9. Willow

My stomach has been filledwith butterflies since the amazing sex with Nikoli. I hadn"t expected it. I"ve never been the kind of girl to have a one-night stand. According to Nikoli, he hadn"t been one, much to my relief. Now that I"m alone in my room, though, I"m not sure what to think or feel. I still can"t believe how unprofessional I was while Martha was in my care. I feel guilty about that. She slept through it, for which I"m grateful.

I throw myself onto the bed and stare up at the white ceiling. My room is small, with its own bathroom. It doesn"t distract me from my problems. They follow me everywhere I go. I"ve kept them to myself as long as I"ve been running and hiding. With Nikoli, I want to tell him everything. Maybe he can help me. I don"t want to run anymore. I thought it would be safer to keep him away from me, and maybe it would be. But Nikoli has gotten under my skin, so I have no problem with what we did today, except maybe the timing. I wince. Yes, the timing could have been better.

I roll over on to my side and try to get comfortable so that sleep will take me. I am tired. I smile as I think back to earlier—to Nikoli talking dirty to me. It had turned me on even more. No one had ever called my sex the word Nikoli had used. I can"t even think about it. Coming out of Nikoli"s mouth it had sounded hot and sexy. In my mind it makes me cringe. I kick the covers off and fan myself. The man is deadly. His penis was long and thick, pulsing with a need that matched my own. Just thinking about it makes me hot and uncomfortable. There is a pain between my legs that grows when I think of his fingers touching me there. I think about how it felt to have his whole hard length inside of me, touching all the right places. I shiver, my nipples taut buds against my nightgown.

I stiffen.

Someone is standing outside my bedroom door. My eyes fly to the latch, which I remembered to lock. I strain to listen. It sounds like female voices whispering to each other. I feel a shiver run down my spine. Has the man I"m running from found me? No, that can"t be right. My heart races as I try to make sense of the situation, wondering who could be outside my door. The voices are female. There is no mistake. What are they doing?

No longer able to stay in bed, I slip my feet into my royal blue Crocs and move toward the door. I press my ear to the wood, straining to hear more clearly. Their whispers grow louder with each passing moment. I take a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever is waiting on the other side of the door, and say, "What are you doing out there?" as I peer through the peephole. Laura and Isabel.

I frown. Isabel slaps a hand over her mouth as Laura grabs her arm, and they turn and run down the hall.

I"m tempted to open my door and see what they"re doing, but I"m too nervous. I feel hot and sweaty, and unfortunately it has nothing to do with Nikoli.

They were outside my room; there was no doubt about it. But why? I"ll only know the answer when I ask them. I decide to wait until tomorrow to confront them. Maybe I can get some answers with witnesses present, or at least I will feel safer with others around.

* * *

I"mtired today after tossing and turning most of the night. Everything that happened with Nikoli and then the whispering outside my room late last night is swirling around in my head. I tie my hair back and look at my tired face in the mirror. I reach for the door when I notice an envelope on the floor. It"s been slipped under my bedroom door.

With trembling fingers, I pick up the manila envelope. It"s about the size of a letter, folded in half. I hesitate for a moment before opening it, my heart pounding in my chest. Inside I find a photograph and a single sheet of paper:

HE is alive, Wilhelmina. Come home NOW to keep him that way. He"s crazy though, so who knows how he"ll react to all the drugs being forced into him.

My head spins with what this means. The photograph is grainy, but I see who is in the picture. My brother. I swallow hard. This is a cruel joke. It must be. I thought he was dead. I figured my uncle had killed him right after he"d killed our father.

Think Willow!

This is why Laura and Isobel were outside my room last night. Who gave it to them? Fear runs down my spine. There is only one person who would do this. The one person with money and contacts. The one person who is hunting me down to keep me quiet.

My uncle.

* * *

When I enterMartha"s room, my nerves get the better of me. All it takes is for Martha to glance in my direction and I burst into tears.

"Oh, now." Martha shuffles closer and takes me in her arms, making me cry even harder. "What"s wrong, Willow?"

I sniffle, trying to control myself. It doesn"t work very well, and I hiccup. "I"m sorry." Tears pour out of my eyes, and I don"t bother trying to speak again.

"What happened?" I freeze at the sound of Nikoli"s voice but relax when I feel his hand on my back. He"s not usually here this early in the morning. "What is it? What happened?"

"If you"d stop asking questions, she could tell us!" Martha gives her grandson a sharp look.

I giggle, followed by a sob. Nikoli gently takes me in his arms and holds me close. I bury my face in his neck, letting his scent and care soothe me. I swallow hard and pull away. "I have to go." I pause. "I think I do."

Nikoli shakes his head. "You can"t leave. Let us help you."

"It"s not..." I run a hand over my face and stare at the two worried people in front of me. "I thought my brother was dead. Now I"m not so sure." I hold the note out to Nikoli.

He takes it and reads it. His eyes dart between me and his grandmother. Nikoli reads it aloud. He reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me back into him. He whispers, "I"m not letting you go, Willow. Tell me what"s going on so I can help you." He plants a hard kiss on my forehead. "Please, trust me."

"I do. That"s why I brought the note." I wipe my eyes and join his grandmother, who has taken her usual place in the chair. "I"m from Baton Rouge." I give Martha a wry smile. "You figured that much out." She nods. I continue, "My uncle killed my father, and I thought he killed my brother, too. For the last six months, I"ve been hiding."

"He"s still out there? Your uncle?" Nikoli asks, a frown creasing his brow.

"Yeah. He"ll have come up with something, plus he"s friends with the local cops. I"m from a small town outside of Baton Rouge with its own sheriff"s office. I don"t trust them. But now I don"t know what happened to my brother. I need to go home and make a statement about what I saw the night my father was killed."

"From what I read in the paper; your family is wealthy."

I nod.

"With you and your brother out of the picture, I guess it all goes to your uncle, huh?"

"Very astute, Martha." I smile to take the sting out of my words. She didn"t do anything to me and neither did Nikoli. "I was listening outside my father"s office. My brother and uncle were inside with him. I saw my uncle shoot my father." Tears threaten, but I force them back. "If the note is true, I must find my brother. He"s the only leverage my uncle has over me. Once that"s gone, I can tell the truth about that night." I sink back into the chair.

"Shit," Nikoli hisses. "I thought Rhodes had dangerous baggage."

I sit up straight. "What do you mean?"

Nikoli winces and jumps to his feet. "We need to talk to Rhodes."

"Um, Nikoli," Martha says. "I"m not sure you need any more trouble than what"s already swimming in the water."

He plants a kiss on his grandmother"s cheek, then grabs my hand and pulls me out of the chair. "Gran, would you mind if I take Willow with me?"

That snaps me out of my head. "I can"t just leave. I have a job to do. Your grandmother needs her breakfast... Then maybe I can take a few hours off."

Nikoli looks impatient and twitches, but finally agrees. "I"m not going anywhere, though." He sits down next to his grandmother.

I roll my eyes. "I"ll get your breakfast, Martha."