“I mean it, Cora. Ask for my help if you try to go after your father.”
It had to be seventy or eighty degrees in the cabin but her teeth chattered like it was thirty.
“Where’s Nick?”
“Hard to say.” His voice was flat, emotionless. That scared her more than his smug tone before. “He left his family before. Maybe he left you out here with me.”
With that, Alexander released her and left. She fell on the bed, rolled on her side and curled up, wondering how she could ever get out of the cabin with Alexander around. Worse than that, he could come back any minute.
Nick wouldn’t leave. He couldn’t, not after everything he said.
She realized she was rocking and stopped. She lay perfectly still and listened. Had Alexander left without her hearing? She didn’t look for fear that he might be right there waiting for her. He made her skin crawl and she worried about what he was thinking. He didn’t hurt her or take advantage of her, yet. He could have but he backed off. Suddenly she wondered if he was toying with her just for fun.
It might have been one hour, or several, when she finally heard a noise in the cabin.
There were footsteps. She could hear Nick and Alexander talking, followed by noise in the kitchen. Finally, Nick brought food to her and knelt by her bed.
“Sorry I had to leave. I tried to get a signal to see if I could find anything out.”
She sat up, trying to see him. “Well?”
“Keith said to sit tight.” He dropped his voice down to a barely audible whisper. “I asked him why Alexander was up here watching us instead of keeping tabs on Jerry, and that surprised him. At least, he acted surprised.”
Maybe Keith had told Alexander to tail Jerry, and instead he came out here. She didn’t say anything to Nick.
He rose to his feet. “I’ll let you eat.”
She had to force food down her throat; she wasn’t hungry but wanted to keep her strength up. One way or another, she would find a way to escape.
Her thoughts swirled around her in the dark that night. She guessed it was night anyway. Nick didn’t come to sleep in the other bed. She didn’t hear them at all.
Everyone was lying to everyone else. She couldn’t trust Nick. Alexander had told her some useful information, but he clearly had some ulterior motives. Maybe he wanted to make Nick look bad, or get rid of Jerry, or both. She guessed he had included her in his plan.
She slowly made her way to a light sleeping state. Only minutes later, or what seemed like minutes, a touch pulled her harshly back into the dark, small room.
She smelled Nick and was starting to say his name when his hand gently covered her mouth.
“Cora, we have to get out of here.”
He wasn’t whispering. Where was Alexander? She pushed him away. “What will happen to Jerry if I disappear?”
“Do you want to know what will happen to you if Jerry doesn’t repay that money?” He leaned close. “That’s why Alexander’s here.”
“Does Keith think you couldn’t do away with me?” she asked. He shook his head and started to say something. She interrupted. “Nick, I can’t leave. They’ll kill Jerry.”
“Alexander will kill you.”
If only she could see his face. Did he really believe that? As much as Alexander scared her, she wasn’t sure he was capable of murder (maybe eighty percent sure). Nick said her name and waited. Alexander had made it sound like he could help her find Jerry. What if she couldn’t find her dad without Alexander?
“I don’t know…” It was ironic that she was wavering now when he finally agreed to take her back to Eugene, if that was what he was offering.
“I’m sorry, Cora.”
“You say that a lot.” She started to roll over, away from him, but his hand stopped her.
He clamped something over her mouth and nose. . . there wasn’t a breath to scream with.
Seven
Nick placed his feet carefully as he walked, in the dark, over the sticks and rocks on the forest floor. He tried not to jostle Cora too much. The trees blocked any moon or star light so he made his way slowly, listening to the night and feeling his way through the overgrown path with each step.
Being out in the woods normally calmed him down and refocused him after a hard week of negotiating settlements, but not tonight. His heart thumped harder than normal, and he hoped it was from the extra weight he carried and not his nerves. He kept himself in shape, working out a few times a week and running in the morning.
This wasn’t a clear morning, but a black and bottomless night. He glanced at the glowing hands of his wristwatch. Right around three a.m.
Nick didn’t want to think about the things he’d just done, only his reasons for doing them. Finding the chloroform in Alexander’s bag had been the final and deciding factor in the case against him. Nick couldn’t simply stand by.
Cora’s head naturally cradled into his shoulder, so he couldn’t glance down at her face. She lay perfectly still. He had a real sleeping beauty in his arms, but she didn’t want anything to do with him.
Crack.
Nick crouched down with Cora in his arms, and remained perfectly still and silent, listening to the night. He reached under his shirt and pulled out his Beretta. With Cora pulled close against him, he waited.
If Alexander awoke any time soon, he’d take off after Nick in a rage. Nick kept hearing the awful thunk noise that the board made when he slammed it down on Alexander’s head. He couldn’t stand Alexander and knew he planned to hurt Cora, but that didn’t lesson the horror of seeing Alexander fall limp to the floor. Nick had tried to sneak up on Alexander while he was smoking outside the front door of the cabin, but Alexander sensed him coming and threw a punch. Nick dropped the chloroform saturated rag in the struggle. Alexander had thrown a chop into Nick’s throat. Nick sensed it enough to block with his hand, saving his life. They’d both thrown sucker punches to the gut and knees to the groin.
For a few terrifying seconds Alexander was on top, about to break Nick’s face in. Nick, thinking of Cora, found a new reserve and threw Alexander backwards. He’d felt a board under him and grabbed it, swinging it at Alexander’s head with all his force. It had been an old two by four, strong enough to survive the elements and to deliver a knockout blow.
Nick firmly believed that the end didn’t justify the means, not when illegal activities were involved. In this case however… he didn’t have a choice. Nick shut down any thoughts of what Alexander planned for Cora, knowing he couldn’t handle it.
Frogs and crickets sang together, but that was all he heard and he didn’t have all night. He put the gun away and started off again, pushing himself up to his feet while balancing the extra weight. The trail from the parking shed to the cabin wasn’t long, and he had to be halfway by now, but the seconds were dragging on. He concentrated on his balance and not on whether Alexander was waking up yet.
Alexander only had so many free days left before justice caught up with him. Nick vowed to make sure of that, for Cora and her father.
Alexander had hated Nick the first day he met him, simply for being Keith’s son and the one marked to follow him. Alexander wanted that spot, and wanted Nick out of the picture. Nick remembered the day he came home to tell his father he planned to go into law, so he didn’t want to be involved in running the family business. Alexander had taken great pleasure in fanning Keith’s rage. Nick had been able to live with that. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he let Alexander hurt Cora.
He felt certain that Alexander had embezzled the missing money, framed Jerry, and planned it all to get his hands on Cora.
Finally arriving at the car, Nick unlocked it and laid Cora in the passenger seat. He stretched out and breathed in. Add the adrenaline to the workout of carrying Cora, and he felt like he’d gone twenty miles. It left him shaking, but he had her in the car and could get her out of there and finally away from Alexander.
He inspected the tires and the engine and didn�
��t see any signs of tampering. He put his gun under the driver seat before starting the car. He pressed lightly on the gas and tested the brakes when he started out. Cora had yet to see that he carried a gun, and he wanted to keep it that way. He kept it for protection and never wanted to scare Cora into listening to him. Not in a million years. Nick prayed things wouldn’t go that far, because he’d let her walk away.
He drove the car over the tall grass and bushes and on their way. Nick guessed he had a good head start, and a few hours till daylight. He should have enough time to put some distance between them and the cabin, where Alexander hopefully still lay unconscious. He’d hide them for a day or two, and form a plan while Alexander searched the city for them.
What if Alexander was dead? No, he couldn’t even think about it.
He tilted the mirror down to see Cora sleeping in the backseat. I’ll fix this. He’d made that promise to her and planned to keep it.
***
Predawn light showed Cora the ceiling of a car. She smelled leather and pine. Nick’s Mustang. She didn’t remember leaving the cabin or getting into a car. Wait, why did they leave the cabin?
“Are you awake, Cora?”
He drugged her!
“Why? Why? How could you!” Flaming mad now, she jerked to sit up but fell back down, dizzy.
“I’m sorry, but I had to.”
“Why did you ask me to trust you and then do this?” Hot tears swelled up and fought to plunge over her eyelashes as she remembered the warning from Alexander.
“Wait, Cora.” He hit the brakes and threw the car into neutral, turning to her. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. I’m trying to keep you safe.”
“How will I find my father now?” she cried. “Alexander knows where he is, and I’m sure we won’t find him before Alexander does. He could have helped me.”
“What?” He looked genuinely shocked. And worried. “You don’t know that man.”
“Oh, yeah, Alexander is so evil, and yet you’re kidnapping me, AGAIN!” She yelled at the car’s ceiling instead of looking over at him.
“I used chloroform I found in his bag. Don’t you know what he planned to do with it?” He reached to her. “You’d only bring on worse trouble by accepting his help. Your dad trusted Alexander because he fooled him. I’m willing to bet my life that Alexander is the one who framed him.”
Cora wasn’t listening. She wasn’t just dizzy now, but also nauseous.
“Nick, I don’t feel so good.”
He hurried to gently help her stand up and lean against the car. The outside air felt cool, calming her stomach, but goose bumps popped up all over her. She shivered and Nick stood in front of her and rubbed her arms. Cora wanted to push him away, or maybe fall into his arms and cry.
“We only have a minute or two to spare. Are you okay?”
Shaking her head weakly, she told him, “I don’t know.”
“We have to go.” He glanced over the car, looking around, and she wondered if he thought Alexander could catch up to them. He apologized and helped her into the front seat.
“How the hell did you get me into the car?” she asked, her voice hoarse, although she was starting to feel better. The path from the cabin to the car was pretty steep and twisted through the trees.
“I carried you . . . through the woods, in the dark. So don’t say I’ve never done anything nice for you.”
“Maybe I’ll thank you when you find Jerry.”
“That’s the idea,” he said. A few miles later, the car left the gravel country road.
A thought occurred to her, and she couldn’t believe she had missed it before. “How do I know you didn’t have a part in stealing the money?”
“Excuse me?” He threw her an incredulous look. “Wouldn’t it be a waste of time to help you if I took the money, or knew who did?”
To a normal person, yes, but they had left normal behind when he kidnapped her.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know anything for sure anymore.”
“Listen, I’m going to tell you what I think is going on, but remember, it’s just my theory.” He waited until she looked his way. “I believe Alexander is behind this. If I can uncover his motives and get some proof, I think I can clear your father . . . and get you out of this mess.”
That almost sounded logical and reasonable.
“Do you have enough time?” she asked, remembering the deadline.
“I’ll have to make do. I’ve worked under pressure before.” He glanced in the mirror, checking behind them.
“Have you ever had to beat the clock to save someone’s life?” she asked. Glancing back, she wondered what he saw but didn’t want to leave the conversation hanging. There was a side road up ahead and he turned the car in. A ways down that road, he pulled over and drove the car into some brush. He turned the car off and cracked his door.
She heard a car drive past them on the main road. She held her breath as the reality of the situation hit her.
“I’m sorry if that sounded insensitive.” He turned back and looked at her quickly, his eyes burning a warm color in the morning light. Just as quickly, he turned back to the door, listening. The soft engine noise faded as the car drove farther away. Several silent minutes passed before Nick started the car again. They followed a line of tall grass and weeds growing between two tire ruts. Branches hung over both sides of the old abandoned dirt road as if they wanted to hide it.
“Are we headed even farther out into the sticks?” This road wasn’t going to lead them back to Eugene.
“We have to lose that car and make sure Alexander isn’t tracking us. He’ll assume we’re heading back to the city as quickly as possible.” Branches swept over the windshield and sides of the car as he slowly rolled through the brush. He stopped under a large evergreen. Again, he cracked his door to hear outside.
“Now what?” She let the panic take over. “How do we get back to town with them out here looking for us?”
Nick grabbed both her hands so she would turn to face him. “We’re okay. We just have to wait them out. They’re looking hard now, but everyone will expect us to race back to beat that deadline.” He pulled her hands to his mouth and kissed one and then the other. She expected him to say something but instead he looked into her eyes. He seemed to say a lot with his eyes, and somehow she felt that she understood him. Right now he wanted to calm her down and reassure her. It wouldn’t help her dad at all if she couldn’t keep it together.
He leaned forward, taking her by surprise, and kissed her lightly on the lips. The kiss happened so fast that he pulled back before she could even respond. Maybe it just meant I’m here or we’re in this together. Whatever it meant, the sensation of his lips on hers sent a heat wave through her.
“Why don’t we get out?” He pushed his door the rest of the way open and stood, stretching his arms above him. When she didn’t follow, he walked around and opened her door. “I have some water, dried fruit, and jerky in the trunk.”
She stretched her legs out of the door, but remained sitting while he went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. He came back with a sleeping bag that he threw over an old log settled into the earth and moss. “Cora, we’re safe here for now.” He sat and gave her a come-hither look with a glow in his eyes and a slight smile.
A noise came on the morning breeze and she thought it was a car engine at first. Seeing her face, he shook his head. “That’s a commercial jet off somewhere in the sky.”
The sound faded but she picked out the quiet hum of a river and the air moving through the needles way up in the trees. A bird chirped and an insect buzzed by. There were all kinds of noises if she listened. She finally left the car and sat by him. She sat close enough to feel his body heat. Her mind started down an unproductive train of thought while her emotions went wild.
“You must be hungry,” he said, opening a grocery bag. “Jerky? Dried fruit? Both?”
She took the jerky first. “You seem prepared for all of this
.”
“Actually, I keep things on hand so I can take off for a hike or trip in the woods. There’s a camp stove and all kinds of other supplies in the trunk. Too bad I didn’t grab some canned soup from the cabin.”
He watched her as she chewed on fruit and jerky and studied the pinecones on the ground around their feet.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away who I was.” He handed her one of the water bottles. “What if I told you more about myself now?”
She looked at him but didn’t answer with words.
Nick ran his hands through his hair and dropped his gaze back to the pinecones. “This is something I keep to myself. My mom died when I was ten, from lung cancer of all things. We had a lot of money, always, but it wasn’t enough to help her. I was so mad at my dad at the time. I guess I still am.”
He could have looked down because he was lying, or because it was hard to share. She couldn’t tell so she only said, “Because he’s a chain smoker?”
“Yeah, and it killed her. Even then, he didn’t slow down.”
She wondered if he was manipulating her. Maybe he knew her mother died when she was eight. The loss still ached inside her, sometimes it overtook her and she cried in bed at night. Things happened all the time that she longed to share with her mom. Life was full of reminders of her absence, from dances, to graduations and birthdays. She wanted to share that with Nick, and see understanding in his eyes, but she held back. Her heart wanted to trust him but her head warned her otherwise. Not now. Not like this. “And?”
“And…My dad started with money, from his parents. Did your father ever tell you about my family?”
“Not really. He said you had a lot of money and took care of him.”
“That was smart of him to keep you out of it.” He paused. The irony was just too thick. “My great-grandfather left Switzerland with the profits he made in banking. Over here, he started out buying a restaurant and then bought one more business at a time.”
“Taking over Eugene one business at a time, huh?”
“Actually, yeah. That’s about how my father thinks. He’s the oldest of three brothers. He makes all the family decisions, on top of running several hotels and other businesses. Adam’s dad, John, manages the restaurants, except the one Adam took over. John is married to a sweet Mexican lady named Martha.”
License to Love: Holiday Box Set (Contemporary Romance) Page 34
