A Knight Before Christmas

by Alicia Dean

  "Last call you made, the play was going on in the

  background. Tracked you here. Noticed your car was parked

  at Salarber's when I was there before. You didn't exactly

  cover your tracks that well. You made some really dumb ass

  moves."

  "Hey, dude, if I was a fucking Mensa candidate, would I be

  sweeping hair off floors, or for that matter fucking talking to

  you? That's a clear sign I didn't exactly pull off the crime of

  the century."

  "But you expect me to believe you didn't kill Rudy."

  "No way I did that. I freaked when he died. For one, I

  didn't want to be blamed. For another, that meant no more

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  cash. Then it occurred to me his widow would have cash, if

  nothing else, with the life insurance. I gave it some time to

  cool off and started in on her. I was about twenty thou away

  from the hundred grand, and I'd have been fucking history."

  Heath shut off the recorder and grabbed Barney by the

  back of his head.

  Barney jerked as if shot through with electricity. "What the

  fuck you doing, man?"

  "I lied about the cops."

  While Barney was trying to assimilate this piece of

  information, Heath slammed his head into the open door and

  knocked him unconscious. He pushed his limp body into the

  passenger seat and slid behind the wheel.

  Heath considered forcing Barney to take him to his stash,

  so he could retrieve Nicolette's money. But if he did that,

  there would be no proof of Barney's crime, other than the

  tape. Heath wanted all the evidence against this weasel they

  could get. It was best to let the cops find the cash in Barney's

  possession. With that in mind, Heath drove his unconscious

  hostage to the police station.

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  260

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nicolette dug out the gigantic bag of toys for the Christmas

  party. She gathered wrapping paper, tape, scissors and bows

  and spread everything out on the floor. Marla was coming

  over in the morning to help her wrap gifts, but Nicolette

  would do part of them tonight. She needed something to keep

  her mind occupied while she waited to hear from Heath.

  The phone call from the theater was their first good clue.

  Would it lead him to the blackmailer? If so, what would

  happen then? Most likely, the police, therefore the media,

  would be involved. Then everyone would know about Rudy's

  drug use and the charity would be in trouble. The alternative

  was letting a criminal go free. Talk about a rock and a hard

  place.

  One thing she definitely hadn't counted on in all this mess

  was falling in love with Heath. Or maybe she'd always been in

  love with him but hadn't allowed herself to acknowledge it

  until now. Either way, it was both wonderful and terrible,

  scary and thrilling. Mostly, though, it was futile. In spite of

  the level they'd taken their relationship to, nothing had been

  said about love, about the future.

  In two days, Heath would be gone, and Nicolette would

  have to start the grieving process all over again. For the first

  time, she truly knew what Elvis meant when he sang about a

  blue Christmas.

  She would always have this last week, though, the

  memories of what it was like to make love with Heath, to see

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  her through the long lonely nights. Barring a miracle, that

  was all she'd have. She'd told Heath he was a replacement for

  Rudy, but that had been a lie. If anything, fifteen years ago,

  Rudy had been a replacement for him.

  She'd wrapped over half the gifts and was putting the

  finishing touches to the package that held an X-Box 360 when

  a knock sounded at the door.

  Through the peephole, she saw Heath standing on the

  porch. She jerked the door open and impulsively went into his

  arms. Releasing him, she stepped back to let him in.

  "I found him," Heath said.

  "You found him? The blackmailer?"

  "Yeah."

  "Who was it?"

  "His name's Barney Frost. He worked at Salarber's." Heath

  sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. "How it came

  about is a long story, and I'm drained. Give me a minute, and

  I'll explain it all."

  "Did he kill Rudy?"

  "I don't know yet. I don't believe he did, but the police are

  checking into it."

  "The police?"

  "I had to. If it comes out about Rudy's drug dealing, then

  so be it. I don't know how we could stop or punish the guy

  otherwise."

  Nicolette closed her eyes tightly as fear clawed at her

  stomach. "I know. You're right. We'll just have to do as much

  damage control as possible and hope for the best. I just can't

  stand the thought of what will happen to all those people. I

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  wanted to make the charity successful, and now I don't know

  if it will survive."

  "No matter what happens, it's not your fault. You've done

  the best you could. You've paid your dues, protected Rudy's

  reputation as long as you could. Whatever debt you think you

  owed, it's been paid. You've suffered enough for it, and now

  it's in the hands of the authorities."

  She sighed. "I suppose. Thanks, Heath. I can't tell you how

  much I appreciate what you've done. You saved me."

  Heath smiled. "Hey, what are friends for?"

  There was that word again. Friends. Hoping for anything

  more had been foolish.

  Nicolette forced an answering smile on her face. "Why

  don't you come in and sit down. When you feel up to it, you

  can fill me in on the details of what went down tonight."

  Heath spent nearly an hour telling Nicolette how he'd

  tracked Barney Frost and why he didn't think the guy had

  anything to do with Rudy's death. She listened attentively,

  asking questions and making comments from time to time.

  Once he was done, an awkward silence settled between

  them. Nicolette seemed deep in thought, as though she had

  something on her mind, but couldn't bring herself to say it.

  He couldn't stop thinking about what he'd learned about

  Rudy's affair. Who was the woman Rudy had been cheating

  on Nicolette with? What kind of woman could possibly tempt a

  man who had Nicolette in his bed? And, how could Heath

  bring himself to tell Nicolette and pile more hurt on after what

  she'd been through?

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  One thing he knew for sure. He wouldn't tell her tonight.

  They'd dealt with enough turmoil for one evening. They

  needed to assimilate all that had happened before introducing

  a new catastrophe. Not to mention, there was still the matter

  of Rudy's death. Accident or murder? If murder, who?


  Knowing the police could knock on Nic's door at any minute

  and haul her to jail was unthinkable for him. It must be

  terrifying for her.

  "I'm exhausted," Nic said. "I know you must be too. We

  should probably go to bed."

  He caught her eyes, trying to detect if there was invitation

  in her statement. He saw none, and he wasn't going to be the

  one to make a move. It was as though they were stepping

  through a minefield, one wrong move and everything would

  blow to pieces. He couldn't tell her Rudy had cheated, yet he

  couldn't be with her again that way until he did.

  "Goodnight." He stood. Nicolette stood with him.

  She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and he retired to

  his side of the duplex. He brushed his teeth and stripped off

  his clothes. Dropping heavily into bed, he lay in the darkness

  with an arm over his forehead, staring at the ceiling.

  He felt like things between he and Nicolette were

  unresolved, but for now, he had to leave it that way. Maybe

  after they put some distance between them and had a chance

  to clear their heads, they could talk about a future. He might

  even admit that he loved her, that he had from the first

  moment he laid eyes on her.

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  For now, though, he'd go back to Oklahoma as planned.

  He'd make the deal for his security firm and then he and

  Nicolette would see where they were.

  He might be leaving her on Christmas, but there was no

  way he'd be leaving Nic alone. He took his cell phone from the

  nightstand where it was charging and dialed Burke.

  "Hey, man," he said when Burke answered. "Did I wake

  you?"

  "Nah. I never sleep. I just hang out with my phone in my

  hand, waiting for you to call."

  Heath chuckled. "That's good, because I need to know if

  you found Robert Brandon, Nicolette's dad."

  "I found his number, and left a message. Haven't heard

  back."

  "Check again tomorrow, okay? Let me know as soon as

  you hear anything."

  "You got it."

  They hung up and Heath went back to staring at the

  ceiling. It was a long, torturous time before he finally fell

  asleep.

  Nicolette's mood was morose when she opened the door to

  Marla's knock. She hadn't seen Heath that morning. After the

  awkwardness between them and the climactic turn of events,

  he probably needed some down time.

  "Ready to get those gifts wrapped?" Marla asked brightly.

  "Sure. I wrapped a few last night, but I saved plenty for

  you."

  "Great." Marla rolled her eyes, and Nicolette laughed.

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  Pulling out the remaining gifts and the wrapping tools,

  Nicolette carried them to the table, and the two of them got

  busy.

  They chatted as they worked. Suddenly in the middle of a

  sentence, Marla stopped talking. Nicolette looked at her. She

  was staring at Nicolette's hand, her face pale, her mouth

  frozen in a stricken O.

  "What's wrong?" Nicolette asked.

  Marla reached out a trembling hand and took Nicolette's

  right hand in hers.

  "Where did you get that?" Her voice was hoarse with some

  unidentifiable emotion.

  "From Rudy."

  "Rudy gave it to you?"

  "Yes," Nicolette said, puzzled. "It was his last gift to me."

  Marla's grip was tight. Nicolette tugged loose from her

  hold.

  "He bought it for you?" Marla asked, not taking her gaze

  off Nicolette's finger.

  "Yes. Well, he had it on him when he had the accident. He

  hadn't had a chance to give it to me yet."

  Marla shook her head slowly from side to side. Tears filled

  her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. "Not for you."

  "What? What's the matter with you?"

  Marla stalked over to her purse and dug around. Turning,

  she thrust a jewelry box toward Nicolette. Frowning, Nicolette

  took it and lifted the lid. Inside was an expensive, gorgeous

  pair of earrings. Blue diamond earrings. An exact match for

  the ring.

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  Nicolette's frown deepened. "I don't understand."

  Marla's eyes shimmered with tears. "He said they were the

  exact color of my eyes." She swiped a hand over her face.

  "God. I miss him."

  "Marla..." Nicolette dropped the box onto the coffee table,

  not wanting to touch the object that was starting to represent

  something she didn't want to acknowledge.

  Marla lifted her chin and met Nicolette's gaze. "The ring

  wasn't for you. It was for me."

  Cold realization twisted through Nicolette's belly. She

  remembered the note that had been found with the ring. To

  the love of my life...

  "Jesus Christ," Nicolette whispered. "You and Rudy were

  having an affair."

  Heath stepped out of the shower and was toweling off

  when a loud knock sounded on the door connecting his unit to

  Nicolette's.

  He tucked the towel around his waist and hurried to

  answer. Nicolette stood on the other side. Her face was

  streaked with tears, and she twisted her hands together. Her

  entire body visibly trembled.

  "Nic? Sweetie, what's wrong?"

  Her gaze lowered to the towel and stayed there a moment,

  then moved back to his face. She took a deep breath.

  "Rudy..." She shook her head, wrapped her arms around

  her body.

  "Hey, come here." Heath took her arm and led her into the

  room. "Tell me what's happened."

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  She swallowed and closed her eyes. When she opened

  them, the hazel depths were filled with pain. "Rudy and Marla

  were having an affair. He cheated on me, Heath. With Marla."

  Shit. So, the other woman was Marla. Heath should have

  figured that out. Some detective he was. The 'who' didn't

  really matter, though. The fact was, Nicolette knew, and she

  was obviously shattered. How much more could she take?

  He drew in a long breath. Time to come clean. He had to

  tell her that he knew. She might hate him, but she had a right

  to know.

  "I'm so sorry." He pulled her against him and slipped his

  arms around her, trying to ignore how her body felt with the

  insubstantial barrier of the towel between them. He'd better

  hold her while he could. After his confession, it was unlikely

  he'd have another chance. "There's something I need to—"

  "No." She drew back slightly, but stayed in his embrace.

  Her eyes locked on his, and she reached a hand up, running

  her fingers over his lips. "Don't talk. I don't want any more

  talking."

  Her lips replaced her fingers and she kissed him, hard and

  fierce, thrusting her tongue between his lips and pressing her

  body more fully against his.

  With every ounce of strength he possessed
, he broke the

  kiss and took her shoulders, setting her away from him.

  "Wait. I have to tell you something."

  "No." She reached up and pulled his head down to hers,

  once again locking onto his lips. Her hand moved to the towel

  and tugged it loose. It dropped to the floor, and his erection

  sprung free, pressing against her clothing, the friction making

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  him harder than he'd ever been in his life. "Make love to me,"

  she whispered against his lips. "I need to feel you inside me.

  Now."

  With a groan, he undid the buttons on her blouse and his

  searching hand found her soft breasts. He tugged the bra

  away and kneaded her nipples with his fingers.

  She moaned, and they stumbled to the bed, still locked

  together, hands groping, seeking, clothes peeled away until

  she was as naked as he was.

  He fell with her onto the bed and kissed her deeply, filling

  himself with the sweetness of her hot, wet mouth. It was

  wrong. Oh, so wrong to make love to her before telling her

  he'd known about Rudy's affair, but God help him, there was

  no way he could stop.

  When they came up for breath, she moved on top of him,

  guiding him into her. As she rocked against him, she gasped

  out, "For the first time, I'm able to make love to you without

  feeling guilty. I love you, Heath. I've loved you all along."

  He closed his eyes. She'd said it. The words he'd longed to

  hear. A shudder moved through him and he gasped out, "Oh,

  God, Nicolette. I love you, too."

  And then there was no more talking as Heath was swept

  away into the wonder that was Nicolette.

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  269

  A Knight Before Christmas

  by Alicia Dean

  Chapter Twenty

  Nicolette's soft warm body lay pressed against Heath's.

  Her slow even breathing was the only sound in the still

  aftermath of their lovemaking. Heath didn't want this moment

  to end. He could happily die right now. No moment would

  ever be as perfect as this. Especially not after he told Nic the

  truth.

  "So, how long have you loved me?" she murmured. Placing

  a light kiss on his shoulder, she ran her fingers in lazy circles

  through the hair on his chest while he slowly stroked his

  fingers along the velvet skin of her arm.