21

I can't keep my hands off of her. Holding her hand, touching her hair, circling the small of her back, I need to feel her next to me.

When I saw Janine standing at the front door, I wanted to ignore her. But I knew if I didn't confront her, she would stand in the way of what I was building here with Nikole.

So, I listened while she talked.

She said all the words I wished to hear years ago. Everything I had imagined her saying to me, ‘I love you', ‘I want to be with you', and ‘I can't live without you', were all meaningless to me three years later. And especially after she said, "I heard you're doing well for yourself now. You have a penthouse on Park Avenue?" She raised her eyebrows and smiled.

She didn't come for me. She came for my money. The only thing that had changed was my bank account. I could give her what she wanted now. Hell, I could give her more than she could ever want.

I would have given that woman the world, but I gave her my heart and she left it for some other guy.

So, I listened, and I waited for her to finish. Then, in no uncertain terms, I said, "I wished you had said this to me before. It is too late now. I have moved on and I would appreciate it if you never spoke to me again." Then I turned and left.

It was easier than I imagined it would be. I didn't think I could do it, but it felt like I'd finally shut the door on our relationship.

Now, I could focus on Nikole.

She held an avocado in her hand inside the grocery store. Turning it over, she gently squeezed it. It should not have been as erotic as my dick thought it was. It was only an avocado after all, but the way her fingers moved around it reminded me of how she handled me earlier in my truck.

Damn.

Now I was hard in public. I turned away and nearly bumped into an older woman with bluish hair and a blue sweater. "Hello, darlin'," she smiled.

"Ma'am," I said and moved out of her way.

She shuffled over to Nikole and said something in a low voice. Nikole looked over at me and fought back a grin. Her lips twitched and her eyes danced.

She moved onto the next aisle, choosing each ingredient carefully. She said she was making tacos and guacamole. I couldn't wait to try them.

I mentally went through my wine cellar, thinking about which bottle I would uncork tonight. It felt like a special occasion. I'd closed one chapter in my life and was opening another.

Oh, yes, I know. I'll pop open the French champagne I've been saving. The two-million-dollar Taste of Diamonds bottle. If she didn't want to go to France this weekend, I would bring a taste of France to her.

A man at the other end of the aisle caught my attention. He had his hands in his pockets and wore a long black trench coat. It looked similar to Chapman's coat, but it wasn't him. For a moment, I nearly tackled Nikole to the ground, but fortunately, I held back.

I kept my eye on the man. He moved on to the next aisle while Nikole stayed in this one. I breathed a little easier after that.

"Jake, come in, Jake?" a voice called into my earpiece.

"Yes," I answered while keeping my eye on Nikole.

"We have a problem." It was Will, and his voice was unusually high.

"What's going on?"

"I haven't heard from Christian in a while. I tried contacting him several times, but nothing. Jager is tracing his phone. It shows Christian's in the governor's apartment, but he's not answering. I'm going in with Jager. I wanted to let you know what was happening."

"All right, keep me posted. Hopefully, he just forgot to charge his phone."

"No one is picking up the house line, either, but I hope you're right and there's a good explanation for all of this."

I had the same sinking feeling about this, but Christian was good. He was arguably the best bodyguard of all of us. He had been in the military the longest, and he was the strongest. I couldn't imagine anyone getting through him.

"What's wrong?" Nikole asked. "Looks like someone messed up your drink order at Starbucks or something."

"I don't drink Starbucks," I mumbled, still thinking about something Will said.

Nikole put her hand on my cheek. "Jake, what's going on?"

"Nothing to worry about," I said and turned her hand palm up to kiss it. "Nothing at all."

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. I kissed her lips, hoping to distract her from reading anything further on my face. "Do you have everything you need?"

"I do." She lifted her shopping basket, and I took it from her.

"Great, let's get out of here."

I searched for the man in the trench coat from earlier, but I didn't see him. I stood behind Nikole the entire time, blocking her from anyone's reach. If she noticed the stiffness of my movements, she didn't mention it, but she did hurry through the check-out process, for which I was grateful.

In the car, I texted Will: Any update?

He immediately texted me back that he'd just arrived at the governor's building and her apartment was empty. He found Christian's phone on the floor.

Shit. This wasn't good.

"You seem exceptionally calm," said Nikole from the passenger seat.

I took a long breath and released it slowly. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but there's an air about you like something is wrong."

I debated whether to tell her that her mother was missing or wait until I had more information. Why should she panic if this can be easily explained soon? No. I would wait until I knew more.

"Nothing. Just worried about dinner."

She smacked my arm and laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not going to poison you or anything. It's hard to mess up tacos."

"We'll see," I said with a smile.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled.

"That's strange," she murmured.

"What is?"

"My mother hasn't called me six times today or sent me an itinerary of what I should be doing instead of what I have planned."

I chewed on my bottom lip, thinking of the best way to tell her. Do I say she's missing? No. I need to be more specific.

"She's probably busy," she said, and pursed her lips. "But that never stops her from taking the time to tell me what I should be doing. It's one of her favorite things."

She hit a button on her phone and raised it to her ear.

"Who are you calling?"

"My mother, of course."

Pick up. Pick up.

I prayed the governor would answer her phone, but it kept ringing and ringing. Nikole ended the call and frowned.

It was one thing to wait for more information when she was oblivious to the situation, but now she was worried.

"Nikole," I started and grabbed her fingers. "There's something I have to tell you."

I balanced my attention between the road and Nikole. She blinked and furrowed her brow.

When I finally stopped at a red light, I turned to her and shared my suspicion. "I think your mother's been kidnapped."

I knew I could have worded it better, but I felt pressured to say it all while stopped at the light. It was the worst-case scenario, but something in my body told me it was true. I'd rarely been wrong whenever I'd had this feeling in my gut. I owed Nikole the truth. I braced myself for the tears, but her lips twitched, and she laughed instead.

She smacked my arm and chuckled. "You're outrageous," she said, shaking her head. "As if I'd believe that."

The light turned green, and I pressed the gas pedal but kept returning my attention to her. She was still smiling. "I'm telling you the truth."

She tilted her head. "Do you think I'm going to fall for this a second time? It's really not necessary, you know. You don't need to scare me anymore. I think being chased by a man holding a rifle did a pretty good job of that."

All right, enough of this.

I pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the car. Reaching for both of her hands, I spoke as calmly and as clearly as I could, without making her panic.

"Nikole, I'm not trying to scare you, but this is what I know. Will is at your mother's apartment right now. She and Christian are not there. They've only found his cell phone. Jager is trying to trace your mother's phone, but nothing has come up yet."

Her jaw dropped, and her mouth opened slightly. Then her bottom lip trembled, and she pressed a hand to cover her mouth. "Oh, my god. My poor mother. They're going to hurt her."

"We don't know what they want from her yet. There's been no ransom or demands."

"But you're worried. And I've never seen you worried. Will my mother be okay?"

Her voice cracked, and it was the first time I'd seen Nikole look crushed. Yes, she was scared when I'd kidnapped her, but she had fought back. Her arms now fell limply to her sides and her shoulders slumped forward.

"We'll find her. I promise. We'll find her."