9

I scraped the edge of my fork across the white porcelain plate now covered in red tomato sauce, to gather the last bite of lasagna. It was my second piece, and it was just as good as the first one.

Nikole's eyes narrowed as she looked from my face to my plate. "What?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

I shrugged and licked my fork.

"It's just that I don't get how you stay fit eating the way you do."

"What's wrong with the way I eat?"

She blinked several times, as though I'd spoken a foreign language. "Nothing. It just seems unfair, that's all. I just look at a second slice and my hips grow larger."

I shrugged again. "There's nothing wrong with your hips, so go for it."

She snorted and then tilted her head. "You're serious?"

I dropped my gaze to her hips but the oak table hid them. The curve of her breast caught my attention, but I looked away and pushed back from the table. "I should get back outside."

"Why rush out?" asked Sarah. "There's no better way to protect Nik than sitting next to her, is there?"

Nikole's face scrunched up and while I should have been offended by her cringing, the way she wrinkled her nose was endearing. "I don't think Nikole feels that way."

She cleared her throat. "It's fine. It's getting cold out there."

"See," Sarah beamed, but the acquiescence was hardly convincing. It didn't matter, though. They were both right. I could protect Nikole inside her home and stay warm at the same time. I brought my dish to the sink and began rinsing it.

Nikole quickly pushed me out of the way. "You're a guest. I'll take care of these. Why don't you pick a movie for us to watch?"

Huh. I hadn't realized I was staying that long. Or perhaps putting on a movie was her way of having to make less conversation.

"I've got a couple of streaming channels. You can pick something from there."

The television remote lay perfectly aligned next to her book on the coffee table. But I didn't reach for it right away. Instead, I walked over to a tall bookshelf to check out some of the titles.

There were law books, as I'd suspected, but not many of them. Maybe two or three. There was a row of crime novels and another for cozy mysteries. But below those, there were at least three rows of colorful purple and blue paperbacks. I pulled one down and smirked at the cover featuring the naked torso of a well-endowed man. I checked the book next to it and the one next to that. More men, some women, all of them in a state of undress.

Well, well. What did we have here?

I flipped through the pages of a book with an alien on the cover.

"What are you smirking at?" Sarah asked.

I cleared my throat. "Nothing."

The clanging of dishes stopped and Nikole turned around. Her eyes scanned the bookshelf and my hand, and they narrowed. "I don't think you'll find anything you'd like there," she said and turned back to the dishes.

I ran my finger along the spines of the books and an image of Nikole curled up in bed reading and perhaps a little breathless popped into my head. The knot in my shoulders loosened. "I don't know. I might surprise myself."

A smirk, so tiny, I couldn't be sure I even saw it, tickled her face.

"You used to love those crime fiction novels, Jake. What were they called again?" Sarah piped in.

"The Tom Clancy ones?" asked Nikole.

"No, no," said Sarah, and my heart stopped for a second. Sarah couldn't be talking about—

"The ones with the little girl detective. What was her name?"

"Nancy Drew," I murmured.

"That's it!" Sarah clapped her hands. "You loved those books. I remember you would hide in the closet to read them because Dad would get so mad at you."

My mind was transported back two decades. I sat in a dark, cramped closet with a flashlight reading while I listened for my father's footsteps."

"Why would he get mad about that?" asked Nikole, turning off the water.

"Because I preferred reading over playing football with him. I never lived up to his expectations."

Sarah stared, and Nikole's gaze flickered to me as well. After receiving both of their pitying glances, I felt like a boulder had fallen onto my chest. It was more than I could take. "Let's watch that movie."

I turned on the television and scrolled through the movie titles. I didn't stop to read any of the descriptions.

"Slow down. You're going too fast." Sarah plucked the remote from my hand and dropped onto the couch like a sack of potatoes. "

Nikole came around the couch and touched my arm with the back of her hand. She held a cup of coffee. "Would you like one?"

"I'd love one," I said. "Thank you."

She smiled. The first genuine smile I'd seen directed at me. I hated that it came off the heels of pity. I cleared my throat. "I'm just going to check the perimeter while you two choose the movie."

I walked toward the front door and felt their stares on my back. The infrared cameras had the perimeter covered, but I needed some air. That one little nudge felt too intimate, as though Nikole were my friend and not my client. Her smile had warmth behind it, not politeness the way everyone else's did. I needed to step out and shake off that feeling. I didn't want it.

I didn't.

A familiar but distant craving brought me closer to my car. I opened the passenger door and reached inside the glove box. A red and black carton sat on the driver's manual. It had been there for months. I had quit smoking the day I had left Janine and hadn't wanted a cigarette since. Not until today.

My phone rang. Relieved at the distraction, I closed my eyes and slammed the car door. "Hello?"

"Jake, it's me, Jager."

The wind grew louder. I could barely hear the voice on the other end. I pressed the volume button several times. "Jager. What's going on?"

"I have an update on the delivery guy that went to the governor's office. He's on an anti-government watch list. His name is Norman Fields, and he's attended rallies in D.C. and New York. We're not sure if he's followed the governor here or if it's just coincidence."

"You know how I feel about coincidences, right?" I replied.

"I know. That's why I wanted to let you know as soon as possible. I'm sending you a better picture of him in case he's loitering around Nikole's office or home."

My phone vibrated, and a message popped up. Clicking on the icon, a photo appeared. The man in the photo looked like the guy from the governor's office, only this photo was much clearer. He had a small cut over his left eyebrow and his teeth crowded his mouth. There was no smile on his face, and the dark depths of his eyes drew a shiver down my spine.

I'd faced many enemies in countless countries, but it was the ones with the empty eyes that kept me up at night.

I scanned the street. The same red car was parked in the driveway next to Nikole's. It belonged to another renter. I'd checked out her background and even had Will follow her to work one day to make sure her story checked out as it should. The rest of the neighborhood was just as quiet. There wasn't any traffic on this suburban street and the same couples walked each night, which made it easy to keep tabs on them. Despite all this, an uneasiness grew in the pit of my stomach. Someone may have followed the governor from D.C. to New York. Someone who wasn't just getting a thrill from his keyboard, as Nikole had suggested. This person has gone so far as to disguise himself and enter the governor's office. I had to assume he would go to greater lengths to reach her or her daughter. If Nikole wasn't taking this situation seriously yet, that would change soon.

I walked back inside and found her seated on the right side of the couch while Sarah sprawled herself across the loveseat. There was no other place for me but on the couch with Nikole.

The movie had started, and a quiet neighborhood appeared on the screen. "What are we watching?" I asked, placing my hand behind my head and putting my foot up on the ottoman. Nikole turned to me, then quickly looked back at the screen without responding.

"One of Nikole's favorites," said Sarah. "Wild Nights."

Nikole groaned. "It's not called Wild Nights, it's called—"

"Wild Hearts," I finished.

Nikole's head snapped toward me. "How did you know that? It's a foreign film."

I smiled, genuinely amused that she would think so little of me. "I lived overseas for eight years. Most of what I've watched is foreign. Besides, this one won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, so it's not that obscure."

She smirked. "I guess you're right. We don't have to watch it if you've already seen it."

"Well, I haven't seen it," harped Sarah.

"I don't mind," I said. "This film has some of the most spectacular shots of the French Alps."

"Strange. I hardly noticed the cinematography."

"Really? What makes it your favorite, then?"

She shrugged, but a tiny smirk played on her lips that had me intrigued. "Come on now. You know about my Nancy Drew addiction. Tell me one of your secrets."

She laughed and a tiny dimple appeared on her left cheek. It was the most appealing thing I'd seen in a long time.

"I love how he reveals himself to her in the end. He's this tough guy on the outside, but he's a real softie on the inside."

She stared at the screen, that same enthralling smile on her face, and for a moment, I forgot she was the governor's daughter, my client, or my sister's best friend. Or even a kick-ass lawyer. At that moment, she was just Nikole. A woman who loved foreign films and read smutty romance novels. I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't driven away that night. Would we be sitting here alone tonight? Would she be snuggled in my arms instead of two arm-lengths away from me?

I hadn't indulged in the ‘what-if' scenarios in my life for a very long time. I usually convinced myself that walking away was for the best. But tonight, I wanted to know what would have happened if I had stayed.

Nikole fidgeted on the couch, pushing herself higher and rubbing her neck.

"What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?"

"It's fine. I'm just winding down after today. I was a wreck before the bail hearing. I stayed up for most of the night double-checking my research and preparing my argument. I guess it's all just catching up with me now."

"Lay down. I'll sit on the floor."

"You can't sit on the floor," Sarah said. I'd nearly forgotten she was still here.

"Sarah's right. I'm fine."

Nikole pulled her legs up and underneath her. Her bare left foot pressed against the couch cushions. I didn't think, just reacted.

I wrapped my hand around her tiny ankle and gently pulled her leg toward me, only a few inches, but she jumped just the same. "Wh—What are you doing?"

"You seem uncomfortable. Stretch out your legs. There's plenty of room on the couch for you to do that."

She stared at me, then hesitantly moved her legs further down the couch until her cherry red toenails were only a few inches away from my thigh. She wiggled them and leaned back against the couch to watch TV.

I did the same and settled into the movie.

It truly was a beautifully filmed production. I'd been to France both as a soldier and several times as a vacationer, but never had I seen the vistas like the ones in this film. The blue of the water and the sky sandwiched a colorful mountainside peppered with homes and terraces. Sometimes stepping away from something made it so much clearer, more beautiful than how you'd remembered it. Or perhaps seeing it through another's eyes made the experience richer. I couldn't decide.

I'd become so engulfed in the movie that I hadn't realized I'd scooted closer to Nikole somehow and found myself rubbing the inside of her foot. Not until a soft groan escaped from her lips and the sound pulled me back. She had her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted, and while she was fully clothed, it was the most erotic thing I'd seen in ages.

I knew I should move back to the far side of the couch, but I didn't want to be the one to ruin her mood, so I stayed. I caressed the inside of her foot with my thumb and pressed deeply into the muscles. Using my other hand, I did the same to the other side.

My gaze drifted to Sarah, who had fallen asleep on the loveseat, her soft snores reminding me of our childhood. I let go of those memories and focused on the soft skin under my fingertips.

I was crossing a line here tonight. I would give my brothers hell for even thinking of putting their hands on one of our clients, and I knew I should pull back right now. But while my mind screamed to do it, my body wouldn't move. It couldn't. It craved the intimacy and pleasure I was giving her. If even for a little while. I missed this. I missed it very much.

Then, in the next moment, her foot was gone. She had pulled her legs back and tucked them underneath her again. Biting the skin at the side of her thumb, she stared at the screen. She didn't say a word, but her withdrawal was enough to let me know it had been a mistake.

I rested my hands on my thighs and tried to focus on the movie again. My hands fisted, and I caressed the inside of my palms, feeling how much softer they'd become in that short time. It reminded me how a person could change you. How they could leave their mark on you without even trying. I was getting too close, and I needed to put some distance between us.

I stood from the couch. "I'm going to drive Sarah home, but I'll be back outside for the rest of the night. I won't be long."

"You really don't have to come back and be cold. I'm fine, Jacob."

"It's not fine. This is my job and I take it seriously." That reminder may have been more for me than for her.

She blinked a couple of times, and her brow furrowed. "All right. It's your decision, I guess."

I nudged Sarah and she groaned loudly, swatting my hand away. "Come on, Sarah. It's time to go."

When she rolled over to the other side, I decided to quit playing. I lifted her over my shoulder.

She sputtered and kicked. "Put me down."

I did, and she wobbled a bit before straightening her shirt. Then she turned to Nikole. "Thank you for a lovely evening," she said with half-closed lids.

Nikole smiled. "Thank you, Sarah. I'll call you tomorrow."

I walked Sarah out and turned back to Nikole. "Lock all your doors and don't open them for anyone."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, but we're going to talk about some new rules in the morning. I think this has gone on long enough."

I wasn't going to argue with her while I had a cranky sister on my arm. Besides, Jager had told me more than I needed to hear tonight. This guy was proving to be as serious as I had worried he would be. It was time I put the second part of my plan into action before something happened to Nikole.