Chapter 18

chapter eighteen

N icola woke to the sound of Jensen’s voice and a beeping. She breathed in the scent of antiseptic and frowned. What happened?

“It doesn’t matter why I need it, Mother. Do you have it with you?”

She forced her eyes open and for a second, she didn’t know where she was. Jensen was on his cell, but there was little light in the room. As her eyes adjusted, she recognized the room. She had been brought there after recovery the night before. She noticed the sun was trying to peek out from behind the curtains. Yes, it had to be the next day.

She settled her gaze on Jensen again. He had turned away from her and was muttering into the phone, then he hung up. He lowered his head and sighed. He looked worn out, as if he had been through the worst experience of his life. She wanted to give him comfort, cross the room and slip her arms around his waist, but she knew she couldn’t. Standing was out of the question.

“Jensen,” she said, her voice coming out rough. Damn, her throat was dry.

He turned around and rushed to the bed. Relief softened his features, but it did not hide the fact that he was tired. Dark circles marred the skin beneath his eyes, and he looked as if he had been through hell.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He gave her a smile as he took her hand, then sat on her bed. “I should be the one asking that. I’m fine, although I’m not made for sleeping in chairs.” He brought her hand to his mouth and brushed it over her knuckles.

“What happened? It’s all very blurry.”

“You were shot.”

“By Alfie?”

He nodded. It was then that the flood of memories came rushing back. The fight, the gun going off, her punching him…

“Is Alfie here?”

He shook his head. “They brought him here, patched him up, then Detective Carino booked him. He’s going to be in jail a long time.”

“Oh.”

“Do you remember anything about yesterday?”

“Yes, bits and pieces. He’s so jealous of you. He kept ranting about how you stole stuff from him.” She closed her eyes as the memories left her a little dizzy. Opening her eyes, she found Jensen staring. “What?”

“You lost a lot of blood. They were very worried about it.”

“Everything turned out fine. I’m made of good stock,” she said trying to smile. Her cheek hurt from the effort.

“How bad does my face look?” she asked.

Jensen smiled. “Not bad at all now that you’re awake. It’s been a long eighteen hours.”

“Eighteen hours? God, did you talk to the press? Did you?—”

“Stop. Things are being taken care of for right now. Mother is in charge of all media issues, so you know it will be handled. She and my brother are on their way here.”

“Your mother? God. To Hawaii?”

He shook his head. “To the hospital. I told them to go to the house, but you know Mother.”

Oh, crap. His mother, here. She probably looked like hell, and she would more than likely want a rundown of everything. Nicola had no idea what had happened since she’d been asleep.

Then it hit her. “My parents. I’ve got to get hold of them?—”

“Woman, I took care of everything. That was the first call I made. You were shot and have been out for hours. Do you think I can’t make a few calls? Serenity and her men will be here later.” His frown darkened. “Don’t you think I can handle it?”

Her mouth opened, then she snapped it shut. She heard the frustration in his voice, but there was a thread of fear that slinked its way through the words.

“I’m sorry,” she said, as she tried to blink back tears.

“Oh, Nic, don’t cry. It might just break me,” he said in a voice that told her he didn’t really want to admit it. “I’m sorry I yelled.”

She shook her head as her vision wavered. “No, you’re right. You can handle it.

He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. “I thought I’d lost you. I saw all the blood and…” he stopped talking, apparently unable to continue.

“You should know better than that, Jensen. Nicola is no shrinking flower,” Micah said.

She had been so caught up in her conversation with Jensen, she hadn’t noticed that the door had opened.

“Can I have some water, Jensen?” she asked. He nodded and filled a cup that had a straw in it. He held it out to her to drink. The cool liquid eased the rawness in her throat.

“Thank you.”

“You kind of look banged up,” Micah said.

“Screw you, Micah,” she said.

He smiled and glanced at Jensen. “You don’t look much better.”

“Try sleeping in one of those chairs.”

“Yeah, not very comfortable, although the maternity ward has recliners so it’s a little better.”

“What are you doing here, Ross?” Jensen asked, irritation and defensiveness filling his tone.

She glanced at him as he took hold of her hand. Then it hit her. This was the first time they had come face-to-face since Jensen had learned Micah was her first Dom. Was he jealous? No, he couldn’t be. Jensen didn’t get jealous over his subs. Besides, Micah was crazy in love with his wife.

“I’m friends with Rome Carino. He’s a member of Rough ‘n Ready, and he knew that we’re friends. He let me know what happened and got me in here.” He looked at Nicola. “You’re going to have to give him a statement, but he said it could wait. That idiot Thompson is still bitching about the right hook you landed on him.”

“I kicked him in the nuts too. Did he talk about that?” she asked.

Jensen turned to her, his eyebrows rising. “You did?”

She nodded and instantly regretted it. Pain radiated from her forehead, then spread through her entire skull. Damn.

“Yes. It’s one of the many things my father taught me.”

He smiled and kissed her knuckles again. “Good.”

The door opened and almost hit Micah. From the outfit the woman wore, she assumed it was a nurse. Right behind her was another woman. “Hello, I’m Doctor Jacobs. How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been shot.”

The doctor smiled, then looked first at Micah, then Jensen. “You both need to leave. I need to examine the patient. Come back in about twenty minutes.”

The sour expression on Jensen’s face told her that he wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t argue. He let go of her hand and leaned down to brush his mouth over hers.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Good,” she said pulling a smile from him.

“Come on, Wulf, let’s go have some coffee. I have a feeling you need it,” Micah said, as he followed him out of the room. He gave Nicola a wink, telling her he would look out for Jensen.

“Wulf? As in the Royal Bad Boy? Also known as Bad Boy Billionaire?” the doctor asked.

“He was never a royal,” she said. “But yes, that one.”

“I thought he looked familiar. Quite the catch,” she remarked.

“He’s not mine.”

“Oh, really? The way he raged last night at me and the rest of the staff, I thought he was your husband.”

“No, just a friend. And I work for him. He was just worried about me.”

The doctor shook her head. “The man who threatened me last night was not doing that for an employee.”

“I apologize. He can be a bit autocratic if I’m not around to control him.”

The doctor shook her head. “I think you two have a lot to talk about, and I’m glad to say you’ll be able to accomplish that, thanks to me.”

* * *

Jensen and Micah barely talked as they ordered their coffees and sat in the cafeteria. Once they were seated, Micah kept staring at him.

“What?” Jensen asked, still irritated with his presence.

“I’m here because my wife told me it was a good idea, and I can see that she was right.”

“What the bloody hell do you mean?”

“Don’t push yourself too hard. You have friends on the island who can help until your mother gets here.”

“And Nicola’s mother and father. They will be here later tomorrow, hopefully. The weather is causing a bit of a problem.”

“You’re flying them here?”

He nodded and took a sip of coffee.

“So, how much do you want to hit me?” Micah asked.

“Because you didn’t tell me you were her first Dom?”

Micah nodded.

“Right now, I don’t have the energy, but I would like to kick your arse.”

He smiled. “You can try, son, but I don’t think you would get close. And, I couldn’t tell you. It was her right to tell you, not mine.”

“Rubbish.”

“No. Not really. You didn’t know her back then. That relationship…the fucker she skated with was a real bastard. He had her doubting everything. Her ability to skate, her attractiveness, her ability to be a productive human in society. You’ve talked about it with her? You know what happened?”

He nodded. “I watched the video again and now I see the signs. At first, I didn’t see it because when I watched them skate, I always watched Nicola. But after she told me, I re-watched the video. During that last skate, it was easy to see he was high. She could have easily died then.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t.”

“She could have died last night, and it would have been my fault.”

“Stop that crap, Wulf. The whole world doesn’t revolve around you. And we all thought it was one of those Johnsons. Thompson made sure of it.”

“I brought him into her world.”

“Good God, get over yourself. You Brits are always so damned proper. Alfie Thompson is an asshole, who is going to spend a long time in jail.”

Jensen nodded but he wasn’t convinced.

“If you are so sure that you’re a danger to her, maybe you need to let her go.”

Anger swept through him. “Over my dead body.”

Micah smiled. “Good. She’s good for you, but you’re also good for her. I’m glad you found each other.” When Jensen didn’t say anything, Micah asked, “You are planning on a permanent D/s relationship, right?”

“Kind of.”

“What the hell does that mean?” he demanded, and it made Jensen smile. He sounded like an outraged father.

“I have even more permanent plans, as long as she doesn’t screw them up,” Jensen said. “Do you know she wanted to call the press when she woke up? She was worried how it would all play out.”

“I know you probably already know this, but that’s why she is the perfect sub. She’s a control freak, but the type that needs to give it up with someone she trusts.”

“Are you giving me a backhanded compliment?”

“Look how smart you are. Yes. I am. She trusts you. More than she ever trusted me. I talked to her in those early days she worked with you. She never used your name, but she always had complete belief in your ability to overcome the addiction. Even after the one setback. Her faith in you always worried me until I met you. I knew then what you both just figured out. You need each other.”

“Is this where you say we complete each other?”

He smiled. “No. You already know that. Seeing you together, just those few minutes in the room upstairs showed me.”

He sighed. “I still can’t believe I almost lost her.”

“Need a hit?”

“What?”

“Hey, we all know how you met Nicola, and the entire world has access to your drug days via the internet. I would think that you would be jonesing for a hit right about now.”

He did also, but it never came. The need to escape, to control his world, it wasn’t there.

“No.”

Micah cocked his head to the side and studied him. “Really?”

“Surprised the hell out of me too.”

“That’s good.” He studied Jensen another moment. “I know exactly how you’re feeling.”

“I highly doubt that.”

He snorted. “When I met Dee, she was on the run from her father, who had put a hit out on her. I almost lost her too. Hell, when her brother kidnapped her, I worried I had lost her.”

“Her brother?”

“Devon Stryker, also in hiding because of the hit his father had out on him.” Jensen’s expression must have shown his thoughts. The club owner smiled. “Yeah. Who would have thought that the bastard son of a whore would be a better catch? Either way, I lived through hell. Each second that ticked by, I felt as if I would lose my shit. Until I finally found her, then almost lost her again. Damned family.” He shook his head. “But I ended up with Dee, so I’d do it all over again. Just as I am sure you would.”

He sighed and nodded.

“Have you told her?”

“Told her what?” Jensen asked, pretending not to understand the question.

“That you’re in love with her.”

“Not yet. I had planned on it, but some asshole tried to kill her.”

“Get it done soon, son. That woman is in love with you, but she’s going to believe your stupid end date to the relationship.”

“How the hell do you know about that?”

“She told me. Get irritated and jealous and get over it. Right now, you have to convince the woman that you’re in love with her, and that you want forever.”

“I have a plan.”

Micah rolled his eyes. “Just don’t wait too long.”

“Why?”

“Women get stupid ideas in their heads. Nicola doesn’t usually do that, but she’s a woman who has to be busy, and she’s going to spend a lot of time recovering. Lots of thinking time.”

“Bloody hell.”

“Exactly. And don’t ever tell my wife I said women get stupid ideas.”

“Well, as soon as I talk to her father, I’ll propose. Mother’s bringing my grandmother’s engagement ring that she left to me.”

“Good lord, sometimes I forget you’re from money.”

“That’s probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Well, the second nicest.”

“What was the first?”

“When I woke up after the bender that broke my year of sobriety, Nicola was sitting beside my bed in the hospital.”

“They let sober companions hang out in rehab?”

“No. I almost overdosed. She made sure that didn’t make the papers,” he said. “Nicola had been visiting her parents, and…no reason to go into all of that. Anyway, I woke up, and she said, ‘Do you want to die? If you do, tell me now and I will find a way to kill you.’”

“That was nicer than what I said?” Micah asked. “You two are weird.”

Jensen shook his head. “I, of course, told her I wanted to live. Then, she said, ‘Good, because I think you have a lot to offer the world, and I aim to make sure you’re sober enough to accomplish that.’” He took a swallow of coffee. “I thought she would walk out, but there she was by my side, ready to fight for me if I told her. I don’t know if anyone had ever done that for me before.”

“The woman is one of a kind.” He chuckled again, then let out a booming laugh. “Still, it is just like her to tell you she’d help kill you if you wanted to die.”

Jensen smiled. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I think that’s when I started falling for her.”

Micah shook his head. “God, you are made for each other.”

* * *

He and Micah made it off the elevator when he heard his mother’s voice.

“I don’t care. I want to know where my future daughter-in-law is.”

“Maybe we should go back down to the cafeteria,” he said.

“Why?” Micah asked.

“You’re about to meet the reason why.” They turned the corner. There stood his mother, dressed as if she had just attended Queen Elizabeth’s tea party. Not one blonde hair was out of place. Her blue suit didn’t have a single wrinkle. And she was wearing hose and heels. So odd to see that in Hawaii.

Beside her stood his brother, who wore a wrinkled suite and looked ready to fall down. None of them—including their father—had ever been able to keep up with Lillian Wulf.

“Mother,” he said. His mother turned to him. That’s when he saw her worried expression and the dark circles beneath her eyes.

She rushed forward, his brother trailing behind her. “Jensen.”

She threw her arms around him, and he smelled it then. The familiar scent of Chanel No. 5. It was a scent he would always associate with his mother, and it always brought him comfort.

“I am so glad you are safe.”

She pulled back and then looked over at Micah.

“Mother, this is Micah Ross. He’s a friend.”

Micah held out his hand to her. When she put her hand in his, he brought it to his mouth and kissed it. “It is very nice to meet you, Mrs. Wulf.”

That slow, southern accent rolled over the words, and his mother actually blushed. His almost sixty-year-old mother.

“Stop that,” Jensen said.

“Who are you talking to?” Micah asked.

“Both of you. Go away, Ross.”

“Jensen,” his mother said, irritation and embarrassment filling her tone. “I will not have you behave so badly. Really.”

“No worries, Mrs. Wulf. I hope to see you before you leave our island.”

Once he stepped back on the elevator and the door closed, Jensen turned to his brother and mother. “What were you doing at the desk?”

“I couldn’t remember the hospital room number.”

He frowned and looked at Jakob. His eyes were barely opened.

“I sent you the room number via text.”

She was a woman who lived for details, who needed to be in control. For a long moment, he realized that was a quality that both she and Nicola shared. Still, it wasn’t forgetful. It wasn’t a big issue, but from the mortified look on her face, it was to her.

“I apologize.”

“No need.”

The only time she had gotten forgetful and scatterbrained was when their father had been sick.

He held out his arm. “What are you wearing?” she asked, taking it.

“These are scrubs. I didn’t have a choice because…my other clothes were ruined. Before we go in the room?—”

“Why were you out here and not in there with her?”

“The doctor wanted to examine her, and they chased me out. Now, I want your promise you won’t make a comment about the ring, and no more of this future daughter-in-law.”

“Why not?”

“We aren’t engaged. I haven’t had time to ask her. So, mum’s the word. She knows you are on the island and will be thrilled to see you.”

His brother snorted. Jensen shot him a nasty look over his shoulder.

When he knocked on the door, then opened it, his heart almost tumbled out of his chest. She was still in the same position, but it was obvious they’d had her up out of the bed. Her hair had been combed and she had changed gowns.

“Look who I found in the hallway,” he said, smiling.

“Mrs. Wulf. Jakob,” Nicola said, trying to smile back, then wincing. Her bruised cheek and split lip didn’t make it easy for her. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“Oh, Nicola,” his mother said, releasing his arm and running to her side. His mother leaned down for a hug. She straightened and tsked. “I never liked that Alfie.”

“This is the first I’m hearing that,” he said.

“Jakob, bring me that chair,” his mother ordered.

“Of course,” his brother said as he picked up a chair from the other side of the room and brought it over to Nicola’s bedside.

His mother sat down in the chair as though she were sitting in attendance with the queen, which she had a few times. Still, after the long trip over, any other person would slouch, like his brother was doing in the chair he had settled in. But Lillian Wulf did not slouch.

“When Jensen called us, I can’t tell you how terrified we all were. Julienne wanted to come, but she had a meeting in France. I told her she could come if Jensen lied about how bad your injuries were.”

“Oh, no worries there,” Nicola said. “I really didn’t expect you to fly all the way over here.”

“Of course we came. You are part of our family,” his mother said, her voice wavering a little. She reached out and patted Nicola’s hand. “I will take care of you until your mother can get here. I owe her that much.”

Nicola looked at him, confusion filled her gaze. Then she turned back to his mother. “Thank you. I know she would appreciate it.”

His mother gave her one last pat, then she sat back and looked over at him. “You need a shower and a change of clothes. Do that, and we will stay here with Nicola until you return.”

He frowned. “I can stay.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t, but you smell, and well, you look horrible. Go get freshened up.”

And that was that. When Lillian Wulf threw out an order, as one of her children, he was helpless but to do as she wished.

“Of course.”

He wanted to kiss Nicola goodbye, and he didn’t give a damn who saw them, but he knew Nicola wouldn’t be happy.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Rome Carino might come by to talk to you.”

She nodded. “I think I’m going to nap. I’m exhausted from earlier.”

He nodded and almost walked out of the room, but he just couldn’t do it. Not yet. He walked to the opposite side of the bed and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I’ll be back as fast as I can. Rest, please.”

She nodded. Jensen straightened and headed out of the room to the elevator. As he was still waiting, Jakob came jogging down the hallway toward him.

“Mom wanted me to give you this, big brother,” he said, handing Jensen the small ring case he recognized. “She thought it would be better at the house than around here. And truthfully, she’s been a little out of it since we got the call. She was really upset.”

“I know. Still bloody furious about Alfie myself. Not sure I’ll ever get over it.”

Jakob smiled. “Nicola is safe now, that’s all that matters. Just make sure she says yes, because Mother might disown you and adopt Nicola if you don’t.”

He nodded. “I’ll try my best. Get back in there and make sure Mother doesn’t make a mess of it.”

“Will do,” he said, walking back to the room.

The door to the lift opened. Jensen stepped onto it and pushed the button to the ground floor. He just had to wait a day or two and he could set everything in motion. He also needed to make sure his mother didn’t blow his proposal.