18

The air inside Jake's truck was stifling. It was cold outside, but the heater blasted hot air. I pulled off my scarf and looked out the window as we drove past car after car on the way back to his penthouse.

It had been at least fifteen minutes since we left the mayor's office, but neither of us had said a word. I didn't necessarily feel any tension between us, just a heaviness in the air, as though both of us were weighed down by our thoughts and worries.

The only image that broke through my anger and frustration was remembering Jake stepping in and shutting my mother down.

Then she did what she usually does. She insulted him, reminding him she was the one in control. It was more difficult to see her inflict her insults on someone else.

I wished I had said something back there. Maybe it wasn't too late now.

"I'm sorry about my mother."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I've heard it most of my life."

"I don't think that makes it any better." I turned to him. "I think it makes it worse."

He shrugged again, and stared straight at the road, his face showing no emotion.

We didn't speak the rest of the way back.

Or in the elevator.

We didn't say a word to each other until I announced I would take a shower before bed.

Shamelessly, I waited for him to comment that he would join me. But he simply nodded and walked toward the kitchen.

Did I miss something? Was last night a one-time thing? Was it just casual sex for him?

I was too tired to analyze this tonight. I peeled off my clothes and stepped into the white ten-by-ten shower. There was a steamer inside and I cranked that up, too.

Dropping my chin to my chest, I let the hot water soothe my aching muscles. I groaned as the tension sluiced off my body along with the rivulets of water.

A shadow on the other side of the glass caught my attention, but when I wiped the steam on the glass with my hand, there was nothing or no one on the other side.

Maybe I had imagined it.

Facing the stark reality of having to start a new day tomorrow, I wasted no time drying my hair and braided it instead.

I'd just put on a pair of black and white pajama pants and a white T-shirt when I heard a soft knock on the door.

"Come in."

Jake opened the door and leaned on the frame with his arms crossed. "I wanted to say goodnight before you turned in."

I smiled. His biceps stretched his black T-shirt across his chest. "Thank you. Do you want to come in for a little while?"

Jake looked at the bed, then at me. "It's been a long day. I'm going to shower and get some rest myself."

"Oh," I said, the disappointment obvious even to my ears. "I understand."

I didn't. But I already sounded desperate enough.

"Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight."

He closed the door with a soft click and my heart felt heavy.

I puttered around the room for a few minutes until I decided I'd try to get some sleep. Crawling into the cool satin sheets, the smell of freshly laundered linens soothed my temper. I loved the smell, as it reminded me of my father. He loved using clean sheets to build the most intricate forts with me.

My eyes drooped, and a smile lingered on my face as I fell asleep.

***

The wind slapped my pigtails across my face as I imagined touching the blue sky with my pink sneakers. "Higher Daddy!" I shouted between giggles.

"All right. You asked for it," he laughed. In the next moment, his hands spanned my entire back, and he gave me another big push.

I wiggled my legs, trying to kick the top of the apartment building on the horizon, and laughed and laughed.

When the swing slowed, I jumped off and raced toward the slide. "I bet you can't catch me," I shouted over my shoulder, and my father chased me up the wooden steps, but I was faster.

I ran toward the red slide and sat down. The hot plastic burned the skin exposed by my shorts. As soon as I saw my father at the bottom of the slide. I pushed off with the palms of my hands and raised them in the air, shouting with glee, knowing he was right there to catch me.

I fell into his arms and he pretended he was mortally wounded by the impact. "Oh, oh, no. I can't move. I need you to pick me up."

"I've got you, Daddy," I said, and with all my childlike strength I grunted and lifted him off the ground. He staggered to his feet. "Thank you, princess, for rescuing me. Now, let's go get an ice cream."

I clapped my hands together and shouted with uncontrolled excitement, "Yes, yes, ice cream. I want a double chocolate one with sprinkles." I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. "And marshmallows, too. Can I have marshmallows, Daddy?"

"Of course you can, princess. You can have anything you want."

As we walked toward the ice cream truck hand in hand, the sky darkened and the wind lifted my pigtails off my shoulders.

All the other people in the park were suddenly gone, as though they had disappeared. The swing swung all by itself. The wind grew stronger. My clothes clung to me and it became impossible to take a step forward without pushing through the wind with all my might.

"Daddy," I shouted and squeezed his hand.

"It's all right, darling. I'm here."

But as the wind grew angrier, the rain started. At first, it fell softly, like a mist over our bodies. Then it fell harder and harder until I could hardly see my father. There was only a shadow next to me.

His hand became slippery and when he took his next step, I lost him. "Daddy!" I shouted, looking right and then left. I turned my head violently until I saw a funnel in the distance. I'd watched The Wizard of Oz enough times that it terrified me. "No, no," I screamed, looking for my father, but he was gone. I heard the cackle of the wicked witch echo in my ear and goosebumps grew all over my body. "No," I sobbed into my hands and fell onto the wet ground.

"Shh, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," a voice whispered.

My violent tremors slowed, and the rain stopped. "That's it. You have nothing to be afraid of. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you."

The sky was blue again and then black. I blinked a couple of times, awakening from the frenzied dream.

This wasn't the first time I'd had that particular nightmare.

But it was the first time I'd awoken to a body holding me and a soothing voice in my ear.

"I've got you, Nikole. You're safe now. No one's going to hurt you." Jake spooned his body behind mine and rubbed my arm gently back and forth. His cheek was pressed against the top of my head and I could feel his heartbeat racing against his chest.

I must have frightened him, too.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It's okay. I'm the one who's sorry. I'm here now. You can go back to sleep. I promise I'm not going anywhere."

His comforting grip soothed me, slowed my heartbeat, and ended my shivering. I closed my eyes, trusting his words, and fell fast asleep.

***

The next morning, heat crept up my cheeks as I realized last night's episode wasn't entirely a dream. The part about Jake lying beside me was very much real. As real as the enormous erection at my backside.

"Jake," I whispered.

He groaned next to me and squeezed me tighter. I smiled. I could get used to this. His desire for me only fueled my own. "Jake, are you awake?"

"Uh, huh," he mumbled.

"Do you need some help with that?" I wiggled my bottom, and he groaned.

"Sorry. It has a mind of its own," he said.

"I don't mind."

"I'll just take a cold shower and be ready soon."

"Didn't you take a shower last night?"

"I did. Apparently, it wasn't enough. I'll see you at breakfast."

He climbed out of bed and stumbled out of the bedroom, walking awkwardly either because he was barely awake, or his erection was in the way.

A little while later, he walked into the kitchen with a white T-shirt and jeans on, and his hair was still a little wet. My stomach did a little somersault.

"I made some breakfast for us," I said, pointing to his mug of coffee. "Black, right?"

He smiled. "Right."

He took a long sip of the brew and I watched him, waiting for him to mention getting into bed with me. "I'm sorry if I woke you last night."

His knuckles whitened around the mug. "I'm the one who's sorry."

I frowned. "Why? I'm not complaining that you came into my bed."

"I'm the reason you're having nightmares in the first place."

I blinked, watching to see if he was serious. His face didn't change. He was serious.

"What are you talking about?"

He ran a hand through his hair. "If I hadn't faked that kidnapping, you wouldn't be having nightmares about it."

"You think the nightmare was about being kidnapped?"

"It sounded like it to me."

I pursed my lips, wondering if I'd said something in my sleep or if his guilt led him to that conclusion. Either way, I would disabuse him of that notion.

"The nightmare had nothing to do with the kidnapping. It was about my father."

I turned and filled my mug, even though I'd only drunk three-quarters of it. But I didn't want him looking too closely at me.

"I'm sorry. When did he die?"

"Oh, my father isn't dead. He's alive and well, living with his new family in Connecticut."

I sipped my coffee and changed the subject. "So, since today is Saturday, and I don't have any pressing clients, what are we going to do today?"

He looked down and around, fidgeting with his mug. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I smiled. He looked less inclined to talk about it than I did. "No. Not really. I'd rather talk about the weekend."

"Well, Will is going to come by here and stay with you while I check on some things."

"What things?" I brought the mug to my lips and watched him over the rim. He was fidgeting again.

"Just some stuff."

"You're lying."

He put down his mug and crossed his arms. "How do you know I'm lying?"

"Because your left eye is twitching."

"No. It's not."

I smirked at him and took another sip. "Yes. It is."

"Fine. I don't know why I'm keeping this from you, anyway. I'm going to drive by the address of someone I'm taking an interest in."

"Is it someone regarding this assignment?"

"Yes."

"Ok. I'm coming with you."

He pointed his finger at me. "That's exactly why I tried to keep this from you."

I stared at his finger and shrugged. "Well, I know now and I'm coming. There's no way I'm staying here with a babysitter while you confront the man who broke into my house alone. I want to be there."

"I don't even know if it's him."

"You suspect him enough to lie to me about going."

His jaw ticked, and I knew that I was right. "It could be dangerous. In fact, I'm sure it is."

I smiled. "It's a good thing, then, that I'll have my bodyguard with me."

"We're just going there to look around. I'm not even sure if I will knock on his door. Not until I've assessed the situation."

"All right. I'm not eager to shake his hand either."

He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "We leave in ten minutes."

I rushed over, kissed him on the cheek, and whispered, "I'll be ready in five."

I wouldn't give him any excuse to leave me behind. Before I became an attorney, I wanted to be a detective. My mother discouraged me, saying there was no future in it. But I realized later that she had meant there was no benefit to her.

I wasn't unhappy with my career, but the opportunity to do some detective work had me rushing to get dressed and out the door.

Four minutes later, I was walking down the hallway toward the foyer when I heard Jake's voice.

"What are you doing here, Sarah?"

"You never called me back, and I need to speak with you."

"What is it?"

"It's Janine."

There were three heartbeats of silence, then, "What about her?"

"She's looking for you."

I wished I could see Jake's face, his reaction to this Janine person looking for him.

"I have nothing left to say to her."

"Well, she apparently has something to say to you because she's come by my house every day for the last week. She doesn't know where you live, so she's resorted to using me as your assistant. I told her you don't want to speak to her, but she's being very persistent. Please, can you talk to her and listen to what she has to say so she can leave me alone?"

"I'm sorry she's gotten you involved, but I'm not going to speak to her. You can tell her to let it go. There's no point."

Sarah sighed. "I did. But I'll try again. She seems sorry. Maybe hearing her apology might make you feel better, too."

"I'm just fine, Sarah. Now, I've got to go."

That was my cue. I walked past the living room and into the foyer. "Hi, Sarah."

Sarah smiled at me. "Hi, Nik. Where are you guys off to?"

"To catch my mother's stalker," I said.

Jake rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to keep this low-key."

"Do you think that's a good idea? Bringing Nikole along? Aren't you just serving her up to him?"

"No. I don't think it's a good idea." He turned to glare at me. "But I don't have much choice."

I shook my head and said over my shoulder as I walked past him. "Nope. No choice at all."