped in the street outside the apartment, Chrissy got out with Bella, but motioned Nate to stay in the car. ‘I need you to do something for me, Bella.’
‘Anything.’ Bella squared her shoulders and looked as though she would gladly shred every male in the population into tiny little pieces, if it was what Chrissy wanted.
Chrissy suppressed a smile. ‘Will you please go and see Joe? Ask him what he thinks about fixing Gertie back up? And will you get my plants out of the car and give them some water and tell them they’ll be OK now?’
‘Why can’t we both—?’
‘Nate and I need to talk.’ And she wanted her sister to be busy while that happened, so she would stop worrying, would calm down a little and regain some of the usual Bella perspective on life. ‘I’m going to ask him to take me back to the office. I walked out in such a hurry this afternoon that I left things untidy, and it will give us a chance to settle a few things. Please give me that time, Bella. I need it.’
‘OK.’ Bella nodded. ‘But you call me if you need me. I’ll have my cell with me and I’ll get to you—’
‘I know. I love you.’ They exchanged kisses, and Chrissy got back into the car.
Nate was waiting with his hands clenched on the wheel.
‘You heard that?’ She waited for his nod, then went on. ‘I’d like to go back to the office. I left stuff strewn on my desk, and I guess you’re right. We do need to talk.’
‘We could go to the cottage. You should be in bed, or at the least on a sofa with your legs elevated or something.’
The strain hadn’t left his voice, but who could blame him? Bella on a rampage had surprised even her, and she had grown up with her. ‘I won’t break, Nate, and the baby is as secure in there as it was when we did that test earlier.’
‘OK. You’re right. Sorry. I can’t seem to think straight at the moment.’ But he had no trouble handling the traffic, and soon had them heading for the office.
Something occurred to her, and she voiced it unconsciously. ‘That biker guy. He said Bella and I were both skinny. How could he say that when I’ve got the Battle of the Barges Bum?’
‘Your bottom,’ Nate said through clenched teeth, ‘is not a barge. It’s…luscious. Erotic. Every man’s fantasy. Did I act as though I didn’t like it when we were in bed together making this child?’
The affront in his tone made her realise he was deadly serious. And a wave of surprise and, yes, pleasure rolled over her. The tenderness that came as she realised they truly had created this baby in those wonderful moments tightened her throat.
She cleared it carefully before speaking. ‘You really like my bottom?’
‘Since the day I first saw it. You, I mean. Since the day I saw you, and noticed it.’
‘Oh. Well, I guess that’s all right, then.’ She settled back in her seat, but her mind raced. Today she had found out she was pregnant, and survived a car crash. Nate had found her and appeared to almost have lost his mind with fear for her.
And her sister had gone on a rampage the likes of which Chrissy had never seen before. She had survived all this—had powered through all this, really—and she felt amazing. Ten feet tall.
Strong enough, certainly, to solve a corporate mystery. Or to at least unravel another part of the puzzle. ‘When we get to the office, there’s something I want to show you.’
Nate muttered something about having a few things he would like to show her, like appropriate bottom appreciation, but she ignored him and hurried on.
‘When you were out getting the pregnancy test, someone from the stevedore company phoned.’ It was quite exciting, actually, now that she had the time to get excited about it. ‘There’s got to be a link between what he said and what’s going on at the docks. If we search the tracking offices, cross-match the manifest he sent me, we might even discover who’s behind this!’
Nate’s excitement lacked spark, but he did condescend to listen to her properly as they travelled up in the car park lift and entered their now deserted floor.
‘We’ll investigate it.’ He made the assurance as he strode ahead of her toward their offices. ‘But we can do that after we talk. First, we have to settle our future. That accident today—’
He came to an abrupt halt just inside the door to their office suite. ‘Margaret. What are you doing here?’
The words were rapped out as Margaret surged to her feet from her position at Chrissy’s desk.
Chrissy gasped. ‘She’s using my computer. But why?’ The truth dawned on her, and fell from her lips as she stared into Margaret’s glittering eyes. ‘It was you. You’re the one who’s been interfering with our shipping.’
‘Get back, Chrissy. Get behind me. She’s—I don’t think Margaret is feeling herself right now.’ Nate’s rough warning came as she realised the rest of it.
It was Margaret who had sent a thug to threaten Nate’s life. Chrissy gasped, and outrage filled her. How dared this woman threaten harm to the man Chrissy loved? ‘How could you, Margaret? You have a lot to answer for—’
‘And you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.’ Margaret whipped a diamond-studded purse into view and pulled a small pistol from it. ‘This is all Henry’s fault. If he hadn’t put me on that ridiculous budget, saying I should love him more than his money—’
Her voice cracked. The gun wavered, and then she steadied her aim. Right at Chrissy. ‘Actually, you’re the cause of the trouble, really. Everything was fine before you came along and became so pally with my husband. He treated you like a saint. Talked about you all the time. He loved you
more than he loved me.’
‘That’s not true, Margaret.’ Nate eased himself forward, put his body between Chrissy and the barrel of the gun.
‘Nate, no.’ Chrissy gritted the warning, but he ignored it. She clutched the back of his suit jacket in trembling fingers. ‘It’s me she has the problem with. Let me face her. Try to talk to her.’
From what she could see of Margaret beyond Nate’s broad shoulder, the woman was teetering on a shuddering edge. They had to help her—somehow.
Margaret proved how close to that edge she was a moment later when she began to cry—big, fat tears that rolled down her face and ruined her make-up.
‘I can’t live like a pauper. Don’t you see? I’m made for better things than that.’ She raised her other hand in a pleading gesture. ‘I was made for you, Nate. Not for some old man and his riches. Why didn’t I realise I could have had you and your riches before it was too late?’
Chrissy gasped. Said in low tones, ‘She’s mad.’
‘Give me the gun, Margaret, and we’ll talk about this.’ Nate took another step toward Margaret.
For a moment Chrissy stood frozen, convinced that Margaret would simply pull the trigger and kill Nate. Her heart stuttered at the thought.
Nate will talk her around. If anyone can do it, he can.
‘Give me the gun, Margaret. Please, my dear.’ Nate held out his hand, palm up. ‘We can talk about anything you like, once you do that.’
Margaret held on to the gun, and gave a sage nod that made no sense. Her eyes were filled with a dark desperation that sent shivers down Chrissy’s spine. ‘You should have stayed away from the docks, Nate. I didn’t want them to hurt you, but I had to get my little additions to Montbank’s cargo safely away on those ships.’
‘You must have been very clever to hide things on the ships, Margaret.’ Nate made it sound like a compliment, and all the while edged toward the trembling woman. ‘What did you hide? Was it drugs? Some other contraband?’
‘Stolen jewellery and artefacts. Very small, very valuable pieces that could be hidden easily.’ Her smile stretched across her teeth. ‘I took them myself. From parties I attended. Nobody ever knew, and I’ve been happily supplementing my allowance. I am very clever, aren’t I?’
Her mood shifted in an instant. Became brittle. ‘It was the only answer, don’t you see? But then, when you came back, I wanted you. I was certain this time I could convince you, but you wanted her instead.’
She spat the words, and the gun swung toward the door. Chrissy didn’t have time to think. Nate simply threw himself across the table and knocked Margaret to the floor. He wrestled for control of the gun. A shot went off and Chrissy’s whole world stilled.
‘Nate!’ She leaped forward, lifted the heavy phone set from her desk and raised it, ready to strike.
They were on the floor, Nate and Margaret. For a moment she didn’t know which one was harmed, and then she realised neither had taken the bullet. It had blown a hole through the wall near her potted plants.
Margaret was no match for Nate’s strength. He subdued her almost instantly, then eased to his feet, keeping Margaret’s arms locked behind her in a tight hold.
The fight seemed to have gone out of Henry’s wife. She stood with her head bowed, soft sobs wrenching her body. The woman appeared to have aged ten years in these few short moments, and a well of pity rose up in Chrissy. ‘What will happen to her? How will we break this to Henry?’
‘You’ll co-operate with the police, won’t you, Margaret?’ Nate’s voice was gentle. ‘We’ll get you the best care. People who will be kind to you and help you to see what a good person you are.’
Chrissy had never admired him more than she did in that moment, as he showed compassion to the woman who had forced him from the country six years ago, used his grandfather’s company to aid her illegal dealings and had just aimed a gun at them both.
She swallowed hard and stepped forward. Spoke softly. ‘I’ll bet you had no intention of shooting either of us and you’re already sorry that you pointed the gun our way, aren’t you?’
Margaret nodded, sobbing. ‘I didn’t want to harm anyone. I don’t know why I did such wicked things. It all got out of my control.’
‘You need help. We’re going to get it for you, but you have to co-operate with the people who want to help you.’ Nate motioned for Chrissy to get the gun.
She picked it up gingerly and, after a moment’s study, put the safety lock on. ‘I don’t think it can discharge now.’
‘Good. Call the police, will you, my love?’ He gave Margaret a look of calm compassion. ‘I kind of have my hands full.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘WE’LL help you, Henry. You don’t have to face any of this alone.’ Nate’s voice broke as he reached for his grandfather’s hand. Covered it with his own. ‘I’m so sorry that Margaret said those things at the police station. You have to understand she just…Her mind isn’t quite right. She—’
‘I already knew, Nate. I’m afraid I’m the one who needs to say sorry.’ Henry’s smile was sad, but he squared his elderly shoulders against the leather chair in his sitting room. ‘I knew that my wife had chased after you, and that you left to try to save my pride. I pretended to know nothing about it because I didn’t want to admit I’d made a terrible mistake.’
His sigh filled the silent room, and Chrissy closed her eyes, hurting for both of them.
‘I let her chase you away from me.’ Henry’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’ve had my head in the sand, pretending nothing was wrong ever since.
‘Please forgive me, lad. I should have let her go right after I married her. Now she needs help, and I’ll provide for her, now and in the future, but I’m going to divorce her. She’ll be happier on her own, and I don’t want her coming between us any more.’
Nate pulled his grandfather into a fierce hug. When they separated they both had tears in their eyes. Chrissy choked back the emotion in her own throat and got to her feet. ‘I should leave you. You should have your privacy for this.’
‘Stay.’
‘Don’t go.’
They spoke together. Grandfather and grandson, and turned twin determined gazes on her.
Nate got to his feet and came to her chair, raised her from it. ‘I’m sure Henry would agree that he—that we, the Montbank family, need you.’
Henry nodded, but a twisted pain filled his face. ‘There’s more I have to say. I guess this is a night for confessions, but I…can’t hold this back any longer. It’s best you’re both here when I say it.’
Nate’s arms tightened around Chrissy.
She, too, tensed. ‘Whatever it is, Henry, I’m sure it won’t matter to us.’
‘You’re a generous girl. I’ve always liked that about you.’ Henry sighed and shook his head. His words slowed a little, slurred the tiniest bit, revealing his strain. ‘Things with Margaret, well, they were never what I had hoped for. Our relationship progressively worsened as time passed. I’m afraid while she was busy spending my money, I turned my unhappiness into a rather unhealthy addiction to the stock market.’
His voice dipped to a low mutter. ‘At first it was just a dabble. But it didn’t go well. I lost money, and I’ve never been good at accepting defeat. I kept thinking I could beat it if I could just get a break. Such obvious gambling justification, yet I let myself believe it.
‘I put Margaret on a budget, but I should have realised it wouldn’t work.’ A deep sigh. ‘It didn’t stop my behaviour.’
Nate dropped one arm from around Chrissy, but tucked her in against his shoulder. Gave his grandfather a gentle smile as realisation dawned on his face.
‘You’re the one who’s been cooking the books. You did a pretty good job of hiding it, Gramps. I’ve had investigators on it for weeks, and they still haven’t got it all worked out. Have we lost much?’
‘You mean, has your grandfather lost much?’ Henry shook his head. ‘Enough, lad. Enough to make me realise I’ve been a
fool and that it has to stop. I want you to buy me out. As you did with the overseas interest. You don’t have to stay here, but I don’t want to go back to management, either. It’s no longer healthy for me to be there. I’ve finally accepted that.’
‘And you’re all right with it, aren’t you.’ It was a statement, and Henry nodded agreement.
‘In the end, it’ll be a relief to be able to stop worrying about it all.’ He got slowly to his feet. ‘Forgive a silly old man?’
‘Already done.’ Nate wrapped his arms around Henry again. Hugged him gently and pulled back. ‘Forgive me for being stupid and wasting six years that I could have been closer to you? And promise me you’ll get better?’
‘Now that I’ve confessed my guilty secret, I expect my recovery will move along faster.’ Henry’s laugh was close to its previous hearty boom of sound. ‘And there’s nothing to forgive. You did what you believed was best.’
He moved toward the door. ‘The files are in my office. You can take them any time you’re ready. You’ll see what I’ve done, what it all adds up to. Now, I think, if I’ve read matters correctly, that you two might also be in need of a little privacy.’
When they protested, he waved a hand. ‘My night nurse has shown a surprising propensity for cryptic crossword puzzles. I think I might like to discuss her latest find with her. That is, if she’s been game enough to bring it along tonight.’
As though his words had summoned her, a grey-haired woman poked her head around the door. ‘Oh, I’ve been game enough all right, you old goat. Now, if you’re finished blabbering in here, it’s time for your dinner.’
‘And the crossword?’
She took her time answering him, then gave in and nodded, a twinkle in her faded periwinkle eyes. ‘All I’ll say is that you’ll need to know the difference between erotica and rotting trout if you want to get anywhere with this little gem.’
‘An erotic cryptic puzzle, eh?’ Henry snorted and headed for the door, a determined gleam in his faded eyes. ‘I’ve been around longer than you have, Sally Smith, and I’ve studied my share of erotic art. I’m well-versed in the ancient texts, too. I’ll give you a run for your money, don’t you worry.’
