Chapter 16

chapter sixteen

T he next afternoon, Nicola was sitting on the lanai in the back of Serenity’s house. Waves crashed beyond the trees, and she could hear people chattering.

“I hate to leave,” she said.

“Then stay.”

“I can’t. We’re supposed to get that new contract, and I need to go over it with Jensen.”

Serenity chuckled. “Sure. Pretend like you aren’t dumping me for a guy.”

“It’s daytime.”

“Does that mean you have no feelings during daytime?” Nicola said nothing, so Serenity plowed ahead. “Yesterday you spent all day with him, so don’t tell me that wasn’t during business hours.”

“Stop,” she said, trying to put enough humor in her voice to deflect Serenity. Her friend was in full-blown ranting mode though, and when Serenity got on a tear, there was no way of stopping her. Nicola didn’t have the emotional stability to fight against Serenity’s hopeful comments. Nicola knew that if she bought into the possibility of having more than just an affair, she would end up hurt in the end.

“You know, normally I would be okay with your little arrangement if you didn’t feel anything for him. But you do. You love him, Nic.”

“Serenity—”

“No. Stop it. You act like that’s all beneath you.”

“It’s not that.” It wasn’t. It was that she thought she wasn’t good enough for happily ever after.

“What is it then?”

She sighed. “I don’t know if I’m made for long-term relationships. I had one and it was fucked up beyond all recognition by the time it ended.”

Nicola expected sympathy, what she got was a verbal kick to the head. “Oh, get over yourself, woman. Good God, most of us have regrettable relationships from our teens. What you have with Jensen is special.”

She shook her head. “No, well, maybe for me.”

“For Jensen too. Remember, he was here the other day and I talked to him. He planned all of your birthday before he had arrived. He only asked me about the music and arranged when you would arrive here.”

“Come on.”

“No. He had the whole thing planned. That is not something you do for a friend you’ve had an arrangement with for only a few weeks. That’s a man who is thoroughly smitten.”

Serenity took off her sunglasses and looked at Nicola.

“Don’t you dare act like it’s just another relationship. It isn’t. This isn’t one of the Dom toys you keep around the world. This is Jensen. This is a man you will have to see every day after you leave this island. You went into this knowing that it would be difficult once it was done. But you did it anyway.”

“It is only for our time here. After that, it would be too difficult.”

“For you…or him?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean you keep men at arm’s length. Seriously, I understand. Oliver was a bastard. But this is a chance for something more, and you are going to toss it away like an idiot. You deserve to be happy, Nic. Take a chance on him.”

“And do what? Tell him I want to make this permanent, and I want to have his babies?” she shouted the question, surprising both her and Serenity. “What happens if he says no? How do we go on from there? I will be out of a job because it would be too awkward to continue.”

Serenity’s eyes softened. “I have a feeling he wouldn’t say no.”

Nicola shook her head. “I can’t take that chance. I might love him, but I also love my job.”

“So, you’re ready to go back to just being his personal assistant? And before you answer me, think about what that means. You’ll make sure he has rides to his favorite BDSM clubs, where he will go play with other women. You can do that now?”

Damn. She hadn’t even thought about that.

“I can tell you don’t want to do that. Take a chance on him and you. You are worth it.”

She sighed. “When did you get so smart?”

“I have this friend who told me the same thing not that long ago. It all ended well for me.”

Nicola smiled. “Okay. I’ll think about it, but right now, I need to get back because I still have a job to do.”

She stood, then helped Serenity up out of her lounge chair. “Pretty soon, getting out of the chair is going to be too hard on me. Oh, hey, what did Jeff want the other day?”

“Oh, God, I forgot to tell you. He and Ben are looking for a surrogate,” she said as she followed Serenity into the house. She ran into Serenity’s back when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Oof,” Nicola said and almost fell backward. Serenity grabbed her, then dropped her hands to settle them on her hips.

“How dare you not tell me about that?”

“Sorry. I’ve been busy, and Jensen was with me last night. He was not happy when I told him.”

“What do you mean?”

“He told me he was worried they were trying to steal me away.”

“He does know they are just gay, right?”

“Yes. At first, he thought they were trying to hire me to handle the production company business.”

“You would be good at it,” Serenity said. Nicola shook her head. “You know you would be.”

“Yes, but Jeff and I would be at each other’s throats. He doesn’t take direction well.”

Serenity chuckled.

“What?” she asked.

“I just realized you’re the Domme during the day and Jensen’s the Dom at night.”

Nicola rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I’m calling them tomorrow to tell them no.”

“Why didn’t you tell them that right away?”

“First, because they would not take no for an answer unless I thought it over.”

“And second?”

“Okay, I don’t want to do it with them, but it wasn’t until that moment that I realized how much I wanted a baby.”

“That makes sense. Of course, you’ve always said you might want a child.”

“No, not in some abstract way. In a like right now, or in the very near future kind of way. But I didn’t want in vitro with a couple of my gay friends. I wanted to have a baby with a man.”

“With Jensen,” Serenity said quietly. “Talk to him, Nic. You two need to have a long discussion about the future. You know I’m right.”

“Fine, you are, but it doesn’t mean that I can do it today. I’ll get us through the whole stupid contract crap. Then I’ll deal with it.”

“Just make sure you do, or you might really regret it.”

* * *

Nicola was still thinking about what Serenity had said as she drove home that afternoon. She knew her friend was right. She needed to have a talk with Jensen, but Nicola knew it would have to wait. This deal was important to the family, especially Lillian. Bringing their personal issues out today would be bad.

Still, she kept remembering the night before, the way he had made love to her had left her feeling out of sorts. She could usually read a Dom, but last night had not been about Domination or even kinky sex. It had been more about showing her he cared about her. The soft touch of his hands and mouth, the way he had sounded when he said her name…

She blinked when she realized she was daydreaming driving on a twisty road near a cliff. Granted, she was on the inside lane, but there was a lot of traffic. Early afternoon brought out the tourists, who loved to stop at all the scenic viewing spots.

Thankfully, she made it to one of the parts of the drive that didn’t have a cliff on her left-hand side for a little while. The traffic light ahead at Kealahou Street turned yellow, and knowing she didn’t have time to speed through, she hit her brakes.

Nothing happened. She kept moving forward. Again and again she pressed down on the brake pedal, but still, nothing happened. She was barreling toward the intersection as the light turned red. The other cars started to move through, and she tried her best to swerve to miss them. One hit her back end, sending her spinning. Nicola tried her best to straighten the car out, but in the end, she slammed into the traffic light pole on the opposite side of the street. The barrier didn’t hold her, and she rolled down the short incline to the beach.

When the car seemed to settle, she sat there, unsure of what to do. Her head was spinning, and she was shaking. She heard people shouting, then banging on her window. She glanced up and found an older Asian man asking her if she was all right.

She nodded and immediately regretted it. Her brain throbbed.

“Let me help you out of there,” he said. He opened her door and held out his hand. “I’m sorry I hit you.”

She blinked as she grabbed her purse, then took his hand. “It wasn’t your fault. My brakes went out. I kept hitting them and nothing happened. The fault was mine.”

“We called 911,” he said as he helped her around to the back end of her car. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“My head is a little rattled, but other than that, I’m fine. You said you called 911?”

He nodded.

“I need to call my boss to let him know. Did you see my purse?”

“You’re holding it,” he said, frowning at her.

She shook her head. “No worries. I’m just a little shaken up.”

It was then she saw his car sitting on the side of the road.

“I am so sorry about this,” she said. “I will make sure everything is taken care of. You won’t have to pay a dime.”

He nodded. “I’m going to go keep a look out for the cops. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

As he walked up the sandy hill, she hit Jensen’s number and hoped he didn’t freak out too much.

* * *

Jensen’s heart was still in his throat as he arrived at the accident site. The cops had arrived and were directing traffic, but the moment he saw the ambulance, he almost lost all calm. He drove past the accident, then parked off the side of the road. He waited to let a couple of cars drive past him, then he got out of the car and walked to the scene. He saw her then, sitting in the back of the ambulance. She had an EMT jacket on for some reason, as one of them was patching her up.

“Sir, only cops are allowed past here,” a young uniformed cop said.

“That’s my girlfriend,” he said pointing toward the ambulance. “I want to see her.”

The younger man nodded and let him past. As he walked toward her, he realized what he had just said. His girlfriend. She wasn’t that. She worked for him. He didn’t want a girlfriend, especially not her. If he was going to keep her beyond her job, he would definitely marry her.

He stopped walking and tried to gather his thoughts. He wanted to marry her, and he wanted her in his life. Forever. And not just for work or for sex. He didn’t want something temporary.

He’d had those thoughts before, but not until he thought he might have lost her did Jensen realize that it wasn’t a fantasy. Now, he wanted it to be his reality. Just like last night, he knew it would take a lot of convincing.

The sound of the tow truck brought him out of his thoughts. He started back on the path to her.

“Jensen,” she said, her voice wavering a bit. He could tell she was trying to hold it together, but she was seriously close to losing it.

“I think you could have come up with a better way to avoid a video conference than plowing into another car.”

She gave him a sad smile.

“Is there anything wrong with her? Can she go home?” he asked the EMT.

He shook his head. “She’s fine. No signs of concussion, but she should rest tonight.”

“I’ll make sure of it. Come on, love. I’ll take you home.”

“I need to talk to Ms. McCann first,” someone said from behind him. A uniformed cop had a pen and pad out.

“She needs rest,” Jensen insisted.

“I need to tell him what happened, Jensen. It’s better if I do it now while it’s fresh in my memory, right?” she asked the cop.

He nodded and handed her his card. “My name is Officer Tanaka. Can you tell me what happened?”

She nodded. “I came up to the intersection and the light turned yellow. When I hit my brakes, nothing happened.”

“What do you mean?” Tanaka asked.

“The brakes. They didn’t work. My car just kept moving ahead.”

“When was the last time you had the brakes checked?”

“I don’t know. It’s a rental.”

“What company?” he asked. Jensen rattled off the company’s name.

“I need your contact info because we will probably need to talk again,” he said.

“Where’s my purse. I have cards in there.”

Jensen spotted it behind her in the ambulance. He grabbed it.

“Where?”

“I have a card holder in there. I can get it.”

“You will sit there and let me find it.”

She didn’t look happy about it, but she did as he ordered. He found them easily and handed them to Tanaka. “We are going to be here for another week, but she can be reached at that number. If we need to stay longer, just let us know.”

“Of course, sir. I hope you’re feeling better, Ms. McCann.”

“Mahalo,” she said. He smiled and made his way back to the other officers.

“You said the brakes went out?”

She nodded, then winced.

“What?”

“My head and neck hurt. I didn’t hit anything, but I am still a little out of it.”

“Let’s go home.”

“Yes. I could do with a long soak in the tub.”

She slipped off the jacket and handed it to the EMT. “Mahalo.”

He led her up the sandy hill, trying his best not give into the urge to lift her into his arms and carry her. Nicola would not appreciate that. He helped her into the car.

“Give me a second. I want to give them my card too,” he said. She really was out of it because she only nodded, then closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat. He was just glad that he had kept the convertible from the rental company for another day, so he hadn’t had to show up in the limo.

“Tanaka,” he said. The officer turned.

“Did you need something?”

“Yes. Here is my card. I’m going to make sure she rests and that means stealing her phone and hiding it. If you need anything, call me. Tomorrow she will be back in fighting form, but today she needs to rest.”

“Of course,” he said taking the card.

“Does it mean something that the brakes went out?”

Tanaka shrugged. “Could just be that the rental company didn’t keep up the maintenance, but that seems odd for them, especially for the luxury cars like that one. We’ll investigate, which will mean sending the car to have it inspected, especially the brakes. We will figure out what went wrong.”

“Thanks.” He made his way back to the car and it struck him. She had driven along that road in the morning, the twists where cars were dangerously close to the edge. If the brakes had gone out that morning, she might have gone over the edge. He could have lost her.

He stopped at the back of his car, waiting again for other vehicles to drive by. Once he got in, he looked over at Nicola. She was sleeping. At least that was something. He started up the engine and pulled out when the road was clear.

One thing was certain, he would find out what happened and whoever was at fault would pay.

* * *

The next morning, Nicola was sitting at the bar in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. She frowned.

“Are we expecting anyone?” she asked loud enough for Jensen to hear in his office.

He stepped out and headed in the direction of the front door. “Not that I know of.”

She heard the murmur of male voices, then Jensen reappeared with a man walking behind him.

“Nicola, this is Detective Rome Carino.”

She studied the man. He was as tall as Jensen, but where Jensen was lean like a swimmer, Carino was built like a linebacker.

“Good morning. Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thanks. I wanted to talk to you about your accident yesterday.”

“Why don’t we go into the living room?” Jensen suggested.

“That sounds good,” Carino said.

Jensen took her hand and led her into the living area, like she was an invalid. He had been treating her that way since she came home the day before, and it was starting to piss her off. Still, she said nothing because she couldn’t forget the look on his face when she first saw him at the accident scene the day before. His haunted expression had told her he was more shaken up about her accident than she was.

After they settled on one couch, Carino sat on the opposite one.

“Before we begin, I thought you might explain why a homicide detective is here to talk to us,” Jensen said.

“What?” she asked, and Jensen showed her Carino’s business card.

“It’s what we found and because I got a call from Conner Dillon.”

“The man who handled our security at the house?” she asked.

“Yeah, we have a history and similar interests. Anyway, when the word came down about the car, we thought we should handle this one differently.”

“What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

“The brake lines had been cut.”

It took her a second to absorb that information.

“The brake lines?” Jensen asked. “You’re saying someone did it on purpose.”

“Yes, and whoever it was did it well. Are you the main driver of the car, Ms. McCann?”

She nodded. “Since we rented it when we arrived.”

“So, tell me,” Carino said. “Who wants you dead?”