He nods and moves on to get the other women rounded up to take them to give their statements. Natasha leans her head on my chest as I carry her away. “My God, I’ve never been so glad to see a person in my entire life, Nic.”
“Me neither,” I say as I carry her out the back way to avoid the other people.
“How did you know it was me?” she asks as she looks at me with confusion.
“The scar under your left breast. Now, aren’t you glad I took the time to get to know your body?” I ask her as I recall her trying to stop me from looking at that scar.
“Nicholai!” I hear my father call out.
I stop and wait as he approaches us. “Yes, Father?”
“I want to know if Natasha is okay. Should she be taken to the hospital?” he asks as he gets to us.
She shakes her head. “No, sir. Thank you for asking. I think some ointment on the lashes will suffice. And all I really need is Nic and I have him now. I’ll be okay.”
He gives her a nod then looks at me. “Make sure she gets a check-up, Nicholai. Take good care of her.”
“I will, Father,” I tell him then start heading to my car again.
She looks up at me with furrowed brows. “When did he start liking me?”
“Recently,” I tell her then kiss her forehead. “Things are changing, my princess.”
“I can see that.” She leans her head against my chest again. “I am so tired. You have no idea. I’m probably going to sleep for a week.”
Her voice is hoarse and weak and her body feels twenty pounds lighter than it did before she was taken from me. I could hate her father and hold a grudge for what he did to her, forever. But I won’t be doing that. I will forgive the man.
When I have a daughter, I might do insane things to try to protect her myself. All that really matters is I have the woman I love back in my arms and I will hold tight to her forever. I stop as I see a star falling from the sky and watch it as the light trails behind it. “Make a wish, Natasha.”
She looks at the star too and closes her eyes, making a silent wish. When she opens them, she smiles. “It came true,” she says.
“And how do you know that?” I ask as I continue to the car.
“I wished for this not to be a dream. I’ve had so many dreams of you rescuing me. In my dreams, when I opened my eyes, you’d be gone and I’d be alone in one of my prisons. This time, you’re really here. I’m really in your arms and you are really taking me to your home, right?”
“Our home,” I say as I get to the car and open the door, sliding her into the front seat. “I am taking you to our home, my princess.”
“That sounds fantastic to me, my prince. Our home. Our life. Our love. Take me home, Nic. It’s been too long.” She runs her hand over the back of her neck. “Nic, did he brand me here?”
I look at the back of her neck to find a bite mark but no brand. “No, he bit you pretty good but I’ll put ointment on it so often it won’t leave a scar.”
Her sigh of relief tells me she was worried about him leaving a permanent mark on her. It wouldn’t matter to me if he did. I’d still love her just the same.
Closing her door, I feel my heart beating differently. It’s hard to believe this is finally over. We’ve waited for over a year and been through hell but it’s finally over and we can start our lives together.
Slipping behind the steering wheel, I look at her to find her resting her head on the leather headrest. “You look beautiful.”
She reaches out to touch my cheek. “You do too.”
I smile and pull her hand to kiss her palm. “Let’s get you home.”
As I pull out of the parking lot, amidst a sea of other people leaving the zoo, all I can think about is how blessed I feel at this moment. When I feel her hand taking mine off the steering wheel to hold it, I sigh with how natural it feels to hold her hand on top of the middle console that separates us.
“You’re the best Christmas present I’ve ever gotten,” she says as she gazes at me.
I look at her, returning her smile. “I think that about you too. You can bet I will lavish you with gifts once the sun comes up.”
“I only want one thing from you, Nic.” She moves her hand up my arm with a gentle stroke.
“And what is that?” I ask her as my skin heats from her soft touch.
“I want you to stay in bed with me all day and night and make sweet love to me as many times as possible.” She bites her lower lip and makes a tiny moan.
“Now, that does sound like a nice way to spend our first Christmas together, doesn’t it? I think I can manage that for you.”
“Merry Christmas, my prince.”
I take her hand and press my lips to it. “Merry Christmas, my princess.”
This may be the best Christmas of our lives!
NATASHA
The snow is still falling as we go to the FBI building so I can tell them everything James Hawthorne has done to me and Nic. A hot shower and some food have me feeling a lot better.
I wish I didn’t have to leave the house to do this but it needs to be done and the sooner I can see that man behind bars the better I’ll feel. The driver drops us off in front of the large building and Nic takes my hand, leading me inside.
Two women with high ponytails and trench coats walk out the door just before we walk in. “Hello,” I say as I recognize them as a couple of James’ former slaves.
“Thank you,” one of them says. “We’ve needed someone like you to come into our lives and help us for some time now.”
Nic looks ashamed as he says, “I feel partially responsible for how you all have been treated. The rules our club has did not protect you at all. I will stay on at the club, merely to rectify the rules to protect women from now on.”
The women look at each other, then at us. One of them says, “That will be nice of you. Neither of us will ever be returning to that club or any like it, ever again. I’m heading back to Minnesota to live with my grandparents until I feel stronger, mentally and physically.”
“I’m going back to Nebraska to live with my parents while I get the help I need to get over this,” the other one tells us.
“I’m glad you two have found ways to help you overcome this tragedy. I was a shell of a person when he first took me to the apartment. I cried and nearly gave up. But then I felt as if I’d been sent to help you women. And any women in the future he’d bring into his torture chambers. May God bless and keep you two,” The hug we three share has me finding tears stinging the back of my eyes as I try desperately to hold them back.
I’m a bit surprised as Nic joins our hug, enveloping us all in his strong arms. “I’m so sorry this happened to you all. I will do all I can to make sure this never happens again. I will personally, take care of finding a lawyer to make sure you ladies are handsomely compensated for your mental and physical anguish. I want none of you to ever have any financial problems for the rest of your lives.”
“Thank you,” one of them says as we all pull away from one another, ending the hug and wiping our eyes.
With a wave, we watch them go down the sidewalk to hail a cab. Nic calls out, “Go to that black car parked over there. My driver will take you wherever it is you need to go.”
They nod and walk towards the car. He pulls his phone out and gives the driver his directions to aid the women in whatever they need. As we walk inside the building that’s sparsely populated with it being Christmas Day, I say, “That was sweet of you, Nic. Such a sweetness has taken you over, it’s amazing.”
“I know what hell feels like now. I want no part of the ugly darkness I used to crave. You are a ray of light in the world I thought of as dark and sinister. The fact is, life is what you make it. You want it dark, it will be dark. You want it light, it will be light. I want you and I want to live life in the light.”
I hold his hand and lean into his side as we go to the elevator. “I want to live life with you in the light too.”
His lips press a
gainst the top of my head as the elevator doors open and my father steps out of it. “Well, there you are. We have all the other women’s statements. Yours is all we need to wrap this up. With Hawthorne in federal custody, no judge can set him free. All of you are safe from the man.”
“Good to hear,” Nic says. “Who do we need to talk to?”
“Granger is going to get your statement. And you won’t believe how many calls we’ve had pointing fingers at you Nic. Various crimes have been reported.”
My body tenses. “Dad! You can’t…”
He stops me as he holds up his hand. “We know Hawthorne is behind all of that. He has been for some time it seems. Hence, why we were always investigating your company. That’s all over now. You can stop looking over your shoulder for us, Nic. But you still need to keep a tight leash on that company of yours. You got me?”
Nic nods. “I got you. Thank you, sir. I’d like to speak with you in private when you have the time. I’d like to do it today, if possible, sir.”
Nic is talking with such reverence to my father. I have to say, I thought he’d be mad at him for causing us both so much pain. He’s surprising me in every way.
“Sure, Nic. I’m grabbing a coffee then I’ll be back. Tasha’s going to have to give her statement alone anyway. We need the women to feel one hundred percent safe telling us everything so they’re interviewed alone. You understand, right?” Dad asks.
“I do. I’ll talk to you when you get back then,” Nic says, then we get in the elevator.
Once the doors close, I find curiosity taking me over. “What do you want to talk to my dad about?”
Turning toward me, he pulls me into his arms and rubs his nose to mine. “Don’t you worry about that, my princess. You just worry about making sure you give every last bit of evidence you have against Hawthorne to the feds so we can be rid of him.”
I know he’s got something up his sleeve but for some reason doesn’t want me to know about it. “I hate secrets.”
“I like them,” he says and chuckles as the elevator doors open and he lets me out of his hold and takes my hand, leading me out.
“Natasha Greenwell, I’m agent Granger,” a man in a black suit and tie greets me. I shake his extended hand then he turns to Nic and shakes his. “Mr. Grimm, nice to see you again, under better circumstances.”
“Nice to see you too. It’s nice to be on the other side of the FBI for a change,” Nic says then runs his arm around me and kisses the side of my head. “I guess I’ll leave her in your hands, Agent Granger. I’ll be here in the waiting area.”
“I’ll need to talk to you next, Grimm,” the agent says as he ushers me into his small office.
Nic gives him a nod and me a small wave. “Tell the man every detail, leave nothing out, princess.”
I nod and the agent closes the door, leaving me alone with him. When his hand touches the small of my back in a gesture to be seated, it sends waves of unease through me. I can see I’m going to have some residual effects from my ordeal. It has me thinking everything won’t be all rainbows and butterflies for me the way I hoped it would be.
Can everything ever be normal for me again?
NICHOLAI
A calm washes over me as Natasha’s father steps out of the elevator and smiles when he sees me sitting in the waiting room outside of Granger’s office. “Good, she’s giving him her statement. Her words will cement the case against him. And I had something to ask you, Grimm. It’s about that paper you were holding that you said was a bond between you and my daughter. You’d told me there was no such thing between you two.”
I feel a bit awkward talking about this but I forge ahead anyway. “That was a document I had drawn up but we never signed. I signed her name to the last page and brought it with me to the ceremony just in case I ran into any trouble saying she wasn’t a free woman. You’d have to understand that culture, sir. It’s not the mainstream. In that lifestyle, some women belong to men. But Natasha was a free woman, she always was and always will be.”
He nods and sips his coffee. “I get it. I’m not cool with the initial document being brought up in the first place, though.”
“That’s far behind me. I swear that to you. I did go to the club to play poker and decompress one night in the last year. The scene left me flat and I don’t plan on going back to it as any form of entertainment. I am going to continue my membership, though.”
“Why in the hell would you do that?” he asks as he frowns at me.
“Only to make sure the rules are changed and adhered to. That’s the only reason. I want to help protect the people who enjoy that lifestyle. I know you don’t get it but some people like it. It won’t stop the club just because I quit it. I need to oversee things there. Now that I know a thing like what Hawthorne pulled can happen.”
“When you explain it like that, I understand you much better,” he says and takes a seat a few chairs down from me. “Is Natasha okay? I mean the places on her back looked bad.”
“I put some ointment on them. They’re superficial. They’ll heal in about a week. I’m taking her to have a thorough check-up as soon as possible. I want her healthy.”
“Me too. I have felt extremely guilty about not paying attention to the fact her body became dependent on the drugs I told them to use daily to keep her calm while I had her held at the castle,” he tells me.
“I had no idea that had happened. That’s not good at all. I’ll call my personal physician to come this evening to see to her,” I say as I push down the anger I’m feeling at him for having done such a thing.
“That would be great. Can I trust you, Grimm, to take good care of my daughter?”
I want to tell him I am more trustworthy than he’s ever been but that would be negative and I want only positives in this conversation. “Yes, you can trust me. As a matter of fact, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” I pull the engagement ring out of my pocket. I bought it for Natasha a year ago and show it to him. “With your blessing, I’d like to ask your daughter to become my wife. I’d like to marry her sooner rather than later if you can agree to that, sir.”
He looks at the ring for a while. “That thing probably cost more than my house and two cars, doesn’t it?”
“It is a valuable piece of jewelry, sir.”
He looks at me for a minute then he looks away and takes a sip of his coffee. I don’t like how long he’s taking to answer me. My nerves are getting twitchy and my palms are beginning to sweat.
“She isn’t the sweet girl you think she is, Nicholai. I thought she was once myself, but she isn’t. I think you’re in love with the fact she seems sweet and innocent but she’s not that. When you see her with all her flaws, you may not want her and that’s what I’m afraid of. I know men like you. You put women on a pedestal. Tasha is flawed. I’m just afraid she’ll disappoint you and you two will end up in a loveless marriage.”
And just what the hell does that mean?
The Beginning: Part Eight
NATASHA
The cab ride back to Nic’s home was made in silence. As we step off the elevator to go into his apartment, I feel a chill in the air. “It’s pretty cold up here,” I say as Nic leads me by the hand to the door.
“The heating may have broken up here. Hopefully, someone in my staff reported the problem,” he says as he unlocks and opens the door.
It’s so cold in the room, we can see our breath. “No one’s here,” I say as it’s obvious.
“It’s Christmas! I forgot that I let them all off. Damn, it’s cold in here,” he says as he pulls me along with him to check the thermostat. “It’s off. Who the hell would turn it all the way off?”
“I don’t know but hurry and turn it back on,” I say with chattering teeth. “It’s freezing in here.”
He seems flustered and aggravated by the mishap. “This is really lax of my staff. I will see that whoever did this will be reprimanded. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried and I don’
t think it’s that big of a deal. It’ll be warm in here soon and we won’t even think about it. Come on, we can get naked and get under the blanket in your bed,” I say to take his mind off the cold air in the room.
“I have my personal physician coming to see to you, Natasha. There will be no sex until she makes sure you’re healthy enough for that. Your father told me about you having withdrawals from a drug he had you on, a sedative. Why did you keep that from me?” he asks with a frown on his handsome face.
“I didn’t keep it from you. It’s been mere hours since we’ve seen one another. There hasn’t been time to give you every last detail of the last year.” I let his hand go and go to the bar to find something to warm me up.
His hand on my shoulder stops me. “And what are you doing?”
“Getting myself a drink. You want one?” I ask him as he looks oddly at me.
“It’s nine in the morning, Natasha.”
Shaking my head, I say, “I had no idea what time it was. That is much too early to have a drink. You’re right. I just thought it would help to ease the chill in my body. That’s all. I wasn’t looking to get snookered.”
His eyes narrow as he looks at me. Then he takes my hand and pulls me to the kitchen. “I’ll make us some hot chocolate. That too can get the chill out of your body. And while I make it, you can tell me everything. I want to hear it all.”
“I am so tired, Nic. When’s this doctor coming?” I ask as he pulls a chair out at the small table in the kitchen and I sit down. “I’ve been up forever. I’m exhausted.”
“She’ll be here shortly. I don't suppose it will take long.. Then we can sleep.” He pulls out the milk and a small saucepan to heat it in. “Did Hawthorne give you any drugs while he had you?”
“No,” I tell him as I pull my gloves off and rub my hands together. “He sent a woman to give me a birth control shot but she didn’t do it. She said she had to take my blood and test it first. She took a vial of it and I didn’t see her again.”
“Put those gloves back on, Natasha,” he tells me as he glances at me and sees me rubbing my hands together.
Dirty News (Dirty Network Book 1) Page 67
